-Ratchet
Faction: Autobot
Toyline: Revenge of the Fallen
Class: Deluxe
Release: Spring 2010
Acquired: Target
Accessories: 1 Missile launcher, 1 missile
Strongest mode: Hummer.
-Ratchet finally gets a mold that is somewhat screen-accurate! This Ratchet toy looks much more like his movie appearance than the larger, bulkier Voyager toy originally released in 2007. Some will be turned off by his shellmaster transformation (seriously, the only vehicle part used as a robot part is the inner third of the hood for the chest), but it does allow for this good-looking bot mode. My major gripe with the toy is how finicky the arm cannon gimmick is. Inserting the cannon into the right forearm is supposed to activate a mech alive/automorph gimmick that should hold the gun in, but 90% of the time it doesn't catch and just sends the cannon flying off Ratchet's arm. Very annoying. However, it does look good once it's in place, and it can be given to ROTF Lockdown, just like with the Animated versions of these guys. Also, the Hummer mode is both tiny and changed from Ratchet's screen design, but the size allows him to fit in fine next to Voyager Optimus (and the upcoming deluxe Ironhide), and the vehicle change makes him look more like a regular Hummer.
-Breakaway ("UT Getaway")
Faction: Autobot
Toyline: Movie
Class: Deluxe
Release: Early Fall 2008
Acquired: Walmart
Accessories: 1 missile launcher, 1 missile, red Cyber Key (Cybertonian Autobot)
Strongest mode: Robot.
- The only reason Breakaway's on this page is because, as a Walmart exclusive, that store though he would sell better in the Movie line packaging (since the Movie line sold exceedingly well); he was intended for the Universe line. A repaint of Cybertron Hot Shot, Breakaway is done up to resemble the G1 Powermaster Getaway, an escape artist. The color scheme really looks great on the mold; the white is of a pleasant tone, as is the particular (somewhat slate/grayish) blue. The clear sections are somewhere between pink and maroon and complement the blue well. There's also pale yellow for the face and other torso details. Overall, it's a color scheme that looks like it's supposed to be very bright and full of contrast, but ends up being kind of subdued at the same time. You may not need him if you have the other versions of this mold (Cybertron Hot Shot and Excellion, Timelines Goldbug), but he looks very distinct compared to them and gives a semi-forgotten late-G1 character a chance to shine.
-Recon Ravage
Faction: Decepticon
Toyline: Revenge of the Fallen
Class: Deluxe
Release: Spring 2010 (Mail-away exclusive)
Acquired: ...the mail.
Accessories: None.
Strongest mode: Cat.
- Recon Ravage is, obviously, a repaint of the original ROTF Ravage toy released in wave 3 last summer. While still being mostly black, he also now has a liberal application of chrome paint, some red (most of it faded across black plastic) and a bit of yellow. If there's anything I don't really like about this repaint, it's the yellow. It comes in three different forms: opaque plastic (the jaw trigger), translucent plastic (eye and top of head) and paint (hip details). It just looks bad, like it's from some old toy from the late 70s or something. Overall, though, the chrome makes the whole package pretty nice, and some say the scheme is intended to pay homage to the black Voltron lion mech, which I can kind of see. However, the hip guns, being all chrome, are also a pretty big call-back to G1 Ravage. I'm glad I have this toy, but I'm also glad I only paid for its shipping costs (which will be negated once I use the coupon it came with!). I'm not sure I would have bought this version of the shelves, and the upcoming Sea Attack Ravage looks a little nicer (save for the completely silver head).
-Barricade & Frenzy
Faction: Decepticon
Toyline: Revenge of the Fallen
Class: Human Alliance
Release: Early spring 2010
Acquired: Walmart
Accessories: Frenzy figurine.
Strongest mode: Robot.
- Probably the best of the (thus far) 6-toy Human Alliance subline, Barricade is a great improvement over the deluxe mold that was originally released in the 2007 line. The reason why Barricade is so great as an HA toy is because he incorporates the gimmick perfectly with minimal negative effects on his bot mode. The other three HA molds I have - Bumblebee, Sideswipe, and Skids - all make some kind of sacrifice with their bot mode to achieve a working interior for their passengers. Barricade doesn't really do this - he's not overly lanky like BB, nor does he have huge chunks of car kibble hanging off his back like Skids and Sideswipe. Also, unlike BB and Skids, his torso isn't mostly hollow. Frenzy leaves a bit to be desired in that he doesn't turn into anything (even the deluxe Barricade's Frenzy turned into the car's grille), but he interacts with Barricade pretty well, especially how he can have his torso hang out of Barricade's chest, allowing him to operate Barricade's torso guns (while still having two extra gun hands of his own!). One other possible negative is the lack of a left hand for Barricade; like BB, one of his hands is permanently in weapon mode. However, it's a cool weapon - the wheel buzzsaw previously only seen in toy form on the 2007 Robot Replica figurine. And the button to release the weapon is cleverly disguised as the car's gas cap plate. Overall, an excellent toy. Not just the best of the HA toys, but one of the best movie toys, period.
-Demolishor ("Scavenger")
Faction: Decepticon
Toyline: Revenge of the Fallen
Class: Voyager
Release: Summer 2009
Acquired: Walmart
Accessories: None.
Strongest mode: Robot mode(s) - don't forget the fan modes!
- Demolishor (who actually has Scavenger's deco, by the way; the "real" Demolisher has been released in white as a TRU exclusive) is pretty unorthodox. He caused a lot of confusion when pics first leaked; this is due to his weird robot mode, which has no real hand, not much of a torso, and nor legs, but rather two wheels that rotate around the head/torso unit, making him normally unicyclical (is that a word?). He turns into a pretty cool, massive, mining excavator with rubber treads (that, somewhat unfortunately, don't move a la Armada Scavenger) that's perfectly serviceable as a movie transformer alt mode (if a bit small; the ROTF line really should have had an ultra size class). But where a lot of folks get turned off by his strange bot mode, to me it's a lot of fun. He's completely different from any other Constructicon toy you have, ROTF or otherwise, and as many people have found, his abnormal design, along with the many joints in his body, allows for a lot of fun fan modes, the most straightforward of which can give him somewhat normal legs by not transforming the treads into their wheel modes (granted, he'll require at least one hand on the ground). At any rate, it's a fun toy, and I think it looks a bit better than the exclusive white version. Not the best ROTF Voyager, but great to fiddle around with (oh, and it goes great with the tiny Optimus that comes with Stratosphere; you can easily recreate the opening scene from Revenge of the Fallen ).
