Transformers Generations Windblade. The 30 in 30 out of 30 for the Thrilling 30!

What do fans want most? The was a question Hasbro asked Transformers fans to begin the kick off for the Thrilling Thirty. Once voting was completed and tabulated, I believe we received a combination that I can say was not expecting. For starters we get an Autobot but no real surprise there. The alt mode is not a car but a plane to which we know is rare for an Autobot. Now I cannot recall all the questions that were asked but I belive but gender and weapon were asked. To which the answer a sword and the most surprising is a Fembot.

Once the basics were answered it was time to hand the results to the great folks at IDW Publishing to add life to a character to what would later became a four part mini series. Now this review is not about the mini series but what that series was inspired by. That is the toy that was created by the fans. I present to you Deluxe Class Windblade.

I am not going lie but once I saw the first mock ups of Windblade I was excited. As time passed and more photos began to appear my excitement grew. Then later came the release of Windblade #1 through #4 from IDW and I knew that I just had to have this toy. Being in Canada I have gotten use to waiting longer than we should for releases, but with a single tweet I knew what I had to do. I sent a text message to a friend on the floor at the Toronto Fan Expo to swing past the Hasbro booth and pick up my very own Wingblade.

Two days later I had her in my hands and I could not wait till open the package. I felt like Charlie Bucket and I knew my golden ticket was inside. Now with this being the official Hasbro Canadian release there was no packed in comic as with other releases of the Generations toy line. The comic that will be packed in should be Windblade's first appearance in Dark Cybertron chapter 8, sadly I don't have that one.

After handling the figure a few times going from robot to jet mode and back, I am happy that we have received a completely new figure as everything feels new with Windblade and no "stolen" engineering from other toys. Now with saying that, I am going to start with my impressions with what I feel is the poorer of the two modes, that is Jet Mode. Yes we have seen and heard all the complaints about jetformers, so I am not going to rehash the old complaints but I will list flaws that appear with this particular figure. The first real glaring fault I find are the feet on the rear of the jet. They do not fold down or away creating a blemish in the tail section that even my imagination can't come up for a reason for being there. 
Now between those feet is a gap and a very noticeable one and hard to forget once seen. The weapon can be stored underneath to which does help with filling in the gap, but you will lose one of the pleasant surprise of Windblade in VTOL Mode, more on that later. The handle of the weapon does stick out further than the exhaust, but the added addition of the fan blade in the handle adds to the appearance of a directional fan for the VTOL mode (See I told you I have an imagination)

On the underside you have your very traditional robot junk tucked and folded away, but being a jetformer no surprises there. The one disappointment is the rear landing gears. They are well detailed but perhaps too detailed. I know space would prevent folding struts, but their size become apparent in robot mode. What I think should have been done is to give them a slightly lower profile so when the front gear is down it will give the impression of take off when laying on a flat surface. One last thing and honestly this is not a complaint but an observation, the cockpit canopy does not open. To me that is not a make or break deal but for others it might be.

OK, I have gone on long enough about the bad, lets get to what makes this VTOL great. the overall design screams a plane that we have not seen in the Transformers universe, and I am even including Thrust. The dark colour scheme we are use to seeing on Decepticon jets works on Windblade, maybe it is the red or the white nose cone but you just know this is an Autobot. The highlights of the yellow canopy does not take away from the off white rotor blades of the VTOL parts on this jet. The blades do rotate within the cowlings quite easily with your finger but will take more than lung power to get them rotating on their own. If you have read the comics, you know that those blade were rotated not only for take off but also for flight and in this figure you can emulate this.The cowlings do pivot to allow some dynamic poses never seen before in wings. Straight on down the white nose of the jet, the robot parts tuck away just enough to add the illusion of intakes for the dual jet engines. The front landing gear as I mentioned does retract to aide in the next little surprise. The port that stores the weapon in alt mode can serve as a port for an action figure stand. Now I do not have one as the majority of my own toys are displayed in robot mode so a qucik little makeshift stand I am able to balance Windblade to emulate the look, but if I ever come across a second Windblade I know my hunt for a real stand will begin.

