Archive for August, 2009

1

Action Figure Spotlight: Firefly

By
admesser24
– August 29, 2009Posted in:

firefly2

Stats:
Cobra Saboteur
Code Name: Firefly
File Name: Unknown
Primary Military Specialty: Sabotage, Demolitions
Birthplace: Classified

It is my firm belief that if the character of Storm Shadow had not been made, Firefly would be the guy with 10 gazillion repaints right now, as well as arch nemesis of Snake Eyes. In the 80’s animated show, Firefly was a bit of a quiet chap; casually blowing up stuff for Cobra & crew, while Storm Shadow was in the throes of becoming a Joe Icon along Snake Eyes, whom would both become easily the most recognizable characters in Joe Lore outside of Duke and Cobra Commander. As I was hunting my local Newbury Comics, I came across this peculiar “Blue” version of Firefly- which I later discovered was actually the 3rd version of Firefly to come out in the 25th anniversary line (Thanks, Wild One). It was weird at first to put this version in perspective because Firefly was predominantly dressed in gray camouflage. However, the new Blue Uniform grew on me- so much so that I wanted to review him.

Packaging:
An all new illustration of Firefly adorns the common 3 3/4th 25th anniversary line, which sets him in a “I’m about to jump kick your face” pose. At the top right hand corner of the card is a notation that this specific interpretation of Firefly comes from the G.I. Joe comic series (specifically, the 80’s Marvel series to the best of my knowledge). On the back of the card is Firefly’s Fire Card, which I think is an absolute hoot because it is so comic in the way it’s written. I.E. “FIREFLY has been blowing things up for COBRA since COBRA COMMANDER first donned his hood and opened up for business.” Pure comic genius, guys. LAUGH, I TELL YA!

The Figure:
Standard height, standard articulation is the name of the game, and for those of you familiar with the 25th anniversary line, you know that says a lot for each figure. On a side note, I think it’s really ironic how Hasbro, who bought out the Star Wars line from Kenner, started modeling the later Star Wars figures along the lines of the Joes in regards to articulation, considering it was the Joes who outdid Star Wars in the 80’s to begin with. Anywho, back to the subject at hand- the best word I can use to describe Firefly is “solid”. Solid in every aspect, actually. Joints are tight, nothing slipping. He comes with a cross pack lined with grenades and explosives that is removable from the back. Once removed, it looks exactly like one of the Beachead molds for the chest (a lined longsleeve shirt). His pants are a predominant blue with gray camouflage highlights and one set of major kick ass boots. I love the boots! Makes me want to go out and get a pair for myself, not that I am a demolitions expert or anything. HAHA. I digress again. In keeping with the mystique surrounding the character, the face mask is permanent, not letting any hint of identity out there. The Cobra Insignia adorns Firefly’s right shoulder. In many ways, I prefer the character and figure of Firefly over Storm Shadow any day of the week.

Accessories:
Firefly comes stacked with all sorts of little goodies, “little” being the operative word. His backpack holds a can of gasoline, a plastic explosive, a maglite, and a swiss army type of pliers. The cool thing about his back pack is that it opens in the middle like two book leaves, and when Firefly flies Cobra Air Lines, he can pull up the “carry on Luggage” handle that conveniently remains bent when not in use. For firearms, Firefly comes with two: a hand pistol which fits into a holster on the right hip, and a cool automatic rifle whose butt can bend to either be or not be used. Also included is the standard base with the Cobra Insignia. Always a cool thing.

Point Loss:
Basically, not much is wrong with this figure. Small gripes include the backpack not fully fitting into the back slot when the cross pack is being worn and a knife on the right boot that was permanently molded into the piece instead of being a separate accessory like the Crimson Guards, for example. Once you get used to the blue uniform, there’s a lot to like about this figure. In the realm of scarcity, the only time I have seen this Firefly V3 available was the one time I picked him up. Given the fact that the 25th anniversary line has been somewhat put aside for the movie line, I recommend picking this little gem up if you see him. Until the next review, have fun and Yo Joe! (or, in my house, COOO BRAAAAHHH!!!!)
Firefly1

