Currently a TRU exclusive, the Backroad Brawl two pack features two repaints full of geewunny goodness. Hoist practically sells the set himself, being more of a Classics Hoist than a ROTF Hoist, but Mixmaster…
Well, some people were excited about him, until they saw the newly remolded head and its paint scheme.
Just look at that… It’s debatable whether the g1 colorscheme looks good on a realistic cement truck, or even the gangly Decepticon it turns into, but who thought it was a good idea to remold the head with a grin and then accentuate it?
The head seems to disappear amid the black, and all you’re left with are two glowing eyes above a silver grin.
It’s almost like reverse blackface.
Where are the people saying this is racist?
Or at least the ones complaining about drunk transformers?
Seriously though, I get a very robot heroes feel from him. Kind of a friendly, ‘aww shucks fellahs!’ vibe. According to tfwiki.net, there is a reason for this! Click that link and go read the Trivia section to find out about it.
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After seeing pictures of the body online, I didn’t really care about the head issue anyway as I didn’t like the color scheme. I wasn’t too fond of the original ROTF Mixmaster’s drab gray and dark maroon, but it seemed to be better than Mt. Dew Pee green.
Once in hand, though, I’ve found myself really liking him. Really liking him to the point where Hoist is probably feeling neglected.
What changed my mind?
First, the color scheme looks terrible in most online pictures. The green isn’t so much Mt. Dew Pee, as it is Mt. Dew. In fact, it’s very close to the original Constructicon green!
The dark purple, black, and silver combine to contrast and compliment the green, making for a very snazzy looking bot. The first release of this mold blends in to the background, but this one really draws attention.
But what to do about the head?
It’s only painted!
The head is actually molded in green plastic and painted black and silver.
Reasoning that even if it looked like crap, it was probably better than the current colors, I grabbed some 90% rubbing alcohol, q-tips, and an old sock.
If you’ve never done something like that before, it’s as simple as it sounds. Alcohol weakens the paint and the q-tips and sock help rub the paint off.
Nail polish remover works, but don’t leave it on there too long. Acetone likes to eat plastic!
So does it look better? Yes.
Well, sort of.
It still had that tipsy looking smile on it’s face! Even if it wasn’t accentuated by a silver stubble, the smile was probably the most prominent feature on the face. Keeping company with it turned an otherwise sinister pair of orange eyes into a hyuck inducing glaze, and what should be a head shape that wavers somewhere between spidery and squiddy has become an unnoticed periphery!
But hey, this is MattBooker.info! We’ll just take a blade and cut the facial features into something more appealing.
Really. Just take a blade and shave the front part of the face flat-ish, concentrating on getting rid of the indented nose and the mouth, then clean up the sides a bit. I didn’t do it completely flat, but instead it has a slight slope outward toward the chin. Almost like the old TMNT Foot Soldier face.
So does it look better after all that? YES!
But you probably want some pictures as proof…
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Click on each of those pictures for the full versions.
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You’ll also notice that I don’t follow the instructions when transforming Mixmaster. Nothing too big, and you may have already come to a similar transformation if you’ve ever fiddled with Mixmaster.
The official transformation has a rather squat Mixmaster thanks to the way they handle the legs. There is a joint that lets the legs flip over and out to the side, but it looks much better if you leave the legs extended in the position used for alt mode.
If spindly is how you want Mixmaster, his arms are full of joints enough to do that. I prefer to raise the shoulders a bit and use the gas tanks to bulk up the chest. Again, reference the above pictures if for a visual description.
Mixmaster is kind of finicky until you get him into a position that you like, but once you’re there you’ll appreciate him more. He’s basically a shellformer, but a very elaborate one!
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Personally, he’s my Classics Mixmaster.
*loads fan canon cannon with “Mixmaster’s chemical experiments backfired and now he’s a monstrous gangly freak of a bot.“*
*fires*
Direct hit!
I really like Hoist, but I’m enjoying Mixmaster way more than most other people I’ve read about on the interwebs. Fixing his face really made a difference.
~Matt Booker
So, I guess it’s a good thing you found the set before I did, then?
Also, this post does not have any openings for breast discussion, and I dislike that.
