TF Reviews

This is it, the motherload, the big one.

My mega review of Master Made Diabolus Rex a.k.a. Trypticon.

I’m usually not too big on 3^rd party stuff.

I know, the designs and production are usually head and shoulders above Hasbro’s/Takara’s and I’m well aware of the fact that’s because they don’t have the same factors holding them back.

But to be honest, I trust Hasbro and Takara more when it comes to things like sturdiness and longevity.

And being a simple working class schmoe, yes, price is also a factor…

But, once in a while I come across something too awesome to pass up…

Awesome like a robotic dinosaur with the size, fire power and pure brute strength to make Godzilla his personal whipping boy.

Insanely metal.

This is SDT-02 Diabolus Rex, producers Master Made’s version of a little Transformer called Trypticon.

Trypticon himself is the Decepticons’ ultimate weapon; sometimes their base, sometimes their warship but always a walking and/or talking engine of destruction.

The only one who’s not impressed by him is him. The Cybertronian civil wars bore him and he views both Autobots and Decepticons with disdain at best and raging hatred at worst, with a special flavor of antipathy for his Autobot counterpart, the titan Metroplex.

One thing to keep in mind with this figure is that it’s not supposed to be a cartoon-/comic/ whateverthehell-accurate depiction of Trypticon.

Rather, it’s from Master Made’s SD (Super Deformed) Figuration Project, which means his proportions are somewhat exaggerated to look chibi, or “cutesy”.

In any case, he looks like the overgrown love child of a T. Rex and an anime styled high-tech assault tank, but a cute overgrown love child of a T. Rex and an anime styled high-tech assault tank.

Gotta love it.

You just gotta!

He also has a few unnervingly large cannons, but more about his weaponry later.

He’s drowned in details. Panels, warning signs, vents, gears… All that good stuff.

Despite his blocky appearance, his poseability is through the freaking roof!

Triple hinged dino legs, massive ball jointed ankles, a freaking segmented tail, he’s got it all, all the way up unto moving eyebrows.

On first glance he already looks pretty stable, but that’s only  half the story. See, his feet are solid blocks of die-cast metal, enabling him to remain standing even if you shift his weight all the way forward. Despite his relatively small stature there’s quite some heft there, so all these factors betray an impressive amount of engineering.

"What have I done?"

His stability is quite a convenience when arming him up, because his amount of cannons borders on ridiculous.

There are two missile pods, four smaller, pivoting, dual-headed  guns, two massive rail gun-esque cannons and finally two thicker cannons which resemble G1 Trypticon’s deployable shoulder guns.

His body is riddled with 5 mm ports so you can arm him in any way you like.

He also comes with a strut which pegs onto his back creating even more room for weapons.

So yeah, bordering on ridiculous…

…-ly fun!

Gravitas.

As is apparently standard for a figure in the SDT-series, Diabolus also comes with a mini figure, in this case it’s his glorious leader Megatron.

Well, I’ve come to calling him Minitron, because, well, look at him!

Like the main figure, Minitron is deceptively poseable with ball joints in his neck, hip and ankles, swiveled elbows and knees and his shoulders have universal joints.

His chubby little body is covered in details and panel lining and he has vicious red eyes which stare right into your spark- I mean soul.

As you might have suspected, Minitron doesn’t transform.

Look at him, what would you have him transform into? An obese handgun?

Trypticon himself does transform, of course.

Duh…

The transformation sequence is the only part of this figure I consider a little weak in that it’s a bit too easy. Now I can’t be too mad at him for that, because first: his overall design I feel doesn’t allow for a very intricate transformation because he would have to have been a lot bigger and all his paneling suggest he would end up very finicky.

Second: because it’s just so very reminiscent of G1 Trypticon’s transformation, which makes transforming him something of a privilege.

An event.

A shooow!

Ahem, sorry.

Alright, on to actually transforming him.

See? SEE!?

Let’s start from the T. Rex, or what is officially called the Destoryer Mode.

I know.

It’s on the box.

Don’t look at me like that.

First, spin- I said, stop looking at me like that!

Spin around the head and shoulder assembly. Then untab the sides and split the legs down their full lengths , stretching  the halves all the way out. Lock in the tail’s segments and lay him down on what was his back. The pistons on his upper thighs twist out and work together with his feet to hold him up off the ground. Finally fold out the ramp on the tail to complete his basic City Mode.

Now, as stated he is absolutely riddled with 5 mm ports so you have a TON of options for arming him up. You can make him into something actually resembling a skyline or a balls-out weapons platform or anything in between.

Note: big enough to house all Decepticons.

From here we move to the Battleship Mode, which consists of folding the ramp back up, folding the legs back and tucking them flush against the hull. From here you simply put all the weapons where you want them and preferably in such a way that some guns resemble thrusters.

Again it’s all a matter of preference, as there’s a whole lot of options.

Does he have any gripes? Is he perfect? IS THE SEARCH FINALLY AT AN END!?

No, there are some flaws,(*groan*) but they are minor.

The tolerance of the tabs tend to give a bit under his bulk. Now, he’s not gonna fall apart, but some tabs could stand to lock in a little bit better.

But I’m already over and so are you.

I just can’t get over how awesome he is, despite being  sized between Voyager and Ultra size classes. There’s just a ton of bulk and heft in this guy, which makes his amount of details all the more impressive. It’s not just in the sculpting, but also in his (aforementioned) features.

Pondering about ending you.

Ending you.

The eyebrows move up if you open his mouth, giving him a more ferocious visage, which in turn is helped by tilting the dual gun hidden in his mouth.

Right behind his eyes there’s a little sliding panel which opens a hatch between his eyes revealing yet another cannon.

Absolutely ending you.

When he’s fully armed up and his hidden weaponry exposed he looks like a freaking dinosaur shaped explosion.

He’s literally everything manly I can think of.

rawr*BOOM!*

Alright, enough gushing and time for a final verdict:

Risking stating the obvious I love this guy. He’s every epitome of awesome. He could only have been cooler if he was bigger.

Or made out of boobs.

Note: something I deliberately overlooked is that there is an LED in his abdomen, but I can't be bothered to get batteries because I feel it adds nothing.