Share
Tags: , ,
1

G.I. Joe Action Figure Spotlight: Rex Lewis & Cobra Commander

By
admesser24
– August 26, 2009Posted in:

rexCC4rexCC3RexCC1rexCC2

I am so stoked by the new Joe figures coming out for the movie that I felt there was a need to do them a proper review, just as I have done for various Action Figures throughout the years. G.I. Joe has always set itself apart from all other action figures inasmuch as it was the first “boy doll” to be made in response to this chick called Barbie. In essence, us toy collectors really need to come clean and admit that we are playing and displaying dolls for boys, regardless of the size. Now, along came the Star Wars mini-action figures in the 70’s, which (while not officially the first small scale figure) popularized the 3 ¾” scale. Then Hasbro revamped the meaning of articulation with Joe figures in the early 80’s. Swivel arm battle grip was the answer to the mere 5 standard points of articulation that Kenner offered with its Star Wars line. The Joes had arrived in a big way again by revolutionizing the way a standard action figure was designed, while upkeeping articulation. And one of its most celebrated examples? That beautiful loser named Cobra Commander.

***SPOILER WARNING***

Without giving away too much of the plotline to the current movie, let’s just say that the characters of Rex and CC are “inseparable”. You will understand why I chose both these figures for one review once you see the movie for yourself, which I strongly urge you to do. Specifically in regards to the movie, I feel the need to point out that I was really looking forward to the Transformers sequel that came out the month prior to the Joe movie, but I was far more pleased with RoC. Director Stephen Sommers flipped CC on his backside and redesigned the character attributes doing a total 360. Remember how we always wanted to know what was under the metal faceplate? Well, Sommers took that idea, flipped and dipped it, then turned it around to the question of “Why” the need for the faceplate. Again, you need to see the movie to understand my direction here.

So, without further ado, let’s get down to business and start talking action figures.

Rex:

First off, if you haven’t picked this little gem up yet, PLEASE DO SO. Not only is this one of my favorite Joe figures in a long time, but quite possibly one of my favorite 3 ¾” figures of all time. Definitely made the top 10. Reason being? Likeness, standard Joe articulation, and ACCESSORIES! Lots and Lots! I mean, certain Joes have come with more accessories than others over the years (here’s looking at you, original Zartan), but Rex is one of the few movie line figures that differs in respect to not having a standard shoulder mounted rocket launcher. Instead, he has this contraption that I call “Starscream’s hand” because it looks exactly like the redesigned hand from the Michael Bay era. Not only this, but it has a pincher attribute where you push in the rear neon green lever, and the 4 claws extend outward to grip that troublesome Joe who just won’t take the nanites the fine Doctor Lewis has prepared. Rex also comes with a WORKING briefcase that holds 3 individual nanite cylinders and actually closes back up! (where were you with this development, 25th Anniversary Destro?) For pistols, he comes with a large uzi type rifle, and a standard hand pistol, and lastly, these really cool looking snap on mechanical hands. So what’s the problem with this stuff? Most of it won’t even stay on him! The Starscream hand is way too heavy for his body (even on the stand), the mech hands just won’t stay on due to widening during shipping as one of them arrives on his right hand in the package. I have to do some serious manipulation to get the gloves to stay on. I was really saddened that Rex couldn’t hold 1/3 of his accessories, and they basically just have to stay on the sideline.

For the figure itself, it’s likeness to the movie character is unreal. He even comes with a removable hair piece, which is cool, but it does not stay on his head well and is better left on the sidelines to avoid piece loss. Unfortunately, the mouth breather is stationary, which is a bit of a bummer since the mask on CC is not removable at all. The Black Leather coat is removable, but with a lot of strain. When you boil Rex down to his basic figure with all accessories unattached, he is pure black with one silver breather tube on his facial apparatus. Overall, I love this figure due to his large arsenal and character likeness, but he loses points for not being able to use his arsenal without a little help from me while playing, UM, displaying the figure.