Oh, what a shame that is Monty. /rolls eyes.
Cool looking robot. I was little bit weirded out by the face a little bit, but now I think it looks like some sort of Transmutate-esque mishap and I really like that.
Yep. Definitely glad I found the two pack instead of just getting Hoist.
Esoteric, it really gives off a sad Frankenstein’s monster kind of feel.
~Matt Booker
Fan Canon Cannon! :)
You redeemed that Mixmaster? That’s not something I was expecting.
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“When Captain Mixmaster throws his mighty shield,
All those who chose oppose his shield must yield.
If he’s lead to a fight and a duel is due,
Then the Mountain Dew green and the purple’ll come through.
When Captain Mixmaster throws his mighty shield.”
Yeah, it kind of breaks down when you hit the colors, and he can’t throw his shield really… but it gave me a chuckle, so… :)
Green guy in a purple jumpsuit. And yet it looks cool. I think a good transformation goes a long way with this figure.
I keep thinking of Silent Hill when I look at that face…
Anyways, really awesome job Matt. You’ve made me reconsider whether I want to get the single Voyager release of this guy and try out the mod.
Out of curiosity though, can you get those mixing drums to cover up his arms and get a crouching pose, like this picture?
http://tfwiki.net/w2/images2/2/2b/ROTF_Mixmaster_concept_art.jpg
That pose is doable! I don’t think there is going to be a single release of Mixmaster in these color though. The reg voyager has a different head and doesn’t have the smile. It’s kinda like Gen Grievous from that piece of crap Clone Wars cartoon. (The cgi one, not the woop ass awesome make you forget about the first two prequels animated one.)
Saw these in person and picked them up. Used nail polish remover to get the paint off (quicker and I have an ABUNDANT supply!) and shaved his face. Also took a fine point sharpie and filled in the lines. Looks like Matt did the same thing.
Now what to do with the boring regular one? My Frankenmixer is terrorizing the classics case! Well sort of because he really does look kind of sad.
crap clone wars cartoon was the animated one the new one rocks out with its jedi out oh snap!!
the crouching pose from the concept art is pretty much how i have mine posed, but completely by accident. i was just trying to make it look like he was using his shields.
Oh no I done been snapped!
The new cartoon is full of slapstick, stupid personalities for the droids, mary sues, and enough angst to make a twilight fan jealous. And that says nothing of the weak dialogue and plots.
If it wasn’t star wars I might tolerate it but it is star wars. That is a pre-established fiction and they’ve handled it poorly. George Lucas started handling it poorly with the first two prequels (and some would argue it started with the ewoks) and it got worse from there.
Awesome space opera with mystical undertones turns into kid friendly cranked out crap.
If you like the new star wars stuff you have rose tinted goggles on, and somewhere are probably telling yourself ‘its not so bad its star wars!’ and take what you can get. Have some standards.
Actually, you’re probably thinking “lol lol lol lol lol the old stuff sucks just like tophat OH SNAP!” but I was too polite too point that out.
woops XD
(and yes I do, but you’ll never experience the utter awesome of that melt in my mouth awesome)
OOOOOoooookay.
:<
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:O
So I like Frankenmixer, and Hoist is gen wun and looks good enough for classics. If I don’t like the dog faced mixmaster I’ll try this out.
i am so mad rite now the old star wars DOES suck and the new stuff rocks. anakin is super bad
Thanks Tophat for for telling me about Mixmaster. Didn’t think I’d indirectly start a conversation about Star Wars, but still, thanks.
Funny you should compare him to Frankenstein, TD… I made that comparison when Matt showed me the pictures:
“So he’s not all Guy Smiley anymore? …but now he’s a sad Mixmonster.
He’s all colorful and sad. It’s like Disney Presents Frankenstein. I keep expecting him to break into song. Voiced by Hugh Jackman, I’m thinking…
“I’M ONLY A MONSTER ON THE OUTSIDE, INSIDE I LOVE THE SUMMER’S DAY, I LOOK LIKE DEATH WARMED OVER ON THE OUTSIDE, BUT INSIDE I’M OKAY…”
C’mon, imagine Hugh singing that while Mixmonster dances in a meadow.”
