You might not have heard about it, but there’s this little movie hitting theaters later this week – a new adventure about these robots that turn into vehicles and dinosaurs… and they even have toys from it! Of course, I say that in jest, as TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION is everywhere this week, and it’s even #TRANSFORMERSweek here on THE ROCK FATHER, which means there’s Autobots and Decepticons lurking all over this site. On the toy front, the girls and I have been sampling an assortment of the new Hasbro offerings these past few weeks, and one of the first to be featured here is the ROBOTS IN DISGUISE ONE-STEP CHANGERS Assortment. These are a completely new concept, and one I wasn’t really sold-on on paper. In person, that’s a different story.
When I was a kid, TRANSFORMERS were bulky, blocky, and you took a few minutes to transform each one, despite making the “noise” that they made on the show… sometimes two, three, four times. 30 years later, and kids are familiar with the instantaneous on-screen transformations that they’ve seen on TRANSFORMERS PRIME, RESCUE BOTS and the Michael Bay films, so the playtime equivalent might not seem as fun. That’s where the One-Step Changers come into play, as they literally transform and the push of a button, allowing kids to get into the TRANSFORMERS action fast.
Geared toward younger kids ages 5 and up, these figures certainly sacrifice the detail and articulation of the more traditional figures, but a five-year-old may not have the patience to master a 25-step transformation straight away. The loss in detail actually results in a pretty fun play experience, and for me that’s one of the main things I look for in a toy – Is it fun? And, do the kids like it? The pictures at the top of this article hold the answer… and the video below:
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Hasbro sent us LOCKDOWN and OPTIMUS PRIME from this assortment, but they’re just two of a planned 18 figures to collect in 2014 alone. This is a quick example of how the one-step action works…
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The TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION ROBOTS IN DISGUISE ONE-STEP CHANGERS come highly-recommended for younger kids looking for an entry into the TRANSFORMERS realm. Collectors should note that these are for kids, and meant to be played with. More detailed versions of these characters geared toward older kids and grown-ups are also available.
Rock Father-approved.
Available now via my Associate, Amazon and other retailers:
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BONUS! What’s LOCKDOWN up to at Rock Father HQ? Stay tuned!
