Transformers Combiner Wars Pipes

Among the Titans, one must keep watch for the small guys who bust their aft thrusters to keep the big boys going, and that is exactly what Autobot Pipes does.

Unlike his first cousin, Huffer, Pipes got a precious few seconds of air time in the original G1 cartoon, so we never really had a chance to know him.  According to the very small bio on the card back, he is a collector of junk, which must make him popular with Wreck-Gar.  But make no mistake; he can emit a corrosive acid from his exhaust portal that will melt a Decepticon down in ten minutes, and he can haul 60 tons.  Pretty impressive for a small guy.

Combiner Wars Pipes transforms into a fairly generic tractor trailer with cab, which was basically the same with his G1 counterpart as well, however, he was also a slight retool of Huffer back in the day, but now, he is exactly the same model with a different color scheme.

Pipes in the fourth redeco of the same basic mold that was used for the Generations Legends scale Optimus Prime, Nemesis Prime, and Huffer (Hasbro does like to squeeze every penny they can out of any mold for sure).  The cool thing, though, is that all four likenesses are deserving of this mold, since that is what they were originally back in the 80's.  Who knows?  Motormaster might make a Legends Size appearance as well.  At least they aren't turning someone like Scourge into a truck, because that would be pretty silly.

G1reissue, Combiner Wars, and iGear 3rd party Pipes

iGear's Veer (3rd party Swerve)

Thanks to Writer James Roberts and the success of IDW's More than Meets the Eye, Swerve has become the idol of millions (not accounting for Tailgate's fans).  A former backburner Autobot who was basically just a repaint of Gears and had a total of 3 seconds air time in the G1 cartoon, this little guy is now the wisecracking, annoying, upbeat, enthusiastic, annoying bartender aboard the Lost Light (did I mention annoying?), and his weapons-grade mouth is legendary.  So, of course, we need some updated toys about the little squeaker!

Having purchased iGear products before, I had a good feeling I knew what I was in for- a solid, chunky Masterpiece-scaled version of my favorite loudmouth based on his distant cousin, Gears, whom iGear also made a product of (named Cog), continuing the tradition of repaints set forth by Hasbro in the 80's right at the start of the Transformer's line.  Already having Cog, the transformation is essentially the same as the G1 mini-bot, except not so mini.  Remember how you transformed Gears and Swerve in the 80's?  Same basic idea here- arms pull out from the shoulders, lower legs do a flip, and wallah! you have yourself a little bot.  Of course, a few more steps have been added to the mix, such as the actual arms being housed inside the vehicle door/side piece, flip out feet, and hands that can hold a weapon.

 A compact kick-butt truck.

Attack mode Veer.  As if this would ever happen.

Once you have him transformed, Veer has a weapon that resembles a Tommy Gun, which can be hand-held or mounted on top of his roof in vehicle mode (sorry, kids, no My First Blaster).  And speaking of the roof, Veer likes to RAISE THE ROOF FOR THE PARTY!  By flipping up the hood/main cab of the body, Veer reveals a hidden missile rack for those days when kicking Decepticon Tail is a must.

 "Poking Out Your Eye" feature not included.

Another feature that iGear has incorporated with most of the mini-bot line is a dual face feature where by turning the head, you can choose to display either the cartoon or original toy version face.  In Veer's case, I'm honestly not sure where his secondary face comes from- I don't recall it from the G1 cartoon; it could possibly be a special mask he wore in an issue of MTMTE.  As nice as this feature is, I have found it to be my biggest complaint- turning that head around is HARD!  This is something that can be said of all the mini-bots iGear has produced.  So, be careful, lest you be missing a fingernail.

 WHO DIS?

 

 Oh, there's my boy.  :)

Head turning aside, Veer, like all the mini-bots, truly shines in robot form.  No need to worry about this guy toppling over; he's as solid as a bull's behind, and his articulation for his size class is pretty impressive.  Not Marvel Legends impressive, but still worth noting.  Twisting waist, up/down/inward/outward shoulder motion, elbows, swivel hips, rotating thighs, and bending knees round out a very nice looking bot, whose red paint areas are a lighter magenta.

 "Heard someone was talkin' smack about Blurr..."

I ordered Veer as a package deal with iGear's Duneraker (Beachcomber) for $50 at BBTS, which I thought was a great price for 2 3rd party Masterpiece-scale Transformers.  Price is great, product is great, BBTS is great (as always), and I'm a happy camper.

Swerve:  An Epic Journey...for the most part.