Review – FansToys Tesla (Unofficial Transformers Perceptor)

I’ve reviewed a few different Perceptor toys over the years, including the Transformers Collection Perceptor re-release toy, and today I’d like to direct your attention to what may be the best classic-looking Perceptor toy available. The FansToys Tesla* is a Masterpiece-scaled imagining of Perceptor, and everything about the toy makes me think that Hasbro and Takara cannot hope to top the quality of this design.

Microscope Mode

FansToys’ Tesla* starts off strong with the appropriate alt mode and looks great as a microscope. The above photo shows the toy alongside the Transformers Collection Perceptor re-release toy (review here), and even though a microscope is a dull alt mode FansToys made this work well. Even better is that the toy — like the original version from 1985 — is a working (low-powered, yes) microscope. Hurray for silly features brought into the future!

Transformation Design

I don’t own many FansToys releases, but as with their unofficial Bombshell toy (review here) this not-Perceptor toy is fun to transform and shows that the people behind FansToys understand how to design an effective transformation process that’s playable and not a brain-ripping puzzle. I know that there’s a group out there who love complex engineering and transformations that are less intuitive and more involved, but I’m firmly in the school of “keep it playable and fun.” And FansToys’ Tesla* fits perfectly into that camp and makes me quite happy.

Robot Mode

FansToys’ Tesla* stands 8.5-inches tall and is everything we could hope for from a Masterpiece Perceptor. The design is perfect, and even the poseability is well-crafted with just enough points of articulation to get the toy into whatever poses we desire.

Breaking down the articulation we find:

• Head – Ball-jointed neck.
  
• Torso – Swivel waist.
  
• Arms – Swivel-hinge shoulders (which work with the transformation process), swivel biceps, hinged elbows, swivel wrists, and articulated fingers.
  
• Legs – Swivel-hinge hips (with fantastic ratchet joints), hinged knees, ball-jointed ankles, hinged toes.

I’m not a fan of articulated fingers (especially when the transformation design closes those fingers inside a part where they could get stuck), but otherwise, the articulation is just fine and works well.

Coloring

FansToys’ Tesla* is a near-perfect match for the original toy coloring, and to push the design completely into the 1985 Perceptor design the company included alternate parts so we can replace the blue forearms and thighs with teal-colored pieces. Unfortunately, as I started to swap the parts I found that the teal bits are less durable and the plastic started to fracture as I screwed in the screws. I stopped and replaced the blue part; I guess my Tesla won’t be 100% toy accurate.

Closing Thoughts

FansToys’ Tesla* is a perfect update to Perceptor and a great addition to any G1 Transformers collection. The toy looks fantastic next to the original Perceptor, and the design reinforces my opinion that FansToys knows what I want from my transforming robot toys: Classic designs with updated engineering and fully playable, fun, and minimal transformation steps that makes for a toy that I’m happy to take off of the shelf and transform between modes.

Awesome work, FansToys! I’m going to buy more of your toys very soon.