But now when I read the post over my morning coffee, I somehow made this Mix=shield=Captain America connection, and now i can’t stop thinking of him as some wretched failed 90s EXTREME! superhero… Overcompensating weaponry, random techno-greeblies, anatomically impossible articulation, MASSIVE shoulderpads… very “Liefeldian”, if you take my meaning.
…and, um… I think I’ll sit out the tangential comments on this one.
Anakin is like the powerglove. He’s so bad.
:p
powerglove?
*Rage building*
Did he REALLY just say the old Star Wars stuff sucked?!
Also, both the animated Clone Wars and CGI The Clone Wars cartoons are good.
So, nyah.
I gotta agree with her about the new stuff. its a different tone, and theres too much ‘uber’ power and too much dumb stuff.
I can see why some people would like it but Tophat is right about it being an established thing that they are, poorly or not, handling differently.
I REALLY wanted to like it. Learned a lessen with Transformers Animated, so its not even the design choice that bothers me. It does bother me but I could get over the look.
It reminds me of fanfiction. Not bad fanfiction but fanfiction in general. They grab at concepts but dont really know how to work them.
A kid can fingerpaint the mona lisa and it might remind you of it but it wont be the mona lisa.
:<
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you two like the old stuff but dont like the new stuff if anakin were in the old movies he woulda rocked them hardcore!
and anakin is darth vader im just sayin if it he wasnt it would be cool.
sorry about the star wars stuff i just think the new stuff is cool and the old stuff is crap and at least monty agrees with me
on topic again that makes mixmaster better
If Anakin wasn’t Vader but added something to the already existing story of Star Wars, then yes, he would of been cool.
THE COMMENTS…
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ANYWAY. THAT IS AN IMPROVEMENT TO OL’ LEFTY. GOOD MOD. :)
That face was unexcpected. It’s all smooth, looks kinda like clay. It’s cool, but I don’t like it on a movie-style robot.
Anyway, you transform your Mixmaster like Jin Saotome does his? Because I was wondering if that was possible without modifying him, it looks way better than the official transformation IMO.
BTW, not saying new stuff sucks, but I do have problems with it (sorry for getting off topic).
I hate bitchy ass prequel Anakin.
HAN SOLO IS THE ULTIMATE BAD ASS.
Bitter Cold, that’s how I transform my mixmaster now. No mods needed.
There’s a joint that you don’t have to flip when transforming his legs. If you do flip it, his legs go further out to the side and he’s squat.
As for the face, it REALLY works with the whole ‘shit blew up on my face and then I cybermutated’ thing. If you don’t like it you could always cut more on it to make it more angled, and cut along the natural lines on the whole head to make it more angular.
As it is, it’s very organic, and Mixmaster is one of the least ‘random robot parts everywhere’ of the movie figures.
“It reminds me of fanfiction. Not bad fanfiction but fanfiction in general. They grab at concepts but dont really know how to work them.”
I will at least agree with this much, but I’ll couch it by saying that I’ve only seen one ep in it’s entirety. I don’t have a problem with the show itself (it actually looked pretty cool), but the plot was about one of the Clone Troopers turning traitor because the Jedi/Republic were enslaving him and his “brothers”.
Thing is… the guy was RIGHT. He was absolutely dead correct, but the episode treated him like he was the most vicious monster ever. Even Anakin and Obi-Wan were completely set against him. I could have handled it if they said “he has a point, but this isn’t the way to correct the situation, but no, it was all “OMG YOU BETRAYED US YOU SUCK”.
That’s only one episode though. For all I know it came up later and was addressed better. At some point I’d like to sit down and give the show a fair shot, so eventually I’ll find out. :)
And Phanta… how do you read Monty’s response of “rage building” directed at you, and his assertion that BOTH shows are good (so the “old stuff” doesn’t suck)… as agreeing with you?
he likes anaken
“I hate bitchy ass prequel Anakin.”
Ah. I didn’t realize I was misunderstanding that.
Maybe he thinks Anakin is different from this “Anaken” person he’s made up?