-Megatron
Faction: Decepticon
Toyline: Revenge of the Fallen
Class: Voyager
Release: Summer 2009
Acquired: Walmart
Accessories: 1 missile.
Strongest mode: Robot.
- There's been a lot of complaining about how complicated the movie toys (ROTF toys in particular) are. I can see that for a lot of them, but not this one. ROTF Voyager Megatron is kind of the opposite, engineering wise, than a lot of other ROTF toys; instead of being made of lots of little fiddly parts, he's mostly large solid chunks (that are molded to look like they have a lot of fiddly parts). This is a good thing in his case; for a long time, I considered the Leader mold ROTF Megatron to be the best version of that movie character. However, a year later, I find that I enjoy and play with his voyager incarnation much more. Sure, it's less movie accurate in some ways (Megatron doesn't have giant wings in the movie, and he's lacking the twin back turbines; they become his thighs on this version), but it's much more playable thanks to a more stable transformation and a very solid feel. His gimmicks are simple, effective, and fun - he has Mech Alive gears in his torso that don't get in the way of anything; moving his right elbow deploys his sword blade, and then there is of course his missile launcher. Also, his "murder" arm (right cannon arm) looks much closer to the film version thanks to not having to become the tank mode's cannon (the "gimp" left arm does an excellent job of doubling as the cannon). The tank mode also looks a bit better despite being able to do so by simply hiding the right arm. It has the wings that allow Megatron to fly around in alt mode and generally looks more like a cohesive vehicle than the Leader class tank mode. Some will complain about the green color, but this certainly isn't the first time we've gotten a green tank Megatron, and others say it's meant to evoke how he's covered in algae from being underwater for a couple of years. Either way, it doesn't look bad, although I'd be hard-pressed not to buy a Premium-style silver version if it were released in US markets. Overall, this is probably he best toy of Movie Megatron, if not in terms of movie-accuracy, then at least in terms of price, looking good, and playability.
-Trenchmouth
Faction: Decepticon
Toyline: Revenge of the Fallen
Class: Scout 2-pack
Release: Early Spring 2010
Acquired: Walmart (Exclusive)
Accessories: Slapdash.
Strongest mode: Robot.
- As explained at length in this post, this repaint of Knock-Out (in my eyes, an ROTF Wasp toy) serves perfectly well as a BW Inferno homage in case you, like I, don't like the look of ROTF Reverb, the line's intended Inferno homage. I've also, quite extensively, extolled the virtues of this mold when I reviewed it last summer. So, without being redundant, this is the second-best-looking version of this mold yet released. No repaint is ever going to top Wasp-Out's color scheme for me, and between Trenchmouth, Reverb, and the upcoming Backfire (all of which heavily feature red), this guy does the repaint thing best. It will be a bit monochromatic for some, but I think that works to its advantage. I think the only improvement I might add would be to switch Trenchmouth and Reverb's heads, since Reverb does have the silver face the BW Inferno does. The main negative point for this toy is that you have to buy Slapdash along with it, and for some that's an advantage.
-Seaspray
Faction: Autobot
Toyline: Hunt for the Decepticons
Class:Voyager
Release: Late summer 2010
Acquired: TRU
Accessories: 2 missile launchers, 2 missiles.
Strongest mode: Robot.
- Seaspray here has been the center of much debate, virtually all about whether he's a direct, Classics-style update of G1 Seaspray or whether he's an off-screen movie toy, making him a distinct character from the G1 incarnation. Well, first, I don't think I've seen a previous Classics/Universe/Generations toy that deviates as far from the original design as Seaspray does; and second, once you get him, you won't really care because he's so awesome. Easily the best hovercraft transformer we've ever gotten (much nicer than the last one, Cybertron's Shortround), he's also got a unique bot mode whose design revolves around a cool diver/SCUBA theme. The backpack "kibble" does a great job of resembling oxygen tanks, and his faceplate is clearly a breathing mask. Throw in the "harpoon" missiles and flip-out flippers on his feet, and this guy's bot mode is good to go for underwater missions. Which is helpful, seeing as how his alt mode, while still aquatic, isn't a submersible. Easily the only interesting option of the first wave of HftD voyagers (his wavemates are somewhat uninteresting Ratchet and Long Haul repaints), Seaspray also appealing for his ability to carry scout-class ground vehicles in his hovercraft mode, which was specifically designed to interact with the upcoming Breacher APC scout toy.
-Jazz w/Captain Lennox
Faction: Autobot/NEST
Toyline: Hunt for the Decepticons
Class: Human Alliance
Release: Late Summer 2010
Acquired: Target
Accessories: 1 Motorcycle/missile launcher, 1 missile, Captain Lennox
Strongest mode: Robot.
- I feel like I'm doing this a lot lately, but HA Jazz really does seem to be the best of the Human Alliance toys. Or, at least, the best of the Autobots (I still have a really high opinion of Barricade). Like the Twins' HA toys, Jazz isn't a "full-size" car in Solstice mode, so he includes another motorcycle. Is it Elita-1? No, of course not. This is a set to recall the first movie, so the bike is meant to be the one Lennox rides to kill Blackout, despite not looking too much like it. That's because the deco and form are dictated by its alt mode being Jazz's distinct crescent-shield gun, which previously only found itself included with a transforming toy of Jazz in the Final Battle remolded release. And even that version was decidedly not screen accurate, even if it was neat. So having the bike-gun is pretty awesome, especially since you have to fold Jazz's hand back to attach it, making it look a bit like an arm cannon, a la Bumblebee. Jazz has some really clever transformation tricks, such as his grille rotating 180 degrees to compensate for his torso being upside down in car mode ( a trick 2007 Ratchet could have benefited from) and his shins forming the seats, something very different from any other HA to so far. He does cheat a bit; for example, he has a fake back spoiler in bot mode, but its main purpose is to serve as a mount for his over-the-shoulder cannon. He also has his little "collarbone" pieces, something that the myriad movie Bumblebee toys has never managed to accomplish. They aren't part of the alt mode, but instead double as small cannons. Very cool. I could write more, but the bottom line is that HA Jazz is an amazing transformer. It's amazing that we got him, as he wasn't in ROTF (like Barricade) but he also died in the first movie (unlike Barricade, who simply disappears to show up in the post-movie comics). Get him.
-Divebomb
Faction: Decepticon
Toyline: Revenge of the Fallen (NEST:GA)
Class: Scout
Release: Spring 2010
Acquired: Toys R Us
Accessories: None.
Strongest mode: Both.
