Dave's Bootleg Comments Trans Convoy (AM Prowl with AM Prime's tractor) Bianding 2 in 1 (Flywheels) Robot Master (Cerebros, Gasket and Grommet) These are a few of the knockoff toys available in various stores right now, I got mine through David Kolodny-Nagy, who posts to a.t.t.marketplace periodically. This isn't going to be a full-fledged review, just a smattering of comments. Trans Convoy: The box proclaims that it comes with Action Master Optimus Prime (getting bold, aren't they?) but it really has an almost all-blue Prowl Action Master instead (there wasn't a Bluestreak made, but I can see DKN being confused by the color scheme). There's only a few dabs of paint on this brittle blue figure, I may get around to painting it as a proper Prowl eventually. One nifty thing about the AM is that it can carry three of the set's guns at once...one stows on his back. If you get this, you may want to drill out the foot holes a little, since putting the feet onto any of the pegs on the vehicle cause the feet to start splitting apart. The vehicle is just the tractor half of the Optimus Prime Action Master vehicle, without the trailer (DKN's ads say it's just the trailer, but it's really just the tractor). The plastic is pretty cheap and the sticker instructions confusing, but it does transform properly and can almost hold all the weapons where they're supposed to go. The smokestacks are extremely loose in their pegs, and the guns don't always fit in the holes the instructions say they go in. The pegs on the wings/hitch for AM's to stand can also be used to store the rifles, which all have smaller holes in their sides. It also takes a ludicrous amount of effort to get the figure to sit in the driver's seat. Unlike most bootlegs, this one has pretty much the correct colors on the vehicle part. Of course, if you're gonna call the figure Optimus Prime, you're not too worried about getting around trademark. }-> Repair suggestions: A little poster-tack on the smokestacks to keep them in place, drill out the foot holes a little, clip the rifles under the wings rather than putting them in the holes which don't exist. And paint the Action Master. Bianding: If you thought the original Duocons were cheap and cheesy, you ain't seen nothing yet. This knockoff ditches the springs and uses the cheapest possible grade of plastic (it's about a step up from candle wax) and the obligatory cheap chroming to wow the rubes. And, like many knockoffs, the original head is replaced with a really bad no-detail chrome thing. What makes this toy even worth mentioning is that it doesn't stop at one chromed head. There's three more: one slightly smaller than the main head, and two about half the size. These extra heads all mount on the tank half of the toy, and are really freaky, man. The tiny ones I mistook for searchlights until I looked more closely and saw the faces. Robot Master: Basically, this two-pack has bits of Fortress Maximus which become robots on their own...Cerebros and the vehicles which combine to form another robot. Cerebros is rather sad in that they included the openable chest, the SPD|STR|INT sticker and even the wheels in his chest, but not the springs or the pegs which push the wheels down. So if you open his chest there's just these white wheels flopping loosely around. I don't own a real Cerebros, so I can't say if the toy transforms totally correctly, but I suspect the arms don't. Excessive force is required to turn the fists in 90 degrees, and even then the arms don't fit snugly against the back of the Fort Max head. Folding the hands in all the way (which the instructions seem to imply is the way to go) is impossible, I think they reversed the molds for the arms. The legs transform correctly, however. The head does look like Fort Max, with a white face, red visor and blue sides. Some moron left the shoulders of Spike squared off, so that it's impossible to move his arms without snapping them off. X-Acto time. Gasket (the armored car) works fine, and Spike can even sit on it. Grommet suffers from abysmal quality control and cheap plastic, however, and his wheels don't roll. There's no place to put the turret gun on either of the vehicles, which is a shame. Repairs: Fix Spike's arms, file something down so that the fists store properly, do something about the chest. Dave Van Domelen, wouldn't really recommend any of these knockoffs unless you're in need of replacement parts for the real thing.