I've slowly been getting involved with Third Party figures, though as always it's very much a "proceed with caution" type of deal. I have to say though, of all the companies Fans Hobby probably has my attention the most, enough so that I've actually gotten some of their more pricey offerings, including the MB-15 Naval Commander. The next relevant figure, the MB=20 X-Load, was recently released and of course I got my hands on one and did my thing.
X-Load is the Fans Hobby version of Armada Overload, the brick that converted into an admittedly badass looking set of shoulder canons. The Fans Hobby version is able to be towed by Naval Commander and can become a giant cannon for the Base mode, both of which I don't remember from the Armada toy.
Like the original toy, X-Load is basically a giant trailer that is towed by the tiniest tractor tat you've ever see. I didn't bother taking any pictures of it being towed by other pieces, but I"m sure that you can imagine what would look like. The most obviously premium feature in this mode would be the fact that the tank treads are actually rubber
The Tractor converts into a small robot and also serves as the head and chest of the combined X-Load robot mode. The articulation in tiny robot mode basically echoes the experience on the whole - it's neat and has some decent articulation options, but ultimately it's still very much a brick. This piece features LEDs that work with the included battery, but I didn't exactly test those out.
Transformation into robot mode is relatively straight forward, resulting in a robot that is about articulated as your typical Voyager figure. Major points of articulation are present, including some frills like articulated feet, but typical Third Party levels of articulation this figures does not have. Poses you can pull off aren't going to have you gasping in amazement of what the figure can. Most of the engineering went into making sure this mode didn't LOOK like a brick.
Having said all that, like the Armada toy, yes there is a robot mode, but lets be honest, people who bought it just changed it to Cannon mode and left it that way.
Cannon mode can attach to Base mode, but again I didn't bother doing it as that would require more work on my part. Certainly looks kind of neat, but I didn't think it was worth the effort to transform both the Trailers. Like the Armada toy, despite their best efforts, including a neat double hip joint systems, the Cannons themselves are a tad floppy in this mode. This is generally due to the sheer bulk of the pieces. I'm surprised that they didn't engineer a locking mechanism into the aforementioned hip joints, as this would not only secure the Cannons in place, but would also make lining up the joints easier.
More interesting is how the Cannon mode combines with Super Naval Commander I figured it would be some over the top system to make sure it holds in place. Turns out I was wrong - it's mainly two pegs that connect on the upper back whereas the majority of the Cannon balances on the actual shoulders of Super mode.
Other notes include that the set does come with two projectiles for the spring mounted launchers in the Cannon, and the Tractor converts into a gun for the Super mode.
Otherwise, the. Paint is sharply applied, but is applied very much on an as needed basis, with most of the base plastic parts being base colour. While this is expected, it's also kind of amusing when you consider that X-Load is effectively one colour. Fortunately, either the entire figure was made of the same kind of plastic or they colour matched it very well, as there were no darker/lighter areas on observed.
Build Quality wise. The usual stuff first - I did not observe any anomalies in terms of parts finishes or joints. Transformation went smoothly as as instructed in the manual. Tolerances are great with no issues when it comes to parts meshing with each other. My biggest beefs are with the fact that the Cannons are still floppy, and the connection for Super mode being kind of sketchy.
Ultimately, X-Load is an accessory bot, and it's going to judged based on how well it performs as heavy artillery. To that end, it does alright. Not amazing, but it fulfills that task adequately. Furthermore, as limited as it is, compared to the original toy this might as well be a MP level release. Now, the Fans Hobby version of Jetfire will be interesting, as even in the Armada toy line, he was a very full featured Ultra class release, including at the very least sound for the gun, though maybe there was some lights there. Articulation was already at an acceptable level, helped by the fact he turns into a giant pair of pants for the Super mode.
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