- Divebomb here is actually intended to be the same guy from the 2007 movie line (a repaint of Cybertron Thundercracker), but since I don't consider that guy to be part of the movie universe, RotF Divebomb to me is a separate entity. He's also a really fantastic toy. This mold was originally released as Ransack, with WWI-accurate but also inconspicuous colors. Divebomb wears the colors the mold was made for - the Red Baron's! And he looks great in them, too, even if the red is perhaps a bit too bright. About the only thing wrong with the deco is that his Decepticon symbols lack the added details that Ransack has that make the symbols more like a German aircraft identifier - maybe Hasbro thought those would make Divebomb too German? At any rate, he should've had them. Also, Divebomb (mine, at least) holds up a bit better than Ransack, with his arms falling off in mid-transformation a lot less. While the mold is getting another release at some point (another Decepticon, named Blue Maximus, after the film Blue Max), I think Divebomb is still the high point of the mold's release history. If you don't have the mold, get Divebomb. But then, you should get him even if you have Ransack.
-Terradive
Faction: Decepticon
Toyline: Hunt for the Decepticons
Class: Deluxe
Release: Fall 2010
Acquired: Kmart
Accessories: 1 spear/trident
Strongest mode: Jet.
- Terradive fills an often under-appreciated role in the various transformer toylines - that of the non-Seeker deluxe Decepticon jet. This is particularly true in the movie toylines, where the only deluxe jet molds - 2007 Dreadwing, RotF Thrust, and RotF Dirge - are Seekers of some stripe or another. So, Terradive joins the ranks of those such as Energon Slugslinger and a few others. Not great company, but oh well. As for Terradive himself, he's pretty unique. First off, he's got a FSW jet mode closely based on the Su-47 Berkut. The last FSW we got was the Animated Seeker molds, but none of those were deluxes (and not quite realistic, being in the stylized Animated look). His transformation is also somewhat unique. Some of it is owed to G2 Space Case (also a similar FSW jet, by the way), but the cockpit/torso transformation is totally new, with the nosecone extending and flipping up over the cockipt and the canards folding up to create a sort of pyramidal box for the chest. Also, the jet exhausts are of the flip-around-to-become-fists type, which is appreciated because it allows him to have dual de facto Mega Man-style blasters/flamethrowers, not unlike Energon Rodimus. Terradive's weapon further sets him apart from the crowd, being a very long spear whose point opens up to become a trident with a blaster on the center prong (interesting, as Armada Terradive turned into both a jet and a 3-pronged blade). It's pretty awesome, and folds away nicely to store under the aircraft. I should mention, by the way, that like Cybetron Thundercracker, Terradive is a very slim jet from the side, which is a bit rare in aircraft transformers. His overall bot mode appearance is fairly lanky, with a very serious-looking headsculpt. His wings fold up against the sides of his lower legs, whereas the tailfins become the smallish "wings" for the bot mode. It gives off a fairly strong G1 Cyclonus vibe. It's a strong mold. The only reason I would recommend holding off is that we know it's got another head sculpt planned, and the colors aren't the best in my opinion. Not bad, but not awesome, either. It's a great mold to pick up, though.
-Optimus Prime
Faction: Autobot
Toyline: Revenge of the Fallen
Class: Leader
Release: Summer 2009
Acquired: Target/Father's Day gift - thanks, honey!
Accessories: None.
Strongest mode: Robot mode
- When we first saw the designs for the 2007 movie, most fans were a bit overwhelmed by the highly complex designs and wondered how they could possibly translated into good toys. Even so, most of us were pretty satisfied by the 2007 toyline's two main toys of the franchise's flagship character - Optimus Prime. His leader and voyager class toys were fairly complex and well-done, even if they weren't 100% screen accurate. Some (including myself) even went so far as to compare the leader to the different Masterpiece toys in quality. Jump ahead two years to 2009, and you get a quantum leap in Leader Class Optimsu toys. The RotF version of the big guy is so much better than the original that it's not funny. This Optimus toy looks like it leaped off the screen - all the details, proportions, and colors are right. And this toy truly brings Masterpiece-level engineering to the "normal" size classes; it's very complicated in transformation, but that yields both modes that look exactly as they should. There's also some clever transformation bits - like making his trailer hitch the connector between his torso and waist (triggering the transformation sound when they pair up!), and the way the roof/sides of the cab fold up to make the back pack is pretty inspired. He does, however, have some drawbacks/limitations. First, he doesn't have any guns. For the first movie line, you could choose - the first version of Leader Prime had a gun, and the Premium remold had a sword. This new one has two swords - just as he does in the 2nd film - but no firearm, except for the very expensive Japanese "Buster" remold, which replaces the fuel tanks with new ones that combine into a large gun. Also, his torso-moving voice gimmick is too easily triggered, particularly during transformation. His swords stow, but not while allowing his arms to remain straight, thanks to his upper arm kibble/armor. You'll have to bend them at the elbows to keep the swords out of sight. Lastly, the part of his transformation where you have to connect the bottom of the windshield to the nose of the cab is a bit cumbersome, with the hood halves having to move around other stuff to get into the correct position, all while trying not to dislodge the windshield. While Japan solved the lack of gun, Hasbro saw fit to remold this toy differently, replacing Prime's swords with the hooks he uses in the film to ruin Grindor's weekend. He also has the Buster version's new, faceplate-less head, and (more unfortunately) a lot of battle damage paint. Still, the original RotF release is the best-looking one for its price. Well, unless Hasbro makes yet another better vesion for 2011's TF3: The Dark of the Moon!
-Battle Blades Optimus Prime
Faction: Autobot
Toyline: Hunt for the Decepticons
Class: Voyager
Release: Early Fall 2010
Acquired: Walmart
Accessories: 1 Matrix of Leadership, two fuel tanks/guns
Strongest mode: Robot mode
- Many fans were disappointed to see that during the whole of the "true" RotF line, Optimus didn't receive a new-mold voyager class toy; instead, we got two repaints of the 2007 mold, which had already been released like four times for that toyline. However, Hasbro didn't totally hang us out to dry; we just had to wait over a full year after RotF to get a new voyager Optimus. It was worth the wait, though. You know how awesome RotF Leader Prime was? Well, imagine both shrinking his design AND improving it at the same time, and you'll get an idea of how great Battle Blades Optimus is. In overall look, he's like a small copy of the RotF Leader toy.
-The Fallen ("Movie Megatronus Prime")
Faction: Decepticon
Toyline: Hunt for the Decepticons
Class: Voyager
Release: Late fall 2010
Acquired: Kmart
Accessories: 1 command staff, 1 (give me your) face.
