For a while, I was going to review the AOE Galvatron mold as a way to look back on the history of the character design in plastic form while the Studio Series version would make its way to my house around 2023. However, plans changed because the preorder window was rendered nonexistent now that Galvatron arrived at my doorstep much sooner than anticipated, along with plenty of other Studio Series molds new and old. But aside from that, Galvatron's character design isn't always the easiest to nail when it comes to making him the most accurate version of the character in plastic. You have to consider his practicality into the mix, especially with the way his transformation revolves around splitting into a shitton of pieces and reassembling into either mode seamlessly. So while we can set that expectation aside, let's see how the new version of Galvatron turned out!
I didn't do this for a good while, but here is Galvatron's backdrop, depicting the destruction of long Kong where he would say they're ruining everything. I think either the first encounter with Optimus on the road or the KSI lab where he yelled his name and controlled the other robots would make more sense.
Here we have Studio Series Galvatron in his truck mode. This guy transforms into a Freightliner truck Argosy, similar to the type of truck Cyberverse Optimus turns into. It has a monochrome color scheme much like in the movie, though it does have some more colorful paint apps to make it more visually interesting with the headlights being in Allspark blue, and it is an appropriate use of said coloring. The truck cab's proportions are fairly spot on to the on-screen vehicle, though as we'll see, it won't be as easy to tell when compared to the various truck modes Optimus has in the original design. The sculpted details are also nicely done, from the rivets to the door and its handle. Some hinges are mildly distracting, and I don't think my copy's roof can tab in all the way, but it's a well-made truck mode nonetheless.
The major issue we have is in the truck mode stems from the trailer hitch having the feet hinged up into awkward kibble. Granted, the truck was never going to have a dedicated trailer for itself compared to Optimus Prime, but it's pretty awkward nonetheless, especially when the older toy stored its feet properly. Nonetheless, at least it's a little more excusable here than seeing the fucked up back of the MPM Beewun Prime. Oh, and it's interesting that the rear wheels are pinned while the front wheels are mushroom capped.
There is a little bit of weapon storage, with the missiles stored underneath what will eventually become the robot mode chest and the cannon being stored within the underside of the hitch, filling in some hollow gaps quite cleverly.
The missile pods can be placed in vehicle mode as well, recreating when Galvatron attacked Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. on the highway. You could try to mimic a similar thing to the arm cannon, but it's not as synergetic as with this.
For a truck mode comparison, here he is next to the original Galvatron toy made back in 2014. I don't know which truck mode is the more accurate of the two, but I like the look of the original truck mode more just because it looks a little more seamless, though this was always the stronger point of the original Voyager, with the new one having the hinges and truck kibble. I do like that the headlights were picked out a little more for the new toy than on the original, which were only picked out on the sunvisor. Oh, and the Studio Series toy is a little smaller than the AOE version.
Transformation is much more intricate this time around, with more of the truck mode being utilized for the robot mode in terms of folding parts inside out while also integrating the vehicle mode into the legs apart from the wheels; it's a much more interesting transformation than the shellformer aspect of the original toy. Granted, the execution is better than more egregious examples like the Trans-Scanning versions of Prime and Bee or Cybertron Thunderblast, but I prefer the new method that we have here. As for the resulting robot mode, I'm kind of mixed on certain parts of it. While I value the new transformation, the robot mode's proportions feel compromised as a result. The arms feel skinny in comparison to how massive the legs are, the torso feels flat, and the arms do look a little separated from the torso, too. It's certainly a departure from the original toy's proportions, which we'll get to, but if it means going for a more intricate transformation then I'll try to accept it. At least the darker grays combined with silver compliments the colors much better than the flat light gray of the old toy. And hey, the back of his Vortex Grinder is included!
Head sculpt is not only much sharper than the original toy, but it's also better detailed as well! For once, he has proper piercing red eyes that don't look like they were compromised by light piping that was scrapped! As for his articulation, the head is on a ball joint, shoulders move front and back, in and out, bicep swivels, elbow bends, a waist swivel new to him, hips that properly move front and back, in and out, thigh swivels, knee bends, and ankle pivots! His cannon is smaller than the original toy, and while the silver paint is nice, I don't like how it doesn't blend in with the rest of him as well.
For a robot mode size comparison, he's slightly smaller than the original toy, but maybe the wonkier proportions might work for him since he better captures the CGI model. Also, my Galvatron has had silver sharpie painted that doesn't look as shiny as the current toy due to age. And while the proportions are a little more seamless on the old toy, the new toy looks a little less rigid by comparison. And yeah, the old toy's cannon does better hide the hand, but he ends up looking a little clunky. At the very least, no backpack included.
And here we have Galvatron & the KSI Boys together, with Stinger taking KSI Sentry's weapon. I wonder who else would deserve a spot in the Studio Series line? Anyways, Galvatron is a pretty interesting addition to the line. While he's slightly smaller than the old toy and has a few weird proportions, the better made transformation, extra paint apps, and slightly improved articulation make him a much better version of the character overall. And if you want that old mold as another character, JD Red Knight fills the gap.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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