Cubex Robots - Old Timer Series 01 ( Engineer Huff )

        Hello and welcome to my blog everyone! Today I'll be doing a review on another 3rd party Transformers, Cubex Huff ( Not Huffer ). I think if you ask any Transformers Fan, not many will say Huffer is their favorite character because he is not the typical hero type and not very good in combat, though he does have his moments in the G1 series. He basically is not a front line warrior, but more of a support unit. He is a minibot and he is a construction engineer.  But I'm quite happy when I heard some 3rd party is taking the challenge of making Huffer, and there are actually 2 which release around the same time, namely Cubex Huff and X-Transbot Krank.

I checked out some pictorial and video reviews over the net and I finally decided to choose Cubex Huff over X-Transbot Krank, and here's why:

1. Price: I believe Krank and Huff is about the same price, around RM200. Its a tie on this.

2. Colour: I prefer the colour and tone on Cubex Huff and Krank's overly Bling appearence turns me off. Huffer is basically behind the scene guy and does not attract a lot of attention.

3. Design: Cubex Huff has a sleeker robot mode and better design over the legs as he hides his wheels well. Krank's wheels were left on the side of his legs. Personally I think Huff's head and face plate design is superior  than Krank's. Krank's head looks a bit "elongated".

4. Quality: I can't comment as I don't have both bots in my hand.

5. Alternate mode: Personally I prefer Huff has a better design than Krank, from the front of the truck and the smokestack. Both Huff and Krank can tow MP-10's Trailer.

6. Scale with MP series: I think both scale really well with MP series and its a tie.

Anyway, Its my personal choice and I'm sure there are those who prefer Krank. Its really up to you. If you can get both, that will be awesome!  Either way, I'm happy that 3rd party are competing and this will provide fans with more choices and 3rd party on their heel to produce the best.

Here is a picture I took from the net to compare Huff and Krank.

Here is a picture from the net comparing Huff and Stax

Here are some pictures from the net of Huffer. Huffer basically has a very basic design as a robot and the most noticeable difference is the truck cab over his head and his arms.  

Here is Huffer with Cliffjumper and Gears. 

Finally, we go to the main character for the review, Cubex Huff himself! He comes in a box in orange and purple and my first impression is that it looks more like a chocolate or candy box lol. Very not-transformers like, but I guess they want to follow Huffer's colours. ( We can all imagine how the box looks like if they come out with Arcee haha! ) I really wish they can at least choose a better colour to design their box. The quality of the box is average and as you can see, there's some colour coming off my box.

The back of the box is slightly better with pictures of Huff in robot and alternate mode, along with his bio and stats. No complains here.

Here is Huff out of the box. He is in his alternate mode along with a face plate and 2 fists. I got to know that these are the original designs for Huff but they made some changes due to fan's feedback. They change to a better face plate and fists which can open up. I really give them credit for their effort! Kudos! 

This face plate looks a bit stern. However the eyes are more bright though :)

And of course he comes with instruction manual.

And at the back of his instruction manual, we can see that their do provide picture that Huff can actually tow MP-10's trailer. He can be fitted in MP-10's trailer and Spike can sit inside the cab.

Huff comes with not 1, but 2 biocards. One in English and 1 in Mandarin. 

The Mandarin version looks more like a MP collectors card, and I prefer that version. And yes, I do agree with the stats that Huffer's firepower is 1. 

Here is huffer in alternate mode! Personally I think that cubex have done a good job re-creating G1 Huffer and I don't have much complains regarding his alternate mode. No excess parts hanging around. The only complain is that his plastic quality is below average and he feels a little lighter than expected. 

Side view of his Truck mode.

Top view.

He does scale nicely with MP-10.

The back of his truck can transform and this will allow him to tow MP-10's Trailer. 

Here he is towing MP-10's trailer. Well he has limited motion to turn as his smokestacks are in the way. Just a minimal angle to turn. He does not roll well with the trailer on it as the weight of the trailer pushes his back wheels down. But not a big problem, its still a good effort, and it brings back G1 memories :)

And yes, he can fit inside MP-10's Trailer.