Strongest mode: Robot
- So, I wasn't going to get this toy. HftD The Fallen, first revealed at Botcon last year, is a great remold of the 2009 RotF toy, but it's colors look nothing like the Fallen does. At Botcon, Joe Kyde told me that they were trying to imitate the insectile iridescent sheen he has in the film, but he turned out looking more like a Cryo Scourge than anything. So, I avoided the toy, not even adding it to my Christmas list, despite knowing of the cool remolded features. What features, you ask? Well, we could start with his new weapon - he now has the command staff seen in the film whereas his original releases have no weapons at all. It even folds in half so that it can "store" when he's in spaceplane mode (it really sticks out the back, but it's better than nothing). Then there's the fact that he had to get new hands so he could actually hold the staff; however, you also get some decent posability out of the new arrangement, too. Finally, there's his great new head mold. First, yes, it does look a bit more like the film version (not that the original was too far off). Second, it has actual useful movement this time - the head itself is on a ball joint at the top of a hinged neck stalk. Then there's the coup de grace - his removable face, so you can reenact the final fight between him and Optimus! The "skull" has its mouth molded open in a perpetual scream, and is based on the look from the movie. Unfortunately, while it's clear that the skull was designed with lightpiping in mind (and the face even has eyeholes to let the light from the eyes through), the necessary parts are molded in an opaque "Allspark blue" plastic. So what made me fall for this toy? Other than eroding resistance to the cool new parts, I internally justified the very different colors scheme by deciding that this toy represents pre-Fallen The Fallen - that is, Megatronus Prime. Granted, he's already evil and started up the Decepticons (you've got to love the black and purple of his sigil-like face), but he hasn't yet been trapped in an alternate dimension and corrupted by Unicron yet (that's what my Target Burning repaint is for). The aforementioned "Allspark blue" bits even serve to visually still link him to Primus, but he still has the official Decepticon colors, too (important, since in this continuity he actually starts the 'cons, not anyone else). Final verdict - much better version of the mold than any other, and while the colors still aren't perfect (I'd love to see this remold in black with orange line detailing), it has a good internal consistency and definitely stands out.
- Constructicon Devastator
Faction: Decepticon
Toyline: Revenge of the Fallen
Class: Gift set of 7 legends class toys
Release: February 2010
Acquired: Walmart - exclusive (bought with Valentine's gift money - thanks again, honey)
Accessories: None
Strongest mode: All (best individual toys are Hightower, Scavenger, and Overload)
-Devastator was something a lot of us were looking forward to in Revenge of the Fallen. Early on, it looked as though we were finally going to get a big combiner toy, but then, after Toy Fair 2009, it was confirmed that Devastator (a $100 toy) would only have a combined robot mode and individual vehicle modes. Basically, it was a big take on what some call multi-formers or partsformers (like G1's Omega Supreme and Ducons, or Armada's Tidal wave) - a bunch of vehicles with no robot modes of their own forming a larger robot mode. This may not have been a problem except for two things: A) Tradition (all previous Devastators had transformable components with robot modes of their own) and B) ROTF itself (wherein the Constructicons did, in fact, have their own bot modes and most of them got individual toys at the deluxe and voyager classes). Enter the Legends class. What Hasbro couldn't do at the Super-Supreme price point, they did at the smallest size class in the ROTF line. They made 7 constructicon molds that had vehicle and bot modes and gave them the ability to combine into a Devastator with roughly the height of a deluxe and the mass of a voyager. So, still a pretty tiny Devastator, but engineering-wise, a pretty impressive toy. His components are Mixmaster (cement truck, the head), Scrapper (front-end loader, the right forearm), Long Haul (mining dump truck, the right leg), Rampage (bulldozer, a la G1 Bonecrusher, the left leg), Hightower (nee Hook, he's a crane, the left forearm), Scavenger (huge excavator, the upper torso and upper arms/elbows) and lastly Overload (articulated dump truck, the lower torso, tail, and hips, who has no G1 equivalent). These toys individually make great legends toys on their own (although Hasbro went on to give Rampage and Long Haul second, totally new, non-combining legends molds), and the fact that they combine really is just icing on the cake. I particularly like this set because three of the constructicons - Hook, Overload, and Scrapper - sadly never got molds larger than this, despite all having great designs (particularly the first two). And honestly, we wouldn't have gotten this set as individuals, anyway, since the only way they made it over here was as a one-shot exclusive set. I should also mention that, if you're still irked about the small size, he's in pretty good scale with Stratosphere and his mini-Optimus. In the end, Devastator is one of the most impressive legends toys and easily the better of the two Devastator toys, both for price and functionality. He also looks better than his very bland, G1-inspired Toys R Us exclusive repaint, too.
-Thunderhead w/Major Tungsten
Faction: Autobot
Toyline: Dark of the Moon
Class: Human Alliance Scout (?)
Release: May 16th, 2011
Acquired: Walmart
Accessories: 1 rifle/cannon, 2 C-clip missile launchers, Major Tungsten.