Cobra Commander:

As I said before in my short “ode to CC,” I was completely taken aback by this new visage of our beloved Commander. Initially, it was a sort of disgust that could not be ignored, much like driving slowly by a car accident and looking to see what happened. However, after the disgust, betrayal, and sadness left, I was cleared to actually begin a love/hate relationship with CC’s new incarnation. Over time, it has turned to more love than hate. Gone is the military visage that dominated his appearance in all previous versions (including his “old Snake” appearance on the Transformers). He is now a solid combination of biotechnology and damaged human. And quite frankly, I love the new mask because you can actually see WHY he needs a mask now. Unfortunately, for this particular figure, the mask is non-removable (however, for an even better look, pick up the 12″ version, which does come with a removable mask). There also seems to be a few variations on CC- front chest holes, no holes, tubes attached, etc. My version is the one with holes in the chest but no tubes. Differing from Rex, his overcoat is black on the outside, but “original 80’s blue) on the inside, and he comes with a few different accessories: an actual cobra snake (a possible slap to 80’s Serpentor?), which ties directly to Rex (see the movie!!!) a data pad, nanite nodule/injector, shoulder mounted rocket launcher, and last but not least, a slightly modified version of his original gun! YES! Without a doubt, one of my favorite weapons of all time. IMO, the only other handgun that matches the original CC blaster was the hand rifle that came with the original 1977 Kenner Stormtrooper (and a slew of other Star Wars figures). Too bad, though, that the gun doesn’t attach to his back like it used to. Perhaps a holster on the overcoat might have best served the answer of storage? Design-wise, you need to check out his back plate under the overcoat- he’s got this cool metallic vertebrae that really makes you wonder just how human he is.

CC does have a few drawbacks as well as Rex- namely, the same “accessories are too big for the figure” disease. CC has a hard time holding the shoulder mounted rocket launcher without toppling over, even when using his dog tag base. Also, two of his accessories (the data pad and nanite injector) have what look like attachment pegs, but I’ll be damned if I can figure out where they attach to on the figure. Another curiosity for both Rex and CC is that they have these holes in their backs which are very reminiscent of the original Joes so you could attach backpacks. Unfortunately, I cannot find anything that would actually fit the holes.

Despite the few flaws, I would highly recommend picking these two guys up- just for the sheer fact that they have many points of articulation without losing character likeness, they both reek of uber bad dictator coolness. Besides, it’s not like Destro has the cajonies to lead Cobra. Heh.

Share
Tags: , ,
1

Revenge of the Fallen Japanese Legends Class Devastator

By
admesser24
– August 22, 2009Posted in: Revenge of the Fallen

Revenge of the Fallen Legends class Devastator totally rocks out as a combiner set. I recently purchased Supreme Class Devastator when I saw it, and saw a preview of the Legends class set over at Tformers.com and decided I wanted to get the set. Found one through an online auction site, purchased it and had it within a few days.

So I opened the box, and I was intrigued by the packaging differences of the Japanese and the English style packaging. Both look very similar, but the Japanese one has some sort of robot points code you can log in and use. Since I cannot read Japanese, let’s just assume that it is a rewards bonus system for kids to get some sort of cool items online.

So as you can see, there are 7 members of the Constructicons. The mysterious member that was discombobulated to resurrect Megatron from the bottom of Davy Jones locker. I’m not going to go into the various robot/vehicle mode descriptors yet, that will be for another day with an official review, but lets just say each bot has an interesting, if not unique, robot mode. Scrapper is my favorite because he looks somewhat like his G1 self and he looks like he takes care of business.

The design of the gestalt is interesting. I love the Micromasters, and have the Japanese and English release of the Micromaster Devastator set, and he is just fantastic. The Revenge of the Fallen Devastator set in a very distinct way is one of my favorite combiners as well. While he mimics his larger self, Scavenger and Overload combine together to take the place of just Scavenger in the Supreme version. The Legends class one has more articulation and the weight is distributed evenly as well.

So Scavenger and Overload combine making the trunk, shoulder and hip connectors. Then Mixmaster forms the head (as opposed to a leg/foot in the G1 version). Devastator’s head has a pivot ball joint, so it at least has some articulation, versus the voice gimmick of the Supreme version. Hightower and Scrapper form the arms/hands and Longhaul and Rampage form the legs/feet.

