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FansProject Causality Multiplexer Part 4: CA-13

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FansProject Causality Multiplexer Part 4: CA-13 Empty FansProject Causality Multiplexer Part 4: CA-13

Post by Detective Barricade Wed Feb 19, 2014 1:51 am

Of all the third party toys I've reviewed so far, I've never reviewed anything from FansProject, one of the longest running, beloved, and successful of these companies to date. Let's fix that, shall we?

FansProject's first tinkering with combiners was with the Aerial Team Appendage Add-on kit for Energon/Universe/ROTF Superion. The second was a set of two figures with some extra parts that combined with Energon/Universe/ROTF Bruticus. (and a re-release of sorts of the entire set colored to go with United Bruticus) Just recently, they've completed two combiner teams. One is the Glacialbots who form Glacialord. I'm reviewing the other team, the Motor Squad. They're Stunt-y, they're con-y, and they're all a little loony. I'd recommend staying well away from these guys on the road. But in toy form? We shall see.

I'm breaking this up into five parts. Part 1 was Causality CA-09 Car Crash and CA-10 T-Bone. We've cleared part 2, which was Causality CA-11 Down Force. Part 3, Causality CA-12 Last Chance, has crossed the finish line. Part 4: Causality CA-13 Diesel and Military Multiplexer kit by himself, is happening right now. Finally, part 5 brings it all together - literally - with the team as a whole and their combined form, Multiplexer. With me so far? Then let's dive in!

FansProject Causality Multiplexer Part 4: CA-13 FPCausalityDiesel_Alt_zps4735e3f7

Unlike the others, Diesel is packaged in his alt mode, which is a flat nose semi and trailer. It's pretty much the same vehicle mode as G1 Motormaster, just bigger than the original toy, so it's no surprise he features a black cab and a grey trailer. Some darker grey peeks out underneath the cab. It's also unsurprising that he's got the same purple windows and some silver paint detailing him in this mode, but there's a hint of red on the sides and yellow picking out the headlights. The purple stripes along the length of the trailer do have to travel over several pieces, but most of it follows molded in spacing for it so it's not quite as impressive a feat as the stripe on Last Chance. Still cool though. As has been the case with all of them except T-Bone, Diesel's wheels have silver hubs. Speaking of the wheels, I like how the wheels at the back of the trailer are different than the rest, as though those are the trailer's wheels and not the truck's. On the other hand...the wheels that would be for the back of the semi itself are awful far back. Oh well. One thing I don't particularly care for is that the block of rifle parts plugs onto the rear doors very inelegantly. I wouldn't have a problem with this so much if it weren't for the fact that the other guys store their gun parts on the underside of their car modes, making this stick out like a sore thumb. Luckily, there's enough space underneath the front half of the trailer to stuff it in, and while it doesn't peg in anywhere there, if positioned right it'll stay put anyway and not fall back out.

So let's do a size comparison. Surely, Diesel's not that big...

FansProject Causality Multiplexer Part 4: CA-13 FPCausalityDiesel_Altcompare_zps0e276231

...Then again, maybe he is. For features, Diesel rolls! But wait! There's more! Like THE MOTORMASTER, the cab doesn't separate from the trailer (nor is there even a simulated turning point) as it all forms the robot mode. Unlike the original toy, however, not all of the trailer is needed to make the robot. The rear half of the trailer is the Military Multiplexer kit. The first step in transforming Diesel out of truck mode is to take the back half off, which isn't the easiest or most comfortable thing to do in the world. The rear doors naturally come off of the part that is the kit, but they can attach to the back of the part of the trailer that is Diesel himself to make a more compact trailer if you don't want to use the kit in this mode. I like that! And here's how that looks, with Car Crash sitting on top to show that Diesel's still pretty big.

FansProject Causality Multiplexer Part 4: CA-13 FPCausalityDiesel_halfalt_zpsae94139d

Now how about that robot mode, yes?

FansProject Causality Multiplexer Part 4: CA-13 FPCausalityDiesel_Bot_zps6b4958ac

Transforming Diesel the first time can be a little scary, as some parts are not very comfortable to move when they haven't been moved before. The instructions aren't exactly the most crystal clear at times, either. Watching Peaugh's review of him can help immensely, but there's still quite a few fiddly parts to have to trek through. But wow does his robot mode look cool! His noggin features a very shiny metallic dark grey and a pale purple face, which are new colors introduced in this mode. That bucket head is also about where the homage ends, too. (similar to the cartoon model) He's also got...one heck of a codpiece in terms of how far it sticks out... Sadly though, there's a hole behind his head where it folds out, and a hole in his back where you can see the top of the combined mode's noggin. But he does manage to be relatively kibble free, with really only the folded up trailer panels coming off his back. They're ball jointed, so you can pop them off if you don't like them.

