Fansproject Causality – Car Crash and T-Bone

Recently I received notification from Fwoosh sponsor Big Bad Toy Store that Fansproject CA-09 Car Crash and CA-10 T-Bone were in stock and awaiting my “ship my POL” authorization. Last month I pushed the “POL” button at BBTS to ship the Fansproject CA-09 Car Crash and CA-10 T-Bone that my son ordered. BBTS sent a reply that they were on their way. There was much excitement and we all rejoiced. After a few short (really long for my son) days the figures arrived and the excitement was plenty!

For those that you that have not caught on or heard the news, there is a movement in the toy world called “3^rd party transforming toys.” Companies formed and developed that are making original sculpts of Transformers characters and are then selling them via their own webstores or through online retailers. Many companies are making fantastic, top-notch toys. While these are 3^rd party, not all of the companies have the go ahead from Hasbro or Takara to produce “actual” Transformers. For example, Optimus Prime might be renamed “Faith Leader,” or some variant, by iGear.

There are two basic scales that are being produced at this time: one that fits with Masterpiece Transformers, and one that is a fit with the CHUG (Classics, Henkei, Universe, Generations) lines. Fansproject is producing transforming toys in the CHUG scale. Their current project is a combiner, meaning multiple toys will combine to form one. Decades-old Transformers fans will recognize Devastator or Superion as classic combiners.

Fanproject offered upgrade kits for the Energon Superion and Bruticus sets — amazing add-on parts that really enhanced the combiners. With Bruticus, they showcased their skill at making full-blown figures that transformed into an arm and leg, respectively. The craftsmanship was amazing. The new Causality combiner closely resembles the original Transformer Menasor, the gestalt made from the Stunticons. Car Crash (based on the Stunticon Breakdown) and T-Bone (based on the Stunticon Wildrider) are the first releases and represent the legs from the knees down. In the future we’ll see the arms and chest pieces offered.

These figures stand about four inches tall and are loaded with articulation. If my counts are right, they have ball ankles, hinged kness, swivel thighs, ball hips, swivel waists, ball shoulders, swivel biceps, hinged elbows, ball hands (or is swivel?), and ball heads, not to mention all the other moving parts due to the transformations. There is no hindrance in any of the joints and you can achieve just about any pose you want. I like to use the term “hand candy” for toys that are fun to fiddle with while you are sitting at the computer surfing or watching TV.

The figures both sport a standard buck that Fansproject is using for the legs and arms on this combiner. I personally like this design feature as it means that the cars will all be in scale with each other. I imagine it makes the manufacturing simpler as there are fewer molds to deal with. Each car shell is individual, but the robots are more or less the same with minor differences.

The paints are simple. Most of the pieces are molded in the colors they need to be with paint apps limited to heads, minor details, and the windshields, which is good since transforming figures typically don’t need a lot of paint.

The car modes are great. I’m thinking these are in the 1/24 scale range, and they are fun to play with. They look sleek and mean.

The transformations are a bit tricky. With 3rd party figures and the plastic and price, I am always worried about breaking small parts. The plastic is very sturdy on these figures, but — there is that chance. My son is very, very careful as these represent a huge investment for him, one he is happy to pay, but he watches me like a hawk when I play with them. For comparison, the plastic feels and reacts more like the plastic from a Hasbro toy, whereas the earlier City Commander and Protector have a more delicate plastic feel. “Delicate” as in look at them and they might break.

The worst part of the transformation is pulling out the arms and locking the knees into place. Both of these maneuvers give me the heebies. Also, it took me the better part of 30 minutes to figure out Car Crash’s foot transformation.