Transformers Kingdom Huffer review

I'm taking back what I said about Airazor not feeling like a massive contribution to the show she's from because Huffer was even less significant apart from once hauling Optimus Prime's trailer and having some pre-Rattrap tendencies to complain. While he was an effective repair bot, he definitely has that Autobot rank filler feel to him. Does that mean he sucks period? I don't think so, but he did struggle to get a Classics-styled toy that is his own mold. There was a BotCon repaint of the very cool Cybertron Armorhide mold, but not everyone got him. The Power Core Combiners line made a new version of the guy that may either be the G1 guy or a Movie-esque version of the character. Combiner Wars spectacularly got his design wrong and repainted the Thrilling 30 Legends Optimus Prime mold. Now let's see what this Minibot has to offer!

Here is Huffer in his truck mode. He's a new take on the old cab-over truck based on the old toy. It's not a 1:1 replica of the truck he used to turn into, but it's fine with me. The details are not as complex as with Earthrise Optimus or Kingdom Magnus, but it is serviceable enough for a character like him. I do appreciate the paint apps applied to him, such as the silver for the bumper, pipes, rims, and bumper, but I get the feeling that there should be more coverage on it. The clear blue plastic is not painted over as the windshield is a separate piece from the truck frame.

While the recreation of the G1 design is cute, there are some things I didn't really like about it. It mainly comes from the gaps with the side view and the way the front hinges upwards rather than looking straight on. It's not a necessarily bad thing, but it is kind of annoying since this is the first Huffer to be a G1 version of him without being a repaint. 

As far as the accessory storage is concerned, you can use the shield and the halves of the blaster as a bed ramp for the truck of the toy. It does give him an alternate display option to go with, which is always a plus.

But one neat surprise is that Huffer can haul Optimus Prime's trailer! No official version of Huffer has that feature (since he was under-represented and was also not made with such a feature in mind), so to have Huffer work with this feature is pretty good overall (and it dos make sense as to why Optimus was reissued for Kingdom).

Here is Huffer alongside Optimus, Warpath, and Bumblebee! The scale actually works better with these two than you'd think, as Huffer is small but not too small and would fit in pretty well with Optimus as a vehicle that's meant to be of a lower rank than what Optimus is. The same goes for Warpath, and the two scale pretty well with Bumblebee despite having to deal with being Minibots.

Transformation is not as simple as I expected; I love how despite the front of the cab doing less than the rest of it, things like the arms repositioning to their proper spots, the wheels storing away in the back, and the legs unfolding are not as annoyingly simplistic as a Legends toy. The resulting robot mode is very good, and despite having some of the simpler detailing of this guy, he's thankfully got a complete yet not overdone feel to him that I don't mind. That being said, he kind of feels cheap in some areas; mainly the truck hood and the legs are hollower than I'd expect, which makes me wish there would be some added panels for the back to cover the gaps. I'm fine with the cab being hollow despite it having a very small flex to it, but with everything else not being hollow, I kind of wish he'd be more complete with the back of the legs. Beyond that, there is nothing else to complain about, especially when his Autobot insignia has a white border and not a silver one.

Head sculpt is very accurate to the character, and there is honestly nothing missing from it. His articulation is the same as with both Ractonite and Airazor have, though the head is a little limited and the shoulders can be limited in some positions.

His accessories are very interesting as far as appearances go. The ramp halves combine into a blaster that is based on the Halo rifles (which combined with the Warthog-esque alternate mode for Hound makes for an epic win) and the shield is the perfect match for what looks like a claw of sorts. Also one detail I forgot to mention but the taillights around his legs are painted which is a nice touch! The shield doesn't stay on as nicely, but both are well-detailed (and the orange for the gun almost works for energy).

    

Let's go over the reuses. This is Road Ranger, who is mostly a black and orange repaint with red highlights, but new to the figure is a toy-accurate head that was kept for the G1 GoBots toy.

For a stand-alone retool, this is Pipes, with a new chest, weapons, head, and overall tooling for the backpack. Some say that he isn't 100% accurate to the cartoon, but honestly, his role is so minor it doesn't matter.

And finally, this is Puffer! He's basically a light blue Pipes with white accents and is described as a mix between Huffer and Pipes! Oh, and he and Road Ranger are both in a two-pack.

Here is Huffer with the Minibots from the WFC line so far. As far as height is concerned, Warpath is the tallest of the trio while Bumblebee is the shortest, leaving Huffer as the one who is in-between them all. It's a good size and does give the Minibots different heights that would help them stand out from one another. So do I recommend Huffer? Apart from the vehicle mode gaps and the hollow parts, I think he is a great addition to the Kingdom line, though it mainly comes from fans never having a proper version that isn't a Scout Combiner or isn't a repaint of a small truck. He is worth getting for his faithfulness but he is not a perfect toy.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