Rubble-strewn wasteland is his idea of beautiful landscape. His wild ways create fear and terror. As vehicle, at 30mph. Exerts 800,000psi... has short-range concussion bomb launcher. As robot, carries laser pistol. As left arm module, combines with fellow Constructicons to form giant robot "Devastator".
First/Last Comic Appearance (US) - Issue 10, November 1985 / Issue 41, June 1988
First/Last Comic Appearance (UK) - Issue 61, May 17th 1986 / Issue 81, October 4th 1986
First/Last Cartoon Appearance - Episode 16 (Season 1 #16), December 15th 1984 / Episode 96 (Season 4 #1), November 9th 1987
First Toy Appearance - 1985
Figure Details
AKA 'Bulldozer'
Manufacturer - Maketoys
Toyline - Type 61
Additions/Mods:
- Added a Decepticon symbol to the chest
Review
Bonecrusher is the posessor of one of the more outlandish Decepticon names there have been. He sounds more like one of the evil giants in the 'Big Friendly Giant' than he does a malevolent automaton but no matter. This pea-green pugilist is one sixth of
Devastator, and this mere fact alone already makes him great. This character has recently been homaged by both TFC and
Maketoys - I went for the Maketoys version. Did I make the right choice?
Appearance (Robot Mode) 6/10
This is very much a figure of 2 halves, as I think the lower legs have been designed very well and look impressive enough. However, the upper half has some big problems. Firstly, the lower arms are just hollow, and you could be forgiven for thinking that this is a modern Hasbro toy, were it not for the fact that it is too large and well-designed. There is hideous gapping in and around the neck area as well, and the head seems to float just above the shoulders. Also, the back is extremely hollow, with the combiner joint just kind of sitting there, protuding out of the back. I can't help but think that this kibble could have been integrated alot smarter to make the rear of this figure more cohesive. The colour scheme is perfect though and the paint apps that are present are all of an excellent standard. The headsculpt itself is good, although there is no light-piping unfortunately.
Appearance (Alternate Mode) 8/10
The Bulldozer mode is great, with minimal robot/combiner kibble on display. The little yellow/black and white/red chevrons reall complement the dramatic green finish as well. The scoop cam move up and down, which is nice. Despite the fact that I would never use the feature, I am disappointed that there are not little wheels embedded into the tracks, because this vehicle cannot roll at all. All in all though, Maketoys have done a great job on the alt mode.
Transformation 7/10
The transformation sequence is fairly involved. The legs are formed by snapping the treads and rotating the bottom part to reveal the feet and heels. The head can be a little hard to seperate from the cabin part, as both swing out in the same direction to form the robot, with the head stuck awkwardly inside. The shoulder balljoints are pretty tight, and can make swinging the shoulders out the correct way tricky. Also, I have found that in order to move the scoop halves to the desired position, you have to swivel the waist just so to allow for clearance. Finally the combiner kibble is pushed flush to the gaping hole where the back should be, but there is nothing to hold it in any kind of position, which is pretty bad.
Poseability 6/10
Bonecrusher's head is on a balljoint, which allows for a good range of movement (although I would have actually preferred a more substantial neck in this case), and there is waist swivel. The shoulders and hips are ball-jointed. There is bicep and thigh swivel (although this is impeded by the way the treads affix to the thighs). There are double-jointed elbows and ball-jointed knees. Additionally the wrists and 'toes' are ball-jointed as well, allowing for a variety of poses. The reason I don't really rate the poseability of this figure is because of the big gaps in it. Articulation is actually above average but really there are only a few angles where Bonecrusher looks good. You will probably never see a shot of this robot from above, because then the gaps in the neck area and back are there for all to see, which is a real shame.
Quality 8/10
Any flaws with the quality of this toy are all in the design, rather than the materials used. All of the plastic feels excellent and very strong, which means I will now trust Maketoys with any further releases as they are right up there with
FansProject in terms of quality. I wouldn't recommend unleashing a kid onto this toy though because they are likely to cut themselves on the sharp edges or just snap bits off. This (and all the other 3rd party toys for that matter) has not been rigorously tested to ensure clumsy little oafs can't break bits off and eat them.
Overall - 35/50
I appreciate that Bonecrusher is merely a small piece in the overall puzzle which is the glorious Devastator, but I do feel some unnecessary concessions were made to make the best combiner possible. There is so much which is really great about this figure, and compared to Hasbro's recent combiners it is laughably superior. But the gaping voids around the neck and back are really not good enough, which is why Bonecrusher is probably my least favourite of the
Constructicons.
