REVIEW: Ocular Max Assaultus #1 – PS-14 Incursus (part 1)

Combiner teams have been one of the staples of third party output over the last however many years. Even before the vast majority of unofficial companies made the shift towards Masterpiece-style, putting out a team of lads that could all somehow inserts themselves together in the twisted mass of a Big Man was all the rage, and it’s only become even more competitive since. We stand on the precipice of no less than three MP-styled Stunticon sets being complete, not to mention countless Constructicons and, of course, Combaticons.

Into that already-busy playing field steps Ocular Max, and whilst you might be forgiven for all-too-quickly rolling your eyes at the very prospect of yet another attempt at a 3PMP Bruticus, they are, to their credit, doing something very different with their set.

It’s been widely publicised, but the big deal here is “all-in-one” transformations, meaning that every bit of combiner bumpf that you would typically associate with a team of this kind is fully integrated into the toys themselves. Bits such as hands and feet and whatever else you care to imagine are all made up of built-in parts, thus leaving you with “zero” partsforming across the five releases.

I write “zero” in such a manner only because inevitably, there are some compromises along the way (albeit surprisingly minimal!), but the ambition on display is certainly impressive, and I’ve very much enjoyed getting to grips with each of the team in a series of Unboxing videos that started with today’s subject, Incursus.

Thus it’s with immense excitement that we move onto the photoshoot portion of the proceedings, and as you can hopefully tell, it’s going to be great fun putting each of the toys in front of the lens! We’ll be looking at each release in turn before circling back round to a write-up on the grand prize itself – that impressive combined form.

The other considerable aspiration for this project is to represent the five Combaticon characters as closely to their on-screen cartoon models as possible, which to be fair is enough to differentiate Ocular Max’s effort from competitors such as Unique Toys or Zeta Toys. Both those companies incorporated more stylised elements into their designs, albeit to varying degrees, meaning that today’s troupe have a real chance at being the ideal option for anyone who loves a splash of animation accuracy.

As you can no doubt see, that’s one area that Incursus certainly excels in, as he hits just about all the right beats in terms of bringing the on-screen look to life. I’m impressed to note that Ocular Max have even incorporated the three little brown panels on the side of the vehicle form, although really it’s the larger details here that let you know just who this is meant to be! Overall, it’s far-and-away the most accurate vehicle mode for Onslaught we’ve seen in Masterpiece form, and looks an absolute treat because of it!

Besides that, it’s a strange-looking thing, no doubt, but I love how far into the aesthetic the designers have swung with it. It’s 100% unapologetically what it’s meant to look like, instead of trying to interpret it in more of a real-world way, somehow. The proportions may be ridiculous, but somehow I’m all the more grateful for it, given what a cracking job it does at aping the source material.

Should you wish then you can also extend the vehicle mode in the middle, allowing the rear section to swing from side-to-side on a connecting hinge and making the whole thing appear perhaps a little more practical! I really like this option and have already found that it’s arguably the most natural way of displaying Incursus in his vehicle mode, not least because it’s a bit more forgiving, space-wise!

In terms of other features here, the main focus is on that turret atop the mid-section, which can be swung round 360 degrees or even tilted at an angle, should you wish. It allows for a decent amount of play value and looks really neat.

It’s also possible to attach his robot mode weapon in the middle of the cannons for a spot of extra firepower. It looks decent enough, although I doubt it’s something I’ll opt for very often.

Additionally, if you add in the Assaultus upgrade kit parts then it’s possible to have the foot sections folded up to interact with Incursus’ vehicle form in a sort-of quasi-homage to the Generation 1 Onslaught toy’s base mode. Needless to say, I love that you can do this!

You can also have the feet working as little military-style boxes, should you prefer. Incursus is a military transport, after all, so he works well having something to carry!

Of course you can make that something one of his fellow Combaticons too, though some of them work better than others. I’ve personally always found that G1 Blast Off looks best when being carried atop his equivalent Onsalught, although here Ocular Max Volatus is simply too long even for Incursus’ extensive bed. It works well for Impetus, Fraudo or Probus, however.

Additionally it’s exactly the right size for a Masterpiece carbot, which should also give you a decent indication of how big this guy is overall.

Or y’know, you could really mix it up a little bit and put a more surprising ‘bot back there! Really, the display options are endless!

So overall there’s really quite a lot of positive things to say about Incursus’ vehicle form, and we haven’t even gone into detail about stuff like how well-made he feels, how great the paint applications are, or how he’s loaded with terrific little touches such as rubber wheels, translucent plastic windows, and some cracking moulded detail all over. It’s all true, though.

All that remains is to equip him with a Decepticon emblem for the complete look. It’s tricky only because it requires splitting a decal in half, but the result looks exceptional and gives that final little something needed to bring this guy to life!

I have no idea why it makes such a difference, but suddenly the entire vehicle form just pops even more than it already did! I was really impressed with him so far already, and this was the crowning touch.

Of course there’s no finer sight than all of the Ocular Max troupe lined up with one another. It might sound cliché but it’s been such a treat watching this team come together, and I’m still so amazed by just how fantastic they all work together in vehicle form.

Truly, it’s been a dream of mine to have such a fantastic looking set of Combaticons done in Masterpiece-style, so you can imagine how ecstatic I was taking photos such as the one above.

In many ways Incursus’ vehicle form is the glue that binds here, given how well he interacts with the rest of the squad. They’re great as individuals, but he brings them together as a unit somehow.

It’s also tons of fun to see such stunningly cartoon-accurate toys interacting with other representations of characters from the animation.

Really then, we’re off to an impressive start with Incursus. It’s just about everything I could have wanted from an Onslaught in this form, and looks nothing shy of terrific. Excellent start, Ocular Max.

Join us for the next part when we’ll be taking a look at the next member of the team!

TTFN