In the current combiner renaissance we’ve seen some beautiful re-imaginings of the greats. Hasbro has given us Devestator, Superion, Bruticus, and even a brand new all female combiners in the past year. But what about the lesser known titans of war? These few oddball teams have fallen by the wayside. But what’s that? That glittering beacon on the 3rd party horizon? Its one of biggest combiners now on the market, behold UniqueToys Ordin, aka Abominus.
Winning the award for the weirdest combiner of all, Abominus is the merging of Blot, Rippersnapper, Cutthroat, Sinnertwin, and their leader Hun-Gurrr. Seriously guys, I’ve been a loyal transformers fan since I was 5 and I still have no fucking clue what these guys are supposed to be. But enough of that. Let’s talk toys.
This collection was a long time coming. Originally announced in the early months of 2014 it wasn’t until almost October that we saw the first figure. The first three figures followed a very tight monthly release schedule which made everyone happy. And then came the months of nothing. There was a good chunk of time where some of us were sure that the company had folded and we were all stuck with just the three limb bots. What a horrifying thought, eh? But then around the middle of this year the remaining two figures got released literally within days of each other and all was right with the world.
And with that out of the way...Heeeeerrrreee’s Abominus!!
And what an abomination he is. Towering well above my laptop, Ordin cuts quite a mighty silhouette and boasts many a feature that really make him stand out among his brethren. Perhaps the most noteworthy feature is his elbows. You see, most combiner gestalts rely on the limb bot’s hip swivel to be the elbow in combined mode. The result is either a gestalt who cant hold his own gun straight or a group member with excessively heavy leg ratchets. And while the latter is acceptable, it is entirely annoying. To get around this, Ordin forsakes the old hip gimmick entirely and instead has each arm bot house a dedicated elbow joint in their body. Hidden in both beast and robot mode, this extra joint slides out seamlessly for the combination and allows him to hold his humongous crossbow. It may sound weird but what UniqueToys accomplished here is nothing short of a minor miracle.
Because someone is going to ask if I don’t just include it...Yes, you can relocate Cutthroat’s wings to the back of the big bot. They don’t hold very well and are entirely the wrong size in every way, shape, and form, but it can be done. Also in this shot are those elbows I was talking about. Lovely clicky elbows.
A quick and crappy shot of everyone in their beast mode with a full weapon and gear load out. There’s a lot of bits and bobs to go around here, so everyone gets to carry their fair share. There’s the two feet, each of which has two cannons attached to it, the two large combiner hands, the crotch piece, the chest piece with the detachable sides, two scimitar style swords, and four guns that combine to make one large one for Abominus.
The two headed head honcho himself, Hun-Gurrrr. He’s big, he’s heavy, and he’s oh so much fun to play with. The transformations on this set are hit and miss, we have here one of the good ones. There’s just the right amount of twisting and turning, with some inventive surprises along the way. He’s about as pose-able as you could ever want, everything from his jaw to his tail has a hinge or two in it. Very fun. Very clever.
In robot mode he’s still just a bucket full of giggles. The overall aesthetic of the figure is only improved as he shifts from beast to robot. The claws on the shoulder really make this a top notch design. It’s new and exciting but still highly evocative of his original self. And he’s still very pose worthy in this mode. A small sour note, his head is incredibly hard to pull from his chest cavity. The quick fix is to turn it around before returning him to beast mode.
This...this..I don’t know what this is, other than Blot. This magical little nose shaped troll is nothing if not hilarious. I don’t have many memories of this guy (I feel a classics marathon coming on) but I feel like he’s the comic relief of the group. Like his brothers he’s posable, from his stubby little legs to his enormous arms. Even his wee little fingers can give a wiggle. Downside, no jaw motion here. Can’t win them all
More articulated fun! His transformation is something I’ve never seen before in any figure. It’s incredibly creative and a testament to why third party companies have gained so much popularity in the past few years. His robot arms store in his arms, and then his beast arms store on his back! Another great figure in the set, another win for UniqueToys.
This is the lean lanky in the contrast to his rather blocky brothers, Sinnertwin boasting three joints on each neck with a mouth that opens and closes along with some very articulate legs. Even his toes wiggle. His weapons become his tails, yes tails is plural, which would be way cooler if they weren’t this crappy purple bendy rubber. It’s the only place on the entire project that they use it, so I really have to wonder why.
As a robot he is much more agreeable. The articulation that his beast mode provided carries through very well. A lot of detail was put into these, and Sinnertwin is no exception. I feel like everything was a conscious decision, and not just some ideas with consequences along the way. Like how his beast heads hang on his back.
What’s the scariest thing since Sharknado? A shark with legs!! That’s right, Rippersnapper is a freaking shark with legs and arms and a really bad attitude. As far as articulation goes he’s a few rungs lower than his brothers. Look at him though, with his little stumpy arms and his humongous chomping jaws. There’s detail galore of course, and I’m very pleased with the nostalgia rockets strapped to his back, a real head nod to his original self.
And the downside. His articulation is pretty on par, but the transformation is a bit of a letdown. Most of the shark bits just wind up on his back. I understand that that was necessary in order to make the combiner work, but it just looks a little sloppy. My whining aside, he’s still pretty darn cool. His rockets can be hand held as pictured and the ankle tilt available is borderline outrageous.
Caw caw motherfuckers! The big flapping fearsome that is Cutthroat was the final release for this set, and if you think that this us just one giant retool of Rippersnapper, then you’re right. This is what we get for wanting the arms the same length. The transformation is very similar but there waaaas some rather extensive remolding done. The wings are what really make this guy unique, with four points of articulation and a serious span. Very nice. Very nice indeed.
Preparing to take flight, the robot mode is another check in the win column. Again, his arms, legs, and torso are almost entirely the same as Rippersnapper so they really had to sell it in the details. The head on the chest is a classic decision, a very 80′s touch to really drive home this nostalgia train. A downside, his head always appears to be just a little bit too small no matter what angle you look at him from. It’s a nice head, just a tiny one.
The team is back together again and they’re looking pretty good. The heights are all pretty spot on with the limbs about the size of your average deluxe and the main being voyager sized. The colors are everywhere, though, and I still cant tell if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. The whites, purples, yellows, oranges, its just....all over the wheel.
Boom, Headshots! Left to right, top to bottom: Sinnertwin, Hun-Gurrr, Blot, Cutthroat, and Rippersnapper. Something new I thought I’d try, a quick closeup compilation of all their noggins. And what handsome fellas they are. For a third party to pay this much attention to the minutia that is head sculpting is really amazing. Each is very different but still very cohesive to the whole. They look like the team they are.
And the weapons load out. If you want them to hold everything you’re going to have to get pretty creative. There’s a lot of stuff to go around, here. The worst of it is finding a place for the damn hands, I usually hang them off of the feet. Swords and guns and scimitars galore, so just have fun with it. There’s enough for everyone to go into battle guns blazing.
I’m very pleased with where the third party companies are heading. With more and more starting up every day they’re really having to strive to find a figure to make their mark with. For the collector this means that your favorite childhood toy could be getting a much deserved makeover. Left to their own devices, Hasbro probably never would have gone past the tiny version of Abominus we got during Beast Hunters. What we got from UniqueToys is really the treatment that the behemoth deserved. He’s big, fierce, and just hat we needed to revive the forgotten foe. Unfortunately, the only thing bigger than his gun is his price tag. Weighing in at a hefty $550, you very much pay for what you get. For the price though, I still think Ordin is worth it. So much fun, so little time.
