STAR CATS Dino Combiner: BIAO SHEN (AOE STRAFE)

One of the best and probably tied with another figure as my favorite on the line up.. I'm not a fan of swoop or strafe (whatever you wanna call it) since I hate flying dinosaur.. But this one is by far the best Pterodactyl Transforming figure I ever have. Even better with the Hasbro releases.. 

PACKAGING:

I forgot to differentiate the sizes of these figures.. Grimlock is a voyager size toy packaged on a leader class box.. While the remaining four figures are all deluxe class on a voyager size packaging..

LEFT GRIMLOCK ----  RIGHT STRAFE (SWOOP)

ROBOT MODE:

FRONT

BACK

BIAO SHEN resembles Strafe from the AOE toy line.. And for the sake of this review, I'll be calling it Strafe to avoid frustration of pronouncing it's chinese name.. 

Strafe's robot mode is sleek and well proportion.. I really like how the blue and silver gray mixed together, specially the black linings on the feet.. It compliments the overall appearance greatly of the figure.. This is something I forgot to discuss on the last review.. The whole STAR CATS dino team has fantastic PAINT DETAILING!!! they made an effort to properly paint each part of the figure without going sloppy like the usual china company does.. THUMBS UP!!!

And unlike the Grimlock.. Strafe has an incredible articulation able to execute dynamic aerial poses.. Due to time constraint, I'm limiting myself to one to two dynamic poses shot in order for me to cover the rest of the figures.. But trust me, you'll love this figure for it's playability.. 

Maybe a small nitpick would be the two pegs on each side of it's head.. Making it look frankensteinish.. But it adds to it's appeal.. so yeah

DINO MODE:

Strafe transform into a Pterodactyl flying dinosaur.. And I like how they designed this to be similar with the G1 toy with a bit of modern touches.. I don't know how to properly describe it but it has this jet like vibe.. Maybe it has something to do with the wings or missiles.. 

IMPRESSION:

Just when I start to loose hope, this figure quickly revives my interest and excitement on the dino combiner team! Both the robot and dino mode is a winner!  CHEERS!!

PART 2 -----------

STAR CATS Dino Combiner: GANG BA (AOE Grimlock)

This is the first time I'll be reviewing five different toys at the same time.. And it's quite a challenge..  I only acquired this yesterday and considering the work and other stuff that I need to do only adds up to the challenge.. Pressure is on, so bear with me guys! :D

I'll start the review with the main component of the team..  GANG BA!!  yep, you read that right.. It's name almost sound something naughty so we'll be calling him "Grimlock" instead.. 

PACKAGING:

OPPA GANG BA STYLE!!!

ROBOT INSIGNIA!   Looks like an iguana to me.. LOL!

ROBOT MODE:

FRONT

BACK

Being a Tyrannosaurus Rex and sporting the AOE toy color.. It's obvious that this toy is heavily based on Grimlock..  But unlike the awesome Voyager AOE toy.. This one is a let down and I can understand why..

Grimlock forms the torso of the team.. And with that, the engineering team decided to compromised the proportion and articulation of the toy.. I believe they can do a better job since there's already parts (Hip Joint) that shows hinge extension for better proportion.. But they decided not to continue the concept and that is something I don't get it..

The toy has a very wide hip and very very very awkward and poor shoulder joints.. Despite the POA's, he is almost a brick since you can't have him utilize those POAs properly.. Just seeing him stand is a pain.. here's a sample to properly visualize it:

BUILD KING Grimlock = SAME SHOULDER ISSUE!!

With a little tweaking, I was able to have him on a decent pose.. And YES! that's the most dynamic you can do with him looking cool.. *SIGH*

It's tail forms a shield.. NEAT IDEA!

Head sculpt is kinda a mixed of Grimlock and Prime.. But I think it works! :)

DINO MODE:

I'm glad that despite the dreadful robot mode, its dinosaur mode shines!  It may not be the most T-rex accurate toy out there but at least it's not painful to look at.  The more I look at it, the more it resembles "Megazord Red Tyrannosaurus".. They even have the same concept for the thigh connectors which may explain the similarities..

IMPRESSION:

I have nothing good to say on its robot mode... It's the weakest among the five dino team and that is sad considering it supposed to be a representation of our beloved autobot T-rex.. 

It's dino mode is good but not enough to compensate for the issue.. Thankfully, the rest of the gang is there to cover it..

PART 1  --------