Strongest mode: Toss-up between mech suit and spider tank
-Megatron
Faction: Decepticon
Toyline: Dark of the Moon
Class: Cyberverse Commander
Release: May 16th, 2011
Acquired: Walmart
Accessories: 2 fuel tank halves/fusion cannon(s)
Strongest mode: Tie between robot and truck
-Optimus Prime
Faction: Autobot
Toyline: Dark of the Moon
Class: Deluxe (MechTech, if you really want to consider that part of the size class name)
Release: June 2011
Acquired: Walmart (Exclusive)
Accessories: 1 MechTech gun/energon axe
Strongest mode: Tie between robot and truck
-Ok, so this toy is a first in a couple of ways. One, he's the first (that I'm aware of) Walmart exclusive to be a completely new mold and not a repaint. The closest thing I can think of to this is when Walmart got Energon Megatron about two months earlier than any other retailers, but, thus far, there's no indication that this Optimus will be carried anywhere else (at least in this form; I wholly expect redecos as exclusives elsewhere or in the mass retail assortments). Also, this is the first "true" deluxe toy for movie Optimus Prime's Earth form. One of the very first movie toys was his cybertronian protoform toy, which was a deluxe, and he's gotten two Fast Action Battlers, but they aren't normal deluxes in a real sense, only in terms of mass and cost. This guy feels like a normal deluxe transformer, which is great. To the toy itself, beginning with his truck mode - it's really nice. About the only bad things I can say about it are that the rear section is a bit too long/massive (it's so the legs can have correct proportions) and that the hitch/5th wheel/whatever isn't a MechTech port. The truck mode only has 2 MT ports, both on the roof, and they're a bit close, so that will restrict the possible combination of any 2 MT weapons you can have there. Allowing a 3rd port on the hitch would have been great. Otherwise, it's a fantastic depiction of the Peterbilt that we've all gotten used to over the past five years, with liberal use of silver paint apps and the same orange-to-red fade on the nose that the previous leader class toys have. Also, since the nose doesn't really transform, there's a lack of panel lines that most toys of this character have had there. The windows are clear, which is nice, and it just overall looks really great. It's got some shin kibble right behind the headache rack, but it's not a big deal. The transformation is neat and interesting and strikes the "sweet spot" between being too easy or too complicated for a deluxe transformer. Kibble is minimized (save for the giant nose backpack), so it's not a very fiddly transformation, though you'll want to be mindful of some tabs going into truck mode if you want everything to be lined up right. Going to bot mode, it seems to borrow some cues from other movie Optimus toys. For instance, the way the cab splits apart and the head pops up is similar to how TFM Leader Prime's torso and head transform - this deluxe even has a bit of automorph in that, when you press the backpack in, the head literally pops up. Also like the TFM Leader, the arms come from the rear "sleeper" portion of the cab in almost exactly the same way, just much cleaner, again, in terms of kibble. Another streamlining technique is found in that the rear wheels don't end up hanging off of his legs, but rather fold together to make his ankle wheels - a bit like the new DOTM Voyager Optimus. And, of course, the giant nose backpack is very much like that of the TFM Voyager, though thankfull this time it doesn't mean we have fake parts - the windshield on his chest is the real windshield. All of this leads to a very clean, posable bot mode that's just great. Sure, he feels a bit less movie accurate than ROTF's Leader and HFTD's Voyager, but on the other hand, he feels a lot more like a true movie Optimus than the DOTM Voyager, let alone the previous FAB toys. As I stated, he's quite posable - he's got both bicep and thigh swivels, double-jointed elbows, and can point his toes while also tilting his ankles side to side (like Armada deluxe Optimus). My complaints in this area would be that he could really use a moving heel spur (or any kind of heel spur) - that could make him able to hold some of the dynamic pose he's capable of. Also, while the head rotates a lot farther to either side than I thought the cab "collar" would let him, I do wish he had a ball joint neck to allow him to look up and down a bit. About the only "head" emotion you can get from this guy is Staring Outward Defiantly. Lastly, Optimus has a waist joint as a result of his transformation, but the back pack has to be tilted back in an unattractive way to make it movable. In addition to generally good movement, Optimus also has some good weapons options. His MechTech (which is the same as the slightly earlier Mudflap toy, though I feel it was made with Optimus in mind) is a thick rifle of some kind with a scope that, when pulled back, causes the barrel to flip back to reveal a spring-loaded, double-bladed axe. Very Optimus-like, though not quite as stylish as the gun/axe that the Fireburst Voyager repaint comes with, and it unfortunately can't be locked in axe mode, like most other deluxe MT weapons. However, Optimus can hold it in either hand, mount it on either forearm, or on either shoulder pad. This doesn't mean much with just his one weapon, but when you bring other weapons into play, this Optimus can really be loaded up. Don't forget that the headache rack kibble on the underside of his forearms has C-clip rods, too. I do kind of wish the nose backpack had either MT ports or C-clip rods, as to give it some use, but I suppose he's got enough as it is. In summation, this is the latest is a recent string of great deluxe Optimus toys from Hasbro (WFC Optimus and RTS G2 Optimus being the most recent), and does the movie design justice in the deluxe scale. This will make some who dislike the new voyager mold (including myself) happy, as he also scales pretty well (especially in vehicle mode) with the current DOTM Voyager Megatron. Get this guy.
-Hatchet
Faction: Decepticon
Toyline: Dark of the Moon
Class: Cyberverse Commander
Release: July 2011
Acquired: Target
Accessories: 2 cruise missile drones/guns
Strongest mode: Both robot and jet.
- Hatchet is something of a departure from the norm. When images of the toy first surfaced earlier this spring, it was the first indication that the character even existed, and between his nondescript bio and bizarre, beastly robot mode, many of us weren't even sure if he was actually going to be in the Dark of the Moon movie itself. Turns out we were halfway right - Hatchet does indeed appear in the movie, but not as a jet. Hatchet is one of the three Dreads, rather ghastly Decepticon "enforcers" that all, as Crankcase's toy does, transform into police SUVs in the film. Crowbar, the third Dread, also lacks a SUV altmode, turning into a police interceptor. I myself don't mind this discrepancy with the toys, as it serves to make each Dread a bit more unique, and Hatchet's alt mode is pretty great. A pretty good take on the Eurofighter, this is a tiny plane TF, yet pretty big for the size class, especially when you consider mass; this thing is solid. His two weapons, cruise missile "drones" that transform into different guns (which can combine), serve to add even more to his alt mode's size. The colors are simple but very nice - black with gold, silver and (minimal) white detailing. One particularly impressive bit of engineering means that his forearms split, the lower parts becoming guns (with missiles molded on them!) for the jet mode, while the upper parts with the hands form the rear landing gear. Of course, this means his sizable, clawed hands hang of the back of the jet mode, but if ROTF Voyager Starscream can get away with it, so can Hatchet (and it actually seems less noticeable here). One more note about the alt mode - comparing the size of the cockpit to DOTM Space Case, you'd think the two toys (Space Case is a deluxe) are in scale, which is perhaps possible, since the Eurofighter isn't a big plane, but I kind of doubt it. Still, I like to think that it is, meaning that Hatchet's bot mode looks a bit like a pet for deluxe jet Decepticons. Anyhow, the bot mode is great - it's unique, and it looks scary as hell. The head sculpt alone is pure evil, with the nice detail of the nose ring kept intact from the movie model. Also, the wings manage, both by size and the completely vertical angle to which they fold, to not really look like wings for the bot mode, which is good, as it would serve to make him look more like a griffin or something rather than just a big, beastly Decepticon with a tail ( I really don't think he's supposed to be a "true" animal cybertronian in the same vein as Ravage or Laserbeak, but I guess that's up for debate). His weapons can be held, but only horizontally; this doesn't quite looks as bad as some make it out to be, but the much more natural configuration is to plug them into the wings, as his hands look much better simply as sharp claws. The tail is a neat bit, with the skeletal part being hidden by the legs in jet mode and the "stinger" being the extended nosecone. Overall, this is a very fun, unique little mold. It's almost DOTM's version of ROTF's Ransack mold, and, so far, it's certainly one of the best Cyberverse Commanders, if not one of the best DOTM molds of all.
