I have now fiddled with my birthday bots. I’m a lucky boy. (Fanshobby Gunfighter was actually a purchase, but as he turned up on my birthday, he felt present-y.) My knee-jerk not-influenced-by-the-fact-that-these-are-warmly-appreciated-gifts assessments:

• Fanshobby Feilong: Chunky fucker with slightly shitty feet, but he feels really unlike any other 3P Masterpiece and oozes character. Dragons FTW.
• Fanshobby Gunfighter: Again, chunky, with two great modes, but simplistic to the point that I look at the price and raise an eyebrow suspiciously. Very low part count for a £100+ bot.
• Maketoys Rioter Despotron: Yeah, this guy’s the business, though the bot is definitely stronger than the gun, however.
• Badcube Speedbump: Both modes are rock solid (unlike Lorry where I thought both modes were compromised), and the build quality is great but that transformation can get fucked. That backpack. Seriously, I’m so over Badcube. Same story every time.

On a side note, I’ve now handled Badcube and MMC Trailbreaker, and Badcube and XTB Hoist. They all have pros and cons but none of them nail it. I think I preferred MMC Trailbreaker and, astonishingly, I’d probably go for XTB for Hoist (as fucked as parts of the design are). But all of them will go the moment Takara announces theirs.