Transformation from jet to robot is fun, but the same cannot be said about robot to jet. Starting in jet mode once everything is unpegged the transformation seems natural, as the parts flip, slide and move in ways we are familiar with. It is going from robot to jet mode for some odd reason that it doesn't seem to be as cooperative. I have transformed Windblade a few times and I still have gotten the knack of it but it does get easier. The poseibility of the figure is beyond belief for a Hasbro release and unlike recent releases, Windblade seems to have the collector in mind. I will start with the restrictions in movement, the head is on a swivel joint and the only real up and down movement comes from the transformation joint and the collar hinders the side to side movement. The feet are static and the heel piece can cause more issues with standing Windblade than what is is designed to prevent. Nothing fully pegs in and the majority of the joints just friction into place. It is those friction points that will cause extra work when posing this figure. The shoulders are on a mix of a swivel and ball joint followed by an upper bicep swivel, which is awesome to see in a thin arm but every time you move them you will need to readjust the should pads. The elbow has a natural bend with a surprising wrist swivel. Outside the static feet all the traditional movement is in the legs, There is a deep knee bend and ball jointed hips. An added feature missing from most Hasbro releases and due to transformation there is an added waist swivel. The wings tilt up and back allowing for some dynamic and expressive poses.

In robot mode Windblade will be a conversation starter even while standing in your display. The head sculpt stands out above and beyond the rest. There is no light piping but the paint details make up for that minor nitpick. The design is explained in the Windblade mini-series so go out and pick up your copy.


The gold head crest does slide out from behind to be an additional fan weapon but when removed, I feel leaving it in storage is the best place for it. Speaking of weapons, Windblade come packed with a sword and sheath.




The sword is held easily in her hand and with the wrist swivel it adds to the playability and poses. The sheath can also be pegged into the slot on her thigh adding both storage and the aesthetics.

There is one major flaw with this figure in robot mode and that are the heels. When flat footed the heels give a great look but due to transformation they only move towards the foot. That movement can cause issues when standing Windblade, and much like most of this figure the heels do not peg into anything. I feel the lack of pegs can cause issues in the future. On my figure the joints are tight but I have heard word that some figures are coming with lose joints but just how wide spread that issue is uncertain. It is a concern I have if the joints on mine work themselves lose as time goes on.

In short, is the figure for everyone? I would say no. Windblade screams to me as a collector's toy and more so if you enjoyed the Windblade mini series produced by IDW, written by Mairghread Scott and drawn by Sarah Stone as much as I did then this figure is a must have. If you at all on the fence about picking up Windblade and my words have swayed you do not hesitate is grabbing your own as I feel this one will be tough to find once pre-orders and initial releases are grabbed up. I was fortunate enough to get one as I have heard others were not so lucky.

If you are so bold you can win your very own Wingblade. The good folks at the Transmissions Podcast have a contest you can enter. Click on the following link for the details and you will be battling other Transformers fans, including myself, for an awesome Windblade prize pack. All you need to do is follow the directions here and enter. Good Luck. *EDIT* I'm sorry to report that the contest is now closed, if you entered I wish you luck as you will be going up against me. 

TheRealRonin
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So....How big is the broad side of this barn?

Hello Transformer fans this review is inspired by a recent online order to Shapeways. Now this review is not what I purchased, I shall leave for a later but it is an add on of another kind. I am no stranger to add on kits or accessories, if you recall my review of FoC Ultra Magnus with the KFC KP-01UM kit. I have a few others that I could mention but this is not why were here.

This review is for Make Toys add on for their version of IDW's Swerve named Trash-Talk, but with the Hasbro release of an official Legand's Class Swerve I figured, why not?

The blaster comes in a nondescript brown box. The front with a simple line drawing and on the back the assembly instructions. Opening the box you quickly find out this is a model kit coming in on 4 different sprues. This kit has no real instructions outside of the pictures but I did read that no glue would be required.Once I started piecing the parts together that statement could not be any more accurate. All the parts fit well with each other and snuggly. Now in the end there were couple of pieces I did end up gluing together but that is no real fault of the kit. The piece that sits on top of the barrel I felt needed a touch of glue just to hold it in place better The second part I needed to glue was my fault. One of the six coloured bulbs near the rear of the blaster, I had accidentally trim down the stem slightly too much and in doing so that piece never fully sits in the corresponding port causing it to fall out.

