Transformers One Mans Obsession: Cubex Huff Not Hasbro Huffer or Takara/ Tomy Drag Review

Oh, the holidays!! The time when people sell stuff to buy their loved ones stuff they should have bought weeks in advance. Up for review today is a figure that, when first seen, made me very giddy. I yelled onto the skies , "Finally!!" Heck, I even danced the jig, and everyone joined in and rejoiced.

We Got a Huffer!! We got a Huffer.... We Got a Huffer!!

The figure was Cubex's Huff, an updated unofficial masterpiece style Huffer!! Finally, a toy maker answered my constant posts of

" Why hasn't anyone made a Freaking Masterpiece Huffer !!??"

See, writing 12 million English emails to Chinese manufacturers works. The Decepticons had failed in their evil plot to rid the transformer world of the heroic majestic Huffer!! I waited a while to get him because this company was "new." Usually the first production run is chock full of issues on new company products. I waited and waited, but last week I could wait no more. A guy on Facebook offered one for sale at a lower price that had paint issues so I took the plunge.

First off, I want to say Huffer is my favorite Transformer EVER made, so take that into account while reading this review. Huff arrived in a sturdy orange and purple box. Nothing too fancy, but hey, it's cool. I collect Transformers, not boxes. As I pulled Huff out of his box, I noticed his weight right away. He is a very light action figure, weighing less than 4 ounces. 3.65 ounces, actually. The box and plastic tray he comes in weigh a combined total of 5 ounces. The light weight makes this figure feel very hollow and KOish overall. Was this a sign of things to come? Let's see if this robot gets any better from here.

VEHICLE MODE

This figure is visually spot on to his G1 Autobot predecessor. If anything, he is missing the M on his door from his Microman toy line roots and his chromed arms.

Nothing like an Original!!

This is fixable with a set of $15.00 stickers, $18 if you include shipping, from Reprolabels. Not sure I want to pay that much but hey, it's an option, right? Huff has see-through plastic windows. It was made in this manner so that you can see Spike driving, although truthfully, Spike just looks stupid in Huff's cab.

Uhhhh.. We are in the USA Dimbo!!

Upon further inspection, a few issues came up. The panel on the passenger's side of the cab has a gap that I later found out is quite an issue.

Is that why the rain keeps getting in?

Schtinkin tab never stays in place!!

The figure's legs that become the truck's hitch also fail to tab together properly. When I attempted my "roll out" test, the tires bowed outward. This is due to having no tab to lock the tires in place. The wheel problem caused the truck to pull left or right instead of going straight, so it only went a straight maybe a foot before ramming into the TV stand. Huff also comes with an option that allows you to connect MP-10's trailer onto his hitch, but the raised hitch just looks off and strange and unsafe.

Are you sure this is structurally sound Wheeljack?

Why did you move way back there for Wheeljack?

ROBOT MODE

OK here is where that open panel creates problems. Transforming Huff requires that you untab his hands from some hanging covers. Those covers are connected to a panel that has a small tab that connects to the side panel/doors of the truck. You can see it on the right here:

If only they were made of sterner stuff!!

Due to the opened gap, this doesn't hold the back panel properly and it pops right off. I later found out that the black panel near the middle of the vehicle must be pushed forward for the gap to lessen. The covers that hides this figure's hands are really thin and flimsy which feel like they will eventually crack.The front tires of this figure rotate into the cab section. Unfortunately, the clearance is not wide enough, so the tires scrape against the top of the figure's chest. Due to the cheaper plastic that is used this is a very scary transformation point.

Dang it Ratchet my tire is stuck yet AGAIN!!

Locking the figure's arms into place is odd. You have to move one piece up while holding another one down. After 3 attempts, I finally got it right.

As for the legs, my copy of this action figure has a pin that is protruding just enough that it scrapes against the inside of the figure's leg. The paint on the toy's thighs have also scraped off which I was told is an issue with this toy in general. I guess the manufacturer failed to seal these?

That's not a bad paint job!

That's BATTLE Damage Noob!!

I may just remove the paint from that area completely. On the lower legs there is a panel on the inside that opens up to hide the back wheels of the truck. These panels have a few issues as well. There is a tab on these panels that have a clearance issue and hit the tires. They must be slightly lifted to clear the tires which made me fear breakage. Once they are folded down they also fail to tab in correctly and tend to pop back out.

I told you stop eating in my CAB!!

Articulation wise this figure is really good. His head, that is crooked, mind you, swivels a full 360 degrees and a pin on his neck allows the figure to look up. The arms turn a full 360 degrees and an extra joint allows them to go out. The bot has a double jointed elbow that is hindered by the mold of the upper shoulders that stop it from being fully utilized. His hands open, close, and rotate, but when you do this it splits apart the lower arms.

I cracked me Arm!!

The figure turns at the waist and has hips that rotate a full circle in and out. The minibot also has an upper thigh swivel and knee joints. The knee joints are a bit back due to the transformation joint being a little difficult to set right. The engineer's feet also swivel in and out.

Look Ma! I'm Dancing... Break Dancing!!

WEAPONS AND SUCH....

Huffer comes with a few extras. A gun that is formed with the truck's hitch that slides into a silver gun/engine block piece.

Slide part A.2 into Part ZFXY-zer

The silver gun piece has a tendency to come apart at the seems. I may super glue that later, but hey, it looks cool.

Someone hand me the Super glue!!

Look at me Gun!! I said Look at it!!

Also included is a second face that can be exchanged with the current one. My copy has a piece of plastic flashing on top that I will eventually shave off with an Xacto blade. Huff comes complete with static hands that do not open. He is what you might call a Kung-Fu grip Autobot. I doubt I will ever use them.

"IIIIIIII ain't god no body! Nobody cares for me....!"

Wait what's that thing on the top of my head!!

Wheeljack!!

OVERALL

Okay, as a Huffer fan, I may have been expecting too much, but this figure has made me sad.

Yes, even men cry

Heck even Tobey Cried and cried and cried and cried....

Heck the cost of him made me cry. Yes, it's that bad. The flashy plastic pieces among the other flaws and issues make this figure very irksome. I've had to shave plastic connector pieces from this figure like you would on a build-up model. I can deal with the paint issues. I was made aware of them. But....this is a $75.00 figure ,$85 if you takes shipping in mind, that shouldn't have so many dang issues. Is there no Q.C. done on these? What makes it even worse is the fact that I saw several reviews of this figure where the reviewer stated this thing was the bee's knees or the best thing since sliced bread. How can my lone figure be the only one with so many issues while theirs are "perfect"? I know, I expect a lot for my money, but am I really the only one who has that expectation? I really hope not. Okay, can I recommend it? No, not at $75.00. Heck, I got mine for $65.00 shipped and even then I feel like I paid too much after playing with it. I am truly disappointed with this figure. A figure I really wanted to love. Heck, even Oprah Winfrey is disappointed with it!