So if you don’t know, the Transformers 30th Anniversary Exhibition is on at the Science Centre until 1 March 2015. What this means is that you have until the end of Term 1 to go and catch it. OK maybe before Term 1 ends.
You can buy tickets at the Science Centre itself, but here’s their website and the Science centre website to check out too.
I’m lazy so here are the ticket prices from the Science Centre website.
|
Adult |
Child* |
Senior Citizen |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transformers Exhibition |
Standard Rate |
$30.00 |
$22.00 |
$30.00 |
|
|
NETS Flashpay Rate |
$27.00 |
$19.80 |
$27.00 |
||
If you’re a kid with a Flashpay card, yippee! If not, yeah, it’s $30 bucks.
I know there’s a lot of naysayers lah, and if you have 2 kids it’s going to be $120 for an afternoon at the Science Centre, plus a McDonald’s meal and some parking. But it’s interesting to take a look at what’s in store inside.
The text is all clustered at the front, so you have some reading to do (if you’re the sort who likes reading about Transformers) (which I am). It’s not heavy reading, but the text sounds a bit awkward if you actually take the time to persue everything.
You can read the other bios for yourself, but here’s Optimus’ one, for a sample of the writing style. The facts at the end take a while to get used to, or even appreciate. I attribute this mainly to the fact that:
It’s translated from Mandarin. I think language-wise, some things work in Chinese, but it sounds weird in English. It’s not a major nitpick, but if you’re a cynical adult then OK lor. What are you doing looking at Transformers if you’re cynical though?
I have a weird sense of humour so I think this scale chart is funny. It looks like Grimlock is about to eat Crosshairs. Also the scale isn’t quite right, but it doesn’t matter as long as it looks awesome.
And here’s the highlight of the exhibition! Many, many Transformers statues. They might not be as detailed as a customiser would make them, but points for the effort. You can pick your favourite to pose with (notice there’s no Ratchet here, since nobody cares about the medic), even if that means… the Twins.
Granted, they’re all movie characters though, so it’s not going to fulfill your G1 cravings. But hey! How often do you get to see so many Transformers statues? Are there any other places which have Transformers statues? I mean, even my house doesn’t have them – only standees.
I believe there are more here than at Universal Studios Singapore. OK, there are definitely more here. None in costume though, but there were Meet and Greet sessions earlier in the day, which I missed, boo hoo.
Also, you can tell I brought Optimus Prime along. He never met himself (as in, this figure specifically) at the exhibition though. That’s kind of strange, considering Classics Optimus Prime is one of the more popular Primes around. Not even the Deluxe Classics Optimus Prime was to be seen.
Of course, since there are some light and sound effects, you’re advised not to come to close to them lest you be electrocuted. Somehow I think this isn’t just directed towards children. Somehow I think this is directed towards people like, erm, well, in my demographic, that would touch and try and take apart the statues.
Lots of Megatron love here. Really. I’ve not seen as many Megatrons in one place as here. Usually Starscream gets more love (well he’s a plane, so I guess he’s more adept and appealing), but here we have Megatron everywhere. Bumblebee still beats him though.
Some of the statues have light effects. It’s difficult to photograph but fun to see. Not that I’m a great photographer in any case. It would have been nice to have the red Energon effect on some of the statues (ala the War for Cybertron/Fall of Cybertron aethestic).
Also some of the statues have random buttons. I’m not sure whether they work, or if it’s just too noisy, but press the big green buttons if you have the chance. They might generate sounds – or just be things for you to press. Placebo buttons, I think they’re called, like those at traffic lights!
Then again, it might be that great an idea seeing that thousands of people have already pressed that button. Are you a hygiene freak? Better not touch those buttons if you are.
I wanted to ride this, but I think I would get Stomped. There was a kid at the back too, so I had to wait my turn even if I wanted to. On hindsight, I’d probably Instagram it before I got Stomped.
The Twins were quite far apart. I don’t know why they weren’t put closer together – the highlight of the Twins is that they are Twins, after all. Super chunky deformed hands!
Another AllSpark! There were some forms inside there – I think it’s the Lucky Draw box but I never got around to putting any Lucky Draw tickets inside. I wonder what the Lucky Draw winners win. Maybe I should go back and chuck some Lucky Draw tickets in. Yes.
See what I mean about Megatron love? There’s even a large picture of him. Not everyday that you get to enjoy large Megatron art. Plus, there’s a Megatron from every movie!
Yes I would have done this. That boy was having fun. I was having fun watching him have fun. The rocks are made of styrofoam, as can be expected. No children harmed in this exhibition!
This is the second centrepiece of the exhibit. A giant Bumblebee. I should have brought my Bumblebee to take a photo with this Bumblebee. But then I would have to suffer through Inception jokes, so never mind.
And here is the first. If you’re into statues, like I said, this is the place to go. The exhibition has this going for it though – you’re not going to find statues like this anywhere else, and in such vast numbers.
I can so feel the owner’s pain. The poor toys must have been knocked down by overenthusiastic kids. Respect, dude! Also spiffy Metroplex.
Some customs were on display as well. These were kept safely under lock and key, I believe, but I didn’t try and lift up the glass display to check.
If you’re an artist, you can check out the different Optimus Prime poses! I wonder how much toy artists make. Probably more than scriptwriters.
This was one of the more interesting sections. It shows you the design process, and how it goes from art to toy.
I’m not that big a fan of Sky-Byte, though he’s a poet. He’ll pair well with that Nemesis Prime I got recently!
But Jetfire’s was the highlight! Being the non-Movie Leader class toy for this year, Jetfire was one of the more interesting releases this year.
Prototype! I wonder how much this would fetch on eBay. I wonder how much it cost to get this prototype in here in the first place! Or was it bought off eBay?
Random cameo. Did anyone see this besides me? Is anyone enough of a pop culture fanboy to want a photo of this? Was this only here today? So many questions, so little answers.
There’s a kids section, so if you want to leave your child to entertain himself with clay, there you go! Though he’s going to get his hands all dirty and smelly, that’s for sure. But imagine all the little clay Transformers he would make!
Oh, be prepared for these science facts that shoehorn the word “transform” or “transformers” into the description. Kudos for the attempt to make this educational la, really.
Near the end there’s this slightly psychedelic display. It starts off blank, but then pictures appear on Optimus as a canvas.
It’s sort of a video, I think, but what purpose it serves is a mystery that only Primus knows. And maybe some kids.
And here’s the end! If you were a fan of the Marvel comics version of Transformers, there’s an entire wall full of covers for you to spot and geek out. Can you remember all of them? I only recall the one with Primus screaming.
There was a long line of kids taking photos here.
And here’s the last Optimus statue!
Thoughts
Is it worth the $30 price tag? Only if you really like Transformers. I know people have lambasted the quality of the exhibition, but come on. It’s for kids first, adults second. The fact that adults are entertained at all is quite admirable.
It’ll take about an hour to go through everything, perhaps 90 minutes if you want to stop and scrutinise everything. Also, they’re showing the Transformers movies there, so if you really want to stop, sit down, and watch those, factor that in too.
The best way to go about it, IMHO, is to buy an admission ticket for someone as a gift. The exhibition price might be hard to swallow if you’re buying it for yourself – but it certainly works if you’re getting it for someone else! Wives, girlfriends, lady friends – this is your cue.
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