Unearth

Unearth is Toyworld’s take on the Constructicon Scavenger. In a market full of 3rd party Constructicons, it takes a lot to stand out at this point. Fortunately for Toyworld (and collectors alike), Unearth brings a lot to the table.

Unearth comes packaged in a heavy weight cardboard box with custom cut foam insert. The box contains Unearth, laser rifle, extra tread parts, screw hole covers, instructions, stat card, and combiner parts, to include the elbow, forearm, hand, and drill bit.

The very first thing that you notice about Unearth is how big he is. Standing a solid 8 inches, he is well within the MP realm.

Toyworld has made some bold design choices with their line of Constructicons, namely the working treads, clear purple parts and combining gimmick (we’ll get into that later).

The tread legs are probably one of the coolest gimmicks I have ever seen on a transformer, and the fact that Unearth retains articulation in his legs with the moving treads is a real feat of engineering, and if I’m being honest, not something I expected from Toyworld.

Unearth feels very solid in hand. He doesn’t have any hollow parts, and nothing is loose. The plastic quality is above average and the paint applications, while sparse in some areas, are very tight and clean. Aside from a few overly tight joints (wrists and shoulders), and some nub marks, the QC is excellent.

Unearth comes with a single weapon which pegs into his hand very securely. The hands have individually articulated fingers which is a very nice touch.

Unearth does sport a hefty amount of back kibble. The shovel arm and combiner peg hang apologetically off his back. It would have been nice if the shovel arm could detach to be used as a weapon, or at least swung around as a kind of scorpion tail. At the very least, you can use the shovel as a make shift support stand.

The only other piece of alt mode kibble, the cab, can either rest on top of Unearth’s shoulder or be swung around to the back, out of sight.

For the most part, Unearth has above average articulation all over, but his arms and head are particularly well done. I love the fact that he can hold his gun with both hands and that he can tilt his head far enough back so that he can look forward when in a deep crouch.

The only place where articulation is hindered is in the hips and thigh swivel. The hips are an easy fix, just unpeg the two halves of Unearths hips, and you can cheat your way to a nice wide stance. The thigh swivel is, for the most part, non existent though. The ball jointed hips allow for a little rotation, but not much. Technically Unearth DOES have a thigh cut, however the treads make it all but useless. That said, the only time it’s missed is in the most dynamic of poses.

Unearth’s alt mode is a giant power shovel. The transformation is simple and intuitive enough that I didn’t need the instructions to be able to figure it out.

Everything pegs together nicely, and there is no visible robot kibble. The shovel arm has four working pistons.

Both robot mode and alt mode have several 5mm ports that allow not only the gun that comes with Unearth to be mounted, but any 5mm compatible weapon. So, if you’re like me and have a zip lock bag full of iron factory guns laying around, they can be put to good use.

If pegged together completely, Unearth lacks any swivel, but if the two black tabs in back are left unpegged, the top of the alt mode can swivel independently of the treads. I assume this is to make the alt mode more stable in combined mode.

Combined mode is where the Toyworld’s Constructions both shine, and get the most criticism. The combined mode is absolutely monstrous. We’re talking a few inches short of two feet.

It literally dwarfs every other combiner on the market right now. Not only that, but it sports some pretty incredible gimmicks and articulation. The forearm has sliding panels that not only reveal molded detail inside the arm, but also allow for a very deep bend at the elbow. My forearm has a small gash near the wrist. I’ve seen this same gash on a few other peoples Unearth so I assume its a wide spread issue.

Each finger on the hand is on a swivel that allows it move from side to side. This allows the hand to spread its fingers out.

Alternatively the hand can be replaced with a drill. If that’s not enough, the wrists are spring loaded, allowing the fist or drill to be shot like a missile by pressing the little purple button on the side of the wrist. A cool gimmick, I just hope it doesn’t wear out and cause issues down the road.

So, what could possibly be the down side you ask? Well, brace yourself, maybe sit down if you’re of the faint of theart and tell the kids to leave the room. Ready? The combiner forearm, elbow, and hand, literally do nothing outside of combined mode. That’s right, he parts forms, a deadly sin in the world of transformers. Personally, I couldn’t care less, and honestly, I think it allows the figure to do things in all modes that wouldn’t be possible if the design was gimped by constantly trying to find a place for these massive combiner parts. Sure I guess they probably could have thrown wheels on the arm and called it a “generator” or whatever like Generation toy does, but at the end of the day, I just can’t bring myself to care, but maybe you can.

So, to wrap things up, Unearth is very much a love it or hate it design. You will either love the tread leg gimmick and marvel at the engineering, or curse Toyworld for the obtrusive, overly complicated design. You’ll either rage at the parts forming, or accept it and move on. Personally, I think that Unearth is not only a huge step forward for Toyworld, but possibly a new bench mark in 3rd party combiners.