MECH iDEAS Demolition Crue (DC01 Apex & DC02 Geminus) Review

I had two favorite ancillary characters in the Transformers universe growing up, they were a little duo that you would pull back and then they would snap into their robot mode.  They were known as the Jumpstarters, Topspin (Jet) and Twin Twist (Tank).  These guys were some of the few Transformers I owned as a kid, and I believe I only had them because they were a hand-me-down from my cousin.  I loved to pull those two back and let them skid forward and pop into their bot mode, it was seriously fun.  No need for a hard transformation, these guys were ready for action.  They really didn’t do much once they were in robot form (like most vintage Transformers) but the gimmick was more than satisfying.

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Never in a million years would I think anyone else had as much love for these guys as I did.  My cousin certainly didn’t as he elected to give them to me.  And let’s be honest, a kid you will only give up a toy if they think it is complete shit.  This brings me to the present time.  So the third-party Transformer scene came onto my radar in the past year or so, and I have kept an eye on anything that might be interesting to make my first purchase.  Then one day I saw the shoulder drills go up on a preorder, “MY JUMPSTARTERS!” I screamed with glee at seeing MECH iDEAS apparent first foray into making an entire figure.  You couldn’t sell me faster on super articulated accessorized Jumpstarters.  They were called the Wrecking Crue, and you could get them individually if you wanted, but what’s the point in that?  These guys are a set.

MECH iDEAS Demolition Crue Review

The two “Wrecking Crue” members are named Apex (Jet) and Geminus (Tank).  Their vehicle mode is very accurate to the original, and I can’t imagine that was a tough task considering the jet is a block with wings and the tank is a block with drills.  Each figure comes individually packaged in a very collector friendly blister card.  They each come with a hammer and two guns.  The hammer’s handle can be taken apart into two smaller rods and can be fit in the rear section of each character’s vehicle mode making a motor of sorts.  The hammer and guns can also be placed on the top of the vehicles because the Demolition Crue needs guns, ya heard?  If you preordered the Crue you also got an extra damaged Geminus head … not sure if you order a set now that you will get it, but its a damn cool extra.

MECH iDEAS Demolition Crue Review

More Transformers need to come with damaged heads.

MECH iDEAS Demolition Crue Review

The old versions had the easiest transformation ever.  The Demolition Crue is a little bit harder since, you know, they actually have moving parts.  It really isn’t a hard process transforming them but in comparison to something that flips open, anything is tougher.  The instructions are pretty clear and everything seems to pop out logically, so I doubt anyone who likes Transformers will have a problem with these.  They both have the same transformation scheme as well, so once you have one down you can do them both.

MECH iDEAS Demolition Crue Review

Apex and Geminus are full of personality.  Their articulation lets them get into a great many poses: they can battle, hold each other up, cross their arms, hold a hammer with both hands, you can pretty much do what you want with them.  That’s what makes a great figure as well, especially a great Transformer.  I’d always been a bigger fan of Geminus simply because he had drills on his shoulders, but after having the set for a few days I really dig the color scheme and robot head of Apex.

MECH iDEAS Demolition Crue Review

Now you may think to yourself, “why yes, these look fantastic but aren’t third-party Transformers a money-sink?”  And you would be partially correct, they would definitely cost you more than those shitty mass market Transformers you can buy at Walmart.  However if you compare them to something like a Masterpiece release (and I think that’s a fair comparison because these are on that level) they come out at a very decent value at about $70 for the pair.  You will feel even better when you realize the MP Soundwave tapes are selling in sets of two for about the same price and those tapes are really tiny.  So yes you will pay more but you are paying for a quality product, and one that once you have it in hand will find very worthwhile.  Also this is one that will probably never get made officially.

MECH iDEAS Demolition Crue Review

These guys are a blast to play with, MECH iDEAS really captured the characters and made them into amazing toys.  I’ll definitely have to keep an eye out for what these guys do next because their first figures turned out great.  This is also the start of something terrible for me because now I have a load of third-party Transformers on the preorder.  Apex and Geminus are definitely in contention for my FIGURES OF THE YEAR thus far, and sure its early but these guys are hard to beat.  I’ll try to have a better grip on third-party Transformers later in the month when the Fansproject Stunticons start shipping.

So yeah!  Good price, great figures … it’s everything you would want.  Grab these because once they are gone they may be hard to track down for a reasonable price.  And you don’t want to live a life of regret, do you?

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7 thoughts on “MECH iDEAS Demolition Crue (DC01 Apex & DC02 Geminus) Review”

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