Yesterday, I finally got my D-16 figure.
I've wanted to buy him for about a year now, but I'm the opposite of an impulse buyer, so I kept waiting for... something I suppose.
Then on one of my recent sessions of longing glances at the few places I could get him at a reasonable price, I noticed that there were (surprise surprise, I'd stalled for over a year) very few left. So I finally got my shit together and got him.
He brings me immense joy. I guess the lesson here is that I should stop preventing myself from buying stuff I like. Just looking at him sitting at my desk makes me smile.
LOOKIT HIM!
It's a little hard to see with the bad image quality (I'm reducing image sizes as much as I reasonably can since they take up so much space) but there is some molding in the eyes. You can vaguely see irises in there, which is really cool and adds another layer of expression.
The articulation is really good. I had heard people praise it, but I'm still sort of surprised. The legs especially have many points of articulation and can go so far that he kicks himself in the back. Only complaint is that the head is a little too tight. (though I prefer that over them loosening the mold and risking getting a floppy head)
He is very screen-accurate. Transforming is not one of his features, but it makes sense here since it's his cogless form. It'd be odd for him to do so.
It is sad though how we don't have any good transforming D-16 figures. His tank mode is really cool.
A little description of D-16 came with the instructions. It's very neat:
"D-16 is a hard worker, being one of the highest performing miners with a tendency to break protocols. His physical strength comes in handy when situation calls for it.
D-16 is satisfied with his lot in life as a miner."
I definitely recommend this guy! Was a bit afraid he was going to look goofy, but he looks exactly like I had hoped.
Time for my obligatory tangent.
Something I suddenly got reminded of and have thought about recently, is how far Transformers engineering has come.
These days, we are pampered with figures that look screen-accurate while still being able to transform. In the past, you generally got one or the other.
Looking at even the masterpiece figures from back in the day, they pale in comparison to the figures we have now. (with the marked downside being the often large and tedious transformation process)
G1 (Generation 1) Shockwave, for example, is such a memorable toy because he looks like his cartoon self as well as being able to transform.
I mean, this guys still looks great! I especially like the way his feet look. That style of pointed yet bulky feet are one of my favourite Transformer traits.
G1 Megatron, despite also transforming into a gun, looks much goofier:
Okay I will admit he also looks goofy in the cartoon, but you get the point.
The varying screen-accuracy comes from the fact that Hasbro just took whatever transforming toys they could get from Japan. They were from different toy lines and made by different companies, but were marketed by Hasbro as Transformers all the same. (this is an oversimplification of a kind of convoluted story, but that is generally what happened)
Now, obviously, me saying "varying screen-accuracy" is a little dumb when the G1 cartoon is based on the toys and not the other way around. They changed aspects of several of the characters for the original comic and show to, I suppose, improve their looks... and probably something else I'm not remembering.