What I really like about the figure is the unique combination of the combiner. There are no extra bits, everything is self-contained, and every part is engineered to fit and form a snug link to the partner. For example, Scavenger’s treads have a slot where the frame of Overload slide in to give Devastator a secure and snug chest. Scavenger also has two square peg connector that Mixmaster slides directly into, giving it security and stability. Scavenger’s elbows have connector pegs that both Scrapper and Hightower secure to. Overload does the splits to form Devastator’s hips and Longhaul and Rampage fit securely without any fear of toppling over (unlike the Supreme Devastator version).

Since this is a Japanese version, I paid a pretty penny, as the English release is not out yet. I fully expect that Hasbro will release this as a set and as individual items, and we will probably see some sort of G1 rendition as well. I plan on getting the English release as well, as I would like to compare and contrast the differences. It used to be that the Japanese versions were a little better, but as both are manufactured in China makes me curious if either set will have differences.

Share
Tags: , , ,
2

Transformers 25th Anniversary Comic Con Soundwave toy review.

By
admesser24
– August 3, 2009Posted in: Transformers, Universe

25th-anniversary-soundwave-robot Name: Soundwave
Function: Communications.
“Cries and screams are music to my ears.”

It is said Soundwave can hear a fly sneeze. Uses anything he hears for blackmail to advance his status. Opportunist. Despised by all other Decepticons. Sensors can detect even lowest energy radio transmissions. Able to read minds by monitoring electrical brain impulses. Acts as radio link for others. Locates and identifies Autobots, then informs Decepticons. Carries a concussion blaster gun. Often target of retaliation by his comrades.
Str 8,Int 9, Speed 2, Endurance 6, Rank 8, Courage 5, Fireblast 6, Skill 10

Alternate mode:

25th-anniversary-soundwave-stereo-micro-cassette-recorder Soundwave turns into a stereo micro cassette recorder. For the time when he was first released in 1970s, this was relatively new technology and the Sony Walkman was soon to come. When he was released in Transformers, he was still very current as a micro cassette player, and a very interactive one at that.
In micro cassette mode, Soundwave has a working tape player chest compartment that opens for storage of the his tapes minions. He also has a working battery cover which doubles as a belt clip. Soundwave’s missile launcher and shoulder gun double as AA sized batteries and gives the toy the illusion of being a real tape player. Of the various Transformers of any series, Soundwave’s alternate mode is very realistic and as close to an actual sized replica possible.

25th-anniversary-soundwave-ratbat-and-laserbeak Robot mode: Soundwave is rather large for a single sized G1 figure. He has a lot of articulation for a G1 figure as well. His head rotates, which is very rare for any G1 figure, his shoulders and hips rotate, giving him more poses than a normal G1 figure as well. Last but not least his chest compartment opens when he beckons his minions and tapes start flying out like crazy.

This 25th anniversary edition is released under the Transformers Universe line, and was released during the 2009 Comic-Con exclusive (Transformers Club, 2009) along with four tapes: Laserbeak, Buzzsaw, Ravage and Ratbat. I was really excited to hear about this release because the last version I picked up of Soundwave was the Takara #10 Soundwave that came with Condor and the alternative chest hinge which is kind of like a modified version of what Soundblaster (Japanese Soundwave reborn) had. I really did not like the chest piece, but when I heard this version had the regular chest piece, I had to have it.

He comes in the box in robot form holding his laser and surrounded by his tape minions. The 25th anniversary is the Transformers Universe design, which looks great. The box art show Soundwave in a battle ready stance with Laserbeak on his shoulder. What is interesting to note about the box is on the back of the box, the picture of Soundwave has the chest piece I was talking about earlier, but as you can see, Soundwave has his normal chest piece instead, which really makes a difference.

Oh yeah, so we covered a lot of stuff, but how about joints? Are the joints tight, can he really hold his arm up and have Laserbeak hanging? Do his legs flop forward and leave him stuck? Does his arm fall down slowly whenever you point his laser at Optimus Prime? He has really tight joints and his knees have clicking joints. They have added some stability to the toy because most of use G1 collectors really want tight joints for some peculiar reason.

