Transformers Movie Toy Review: Speed Dial 800

Since the Transformers movie is set to be released on the 4^th of July, there are lots of action figures being released for it and one particular line of them are called Real Gear Robots. The Real Gear Robots are a very interesting kind of Transformer. They look like everyday household items, but they transform into robots.

Speed Dial 800 is a Real Gear Robot. He is an Autobot. He transforms from a mobile flip phone into a robot. Because he is a flip phone, one might think that in robot mode he would be smaller than the rest of the Transformers toys, yet he is actually nearly the height of the deluxe Transformers figures. One small problem with Speed Dial 800 is that he has trouble standing when in robot mode because the top of the phone hangs off his back, making him unbalanced.

This is really the first time that they have made Transformers action figures that look convincingly realistic. The only flaw with Speed Dial 800 is that when in mobile phone mode, he lacks an antenna, which if he had one, would probably make him look even more believable than he already is.

One thing that really adds to the realism is the stickers that make up his LCD displays. Some of the other Real Gear Robots have stickers that actually detract from their ability to fool the eye. To start with, the interior sticker is very similar to the display on a real mobile flip phone and so of course this adds to the realism. The sticker also makes it appear as if the display is lit up like a mobile phone by having a fake sort of sheen on it and making one parts of it lighter than the rest. The exterior is much the same and displays the time, just like an actual mobile phone does. As an interesting aside, the time that is displayed on both the interior and exterior of the phone is 7: 47, which is the release date for the movie, 7/4/07. In fact, the only thing that might make you think the display was fake is the fact that it has the Autobot logo on it. But of course, one could probably find a similar wallpaper and set their real mobile phone up just like this one.

Speed Dial 800 has good articulation for being a smaller Transformers figure. He has no hip articulation, but that's very common for most scout sized Transformers.

One draw back, is that his paint application is kind of spotty. The silver paint on the buttons of the phone is not applied very well, and since you can't see the buttons when he is in the package, there's no way to pick out one that is painted well.

Also, as with most Transformers his size, he comes with no accessories.

Out of all the Real Gear Robots, this is probably my least favorite of the ones that I bought. However, I don't think Speed Dial 800 is one of the worse ones though (I didn't buy any that I felt weren't that good). If you are really into the Real Gear Robots line, I would recommend buying him. I give it a 3.7 out of 5.