Alt Mode: Steamhammer and the Constructicons is also a set that seemingly goes well together, despite the individual pieces being colored differently. Like the Dinobots above, the Constructicons share the same team name after another popular team. Steamhammer reminds me a lot of Sledge considering both construction vehicles have claws in the back. One thing that’s interesting is that several of these components have weathering dry brushed on them, this adds a level of realism that has been severely lacking in this toy line. Steamhammer as a bulldozer is very solid, and the rest of the drones are well made as well. I don’t think I’ve run into any problems with these.
Robot Mode: Transforming Steamhammer from bulldozer to robot mode is complicated but satisfying. In robot mode Steamhammer is pretty awesome. The neon green and black color scheme is pretty bad ass and only makes this toy look cooler. It kind of reminds me of Dirt Bossnow that I think about it. His head, a bitch to pull out of torso, also reminds me of Mudslinger’s. Normally I’d complain about the obtrusive backpack of his, but since his PCC heel spurs keep him from being top-heavy, I’ll let that slide. The two downfalls to this figure are that the flaps that his arms are connected to don’t sit flush with his torso. I could have gotten a lemon in that regard, but i seems as if the holes for the pegs are just a hair smaller than they should be, preventing the pegs to snap into place. Lastly, there are vehicle bits hanging from Steamhammer’s forearms and these bits really hinder the arm poseability. Poor execution here, but it’s otherwise a really solid robot mode. He is quite the midget though. I will mention that I don’t know where the minicon peg would be on this mode as opposed to the Commander Power-Up Mode.
Gestalt Mode: Turning Steamhammer into the Commander Power-Up Mode is solid just like his other transformation. It’s a really good mode which is only enhanced from the giant shovel that was hanging off his back. The biggest improvement here is that Steamhammer’s drone arms have hands with fingers and even an articulated wrist on the Drill Drone arm. That’s actually really awesome here. I do find it weird that his Front End Loader Drone arm is a lot longer than the Drill Drone arm, but I can manage since I’m beginning to understand what they’re trying to do with these guys. I don’t know what it is, but one of these legs does seem longer than the other as well.
Overall: Steamhammer and the Constructicons are another great example of the PCC line. Seriously, like I mentioned with Grimstone, Hasbro really knocked these two out of the park. Steamhammer and the Constructicons don’t gel quite as well as Grimstone and his Dinobots do, but overall the parts just fit really well together. The feet look like feet, and the hands look like hands… That should eliminate all the criticisms that people have about it. Not only that, but the individual parts are fantastic. If Grimstone’s combined mode doesn’t convince you, Steamhammer’s individual modes should.