Transformation: 8/10 Soundwave has a great alternative mode and turns into a realistic looking micro cassette recorder.
Durability: 8/10 This is an improvement over previous versions of a G1 Soundwave release.
Fun: 10/10 I’ll admit Soundwave is one of my favorite Decepticons. Ever. Period.
Price: $49.99 was the original price at the 2009 Comic-Con release. For the rest of the known world who could not attend 2009 Comic-Con, we have to resort to second hand dealers or if you were one of the lucky ones, Hasbro Toy Shop had it up for about a day before it was sold out. As for me, I paid $75 including shipping on eBay and was very pleased.
Overall: Soundwave is a core figure of the G1 series. Throughout time, Soundwave has come to be a persistent character that everyone loves. What makes him really cool is that he was a really articulated G1 figure and how can you beat a Con that has tape minions that he can summon for whatever diabolic plan he has? The 25th Transformers Universe anniversary edition Soundwave is one of the best G1 releases I have seen and recommend that everyone try to get it.

25th-anniversary-soundwave-laserbeak Name: Laserbeak
Function: Interrogation
“The only point I like in Autobots: melting point.”
Laserbeak takes pleasure in hunting his prey—usually the straggling survivors of a battle. Noticeably not brave. Will run for safety if threatened. Flies at speed up to 250mph. Uses two independently targetable laser cannons with extreme precision to get information from captives. Shortage of ruby crystals that powers the laser can panic his systems into shutting down.
Str 5, Int 6, Spd 8, End 5, Rank 6, Courage 2, Firepower 8, Skill 9

Alternate mode: Micro cassette. Moving along.
Robot mode: Laserbeak turns into a flying robotic condor. His tape body opens up to make the wings, the head comes out, and the feet flip out. Then you attach his laser cannons to his back and Bam! You got Laserbeak. Laserbeak was one of the first Decepticons that shows just how craft Soundwave can be. At one point, Laserbeak is chasing Cliffjumper and Hound, who split up, by following Hound and sending a laser drone from his rocket pack.
Transformation: 7/10. Laserbeak turns into a realistic looking micro cassette tape, which fits nicesly into Soundwave’s chest.
Durability: 9/10 Metal version. G1 beefy metal. You know it.
Fun: 9/10 Laserbeak is a lot of fun to play in addition to Soundwave.
Price: Came with 25th anniversary Soundwave.
Overall: 10/10 Laserbeak is definitely one of the classic Soundwave minions. He was always Megatron’s favorite pet and was not afraid to mess up any Autobot’s plans.

25th-anniversary-soundwave-buzzsaw Name: Buzzsaw
Function: Spy
“My bite is worse than my bark.”
Civil and sophisticated yet very cruel and destructive. Approaches his lethal tasks like a fine artist. Each deadly mission is like working on a new masterpiece. Can pinpoint and photograph a thumbtack from 20 miles away. Flies at 250mph. Carries twin mortar cannons. Diamond-hard, micro-serrated beak can carve up almost any opponent. Due to large ego, will often sulk rather than proceed if his plans go astray.
Str 5, Int 8, Spd 8, End 4, Rank 6, Courage 7, Firepower 4, Skill 9

Alternate mode: Gold micro cassette tape. Moving along again.
Robot mode: Buzzsaw is a gold version of Laserbeak. The primary difference is that Buzzsaw’s chest is gold painted and the wing stickers are gold background instead of silver like Laserbeaks. Identically the same toy otherwise. I always felt that Laserbeak used more of Buzzsaw’s characteristics in the cartoon. As it was, Laserbeak was the one with all the glory, while Buzzsaw got a few minutes of fame.
Transformation: 7/10 Buzzsaw and Laserbeak are both very cool bots.
Durability: 9/10 G1 metal goodness again. Yay!
Fun: 9/10 While the cartoon and comic give both different personalities, the toys are identical other than coloring (Buzzsaw and Laserbeak). Both are great!
Price: Came with 25th Anniversary Soundwave.
Overall: 10/10 Buzzsaw is a cool Soundwave minion.

