FansProject Function-X3 Smartrobin

FansProject is one of the oldest third party companies out there. Yet many of their offerings tend to be...rather on the complex side in a parts crashing into one another often way. Not exactly fun to transform while just sitting at your desk. With their Function-X line, FansProject is taking this problem head on - literally. Function-X is their line of Headmasters. So far there's CODE, (Chromedome) Quadruple U, (Weirdwolf) and Smartrobin (Brainstorm) available, with Mindwipe recently shown in full color. And since Hasbro has recently shown their own Generations Voyager Brainstorm based on his IDW appearance, I figure I should get off my lazy butt and review Smartrobin before the real Brainstorm hits retail.



Smartrobin's alternate mode is a turquoise Cybertronian fighter jet. You can tell from the guns and wings. Grey and light grey are also present, while the canopy is translucent orange. Dark red and dark silver adorn a few details here and there, including spots on the wings where some sort of sigil could potentially go. The headmaster himself isn't named, but he might be Smartrobin himself. For now we'll just give him Brainstorm's headmaster's name, Arcana. Or just Cana if we want to go Japanese Headmasters cartoon here, which we probably do. The little guy has six points of articulation: shoulders, hips, and knees all move back and forth. (well, the knees only bend back...who would want a broken leg anyway?) For features, the jet has deploy-able landing gear. They don't roll, just let him sit nicely on a flat surface. The canopy opens and (Ar)Cana can fit inside to pilot. You can stuff him in there as a head, but having a disembodied head sitting in there staring out is just creepy. The toy is surprisingly light. It feels like he barely weighs anything, yet the plastic is incredibly sturdy. And the nicest part is there's no really obvious robot parts visible, except if you stare at (Ar)Cana's back. I don't think he does quite a good job at hiding the face as 'Stylor' does... (and I can't remember how well 'Monzo' fares)

Okay, I lied. THE nicest part about the whole thing is the transformation. So clever. So intuitive. Yet nearly everything does something. It's so satisfying to transform this toy. Really, it's something that needs to be experienced in-hand...or watch Peaugh's review of it I guess.



Anyway, the robot mode. Standing over a HEAD taller (ha) than the current Deluxe figures, Smartrobin clearly shows his influence from the Japanese Headmasters cartoon by featuring a very well defined mouth. He also shows off being a very different, much cleaner re-imagining of his original appearance. His guns can be pulled out of the sides of the nose to be placed in his hands, though mine can be a little tough to pull out of there. No real new colors show up in this mode. He's got about 20 points of articulation. While that may sound pretty good for his size, and it mostly is, there's one little point that's kind of sour: the shoulders. The shoulders are ball jointed, but outward movement is very limited, and impossible with the arm raised. Also, (Ar)Cana's knees bump into the stuff to the sides of his head. It can be worked around by pulling the head out partially and leaning it forward while turning past that point, so it's not a huge deal. The chest can open, but there's no tech-spec graph to see behind it.

So, do I recommend Smartrobin? If you've got a real hankering for a modernized G1/Headmasters Brainstorm and have the $80 to drop on this, then yes. If you just want a Brainstorm, the Generations Voyager is going to be bigger and much cheaper to get while still retaining the original Headmaster gimmick. (er, the whole 'head becomes a smaller dude' gimmick, probably not so much the tech-spec graph) That one is even based on his IDW More Than Meets the Eye appearance! (briefcase not included) Still, if you don't mind having both, this guy is worth considering.

i was so happy to see 3rd party companies taking on the HEADMASTERS. They go such little attention from Hasbro. Such big bulky figures with very little articulation.

Well with Headmasters, the trouble is, when the kid looses the head, that's it, they are likely to loose interest in the toy, thou the Energon Omega Supreme had a solution to that by adding a extra head to the main body, thou its tiny, never the less its a head and he ahead of the game! 

Nice review, DB!    I've been tempted to go after me some of those Fansproject HM's. Toy Worlds take is just too big for my liking, but these fit right into a Classics collection.