Angry Birds Transformers Telepod Racers, Jenga Games Vehicles, and Playsets

Rather unexpectedly, all the announced Angry Birds Transformers toys are out.  I found all the Telepod Racers and the Raceway except the TRU exclusive Energon Racers Pack at Toys R Us one day, then that night found all the Jenga Game Vehicles and Playsets at Walmart.com.  About a week later the Energon Racers Pack was at the same TRU.  So, they showed up pretty fast.  This might be to get them out before they all go on clearance.

Before I get to the toys, I’ve got a few things to say on the game.  It sucks.  I was expecting an Angry Birds game, and instead I got a game that only cosmetically resembles Angry Birds.  It could just as easily have been a Transformers game without the Angry Birds elements while still been the same game.  It’s really not that great a game anyway.  Extremely disappointing.

On to the toys, which are overall just as disappointing.

Telepod

This is a Telepod.  It’s just a matrix shaped piece of clear plastic with a magnifying lens inside.  You place this on your mobile device while using the game and the put one of the racers on top of it.  This allows you to unlock the character in your game.  Each Racer has a really small barcode on the bottom, which is the reason for the magnifying lens inside the Telepod.  They are all identical, which is unfortunate.  Each set that includes a Racer includes one, so I have a bunch of these things taking up space.  They really should have had a starter pack that included it so they didn’t have to put one in every box.

All of the Telepod toys have the same basic design.  They are supposed to auto transform to robot when you press their head, but none of them really work.  You kind of have to fight with them a bit to get them in robot mode.

Bumblebee Bird

Bumblebee looks pretty cool.  He’s one of the better ones, and I like that they make it look like he’s really driving the car.

Heatwave Bird

It was a cool move to include a Rescue Bots character.  I really like the way they molded the vehicle, but he seems to be sitting on top of the vehicle rather than driving it.

Lockdown Pig

Like Bumblebee, Lockdown appears to be driving the car.

Galvatron Pig

Galvatron is probably the worst mold of the bunch.  In robot mode, he looks like he has no arms.  It’s idiotic.

Optimus Prime Bird

I like the Optimus Prime, but he doesn’t really have a cab, so he looks kind of odd.  He’s nicely painted though.

Soundwave Pig

Soundwave is really cool in both modes, but why in the hell does he have mustache?

Sentinel Prime Bird vs. Deceptihog Bludgeon

Repainting Heatwave as Sentinel Prime is a little silly.  I would have rather seen Bumblebee as Cliffjumper.  Bludgeon is really cool.  His arms being black make him look better than most in robot mode since you can tell he has arms.

Ultra Magnus Bird vs. Soundblaster Pig

Repaints of Optimus Prime as Ultra Magnus and Soundwave as Soundblaster.  Not much to say.

Energon Racers Pack (Grimlock, Lockdown, Optimus Prime, Soundwave, Starscream)

Lockdown, Optimus Prime, and Soundwave are repaints in translucent colors.  This is the first we’ve seen of Grimlock and Starscream.  Grimlock is pretty cool, though the long beak is pretty odd looking.  I really like Starscream, though I wish he had better wings, the little short ones look silly, but he can’t have extending wings or he wouldn’t work with the raceway.  While I am fine if this line gets canceled, I would like to see a non translucent Grimlock and Starscream as well as Thundercracker and Skywarp.

Optimus Prime Bird Raceway (Megatron, Optimus Prime)

This is a pretty cool set.  It includes a repaint of Optimus Prime and Bludgeon repainted as Megatron.  The raceway set is pretty cool.  You launch two cars and whichever one passes the middle first gets through and Optimus Prime raises his fist while the other one flies off the track.  It’s pretty cool, and I can see kids enjoying this.

Jenga Game Vehicles

I have little to say about these.  They don’t transform and are awful.  Each single pack toys includes the above launcher and three bricks you can launch them at to knock them over.  The worst part of this is that it really has nothing to do with Jenga, they just wanted a recognizable brand name since Transformers and Angry Birds aren’t even big enough to make this crap sell. (Note: The stickers on top of the bubbles are because they were purhcased through Walmart.com.)

Jenga Game Vehicle Galvatron Pig

It’s okay, as crap goes.

Jenga Game Vehicle Heatwave Bird

I kind of like this one.  There is a lot of molded detail on the vehicle and great paint details.

Jenga Game Vehicle Lockdown Pig

Nothing special.

Jenga Game Vehicle Soundwave Pig

What is it with that stupid mustache?  It makes Soundwave looks like the villain in a Mighty Mouse cartoon.

Jenga Games

Each game includes a launcher and ramp.

Jenga Bumblebee Battle Game

This one is not too bad.  You launch the bird at Megatron, and if it hits him square in the chest it will press a button and make him crumple to pieces.  It includes a Bumblebee that looks pretty good with nice paint apps.

Jenga Optimus Prime Attack Game

Quite possibly the worst toy ever made.  Includes Optimus Prime  and a repaint of Galvatron.  Optimus Prime is pretty cool and includes fold out wings.  The bird that you shoot them at is awful.  Your are meant to stack up the brinks inside the frame and get points for each you knock down.  I tried FOUR TIMES to put the parts in.  Twice I got it almost done and then knocked it apart trying to put in the last parts.  I included a photo from the box since I wasn’t going to bother try to put it together again.  It is a horrible design.

Overall: Although the Telepod Racers are kind of cool, the video game is really disappointing and the Jenga vehicles suck.  I would like to see Grimlock, Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp Racers, but other than that, I hope they cancel this line immediately.

Thanks for reading!