25th-anniversary-soundwave-ravage Name: Ravage
Function: Saboteur
“Today’s Autobots are tomorrow scrap metal.”
Ravage operates best alone. A creature of the night. Craftiest of all Decepticons. Adept at devising deadly strategies. Remains aloof from others, but his deeds command their respect. Can virtually escape detection—emits and electromagnetic emission shield, has a soundless walk, disappears in subdued light or shadow. Carries 2 powerful heat-seeking missiles. Light-sensitive. Can be blinded.
Str 5, Int 8, Spd 5, End 6, Rank 6, Courage 4, Firepower 7, Skill 10

Alternate mode: Micro cassette tape. And we are off…
Robot mode: Ravage transforms into jaguar. Equiped with hip missles, Ravage was one of the coolest Decepticons and was always ready for a fight. This G1 robot comes with metal legs, tight joints and lovely chrome accessories. The toy is very narrow and looks better from the side than the front, but never the less, Ravage is an awesome Soundwave minion.
As an aside, I picked up the Classics Hound that came with Ravage which is an awesome version of Ravage. All plastic and the hip missiles are part of the mold and a lot smaller, but the tape bot rox.
Transformation: 8/10 Ravage looks really cool with his missiles and turns into a good version of micro cassette tape.
Durability: 9/10 Again, G1 metal goodness.
Fun: 10/10 Ravage is a lot of fun either alone or with Soundwave.
Price: Came with 25th Anniversary Soundwave. Seeing a pattern yet?
Overall: Ravage overall is a great release and for anyone that never had either the tapes or Soundwave, this version is great! Very true to the original release.

25th-anniversary-soundwave-ratbat Name: Ratbat
Function: Fuel scout
“The road is my dinner plate.”
Has no friends, only business partners…his only allegiance is to himself. Refuels by plunging his mecha-fangs into new cars’ gas lines—the better the car, the better the gasoline tastes. Maximum flying speed: 65mph. Carries two radar-guided, free-electronic lasers that detect the presence of an object as small as a fly. Wings contain mechanical sensors for locating fuel sources. Has one foot wingspan that can enlarge to ten feet. Wings are vulnerable to artillery.
Str 3, Int 9, Spd 4, End 3, Rank 6, Courage 6, Firepower 2, Skill 9

Alternate mode: Micro cassette tape. Nothing to see here, move along…
Robot mode: Ratbat turns into a robotic bat with a black and purple body and gold chrome lasers. One unique feature are the little ears that would often break making Ratbat with good ears extremely rare up until the Encore 17 release. Now everyone can get a Ratbat with good ears, just remember the move them up you are transforming him from tape mode into robot mode.

Ratbat is just a normal cassette toy, but his personality in the comics made him epic. At one point, Ratbat assumes leadership of the Decepticons and proves to be quite an evil leader. Scorponok ends up killing him, but Rattbat held his own throughout his time in the comics and is one of the more notable Decepticons.

Transformation: 8/10 Ratbat turns into a micro cassette tape and a robotic bat.
Durability: 9/10 G1 metal goodness again. Yummy!
Fun: 10/10 Ratbat makes a great addition to this release.
Price: Came with 25th Anniversary Soundwave.
Overall: Ratbat is one of the more unique tapes and is given a great role in the comics. His character embodies what it means to be a Decepticon and is definitely one of the more unique Decepticons from the G1 era.

Reference:
Transformers Collectors Club. (2009). 2009 Comic-Con exclusive: 25th anniversary Soundwave special edition. Retrieved August 2, 2009 from http://www.transformersclub.com/sdcc-tf09.cfm

Share
Tags: , , , ,
3

Transformers Revenge of the Fallen toy review : Skywarp

By
admesser24
– August 2, 2009Posted in: Revenge of the Fallen, Transformers

Revenge of the Fallen Skywarp robotName: Skywarp
Function: Warrior/weapons development.
Skywarp has never been interested in power or conquest. He simply wishes to be left alone in his pursuit of knowledge. He joined the Decepticons because Megatron was willing to give him facilities in which to work, and simply leave him alone. In return, he has produced countless powerful weapons and experimental systems for his comrades. He is personally equipped with mighty weapons that can twist the very fabric of reality into a smear of color and light, or rip mountains apart.
Str 8,Int 10, Speed 7, Endurance 4, Rank 7, Courage 3, Fireblast 9, Skill 10
versus
G1 Tech Spec
Skywarp is the sneakiest of all Deceptions. Enjoys playing cruel pranks on fellow Deceptions and appearing out of nowhwere to attack Autobots. Not too smart. Would be useless without Megatron’s supervision. Top speed of 1500 mph. Can instantly teleport up to 2.5 miles. Carries heat-seeking missiles and variable-calibre machine guns.
Str 7, Int 9, Sp 10, End 7, Rank 9, Courage 9, Firepower 8, Skill 8
Yet another character that has changed and developed over the years with only a ghost to remind us of the G1’s past.

