Blokees appear to be the talk of toy town at the moment, they have been popping up everywhere and they seem to be gaining more and more licenses (Marvel, DC, Star Wars) but it was their smaller Transformers kits that got my attention. I picked up the odd blind box and enjoyed what I found inside – but I am not a huge fan of blind boxes. So, I invested in a full crate for series “Galaxy Version Series 8” and I also picked up an “Action Edition” Soundwave. Let’s take a closer look.
First we crack the shell…
Blokees Transformers come in various shapes and sizes so I can first explain what the differences are. The Galaxy Version figures stand around 4 inches tall and come in blind boxes, however, buying a full crate guarantees a full set of 9. There is also a variant of one of the figures in most series, in this series you have a 1/36 chance of getting a different version of Optimus Prime. Each of those figures comes disassembled in 24-52 parts depending on the figure and what accessories they have. Building these figures is relatively quick and simple – usually about 5 minutes and everything easily clicks into place. They retail at about £7 a box but I saved quite a bit by buying the crate.
The Action edition Soundwave stands about 8 inches tall and has electronic functions, there is no blind box element at this scale. Soundwave also comes with a stand and some of his minions. This set has over 300 pieces. Most of which need to be broken off from sprues. Much like Galaxy Version, these parts still all just click together with no glue or tools needed, however it is worth noting that the Action edition is more complex and took me a couple of hours to build. This set retails around £33.
There are other series too, like the Defender series which are smaller again than Galaxy Version, but I just have the tow aforementioned ones so lets stick with those today. Figures also cross multiple Transformers themes such as the movies, but hey trend not to mix across an individual series, so I am sticking with the G1 theme.
…Then we crack the nut inside
Once opened and built the major thing these models have in common is that they feel really solid for model kits and for all intents and purposes, once built are just action figures. They generally hold together really well and its unlikely you will be frustrated with parts falling off when moving.
None of them Transform. That’s correct, these are non transforming Transformers. Some characters have appeared in Galaxy version in both modes (See Dinobots) but none of them actually transform. I have mentioned this before when reviewing YoloPark model kits, that’s fine by me. Soundwave does come with a small Alt Mode cassette player so you can pretend he has transformed and downsized. He also comes with a cassette to sit inside his tape deck since non of his minions actually transform.
Speaking of Yolopark (I reviewed Optimus Prime & Megatron) , having now built Blokees and a couple of BanDai model kits, I can say those Yolopark ones are very simple and more akin to a Marvel Legends Build-a-Figure than an actual model kit. Still very good in their own right though.
Soundwave Superior?
Action Edition Soundwave immediately struck me as a great value. A Transformers Soundwave building set with sound features and his cassette minions for less than £40. LEGO announced something similar earlier this year, for £160. Yes its bigger and transforms… and its LEGO so it costs more – but is the value difference £120+?
Anyway, no doubt I will get LEGO Soundwave at some point because I do love those things, but it does put the Blokees set into perspective.
Soundwave and his friends all have really good articulation, of course soundwave himself has the most range with knees that bend all the wave back and even really good range on the arms. The others are more simple but still give you options. Rumble can even be separated from his pneumatic arms.
The thing that impressed me most with soundwave though was his colour detail. He has very little paint (possibly none). But the way you layer small parts up builds detail into the build. So lots of the silver elements you see are larger panels clicked in behind the white or blue.
My main quibble with Soundwave is his electronic features. The sound is very muffled through a combination of the outlet being buried under parts and probably the fact its not great quality to start with. But remember, £33. You can here examples on this tiktok of mine (please follow if you do not already!)
Going in Blind
First things first with the Galaxy Version, I hate blind boxes, I understand why companies do them, but generally I think they are wrong and basically equate to gambling which for something that will appeal to kids that is clearly a bad thing. So when I found out I could get the whole set by purchasing a crate I went for that. I liked all the figures in this particular series so had no issues with that.
This wave is largely based on the 1986 Transformers movie and has one specific “figure” that drew my attention. Unicron. The Orson Welles Voiced transforming planet is included purely as a head, which is fun because by the end of the movie his head is separated from his body. It by no means works scale wise but it was a fun build and is something a bit different.
His mouth opens and shuts and his accessory is a small version of the Autobots Ark. He also comes with a display stand since he has no feet.
My other favourites in the wave were Hot Rod and Optimus Prime. I am a sucker for Prime figures, and I guess I am not the only one since almost every series comes with a version of him. He looks really good here though and Hot rod also really pops and has some fun accessories from the movie.
This series also comes with Dinobot sludge in both his robot and dinosaur alt mode.
But my absolute favourite accessory in the series is for dino-mode Sludge and is a easter egg that harkens back to a couple of frames from Transformers The Movie when Sludge gets battered by Devastator.
Elsewhere in the series, Blitzwing looks really good thanks to his tank and plane features and their colour scheme. I don’t think there is a bad figure in the box though.
Roll Out
Overall I am super impressed with Blokees Transformers. I think they are excellent value for money, they give you a fun building experience and you end up with pretty fun, detailed, articulated figures.
I will be looking to get Action Edition Optimus Prime next and maybe looking to pick up some additional Galaxy figures second had so I know what I am buying.
FREETHEFIGURES 