Spike can sit inside the cab and I must say this is the most difficult part in the review as you really have to try hard to make spike sit inside Huffer. lol.

Here he is in robot mode. I'm really digging his robot mode and there is no doubt about it, this is Huffer. His body ratio is excellent colour tone is nice but paint job is below average as there are multiple paint blemishes for my figure. His transformation is quite interesting and I'm happy that they make the extra effort to cover unwanted parts and make him look sleek and smooth. Both the front wheels and back wheel are well hidden. Overall, quite happy with the way he looks.

His side view looks good as well. The front of the cab is over his head like G1, other than that, he has no overhanging parts.

Back view looks fine, not too hollow as well.

Well, the top view, we can't see much. But you will notice the lights in front of his cab in alternate mode is hidden as well in robot mode.

Face plate looks cool, and very G1-like. The eyes look a bit dark though, and no light-piping

Close up view for Huffer.

View from another angle.

Articulation for Huff is basically quite good . Shoulder rotates all around. Abdunction 0-90 degrees. 

Elbow flexion.

He is very posable and you can do some interesting poses.

He has 360 degree biceps rotation.

Both his fists do not have individual articulation. All his fingers are together and move together.

Head has minimal tilting.

He can only look down this far.

Head rotation is fine, about 180 degrees.

He has full 360 degree hip rotation.

Hip extension.

Knee flexion.

Thigh rotation.

Huff has very well constructed lower limbs which allows him to be very posable and amazingly stable.

He has 360 degree foot rotation.

Has some degree of ankle rotation.

Foot flexion.

Foot flexion.

His weapon basically are made up of the back of his truck and a foldable rifle. 

To form the rifle, just slide the parts together and you have his blaster.  It does not really peg in for these 2 parts but this will do just fine.

" You called for an exterminator?"

He is amazingly stable for his large cab on his head and back and he can do a lot of poses without losing his balance. I'm happy with that part.

He can do a perfect split!

Huff scales pretty well with the other MPs and thats one of the reasons I purchase him. Can't wait to see how he scale with MP-21 Bumblebee.

Here he is with MP-10

With MP-12 and MP-17.

Autobots! Prepare to defend yourselves!

Here comes the part with all the complains regarding the paint blemishes. Here you can see some grey paint blemish over his arm.

Some blemishes over his head.

The worse blemishes comes around the thigh area. I'm quite sad with the severe blemishes over mine Huff. I'm not sure how other figures are, but hope that Cubex will look into this issue.

Another problem I have is the part at the back of his cab to hold his rifle. Initially I tried to pull out his rifle but ended up dislodging the whole thing. Not a big issue, as it can easily solve with glue. Just a reminder to be extra gentle with this figure.

The piece which came off.

Another part you have to be careful with is the back of his calf area. When you need to turn the wheel to the back and snap it in, make sure that the groove is between so that it slides nicely in as it has a very thin plastic. 

Here is Huff after fixing the loose weapon holder with some glue.

You can safely store his weapon behind his back. But I dont think he can reach it to use it in battle though lol.

And ......... with an Autobot symbol, he is almost 100% Huffer!

Hope you guys enjoy my review  :)

Here is Huffer's G1 toy picture.......... I, erm....... nevermind.

Here he is in his G1 glory. We HAVE come a long way  :)

I'm quite please with Cubex's Huff overall design and transformation, but I really wish they could be more strict during QC. I mean, you spend so much money, time and effort in R&D, made a good TF, but you fell at the finish line, I feel that if they could boost their QC, Huff will be an even better TF. His plastic feels more light probably they want him to balance better in robot mode, as he has a big cab on his head, understandable, but there is no excuse for the paint blemishes.

G1 accuracy: 9/10
Articulation and posability: 9/10
Plastic quality: 5/10
Box quality: 5/10
Helpful instruction manual: 8/10
Collector's card: 2
Paint quality: 6/10
Price: About RM 200

Pros: He is a for me, best Huffer in the market for now, fun transformation, high G1 accuracy, scales with MP series

Cons: Below average paint job, below average plastic quality, No finger articulation. Limited head tilting. No light-piping 

Thank you !