General Information: Images:
Text from Hasbrotoyshop.com:
Vehicle Mode:
Of course, even with all these similarities, there are differences. Transformation to Robot Mode:
Differences or no, I have to say that this figure has a wonderful amount of sculpted detail. A lot of this is focused on the sides and back of the vehicle. The steps sculpted into the cylinders on the sides look great and right behind them are rectangular blocks with grid details and raised lines. The wheel wells for the rear have raised lines and circles. Each smokestack has small lines sculpted into them representing holes generally found on smokestacks. Perhaps my favorite details are on the back on the cement chutes. The top has a large funnel which then leads to angled panels that would lead cement into the cute. The ladder on the left side has eight steps curving at the top. At the front end of the mixing drum are nice mechanical details. Since the drum cannot turn, it is nice to have sculpted details that at least allude to the ability for the drum to turn in the movie. Mixmaster is cast in dark metallic grey, light grey, translucent purple, dark brown and light brown. The metallic grey dominates the front end, making up most of the cabin as well as the panels that form the mixing drum. Light brown is found on the lower half of the middle to rear section of the vehicle including parts in the back such as the cement chute. Light grey plastic makes up smaller parts such as the smokestacks, the sideview mirrors and the ladder on the back. The dark brown plastic is used to make up the tires, which I believe was used to simulate the look of "dirty" wheels. The translucent purple is used for the windshield and side windows. Paint details are done in grey, red, white, silver and purple. Grey paint is found on the front end, particularly on the panels that form the top of the cabin. I'm impressed by how seamless this looks and I thought those panels were cast in dark metallic grey until I lifted the panels and saw they were cast in the lighter light grey plastic color! Silver paint is found on the hood, where it paints a Decepticon symbol right behind the raised hood ornament. The sides of the wheels are also painted silver. The boldest application of silver is on the drum, where it paints most of the middle section. Purple paint is used to create a huge Decepticon symbol in the middle of the silver paint on the drum. This symbol was featured in a very dramatic moment as the Constructicons prepared to combine in "Revenge of the Fallen", so it is cool to see the symbol featured prominently on the action figure. The details I was surprised by are the red and white "hazard lines" painted along the light brown, lower edge of the vehicle. They look nice and add a bit of "real world" nuance to the figure. Overall the deco job on this figure is really nicely done. Without the mixing drum being able to spin, the "main" action feature of this vehicle has already been subtracted. However, there are some neat gimmicks here. The cement chute folds in half and can be positioned as if you were using it to pour cement into something. The smokestacks can be repositioned as 'blasters' and in a bit of fun offensive capability, you can swing out the cannon from the robot mode to point back and fire at anyone pursuing him! I'm glad to see there is some play value in the vehicle mode even without the drum turning. Transformation to Robot Mode:
Robot Mode: Lanky as he may be in some parts, Mixmaster does not lack for detail. His head sculpt is an interesting one, and looks like a combination of The Dominators from DC Comics and Ponda Baba from the Star Wars universe. Like the Dominators, he has squinty eyes and an oval shaped head with pointy "ear like" protrusions that go back on the sides. The top of his head angles back and looks like an elongated forehead. On his forehead is a tiny mechanical detail painted in gold to differentiate it from the rest of the head, reminscent of the circles on the heads of The Dominators. Like Ponda, he has a walrus like mouth with details outlining it that look almost like mini-tusks. It's a fascinating head design and a very alien looking one as well. Other details are very nicely done on this figure. The arms stand out the most for me, exemplifying the "mechanical parts under armor" look of the movie toy line. The arms are thin, but intricate, with each section sculpted with layers. The arm's parts are mostly angular with a lot of sharp turns and angles running along the arms, especially on the forearms. Several of the joints have gear like details sculpted into them. If you look on the armor pieces on his shoulders and forearms, you'll even see detailed shapes sculpted into the interior of these parts. His legs have similar detailing, but the front of the legs look more like armor pieces meant to protect what's underneath. I also like the way his two "toes" on his feet are roughly triangular in shape, keeping consistent with the design of his fingers and arms. Mixmaster really changes up the colors in this form. The dark grey plastic from his drum is still visible here, but now a lot more silver plastic shows thanks to his robot parts. In addition a beige plastic is used for parts such as his head and the cannon on his back. A bit of grey blue plastic can be found on smaller sections of the robot such as the hinges on his shoulders and ankles. Paint applications are done up in a variety of colors including copper, grey, gold, metallic red and neon orange. The metallic red is the most prominent, featured on the front of the legs and the torso. The grey paint is used on parts such as his fingers while the copper can be found on the rounded hinge joints. The neon orange is used on the cylinders on either side of his head. The details are small, but since the color is so bright it stands out quite a bit. This doesn't sound like a lot of color, but thanks to the diversity of the plastic colors used, the paint applications do just enough to give a the figure a distinctive and appealing look. There are thirty two points of articulation on this figure, which is really quite extraordinary for any Transformers figure, even those at Alternators or Masterpiece level. A lot of this can be attributed to his arms, which each have nine points of articulation. Considering his rather wacky design, I had expected his articulation to be rather limited, but it seems the designers wanted to give him more play value than looking like a weird lump of robot and for that I'm glad. The cannon on his back is the most obvious weapon, but it doesn't really point forward very well in this form. You're more apt to just have him fire at things in the air or off in the distance. He can use his forearm mounted armor as shields and I can see using his smokestacks pointed forward as weapons as well. There is definitely fun to be had with this robot mode. Unfortunately, it's hard to judge how "screen accurate" this figure is since Mixmaster really just appears in vehicle mode and then really quickly in robot mode without a lot of beauty shots that would allow us to see detail. Going by his concept art however, I'd say that the designers really did a great job of creating an accurate figure. He has the most important features including the triangular designs on the feet and hands, the creepy looking face and of course the super prominent shields on his arms. Transformation to Battle Mode:
Battle Mode: This mode really doesn't reveal any color or detail surprises. You do get a good look at the entire cannon now, complete with dual cylinders on the top, details running along the sides and even smaller barrels on the inside of the main barrel. What I like about his is that it's an allusion to the design of the CGI model, which instead of firing a missile or blast out of a single barrel actually has three barrels linked together by metal rods.
Final Thoughts:
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Several of the "Revenge of the Fallen" Constructicons were all new designs with little to no basis in the G1 Constructicons that inspired them. However, in the case of Mixmaster, his name, profile and vehicle form are both directly descended from his G1 namesake. In G1, Mixmaster transformed into a cement truck and he was a master of mixing chemicals and this "Revenge of the Fallen" version of the character is also a cement truck and a master of chemicals. This version of the character is a standalone Transformer with three modes, but he does not combine with other Constructicons to form Devastator (that was reserved for the Legends Class figure and the version without a robot mode included with the Supreme Class Devastator).