-Space Case
Faction: Decepticon
Toyline: Dark of the Moon
Class: Deluxe
Release: July 2011
Acquired: Target (exclusive)
Accessories: 1 spear/trident, 1 comic (Transformers: Space Case)
Strongest mode: Jet.
- Space Case is a remold/repaint of the 2010 HftD Terradive toy. Using this character was a pretty natural choice, I imagine, since Terradive's Su-47-ish let mode is very similar to the jet mode possessed by G2 Space Case, one of the Cyberjets (interestingly, the first toy named Terradive was also a G2 Decepticon jet, though not a Cyberjet). While, thanks to the jet mode and general color scheme, the toy is recognizable as Space Case, he's not a direct copy of the G2 toy. The main color now is translucent blue rather than white, and he lacks the diamond "snakeskin" pattern. There are other deco changes, too, like the inclusion of several cyberglyphs (which all the Commander-class and up Target exclusives have, but SC here has...a lot), the change of the G2 toy's "electric bird" symbol into just a trio of lightning bolts behind his wing 'Con sigils. Also, the head is totally different, as he doesn't have the typical Cyberjet visor-face look (not many modern TFs do). A lot more white comes up in bot mode, as his legs are mostly that color, and he's got some white paint on his torso that isn't visible from above in jet mode. One interesting bit is that 2/3 of the cyberjet molds had gun hands, which this mold is capable of as well (the fists rotate and conceal to reveal the jet exhausts), but the G2 Space Case mold was the only cyberjet to actually have two hands, with its gun being mounted on the arm. Unfortunately, Space Case is one of four new deluxe exclusives for Target, and despite being the only toy in the set with new parts and being a new character (or perhaps because of that last part), he's packed as just 1 per case, meaning he'll likely be at least somewhat hard to find. The official "release date" for this set was this past Sunday (July 17th), and luckily for me the Target I checked out on the day after hadn't put out any yet, and with the DCPI I was able to get an employee to bring me one from the back. Still, if you can find this guy and you like jet TFs or G2 homages (which we've gotten a decent amount of lately, honestly), then Space Case is a good choice. Of course, you may want to get him now just to avoid paying the likely high prices later.
-Megatron (Premium)
Faction: Decepticon
Toyline: Movie
Class: Leader
Release: Late Spring 2008
Acquired: Target
Accessories: none (all weapons connected)
Strongest mode: Robot.
- One of the most highly maligned of all movie-design molds from the past five years, Leader Megatron nonetheless has a fearsome robot mode. Like most movie decepticons, his look can only really be described as "demonic" - right down to the bat-like wings, claws, "tail", and animalistic feet. For Megatron's first movie appearance, he transformed into cybertronian air/spacecraft, and that's what we see here. Unfortunately, this mode suffers a quite a bit from kibble. The legs pretty much just hang under the length of the wings, and while certain details allow them to look like VTOL thrusters, it's too bad that the wings themselves lose a bit of their majesty while holding up the legs. Also, the two thick sections of torso make the rear center area very chunky. Being as how this is the Premium repaint, it looks a lot better than the first release, which had too light of a grey plastic, inexplicable patches of metallic blue paint, and clear pink on the translucent sections. The Premium changes the grey to a near-gunmetal, the blue is gone, and the pink is now a menacing red. There are also several paint apps their almost look like motor oil, though I think they were intended to portray scorching marks. Articulation is pretty good. The only lacking area is the head, which has a ball joint, but it's much farther back than normal and the head has to be "unlocked" from its normal position to allow movement. Also, the wrist joints and elbow joints together do comprise the dreaded "Scourge-bows" type of arm movement. Luckily, between his giant clawed fingers and inability to hold normal weapons, this doesn't matter too much. Ankle movement is, however, useless, as it's part of the Automorph mechanism in the legs and only moves for transformation. The feet are pretty big, though, so they will support a lot of poses. In all, no, this isn't the most screen-accurate movie Megatron toy (which one is? DOTM Voyager?), but it incorporates the vehicle mode kibble into the bot mode well, if not the other way around. And, in the end, if it's Movie Megatron's original design you crave, this is your best bet.
-Cyberfire Bumblebee
Faction: Autobot
Toyline: Dark of the Moon
Class: Deluxe
Release: September 2011
Acquired: Kohl's
Accessories: 1 Mechtech gun/cannon
Strongest mode: Both
- Ok, Cyberfire Bumblebee is damned evil. Seriously - we've gotten black BB repaints before (the various stealth repaints), but none that actually looked like they were demon-possessed. For starters, this is a new mold. It was first released in wave 1 in normal BB colors, but I had no real desire to own it after buying the feature-packed Battle Blades BB from the HftD line earlier in the year. However, the colors on this release are so starkly reversed that it looks almost nothing like the original version. Also, I'm actually pretty pleased with the mold as-is - it's actually a bit better or more fun than BBBB. It lacks BBBB's gimmicks - no gun-hand, face-mask, or deploying axe here - but the mold just seems to work better. The improved arm articulation helps, for sure - BBBB has the dreaded "Scourge-bows" - so he can more convincingly pull off gun poses. Speaking of his gun, this mectech weapon is pretty awesome. The standard, block-like form with an average-sized barrel isn't that impressive, but pulling back on the hammer allows it to extend into this awesome cannon that would make any deluxe-class Megatron jealous. It's a real shame that it can't be locked into this mode, as it just looks fantastic. I like how the barrel's rim is molded to look the same as BB's arm cannon. Going back to the appearance for a moment, it's hard not to think of this BB as inspired by the Fallen and other minions of Unicron, as many of them (like Cyb. Sideways) also sport a black w/orange deco. It's as though the chaotic power of Unicron has possessed him. In summation, there are a ton of movie Bumblebee toys, especially at the deluxe size class. However, none of them quite stand out from the crowd like this one does. If you're looking to pick up a new deluxe BB from the DOTM line, this is your best bet.
-Starscream
Faction: Decepticon
Toyline: Dark of the Moon
Class: Cyberverse Legion
Release: September 2011
Acquired: Walmart
Accessories: none
Strongest mode: Tie?
