{"id":31713,"date":"2020-07-14T00:00:20","date_gmt":"2020-07-14T04:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/?p=31713"},"modified":"2025-10-07T18:07:29","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T22:07:29","slug":"transformers-botbots-hawt-mess-sumthin-fishy-bok-bok-bok-o-reviews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/2020\/07\/transformers-botbots-hawt-mess-sumthin-fishy-bok-bok-bok-o-reviews\/","title":{"rendered":"Transformers BotBots Hawt Mess, Sumthin' Fishy, & Bok Bok Bok-O reviews"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>Back during Series 2, the Transformers BotBots<\/i><\/a> are divided into 11 teams, based on what store in the mall they hail from. The west<\/a> wing of the mall had two restaurants, one on the ground floor and one on the second floor, and both were home to members of the Greaser Gang<\/a>. Hawt Mess is upstairs.<\/p>\n

In the earliest Spanish dictionaries, the word \"taco\" was defined as a ramrod, like you would use to load a musket or something. From there, the term transferred from the rod to the wadding it was loading, before moving on to mean the light meal you'd eat early in the day to fill you up, and finally the typical food that was eaten to do so. Judging by the color of the shell, this is a taco dorado<\/i>, or fried golden taco - in other words, \"hard.\" Fried taco shells had been around for decades when New York restaurateur Juvenico Maldonado filed patent #2,506,305 in 1947 for a fried-shell mold, putting tacos on the path to fast food ubiquity. There's no sculptural difference here between the ground meat and the lettuce topping it, only paint telling us which is which.<\/p>\n

BotBots<\/i> are not hard to convert. For Hawt Mess, one end becomes the head, one end becomes the feet, and the arms pull out of the middle.<\/p>\n

Hawt Mess can't. Keep it. Together. She's a sloppy bot who's stuffed to the brim with refried chaos. This certified disaster is so full of beans, she can't go anywhere without leaving a trail of chili behind.<\/i><\/p>\n

This is a cute little robot, witha rounded torso, big chunky feet, and a red-and-green pattern on the chest that makes it look like she's wearing a serape. The official art makes her face look queasy, like she's going to be sick, but the toy's face appears to be in higher spirits. Unless she's shouting in pain? The only articulation to be found are swivels at the shoulders, though you could tip her \"hat\" down over her face if you were so inclined.<\/p>\n

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Hawt Mess is available in a Shed Heads 5-pack, or a Spoiled Rottens 8-pack. The mold has also been repainted twice.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Hasbro brought a Transformers BotBots<\/i><\/a> exclusive with them to San Diego Comic-Con this year: the \"Con Crew\" set, which features 'bots from three different factions: the Meet n' Greets, the Line League, and the Fantastic Fuelers<\/a>. And since it's almost the time when SDCC would have been if Americans weren't too stupid to wear a mask, we should probably finish reviewing them all at some point.<\/p>\n

It's fitting that this SDCC set would include a fish taco, because while the epicenter of tacos de pescado<\/i> was Ensenada, Mexico, they moved north in the early '80s to become the unofficial official dish of San Diego. Fish tacos are generally served in soft shells, which is why the outside of this one is a pale gray-beige. The filling has different paint masks than Hawt Mess did, with the lettuce confined to the sides rather than covering the top - such are the advantages of a sculpt that's visually undistinguished! Usually you'd think of fish strips in a taco, but this looks more shredded. Like tuna salad.<\/p>\n

BotBots<\/i> are not hard to convert. For Sumthin' Fishy, one end becomes the head, one end becomes the feet, and the arms pull out of the middle.<\/p>\n

A special session with long-time avoided fishy taco, Sumthin' Fishy. This expired snack has seen it all over the many days he's been sitting out at the con. Unwanted, and kinda gross, he'll finally share his wisdom.<\/i><\/p>\n

Sumthin' Fishy has a disgruntled, sour look on his face, matching the description of his personality in the bio. The robot mode has a nice shape, but between the light taco shell and the light ocean meat sticking out at the ends, it's a very monochromatic look. Good thing there's pink around the head, and a blue and purple \"bib\" on the chest. The arms are the only part of the robot that's poseable, able to swivel at the shoulder.<\/p>\n

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By himself, Sumthin' Fishy isn't that great a design. But as a counterpart to Series 2's Hawt Mess<\/a>, he makes a nice contrast of styles.<\/p>\n

<\/a>The Transformers BotBots<\/i><\/a> no longer come with maps showing them partying in the mall where they live, so maybe one of the extra Greaser Gang restaurants in the earlier series has gone out of business, to be replaced by a Latin American eatery where Los Deliciosos<\/a> can live and spread their spicy fun.<\/p>\n

Tacos are an ancient food - Mayan legend says tortillas were invented by a peasant for his hungry king, and it's not like you'd just eat a tortilla without<\/b> filling it with something - but the first visual record of them comes from the 1920s, in a photo of a woman selling tacos de canasta<\/i> (tacos from a basket). The sculpted filling in this taco is all just chopped up \"stuff,\" with no clear delineation between ingredients - that's why each use of the mold has been able to paint it different ways. Judging by the promo photos, this is meant to be lettuce or guac on top of chicken salad, but the green apps on the ends were skipped, so we get a hard line that makes it look like a neopolitan taco.<\/p>\n

BotBots<\/i> are not hard to convert. For Bok Bok Bok-O, one end becomes the head, one end becomes the feet, and the arms pull out of the middle.<\/p>\n

A skeptical Bok Bok Bok-O was getting hypnotized by another bot one day and was getting sleepy, veeeery sleeeeepy. Then, after the count of three, 1... 2... 3... bok bok bok! The chicken taco bot awoke and thought she was<\/b> a chicken. She was boking and walking like a chicken and pecking at every bot in sight. Tho this day, no bot knows how to reverse it.<\/i><\/p>\n

Oh, I get it now! The name made me think this was supposed to have something to do with bok choy. Also, who spells a chicken noise \"bok\" and not \"bawk\"? The poor paint choices continue in this mode, but at least here the badness is intentional? DJ Baby Bok Choy gets absolutely no patterns or colors on her robot mode, leaving the entire thing the golden color of the taco shell. Plus the filling is light colored, so there's no visual zazz there, either. This does allow us to appreciate the sculpted details a little more, but so would just painting them. The large black eyes and circular mouth make this look more like one of those little coconut things from Moana<\/i>, not a robot who thinks it's Roger Clemens.<\/p>\n

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Part of Series 5, Bok Bok Bok-O is available in a Los Deliciosos 5-pack and a Frequent Flyers 8-pack. Which is honestly way too much, because this version of the mold sucks. Get one of the other two instead.<\/p>\n

<i>And now, some more OAFEry:<\/i><\/H5>