Review – FansProject Soleron LER Drivers Six-Pack

The FansProject Lost Exo Realm series of third-party Transformers-inspired Dinobots (find at Amazon.com*) features not only the robots, but, in some sets, drivers that were inspired by the pre-Transformers days of the Diaclone line. These 2.25-inch tall driver action figures were so well-received by fans that a six-pack of repaints was released last year. How is the set? Pretty awesome.

Six Figures

Clearly, something is in the air these days in toyland. We’re seeing more robot toys packed with small driver figures, and we’re even seeing some releases that are just the driver toys in a small set. In addition to this LER Drivers set there has also been the Transformers Head-Masters Set (review here) and the Diaclone Returns Dia-Naughts Set of eight drivers. That’s a lot of micro action figures in a very short time!

Articulation

Each of the six drivers feature the exact same articulation:

• Head – Swivel neck.
  
• Arms – Ball-jointed shoulders (limited range of movement) and hinged elbows.
  
• Legs – Ball-jointed hips (again, limited range of movement) and hinged knees.

I know that doesn’t sound like all that many points of articulation to a modern action figure fan, but the toys really are well-articulated for their size and work just fine. Any more articulation at this scale and I suspect we would see a fairly dramatic price increase on thes set.

Repaints

The six driver toys included in this set have seen release before; these are repaints of toys that were packed with the FansProject Lost Exo Realm series (find at Amazon.com*), though not the general release versions. You see, FansProject produced Diaclone-inspired convention exclusives of their Dinobot-like toys, and those sets included the non-transforming drivers. It can all get pretty confusing, but just know that if you grab the basic release Lost Exo Realm toys and this pack then you’re pretty much all set. Unless, of course, you love color variants. If that’s the case, you’re hosed. Good luck.

Great Fun!

I am not certain why we’re seeing packs of micro-action figurs like these, but I am enjoying the sets and hope that toymakers keep producing these. I suspect that it has something to do with the expense of toymaking these days, and sets like this are an excellent way to give people some fun play value for the money. And in each case I’ve mentioned above, the toys are a chance for the company to use existing tooling to make something new. Whatever is making these sorts of packs happen, I hope we keep getting little boxes of figures. I’m loving these collections!

Closing Thoughts

If you’re a fan of the FansProject Lost Exo Realm series of third-party Transformers-inspired Dinobots (find at Amazon.com*) then you likely have already seen this set of drivers. I bought my pack at Toy Dojo last fall, and I am sorry that it took me so long to photograph and share the toys. The aftermarket prices have climbed a bit since I bought the set — I’m seeing $40 and $50 online; I paid less than that — but the toys are still in the realm of purchasable pricing if you like what you see.

I simply cannot give these a “must buy” recommendation for one reason: The little drivers truly are an acquired taste and not everyone will love them. I find the set a fun design and the toys a wonderful pack of fun, but I know not everyone wants little driver action figures. And with these being so large, the toys don’t mix well with the Transformers: Titans Return or the Diaclone Reboot toylines, making these even harder for some of you to accept.

I like them. You may also.