- Ok, this will be the first review I've written that basically expresses disappointment. As you can see from the collection roster, I've been collecting nearly all the Cyberverse toys for DotM> However, I've not yet (and may not at all) bought any of the "action sets", the $15 sets that include a vehicle/playset with either a legion or commander class figure. I originally had intended to buy the Starscream one, because it included, hey, Starscream and it was a new mold. Then we learned that the mold would get repainted for a single-packed release for the 3rd wave of legion toys. I eventually settled on planning to get this repaint, as it looked generally better and is a bit different from my HftD Legends Starscream since it doesn't have the tattoos in jet mode. So I finally find this guy the other morning at the local WM, and my first problem with him out-of-package is that his left joint to hold up his torso/arm piece is about as loose as a goose. Basically, unless you have his elbow rest on his left wing, the whole arm assembly flops down. My second major problem is that his arms don't properly connect in jet mode to his tailfins; they keep popping off the connectors. Moreover (and this is less of a problem) his legs don't connect at all in jet mode. Luckily joint friction keeps them pretty well in place. And while the transformation is over all a bit more interesting and true-to-form than the older legends Movie Starscream mold, it's still no better about being a jet with robot limbs hanging underneath. The RtS G1 Legends Starscream mold from this spring is a much better attempt at a small jet-former, and even it has some problems. One thing about this toy that is great is the jet mode deco. It's very much like the Japanese "Masterpiece" release of HftD Leader Starscream, with a very realistic paint job. There are no tattoos, so it's more of a revisit to Starscream's 2007 look. Also, the tats are minimized in bot mode to his wings, and even then the one on his right wing is just a large fragment of the Decepticon symbol. Also, the bot mode is, overall, an improvement over the original 2007 mold. The legs still kind of suck for a lack of knees, but it has those nifty hip/thigh joints that became relatively common in recent years (mostly on deluxes, like BWX Megatron, Classics Grimlock, or newer stuff like Terradive/Space Case). However, the only reason the thigh swivel is there is for transformation purposes. But back on the positive. The arms look good, and this time have elbows that make sense, even if they're not ball joints.Also, the head is its own separate piece this time around, so it looks pretty nice, even if it can't move. Lastly, some might complain about how the wings end up in bot mode, since it makes him look pretty different from his normal self (usually, Movie Starscream has his main wings folded away an just a couple of tailfins above his shoulders. However, the main wings sticking out really doesn't bother me, since it's pretty much just like a fan-mode I have for Leader Starscream that leaves his wings deployed in bot mode. A more dedicated robot mode for aerial combat, if you will. So anyway, unless you're a die-hard Starscream fan, you can probably skip this mold. If you have to have it and don't care about the orbital attack thing from the action set, go with this release. It looks nicer.
-Sentinel Prime
Faction: Autobot (sort of...)
Toyline: Dark of the Moon
Class: Voyager
Release: Fall 2011
Acquired: Target
Accessories: 1 Mechtech water cannon/fusion cannon
Strongest mode: Robot.
- I was never not going to buy Voyager class Sentinel Prime, but I was surprised to see how much I liked him. And not just how much I generally liked him (he's gotten a lot of hate for being a relatively simple shell-former), but also how much I like him compared to his larger, more complex Leader class toy. I guess the reason is because, unlike the Leader toy, I can transform the Voyager in less than 20 minutes and it just generally plays better. While it's not the most posable toy ever, its level of motion is serviceable, and sufficient to allow him to hold his gun in the larger fusion cannon mode with both hands. He looks great doing it, too. I do wish his ankle could move forward, that his wrists could rotate, and that he had a waist swivel, but all in all he's fine. I mentioned his mechtech weapon; it's great. Yeah, it's a bit...overdone in its water cannon mode (particularly compared to the slender boom of the Leader and Commander class toys), but it does look pretty awesome, and is the first MT to mount on a vehicle mode using a ratchet joint. Granted, it's a weak one, but you can actually move his boom cannon around in truck mode. However, it's got a really cool and effective transformation to an even cooler "fusion cannon" mode. It ends up looking like a huge-barreled cannon with five smaller guns embedded in the barrel. It's crazy. It looks best held in both hands toward the side, but he also looks cool dual-wielding it with some other huge mechtech (like Icepick in chainsaw mode, or Laserbeak's combined guns). Aside from the shellformeryness of the toy (which, if you don't like really obvious shellformers, you're just not going to get around), it's only real problem is a relative lack of paint. Instead of, for example, having red plastic for his shoulders (like bother other Sentinel DOTM toys), this one has grey with some reddish paint. However, the paint doesn't completely cover the shoulders, just a few panels. Overall, though, it's a fun voyager that's very playable. It's also the only Sentinel toy that has purposefully scratched out Autobot logos (which, if you've seen the movie, you know why).
-Darksteel ("Movie Quickstrike")
Faction: Decepticon
Toyline: Dark of the Moon
Class: Deluxe
Release: Fall 2011
Acquired: Target
Accessories: 1 Mechtech gun/"stinger" blade, 1 non-Mechtech gun/"fangs" blade
Strongest mode: Both?
- Ok, so I originally didn't want this guy, but I came around to him and I'm glad I did.
-Highbrow
Faction: Autobot
Toyline: Hunt for the Decepticons
Class:Voyager
Release: Fall 2010
Acquired: Christmas gift 2010
Accessories: 2 Gatling guns
Strongest mode: Both.
- So, we don't get many transformers with older aircraft as their altmodes. Luckily, the film Revenge of the Fallen was a big excuse for Hasbro designers to go wild with all kinds of unusual alt modes - from ice cream trucks to microscopes to toasters - and one of the beneficiaries of this is Highbrow. Highbrow isn't exactly a big-name TF character, and has a limited legacy. Originally one of the four main G1 Autobot headmasters that transformed into a twin-rotor helicopter, he also appeared in Animated as the elder Autobot Intelligence head (I also like to think that Energon Bulkhead is an iteration of the guy). Someone at Hasbro decided that HB deserved a shot at being in the movieverse, though, and also decided to make him a (sort of) WWII Lockheed P-38 Lightning, one of the more distinctive fighters of that war. As an homage, he's something of a blend of his G1 and Animated incarnations, as he's supposed to be a very old Cybertronian (like Animated) and he has an alt mode with twin propellers (like his G1 form). The plane mode itself is fantastic. While it's not a terribly accurate P-38, it is a good-looking WWII fighter. Its main deficits are the short/thick wings and the seemingly purposeless intake around the central nose (it doesn't even make sense as an intake for the hidden jet engine, as its exhaust is covered and therefore useless in plane mode). He's well armed, too - aside from some molded gun ports on the nose, he also has Gatling guns mounted on top of the wings and carries rockets underneath them. His main gimmick involves pushing down on the engine intakes to spin the propeller blades - it's pretty fun and effective! After a pretty interesting and inventive transformation, you get a pretty distinctive-looking robot. He can wield his Gatling guns in hand now, and his wingtips, including the rockets, hang off his hips and can be aimed to a degree. Some neat extra features: One, his "skullcap" slides down over his eyes to form a battle mask (kind of like certain Bumblebee toys) that looks a lot like a fighter pilot's helmet and goggles. The goggle lenses themselves are clear to allow his lightpiping to still work, which is nice. Two - his fists can fold back away and his arms fold out so that the propeller blades are now where his hands would be, allowing for some slice and dice action a la TFM Incinerator (it's also a way to give him movie-esque weapon hands). He's also very posable, capable of pulling off some great stances and supporting them with his very stable and flexible feet. Overall, this is a great transformer and, really, one of the best voyagers of all the movie lines. It's a shame that there's no repaint of him on the horizon, but I suppose that helps preserve his uniqueness, as well.
