Cybertron Quickmix

My Review:

Robot Mode: Quickmix is one of the Giant Planet robots and that''s pretty much the only real complaint I have about him. He''s too small. In the series the Giant Planet robots towered over everybody, but Quickmix is only Voyager-sized, meaning he''s barely any taller than most of the Cybertron figures and smaller than Optimus Prime, for example. Apart from that, though, I really can''t say much of a bad thing about him. Quickmix is well-sculpted with lots of details. I really like his head. The elbow joint on his right arm is a bit strange, but once you get used to it there is no problem there. You can use the Cyberkey to split open his mixing barrel and unveil his weapon. You can also attach Stripmine as a weapon or take off the pipes on his left forearm as a hand weapon. All in all a great robot with a bit of a height-problem.

Alternate Mode: Not much of a stretch, Quickmix transforms into a cement mixer truck. The truck looks pretty realistic except for two minor things, the robot feet sticking out the front and the robot''s left fist visible at the rear end. Doesn''t take much away from the vehicle, though, it looks good and even offers some features. Stripmine can ride on top in robot or in tank mode. The mixing barrell can move to either dump cement on the ground or to open up into a weapon with the aid of the Cyberkey. All in all a very decent vehicle mode.

Partners / Add-Ons: Quickmix comes with Minicon Stripmine, who transforms from robot mode into a tank-like vehicle. Stripmine can stand on top of Quickmix'' platform in vehicle mode or attach to any of several Minicon pegs to work as an extra weapon. As Minicons go Stripmine is one of the better ones.

Remarks: One of the last characters to debut in the Cybertron series, Quickmix is from the Giant Planet (and awefully small for that, at least his toy version) and about the only noteworthy thing he did was dumb cement all over the starship Atlantis to trap Starscream inside. The figure is pretty cool, though. Something of a homage to the G1 figure of the same name, Quickmix is a solid toy. Nothing too special, but good all-around.

Rating: B

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And for a second opinion, a review by Tobias H.:

Prelude: Whatever you may think of the Cybertron cartoon series, it did bring us a large number of figures, several of them very, very good. Especially the Deluxe and Voyager classes have added some excellent figures to their numbers. Quickmix belongs in the latter category.

In the series he only ever appeared in the episodes approaching the series finale. He is one of the inhabitants of the Giant Planet and played a role in the battles against Menasor and Starscream. He didn't get much in the way of character development afterwards, though. Nevertheless Quickmix remains an interesting toy, which surely deserves its own review.

Robot Mode: The first thing I noticed about Quickmix is his excellent detailing. There are nooks, irregularities, and other details all over, giving Quickmix an almost archaic look. It certainly makes him appear very well armoured and ready to weather attacks by enemy Decepticons. Another great detail is the headset-like apparatus on his head. These things just look great on Transformers and Quickmix is no exception to this rule.

Colour-wise Quickmix is dominated by orange and dark grey, with a few silver and yellow highlights here and there. While this combination of colours isn't exactly my favourite, but I do have to admit that it fits Quickmix to a T. So no complaints on this front, either.

Possibly his most interesting aspect is his right arm, which pretty much consists only of his mixing barrel. It is a weapon arm, though, which can be activated by the Cyberkey gimmick. It causes the drum to split open down its length and reveals the weapon inside, which can be fired as well. If you bring the arm into a certain position, you can seat Quickmix' Minicon partner Stripmine behind the cannon, having him serve as gunner. This does look pretty strange in robot mode, though.

Another nice thing is Quickmix' stance. Because of his somewhat strangely sculpted hip he always stands with his legs slightly apart, but thanks to his very posable feet that doesn't hurt him at all. Quite the opposite. It makes Quickmix look very solid, which seems fitting in his case. Quickmix is also very posable overall. Arms, legs, and head can all be posed and put the icing on Quickmix' robot mode cake.

In my opinion Quickmix has one of the best robot modes the Cybertron series has produced. And considering the high level of competition in this area, that's saying quite a bit.

Alternate Mode: Quickmix is the first Transformer in a long time who transforms into a cement mixer. We had several of those in the days of G1, newer series neglected this type of vehicle, though. Quickmix delivers a pretty decent comeback.

The vehicle resulting from his transformation has good looks and a good size. You could presumably find something very similiar on a large construction site. There are a few aspects to this vehicle mode which, while not exactly bothersome, are somewhat curious. First being the front bumper, which is formed from Quickmix' feet, and looks more like a battering ram. Also, at the back of the vehicle where the mixing drum is fixed to the bottom you can clearly see Quickmix' left arm and hand. It doesn't really stand out, you can take it for a machine part, but it would have looked better if the hand had been hidden.

It's a nice feature that Quickmix can use his weapon in vehicle mode as well. The big, fully posable cannon looks very menacing here, turning a construction vehicle into a mobile weapons platform. With Stripmine taking his place in the gunner's seat, you get that this is an opponent not to be messed with.

So all in all a very good vehicle mode which leaves me mostly satisfied, but does have a few minor weak points that could have been done better.

Partners / Add-Ons: Quickmix is one of the few Cybertron Transformers who is partnered with a Minicon. In his case the Minicon is called Stripmine. Stripmine can transform into a small machine on tracks. It kinda resembles a weapon, but I think I've seen a similar-looking construction machine before. If I remember correctly it was some kind of heavy welder. But I'm not a hundred percent sure.

Whatever the case, Stripmine looks pretty interesting. He is mostly blue and yellow and makes for a highly posable but very lean Minicon, who is a nice contrast to Quickmix' stockiness. He can also serve as an additional weapon in vehicle mode, attaching to the cement mixer, or as a hand gun for the robot. A good Minicon, though not the best I've ever seen.

Remarks: I can't really say many bad things about Quickmix. He feels comfortably traditional and mixes past virtues with new ideas. He has a good look, paired with excellent posability. Only the few minor quirks of the vehicle mode prevent Quickmix from being a first-class Transformer in my view. What remains is a very good figure, which has a lot to offer and brings plenty of play value. Quickmix is well worth his price.

Rating: If they'd hidden the hand in vehicle mode I'd have given him half a point more, but so we remain at a B+.