Transformers Alternity A-01 Nissan GT-R / Convoy Review

Saturday, June 6, 2009


It's not your childhood prime. Optimus Prime has been reformatted as a slick silver sports car.

After Takara, designers of the original Transformers , discontinued the 1:24 scale car Transformers line called Binaltech (Japan) / Alternators (US) due to poor sales, many collectors were dismayed.

Thankfully, and a surprise to many Transformers collectors, Takara announced a new Binaltech-like toy in the form of a 1:32 scale Nissan GT-R to coincide with the actual Nissan GT-R's launch. Oddly enough it's going to be Convoy, also known as Optimus Prime to the rest of the world, that's going to become the GT-R. This time it's a Japan only product (no plastic worldwide release) but it's available through a number of importers.

The Alternity line is packaged in an all plastic box with nice prints on all sides of the box:


Back of box:

The back of the box mentions the light piping used to make the eyes glow, the detailed car interior, and auto-transforming feature (which I didn't really notice).

Left of box:


Right of box:


The Nissan GT-R:


Front:


A small etched GT-R logo adorns the front. The logo is better detailed than any Binaltech.

Right:

The wheels rotate more smoothly after you pull out the rubber and put it back on the otherway.

Left:


Rear:

A small printed GT-R logo us used at the rear.

Top of car:


Bottom of car:

There isn't much stubs sticking out from the bottom of Convoy. It's very impressive and a marked improvement over the Binaltech line like Smokescreen where you can see his face.

The GT-R logo in detail


Opening up the hood:

Impressive that it also features an engine block.

Door opened:

You'll see a non-rotating steering wheel (unlike the Binaltech line where some will rotate), hand break, and shift knob. I've sat in a GT-R so the interior isn't quite detailed to the level of the Binaltech line like Prowl.

Trunk opened:

It opens but no detailing inside.
The transformation was a little tricky the first time. I was so worried I'd break the roof while trying to snap off the legs.


Opened up

Here you'll see in better detail the rear seats. They look pretty good but not as ones in Shockwave/Meister.

Front:

The doors look good in their wing-like positioning. Convoy, like most other good looking car Transformers like Smokescreen, keeps the front of the car facing forward in robot form. It's ingenious how they had the front of the car squeeze forward to make the front slimmer.

Left

The foot is on a pivot so it can move back and forth with a little sideways movement at a higher joint. The feet don't look good but enable pretty good balancing of the robot at many leg angles.

Right


Back

A huge roof as a backpack

Action pose:

I don't like how the seats fold out a gun. The guns are so small. I would much rather had a real separate gun for the hands to hold onto. The ankles of Convoy are fairly large and look like pillows.

Although his arms have full range of rotation, when you have it fully extended out, the doors no longer stand up like wings so Convoy doesn't look as nice. The legs and feet are highly posable and it's nice to hear the racheting used at the hip area.


The head scalp is really nice. It's a different take on Optimus Prime but it still has the trademark mouth mask and blue eyes.

Transformers Alternity Nissan GT-R Convoy is a great addition if you liked the Binaltech line. There are a number of improvements Takara made to this line over the Binaltech line but this time it's smaller so it doesn't feel as substantial as the former line. There is diecast used in the center transforming block but the rest of the robot is plastic. There were a number of paint chips and scratches all over my Convey. You'll also see unsightly stubs like those you'd get with unsanded scale model pieces.


Stubs and chipped paint mar every Convoy I've seen

Eric Toy Score: 3.5 out of 5

Publisher: Takara
Year: 2009
Price: $49.99


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