-Cannon Force Ironhide
Faction: Autobot
Toyline: Dark of the Moon
Class:Voyager
Release: Late Fall 2011
Acquired: Walmart
Accessories: 1 Mechtech cannon/jet engine
Strongest mode: Robot.
- So we finally got a completely new mold voyager Ironhide! This mold actually came out at the beginning of the Dark of the Moon line last summer in his movie-accurate black deco, but I held off long enough to find out that we'd also finally be getting a G1-colors repaint. Yes, movie Ironhide has had other red repaints, but they've only been of his 2008 legends mold (which I have) and the 2007 FAB mold (which I don't). So, I finally found one shortly after Christmas 2011 at the local Walmart, and I'm pretty pleased.The truck mode looks good, keeping more black than one might have thought. The only real deficit for the truck mode is that the bed is filled with foot kibble lines; supposedly hasbro didn't want this version of IH to have flat, slippery feet like the original mold. Also, the tailgate does open, but because of the transformation, it opens the wrong direction: up. Other than those quibbles, it's a good looking truck, and the mechtech weapon/booster looks fine on top. The transformation is mostly pretty cool, as it's more inventive than the original toy's and manages to keep the arms completely hidden. I do enjoy how the rear side panels of the truck wrap around to form the calves, and the non-mechanized automorph of the chest is pretty fun and effective. The robot mode that you get as a result is a lot more athletic looking than the older mold, and perhaps its chief fault is that the long legs make Ironhide appear taller and thinner than he should. Articulation is pretty good; the legs have a good useful range, thanks to the double-jointed ankles, and even the weirdly-constructed arms can do pretty much anything except go forward and backward at the shoulder (and the effect of this really isn't noticeable, actually). Ironhide is definitely built for underslung handling of weapons, anyway, what with 1 MT port and 5mm peg on the underside of each forearm, note to mention clear access to the bottom of his fists. Speaking of which, that's where I usually plug in the handle of his Mechtech weapon, which is designed more for an action effect than actual transforming, unlike most Mechtech weapons. In it's standard configuration, the four-barreled gun has its business end at the front and a tri-clawed jet exhaust at the rear, basically making it a jet engine with a cannon in front. Pushing the exhaust forward causes the barrel to extend forward on a stalk of sorts and also spin rapidly, which is a pretty cool effect, and not unlike how his actual weapons in the films (which this doesn't much otherwise resemble) work. Again, it's too bad that he only has one weapon (even a smaller, non-gimmick extra weapon would have been nice for him to use with his extra arm), but he wields what he has pretty well. The overall look in bot mode, gun included, is pretty nice, and "pops" a lot more than the black version of this mold, or, indeed any version of the (considerably reused) older mold, even in its non-black iterations. If you feel that you don't already have enough movie Ironhides, or that you too have been waiting for a "true" G1-colors movie Ironhide, this is your guy.
-Jolt ("Movie Blurr")
Faction: Autobot
Toyline: Dark of the Moon
Class: Deluxe
Release: Summer 2011
Acquired: Walmart
Accessories:1 Mechtech gun
Strongest mode: Robot.
- Jolt here is interesting. Apparently, Jolt, who first appeared in Revenge of the Fallen (and got three molds of that line, if you count his FAB toy), was supposed to be in Dark of the Moon and got written out of it early enough that the prequel comic Rising Storm showcases his death, but not soon enough that production of his new mold deluxe toy was cancelled. And so, we ended up with a new Jolt toy in wave 2 of the DotM line, right alongside other actual movie characters like Sideswipe and Topspin. Stranger still was the fact that his colors are nothing like his original deluxe toy's/his appearance in both the RotF movie and Rising Storm, where he's virtually all blue in both modes. Now, he's largely a bluish-grey (heavy on the grey, with strange black "carbon fiber" on his roof and hood and even stranger allspark-blue designs on his windshield, door windows and doors. All of this, combined with how his new mold features a totally different transformation that make his robot mode kibble quite different from the RotF toy's, makes it very easy to see this toy not as Jolt, but someone else altogether. And the transformer that most readily comes to mind is Blurr. I'm sure that some would say that due to the alt mode, this mold doesn't make sense as Blurr (there's nothing about the Volt that screams "blazing fast"), but the robot mode does do a good job of evoking the Autobot speedster. Homages/repurposing aside, this is a pretty interesting mold. One thing I've never seen before is the way that the windshield splits into four parts - the two outer quarters end up as thigh armor, and the inner two quarters become the tips of his inner-ankle foot wings. Also, the way the feet are the two front halves of the car is something we haven't seen in a while - I think since Classics Bumblebee, actually. Other new features include the way the doors/car sides form the top wings and the door windows (as one continuous piece) fold down to form the bottom wings. The halves of the car roof fold against the inside of the windows, sort of prefiguring how TFP:FE Bumblebee would stow his car roof halves. Unfortunately this also makes the two flush mechtech ports on those pieces pretty inaccessible/not useful in this mode. Speaking of mechtech, Blurr takes pretty good advantage of it. His most obvious robot mode ports are on his outer wrists, right behind his claws (which can't hold anything). However, the screw holes on the underside of his arm near the elbow also function perfectly well as MT ports, and that's where I prefer his weapon to attach to. He also has fold-out posts in his forearms that provide two C-clip connectors. Finally, he also sports a mechtech port at the apex of the structure that protrudes from his back and two more C-clip connectors at the top of his door-wing tips. Also, Blurr has something going for him that I've never seen on other TFs - his crotch is an opening flap. For no reason. All it does when opened is grant access to a screw (which I guess secures his "spine" root). Weird. In summation, Jolt is an interesting DotM deluxe that definitely feel s abit more in the traditional "movie" vein than a lot of the other deluxes, and he also makes a great movie Blurr.
