In what I’m hoping will be a new trend for me, I’ve picked up almost a new figure a day since the year began. As Canonball and I race toward the Autobot poor house, I get another one up on him this week with the arrival of FX-01 Code from Fansproject.
This particular bot was a little bit of a pleasant surprise — see, we didn’t exactly know just what we were preordering when he was solicited. But — he comes from a long line of solid Fansproject toys, and he even included a donation for Toys For Tots, so it was hard to say no. When it was revealed that Code would, in fact, be the first of their not-Headmasters line, and was their leader Chomedome no less, a lot of people had mixed reactions. I think as more pictures, reviews, and not-Headmasters trickle out, this will be one figure that people will seriously regret passing on.
I don’t normally even bother with package pics, but I have to say, with the clear sleeve and slick deco, this is one nice looking box. Heh (I apologize in advance for some less than super pics this time around, I’m reduced to the ol’ cellphone camera for the moment).
He actually comes packaged in bot mode, but we’ll start in vehicle mode, since that’s usually how we play this game. Chromedome is a Cybertronian-styled rally car of sorts, pretty in line with the G1 toy. I never owned him as a kid, so I can only judge by pics, but I’d say he does a good job expanding on that design and giving it some more personality. As will carry through to the bot mode, I’ve found myself really liking the colors used on this guy. Not only do they feel character-appropriate, but they are surprisingly vibrant in person.
Scale-wise, he’s a solid deluxe car, which is in keeping with the trends of both the mainlines and the Masterpiece line. He’s a little small compared to MP Sideswipe, but, as a single-seater, that doesn’t seem out of place to me.
His Headmaster is a little more simple than, say, the HeadRobots versions, but very functional and good looking. I especially like the little touches — like having Chromedome’s eyes covered when in this mode. He fits in the cab really nicely, and there’s some great detail work on the console and steering yoke. This kind of simple-but-clever mentality continues in transformation, overall staying pretty straightforward, but adding some damn clever touches here and there.
Chromedome makes for one helluva little Autobot. The plastic quality is excellent, the joints are very tight, and his articulation would make most DCUC figures blush. In bot mode you get some nice color blocking and detail work as well.
I was initially a little concerned about size, but overall I’m fairly pleased. Hardhead towers over him, but that seems appropriate. he comes up to MP Sideswipe’s chin, but looks a lot slimmer by comparison. I’m still somewhat concerned as to where the other not-Headmasters go from here, tough. I know they’re all depicted as a similar size, but as the only car of the four Autobot Headmasters, I’d like to see him end up as the smallest of the group. The Decepticons will have it easier, thanks to their beast modes.
I’m extremely impressed and excited by this release — I get another part of the Lost Light Crew, Hexatron gets somebody to beat on, and I’m one step closer to one of my favorite G1 toys getting an upgrade: Brainstorm! Watch this space — there’s a lot more Transformers goodness fast approaching this year, and I’m going to max out my lines of credit to get them.
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