I should mention that my Diesel's hips are backwards. The grey side should be facing forward with the screw holes hidden behind the waist flaps for the combined mode. Does it affect anything? No. Is it fixable? Yes, but it involves pushing a pin out to open his legs at the thigh, and it doesn't bother me enough to go through the trouble.

Now, Diesel was pretty big in truck mode, but surely he's not that big in robot mode, right? ...Right?

FansProject Causality Multiplexer Part 4: CA-13 FPCausalityDiesel_Botcompare_zpsdece7a8c

He's (slightly) taller than Generations Blitzwing, not counting the barrel. That's pretty huge!

Articulation is great, as you'd expect by now. 24 points of it. A very expressive ball jointed head, double jointed elbows, (thanks to the transformation) and except for the ankles everything from the waist down is ratcheted. The ankles can't straighten out any further than with his legs spread apart in an A stance due to tabs for the combined mode, but have fantastic range otherwise. For features, the rear doors can fold in half to make a pair of shotguns for him to wield. Want something a little more tame? There are triangular tabs on the trailer panels that correspond to holes on the sides of the guns for storage. (or leave them attached to the kit half of the trailer) You can also connect them together using the pegs that connected them as doors for a larger double barreled gun in one hand, useful if you want to free one of his hands up to hold the 'roller car' as a shield via a fold out handle. And no, the 'roller car' can't roll on its own right-side up. And while Diesel doesn't have a base mode, he can make use of the parts from the kit in what the instructions refer to as his intimidator mode.

FansProject Causality Multiplexer Part 4: CA-13 FPCausalityDiesel_Armed_zps3d52c425

Now, you don't need the 'roller car' plugged into the shoulder armament. That's just where it can go if you don't want him holding it. The sword though you've no choice, it must peg into one of the wheel pieces hanging off his back using a slot on the blade itself. Diesel can't hold it at all. The combiner hands also don't really solidly peg in, they're held there by the shoulder connectors pushing them against the inside. The connectors are keyed such that they only attach/detach one way, but finding precisely the right position for them to come off easily is tricky for the shoulders. Best take the other stuff off of them first and then start trying to get them off. You can also turn them so that the cannons and extra missile pods point forward, if you want him to level a city all by himself. The big disadvantage of this mode is that he's so loaded down with stuff his arms can't do very much anymore because the extra stuff crashes into each other.

Recommendation time. And do I recommend Diesel? Alone, he's got a lot going for him. A truck that's definitely a contender for the title King of the Road, he can be enjoyed without the Military Multiplexer kit and has a couple of things he can do with it, and his robot mode has quite a bit of presence just by himself. But then we take a look at that price tag. $150. I got him at the early bird price of $120, and for that price he's just about perfect since the kit is more about the BUILD GIANT ROBOT! factor than it is for Diesel alone. But at the full price, he falls into the same problem that the other four do just in a much bigger package.

But about that giant robot...
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Post by Sixshot Thu Feb 20, 2014 1:43 am

That sucks that yours has misassembled hips. Makes me want to get mine out to check it, which arrived while I was is in the hospital and my hand hasn't healed up enough to withstand getting "pinched" trying to transform this beast. I got in at the $120 too, $150 is a bit of a stretch. Don't care for the trailer wings hanging off the backside either and I'll probably pop mine off as well.
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Post by Detective Barricade Thu Feb 20, 2014 3:33 am

It's apparently pretty common for them to be backwards. What I'm not entirely sure of is why his hips are black on the one side to begin with. Combined mode looks better with the grey facing forward behind the black waist flaps, helping them stand out better. And really all you need to do to check is to take him out of the box and flip him over to check the underside. If the black is facing you from under there, then they're 'backward'.
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Post by SuperOmegaPrime Sun Feb 23, 2014 2:43 am

Looking at this, I had to transform my Diesel into truck mode and this backwards hip thing, might be the cause of a thing that's bugged me, where the cab doesn't seem square in vehicle mode against the rest of the trailer! hmmm
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