The blaster is a awesome representation of the version given to Swerve in the IDW comic book series. The main body has painted pieces as well as a tampographed "My First Blaster" on the side. Once all pieced together I could not wait to have Swerve hold it and oh no, it fits loose in his hand. On further research I find that Trash-Talk has 4mm hands, while Hasbro has their traditional 5mm. How did I fix that problem? I did what any great handy man would do and reached for a roll of Duct Tape! Cutting a piece of duct tape the same length of the 4mm handle. I started to wrap the handle and sadly I cannot recall how many times around but I was able to make up the 1mm difference.

With a touch of glue and tape Swerve has a handy little weapon to wield while Flanker is off flying on a mission of his own, or Swerve can go all gangster while attempting to blow away Decepticons with dual blasters.....that is if he actually hits anything.

TheRealRonin
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Orange is the New Scoop

I know, I know.....it has been awhile since I have sat down and wrote a review and yet I have a great excuse. If you follow my Facebook page you have been given a Pictorial Preview/Review of a little restoration project I have started. Once this little project is over I will be completing a full write up on the process. In the meantime another thing most reviewers do is look, listen and read other reviewers post anywhere and everywhere. One thing I have been seeing with the new releases of toys hitting the store shelves for the upcoming Transformers Age of Extinction movie that are screaming for reviews and opinions.

The one major item that seems to accompany the new toys is their simpler transformations. You can see it on the package advertising X amount of steps and some you can flip and change and there seems to be a running theme. Collector's are beginning to whine and moan about the simplified  transformations and quite frankly I am tired of hearing it. These are toys meant to be enjoyed by children, they are not Masterpiece figures. If we as adults find enjoyment in a toy, why should we complain when they are made for children.

I could go on forever on but I am choosing to take the high road and only leave you with this one thought. The majority of collectors were once fans of the G1 and other toy lines as children and yes as we grow older we request, if not demand that our toys become as complicated as our lives have gotten. To that I ask why? Will I be purchasing any of the simplified Transformers?  Chances are No and the reason why is because they do not interest me. If that is your opinion as well than you save yourself some money.

Now that I have that little rant out of the way I am personally glad to see a Transformer that brings back the feeling of a G1 toy with modern construction. This feeling is found in the Deluxe Class Generations Autobot Scoop. Scoop is perhaps the most simplistic Transformer I have come across in the Generations line and that is not a bad thing in the least. As a matter of fact while transforming him I am reminded of the original G1 toys I had as a child. The head gets hidden, the fists flip in and the legs flip up and over. Granted the arms and chest have additional steps that where never seen in releases 30 years ago but that is where the modern engineering comes into play.

We are going to start with the packaging. Scoop is displayed in his Robot Mode with his two buddies in their Robot Modes. I ordered this guy from (along with some others) from Big Bad Toy Store so I was fortunate enough to get the American release with the IDW "Spotlight" comic. Now unlike other issues, a quick look into the comic I do not even see Scoop in this issue or even in the background. If you are missing Issue #23 of the Dark Cybertron series Chapter 2, why not pick up Scoop for the alternate cover? Looking to the back of the package it has the traditional product shots and bio that we have all come to expect from the IDW/Generations releases.

Looking at Scoop in Robot Mode, you notice the striking amount of orange, with yellow hands and thighs. The big wheels on the shoulders would make any football lineman jealous. Much like the majority of the recent releases the paint apps are sparse but they are applied in the right areas. The head sculpt is perfect for Scoop's alt mode yet the light piping is somewhat limited by arms that hold the bucket in place. Unlike 30 year old toys, Scoop is not a brick. He has a great range of poseibility with ball joints and swivels where you would expect them. The fists only swivel in and out and the large feet do not have any tilts but there is the addition of a waist swivel. The rear of the legs are hollow and the large tires just hanging off them but they have used this space wisely. There are moulded in details on the inside instead of just wasted plain panels.

Scoop does not come alone. He is partnered with a pair of Target Masters, Holepunch and Caliburst. Now short of the ball jointed shoulders Scoop's Target Master buddies have the same look, transformation and poseibility that we have become familiar with. Caliburst colours match his larger partner with the yellows and orange. Holepunch is the one that seems to clash with the overall look being mainly blue and when compared to his other two friends. With the Target Masters in their Gun Modes, Scoop can easily hold both via the 5mm pegs that tuck away between their legs (insert a penis joke or two here) but they do have one more little secret.