I agree with Luke on this one (mostly.) I haven’t really given the new star wars a chance, but all the commercials and the few episodes I’ve tried to sit through were awful. Poor, often stilted dialogue, simple plots and simple character reactions.
By that last bit, it’s kind of like what Luke was referring to with the Clone Trooper’s betrayal. There’s no complex undertones, it’s all base reactions.
That probably has something to do with it being directed at kids (fucking ewoks), but there are lots of shows with kids in mind that have complex character interaction and simmering subplots. Those kinds of shows are great because if the kids don’t notice them then they still get to enjoy the basic story, but for those outside the simple majority, or even ones that look back on it when they’re a little older, finding that added depth makes it better.
From what I’ve seen of the new star wars stuff, it’s taken at face value, and with basic reactions that yes, remind me of fanfiction.
“It reminds me of fanfiction. Not bad fanfiction but fanfiction in general. They grab at concepts but dont really know how to work them.
A kid can fingerpaint the mona lisa and it might remind you of it but it wont be the mona lisa.”
I agree completely with that, Gobot Grimlock. Especially because I was the one who said that to you. In an email. A few weeks ago.
So… Were you quoting me and forgot the quotes or did you think I’d forget? You’re a cool guy, and not Phantaman, so I don’t think you were thinking I wouldn’t notice… I’m just really confused.
JudgeG, don’t worry about it. It happens often, and at least this time it didn’t involve underwear.
Wait, there’s a topic?
Oh yeah, Mixmaster.
The shields are on balljoints so you can work them into lots of different positions. That concept art has him squated down with the official leg transformation.
BitterCold, the head is pretty smooth, but Mixmaster is oddly enough one of the smoother and less techno clustered bots in rotf. He’s got quite a bit of smooth, rounded details, and the green really brings out the organic look of the figure.
Still, I think it really works best with the concept of “chemical experiments backfired and mutated him.” I may put Long Haul with the classics and say he was one of the experiments too.
~Matt Booker
Whoa! I should have quoted you.
I’ve been using that as my canned response in star wars discussions lately… I totatally forgot.
Forgive a knock off robot dinosaur?
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No problem. And I don’t mind the whole canned response thing, but maybe throw a link to here in there? :)
~Matt Booker
It’s just been when talking to my friends at school and comic shop debates. Random stuff.
But I tell them to visit. They mostly don’t like tfs though.
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“Maybe he thinks Anakin is different from this “Anaken” person he’s made up?”
Fun trivia: One of my sister’s high school friends married a geek, and they named their oldest “Anaken”. They specifically misspelled it so that they could nickname him “Ken”.
It’s sort of a weird thing. I can say from experience that “full name” comes up a LOT more than those parents are expecting. They recognized the name was kind of freakish, but they just modified it and used it anyway… it’s kind of like naming your kid “Cikelops” so you can get “Ike” out of it. It doesn’t change that the name is pure nerd.
poor kid…
the new clone wars isn’t bad, but isn’t good either. the second season is a little better though.
is it weird that i’m in college and i still watch cartoon network? like, all the time.
Nah. It’s more weird that Cartoon network has less and less cartoons.
~Matt Booker
so i’ve bought all the standard release constructicons from the movie, and i find myself feeling that it was pointless, since the others weren’t released. you know, except in that stupid “supreme devastator” thing. its alright, but i’d rather have six constructicons that turn into SIX robots.
am i the only one?
At least they made the ones with the most screen time.
~Matt Booker
true.
i’ve also found myself wishing that rampage was a voyager, and demolishor and long haul were leaders.
but that’s wishful thinking and has no chance of happening.
have you guys here heard about this leader class starscream that’s gonna be released in japan or something?
“is it weird that i’m in college and i still watch cartoon network? like, all the time.”
Me, I watch cartoons all the time, and I’m earning a Masters, with plans to earn a second, and getting ever-closer to 30 years old… so I don’t think it’s weird at all.
However, I do think it’s weird that you can still find enough cartoons on CN to watch it all the time. I can only do so thanks to the miracle of torrents and DVDs. :)
i use dvr to record the good ones and re-watch them. i’m going through a king of the hill phase, but i can’t for the life of me figure out why o_O