Welcome to the second part of our look at a recent grail I’ve acquired – none other than Binaltech BT-17 Black Convoy from 2007. In case you missed it, be sure to check out the first part, where I talked about how I finally came to pick up this particular specimen after a bit of background around why it took me so long to begin with.

I also had great fun examining that impressive (and dense!) vehicle form, which remains a real standout of this mould, no matter how familiar I am with it now from various versions of this design already in my possession. It’s so unique amongst Transformers alternate forms in its way, and feels like a worthy departure for Optimus Prime toys, too.

Today though, we’re all about that robot form and, whilst I’m sure most would agree on the relative merits of the vehicle mode, this is where opinion might be a bit more divided. Needless to say, it’s an unusual affair and one with a definite dab of obvious compromise, but still, it remains a design I’ve enjoyed on previous releases of the mould, including both Kiss Players Convoy and, more recently, Binaltech BT-22 Convoy.

The process of getting there is not a difficult one, erring towards the simpler side of Binaltech designs even, especially as it all unfolds in exactly the way you would expect just from looking at it. There are no real surprises along the way: the legs are made from the back of the truck in their entirety, the arms unfurl from the chest and take the doors with them on the sides, the bonnet slides down to become the robot chest, and the roof folds up to become the backpack. All entirely anticipated.

Perhaps the only real unusual solution involves the shoulder pylons, although that’s more in how little happens with them if anything. One might expect a bit more to be involved but instead, the front bumper just rotates to the front of each half and sits there, not even pegged into place. It’s a strange result and one that I know a lot of collectors are not entirely keen on, although I find that I’ve made my peace with it, if anything.

That’s in spite of the obvious gaps created on either side, a definite visual flaw worsened from certain angles, although again, I can’t say it truly bothers me, even if I can happily acknowledge that a better solution could no doubt have been found. It’s a quirky robot form in many respects and in my mind, this is just one more aspect of that!

The other thing that’s worth noting for this conversion is the legs, which do extend at the knees although this step is all too easy to miss (and as a result is commonly forgotten by a lot of collectors, including me from time to time!). However, give them a hard tug and they will click into an elongated position just fine and do look all the better for it. He retains his rather ‘stumpy’ proportions regardless, but this benefits it quite a bit, to my eye.

What maybe doesn’t help though is the stability on offer here. I mentioned last time that although this toy is somewhat legendary amongst Binaltech collectors and at one point could claim to have commanded an aftermarket value going into four figures, it comes with a very divided opinion about how good it actually is in hand. Even a brief handling will attest to why.

You see, the joints aren’t weak as such, but they’re maybe just not quite up to the considerable 695g bulk this toy boasts as a result of its heavy diecast construction. The undeniable *heft* is rather enjoyable when it comes to the vehicle form but here, it just makes everything feel awkward and, dare I say it, a bit precarious. Even in a stoic stance, there’s a worry about him toppling backwards rather unexpectedly.

I’d say that should rule out any more extreme attempts at posing but in reality, this design wasn’t really meant for it anyway. The legs don’t exactly allow for the greatest range of motion, another aspect of this toy’s design that has been bemoaned by collectors over the years. I’ve always felt it was a little unfair in some ways as the reality is that not many Binaltech toys could boast the most extreme of articulation, though I can admit it’s compounded by the weight issue in this case.

It’s even more notable here than on BT-17 Convoy, despite them clocking in at the same number on the scales. Something about the joints on that release just feel a little more robust and able to account for the heft on offer, meaning that it avoids the same feeling of uncertainty about how stable it is. The Kiss Players release, being made entirely of plastic, is a whole other story again, of course. I’m starting to see why BT-17 has maybe earned the reputation it has, especially with that one-time price tag taken into consideration.

Here’s the thing, though – I don’t care. I don’t care that he feels a bit unstable or that he’s ridiculously loaded down with diecast. I don’t care that his legs are a funny old affair that don’t really allow for much in the way of dynamic posing. And I don’t care that he has a bizarre set of shoulder pylons that would make Ultra Magnus envious. And you know why? ‘Cos he’s flippin’ gorgeous.

OK, ok, there should be a better criterion for what makes a truly epic toy than that, sure, and if this was a new figure review then of course I’d be judging it more harshly on account of all the various flaws I’ve mentioned (and maybe a couple more). Equally, if I had picked this release up back in the day when it was at its peak, I can’t honestly say that I wouldn’t have been annoyed with some of the issues, especially having paid a true premium for the privilege.

But none of that is the case here. Having waited for almost a decade and a half to finally examine BT-17, I’m just enamoured with the result, warts and all, especially as I feel like it represents value for money in terms of the experience, in my case. I’d done my homework, knew what the score was in terms of stability and was fully prepared for it, and as a result, I found that I was truly able to just appreciate BT-17 on my own terms, free from expectation or anything else that might sap my enjoyment.

After all, there are precious few instances of getting to evaluate a legitimate grail in this hobby, so you have to take them for what they are when they arrive, and in this case, I find a lot more to appreciate than I do to get annoyed about. Just have a look at it for starters, why don’t you? Black Convoys are nothing new these days, having become an expected staple of Optimus Prime repaints in any given part of the Transformers toyline, but back in 2007, they were still being established.

After all, the idea had only really been popularised by the Car Robots line seven years prior, with the very first example having popped up in Beast Wars II just two years before that. At the time of BT-17 being released, there hadn’t even been a black Optimus repaint in the Masterpiece line, with MP-1B being a late addition in 2009. Still though, this figure exhibits many of the classic traits now so familiar from the concept, including some stunning teal and silver highlights that look simply marvellous up close.

Then there are those eyes, so piercing and vibrant that they instantly suggest malice aplenty. Along with the hand blaster, they’re a welcome dash of firey colour and pierce through the rest of the scheme on offer.

That’s to say nothing of the outrageously good painted black finish on every other bit of BT-17’s body. I truly believe that a lot of Binaltech toys firmly fall into that category of needing to be seen in hand to fully appreciate, yet there’s no doubt that this is one of the more obvious examples. If you’ve become accustomed to unpainted mainline figures with hollow plastic carcasses then I can only say that this is going to feel like a revelation by comparison.

Beyond that, there’s just a presence to Black Convoy that is hard to dismiss. Again, I know that not everyone has been won over by the ‘chonky’ proportions in the past but for me, it just works somehow. It remains intriguing to me to ponder which character this design was created for prior to Takara insisting that it be remade into Optimus, but whatever the case, it came out well in the end, in my opinion.

So yes, far from perfect, all things considered, but my, what an experience all the same. After so many years of lusting over photos of this figure, it still feels somewhat bizarre to finally have it in hand but needless to say, I couldn’t be happier with how it all worked out.

If anything, seeing it now in fresh colours has just made me appreciate the design a lot more, even after years of owning Takara’s original Kiss Players release. Both BT-17 and BT-22 together are a real force to be reckoned with, the combined weight of them enough to make me consider skipping a morning workout. They complement each other wonderfully, like two halves of an exceptionally hefty coin.

This was also the final part of my Binaltech adventure left to uncover, alas. After owning many of the toys originally and having now gone back and acquired the ones I didn’t, it was the final chapter remaining of my voyage of discovery, the only version of any toy left to be experienced in hand (even if it was a repaint of a prior mould). It’s a bittersweet feeling in many regards, knowing that there’s nothing new now left to be experienced of this rather wonderful toyline, yet somehow I’m glad that of all the various toys out there, it was this one that served as the coda.

After all, considering that for the longest time I thought this was an experience I’d never get to have at all, I can honestly say it was worth the wait.

TTFN