The two Target Masters can combine into a single larger baster.The official transformation has Holepunch pegged into the top of Caliburst but you can easily swap out their positions following the same instructions.

As I stated the transformation from Robot Mode to Alt Mode is fairly simple. I have already given you a simplified version of the steps but I have included scans of the instructions that came with Scoop for this review. In Alt Mode all the pieces peg together quite easily giving Scoop a solid feel in his bulldozer mode. The large wheels roll freely allowing to vehicle a nice range of movement that would put any Hot Wheels car to shame.

The bucket is fully articulated and can assume any real world poses. The only real issue is that it is attached to the drivers section canopy. When manoeuvring the bucket into position the canopy has a tendency to pop up exposing Scoop's head. There are very few paint apps in Alt Mode, which is an odd thing considering the majority of Generation figures I have seen most of their paint apps are for Alt Mode. Now the majority of the paint budget was spent painting the canopy from the clear plastic it was moulded in just to match the orange of the bulldozer.



There are multiple 5mm peg holes that are intended for weapons storage, but none of the 6 available ports fit Scoop's Target Master buddies all that well.

 So for just about everyone's whining about simplified Transformers that are being released and the feeling that Hasbro and Takara are taking a couple of steps back, I give you Scoop as my argument against. I feel they have always made simple figures mixed in with the complicated ones. I see Scoop and his Target Master buddies as the natural evolution of a toy line that spans 30 plus years. A strong Robot Mode and a decent Alt Mode make Scoop a great addition to your shelf. Pairing him with Holepuch and Caliburst in their Gun Modes in either hands, combined or standing next to Scoop in their Robot Mode adds extra value to your buck. And besides how kick ass would it be to have a dozer with dual blasters keeping Decepticons at bay on your shelves?

TheRealRonin
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"Worst Transformer Ever!"

This review was delayed for a very important reason for what I am reviewing was not released until Saturday May 3rd 2014. I bring you something not made of plastic, vinyl or metal, but of paper and ink. On Free Comic Book Day a start of a new comic series began with IDW's Transformers vs GI Joe Issue #0.

There is no articulation with this comic book, no alt mode as well comes already bound in its own package, but what would you expect from a comic book? Within the 26 pages you have the start to a new story arc that brings together two of my childhood memories. Sure there have been crossovers before, but here I feel we may be in for a new treat.

Issue #0 was written by Tom Scioli and John Barber, with Tom receiving the credit for the artwork and cover. I would like to thank a co-worker of mine for scoring me this copy, as I was unable to attend FCBD this year. The cover screams classic Joe and Transformers from my days as a child. It appears they ripped the art directly from that time. On the cover you have Starscream and BumbleBee fighting it out, with Scarlet, Roadblock, Stalker and Snake Eyes battling an out of control weed.

Turning to the first page you see Starscream chasing down BumbleBee in space. Starscream's alt mode resembles the Nemesis. BumbleBee is piloting a mini (if anything in the Transformers Universe can be considered small in scale) of the Autobot Arc.
This appears to be an origin story, as soon as you meet the Joes, they are flying into a battle to stop a Cobra plot. Keeping in with an origin story idea, you get to meet Snake Eyes. He speaks, removes his mask and plays a large part in the story.

I could spend a paragraph explaining the story and art work on each page, but I will allow you to read the panels, as I have included them with my review. The look of the classic art work even continues to the feel of the comic. The pages are printed on the new glossy paper, but they went out of their way to make the white boarders look like the old newsprint, a look that I wish for them to continue with the series.

One great little addition to this issue is an interview with Tom Sciolo and John Barber explaining the process in creating not only this book but giving glimpses into the upcoming series. A page by page break down of the creative process, a very unique read if you are interested into how the writers, producers and artists choose what, where and when things go into making each page. I for one was amazed at the amount of discussion and planning goes into choosing which page a certain scene or panel should be placed. 

Issue #1 is expected to be released in July 2014 and for a non comic book collector such as myself, this is a series I am looking forward to follow. I feel this will be a fresh retelling of an old and familiar story. So please enjoy Transformers vs GI Joe Issue #0.

TheRealRonin

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