Review - Fans Hobby MB-15 Naval Commander
Fans Hobby continues to branch out into uncharted third party territory with the release of their Master Builder series MB-15 Naval Commander. An homage to the Transformers Armada incarnation of Optimus Prime, This beefy boss bot is a huge hunk of plastic fun. Let’s see how he turned out..
Vehicle Mode
Starting with the vehicle mode, this is one big mamma-jamma! Rolling wheels, working tracks, and firing missiles! This convoy has all the goods!
The truck on it’s own looks a little bit long, but when paired with the trailer the set looks incredible in my opinion. Huge and imposing, while still maintaining a utilitarian design that exudes purposeful use, rather than combat as it’s primary reason for existing. You can swap the exhaust pipes to the side or the back depending on what you prefer.
The trailer and truck are both solid and enjoyable to play with. The truck can turn independently from the trailer thanks to a swinging hinge on the connection point. You can mount the large blaster on the roof for additional firepower, and store mini-cons inside the storage pods on the side of the trailer.
Base Mode
Base mode provides a number of platforms and docking stations for mini-cons, as well as various weapons arrays to defend the battle station. The core robot can be positioned at the rear with a mounted blaster to fight off any Decepticons foolish enough to engage.
Robot Mode
The core robot, formed by the truck cab, is highly posable and a lot of fun to mess with. I honestly think they could have sold this mode on it’s own and a lot of collectors would have still purchased it. (In fact I see comments almost daily on Facebook from people who want just the cab mode)
Articulation is quite remarkable, with a few hidden features that I didn’t expect.
From the top down:
- Ball jointed neck.
- Lateral hinges, and ball joints at the shoulders.
- Bicep swivel.
- Single or double jointed elbows depending how far you unclick the arms.
- Wrist swivel.
- Articulated fingers (single point of articulation, separate trigger finger).
- Ratcheted ab-crunch (one click in either direction).
- Limited waist swivel. (You have to unlock the white tabs on the hips to allow movement.)
- Ratcheted 2 axis hip joints.
- Swivel at the knee.
- Ratchet at the knee, bends just slightly less than 90º.
- Ankle rocker, tilt, and toe bend.
I was especially surprised by the hidden waist swivel. Fans Hobby really thinks about everything when it comes to including articulation and features. The core robot is a ton of fun to play with. I even found that the wrist mounted cannons are compatible with Bandai “Customize Effect” parts!
The core robot also has a “Matrix” chamber in the chest that can be accessed by disconnecting the front panel. The power core inside can be removed and held in the hands of the core, or super mode robots. It can even be held by the included mini-con!
Combined (Super) Mode
Alright, time for the main course; Combined mode, aka Super Mode!
Naval Commander's trailer unfolds into a pair of sturdy, powerful legs to support the core robots chest configuration. The conversion is quite simple, however be cautious with the ratchet joints that hold the rear armor battery, they are on extending stems that could break if you aren’t careful about where you apply pressure. Similarly, the core robot has a tendency to crack around the pin hinges, be careful not to over extend anything needlessly to avoid damage. (This was an issue with the first run of Naval Commander. Fans Hobby identified this issue at the time of release and has offered replacement components to those affected. They have also reworked the cab component to resolve these issues going forward.)
Once both components are combined you are left with a very impressive and hefty Super Mode version of Optimus. Standing at just over 12” tall this is a centerpiece for any collectors display, especially if you have a fondness for Amada era designs. Similarly to the core mode, articulation on the combined Super Mode is quite competent. The rear armor pieces can be rotated up to become a sort of assault battery with the missile launchers raised above the shoulders. (The missile launchers are functional spring loaded launchers by the way!)
Articulation, from the top down:
- Ball jointed neck. The head can be raised or lowered to allow for a deeper look down, or to shorten the neck.
- Lateral hinges (one click up or down) and 2 way ratchets at the shoulder.
- Bicep swivel.
- Single ratchet joints at the elbow allowing for just under 90º of bend. (These are the core robots knees).
- Wrist swivels, individually articulated fingers (3 points of articulation, ball joint and single hinge thumb.)
- Ratchet jointed ab-crunch. (I would advise setting this to the preferred level before combining to reduce stress on the red connector tabs on the chest.
- 2 axis ratcheted hip joints.
- Single joint ratcheted knee capable of 90º bend.
- Ankle rocker, tilt, and toe bend.
Despite a large amount of armor and kibble hanging off the waist you can still achieve some fairly dynamic poses with Naval Commander. Fans Hobby have provided you with an extensive array of cleverly designed joints that are strong enough to handle the mass of the Commander without trouble.
Final Thoughts
All in all, Fans Hobby MB-15 Naval Commander provides the exemplary experience I’ve come to expect from the brand. Fantastic sculpting, clean and aesthetically pleasing paint work and tampo details, and impressive articulation. If you have been craving a Masterpiece style attempt at Armada Optimus Prime you can do no better than this.
From any other company, the plastic degradation that occurred on the core robot would be a deal breaker. But Fans Hobby identified the issue early, was extremely transparent about it, and worked to find a solution very quickly. Despite these QC concerns, my figure stood up to my abuse as I transformed it multiple times for photography and review. By the end I did have several small cracks in the red plastic as well as a broken tab on the torso connection area. This was expected based on Fans Hobby’s reporting of the issue. I look forward to replacing the damaged components and spending some more play time with Naval Commander in the future. Perhaps when MB-17 Meg-Tyranno is released.
A huge thank you to Fans Hobby for sending along this sample for review and photography purposes. If you want one of your own, click here to visit their shop, or purchase one from your preferred third party vendor.