Alternate mode:

Revenge of the Fallen Skywarp F 22 raptorSkywarp is Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor and this is probably one of the best seeker representations as far as a Transformer imitating real life. The sleek black and purple color scheme really suits any Skywarp fan. The only feature that does not fit is the oversized missiles and launcher protruding from under each wing. A more appropriate set of machine guns/missile launchers would have been the ultimate finishing touch.

Speaking of missile launchers, the three launchers are fused together as a cluster for each side. As you move the rear landing wheel, there is a little lever just behind the launcher that you can leave down for automatic firing. The launchers are extremely sensitive and Skywarp has a tendency to lose his load prematurely, always firing missiles at the wrong time and at the wrong target. Bad Skywarp!

Skywarp’s F-22 Raptor mode is definitely his best side.

Robot mode:

Revenge of the Fallen Skywarp robot alternativeSkywarp is a Wal-Mart exclusive repaint of the Starscream/Thundercracker Movie toy. As a repaint, he gets a little overhaul as far as plastic color used and paint color used. The main colors are black and purple, but we do get a bit of gray on the calves and launchers. The color scheme fits well with what is expected of any Skywarp character, and the figure does a good job representing the movie character version of Starscream (detail oriented only) and translates into a pretty cool Wal-Mart exclusive toy.

When you transform Skywarp from the F-22 raptor mode into bot mode, he has very distinct places as a jet where thing go and thing click into place. This is not the case for robot mode. Things have a certain place to be, but for example, the shoulders look detached from the torso. Skywarp’s poses are limited as well because of the barrel-chested torso and the bulky arms with the tiny calves and feet.

The alternative robot picture tightens the bot up a bit to looks a little more Transformers like for me, but I know there are proponents for the alien looking bots, so I won’t mire this review with bashing on the contempt I have of some of the “looks great in cgi, but translates to epic crap when molded into plastic form” feelings I have. The two camps are 1) love the conceptual changes of what Transformers are supposed to look like and 2) hate the outrageously obnoxious conceptual changes of what Transformers are supposed to look like. Now back to the review.

Remember those massively misplaced missile launchers from the F-22 Raptor? Yeah, about that…they change into Skywarp’s arms, which obviously he has no other purpose than to shoot his 3 digit hands of at people, and when he is not busy, he can scratch his nose with one of the 3 rubbery claws that come out. Not to mention that, but did I say that his shoulders don’t really attach to the torso? Oh, last but not least the arms/hands/missiles are a nuisance when you try to move them because the slightest move will trigger the launch sequence.

Collector Card:

Skywarp comes with a image shifting prismatic card that has a picture of the robot and an alternative picture of the F-22 Raptor. On the back it states “From the mind of Simmons”: [I]“One of the most dangerous I have found evidence of. Information indicates it keeps to itself, usually on remote islands. I have discovered evidence that at least one island has disappeared–probably destroyed. Sailors in south Pacific report “vortex in the sky.” What is this alien doing? Restricted Area: Personnel with Security Clearance AV7 Only.

Transformation: 7 only because when transforming into the F-22 Raptor, everything works and it is Skywarp’s best mode.
Durability: 4. Robot mode is very flaky.
Fun: 3. Really wish I had not purchased it.
Price: 6. $22 on a Wal-Mart rollback. I should have done a Wal-Mart rack back and not picked this joker up.
Overall: 4. Really a waste of space. Moive fan freaks are probably calling me all sorts of names right about now, but hey, do your own review right? The only redeeming quality of Skywarp for me is the F-22 mode. He rates right up there with Armada slag for me.

Share