Elita-1 has been a pretty unlucky character for the Generations line in the past few years. She has a rather neat-on-paper yet poor-in-execution figure that's a retool of Starscream in the Power of the Primes line; a bulkier figure that'd be cool if it wasn't for how bloated it ended up, especially with the shitty jet mode. Then we got a Deluxe figure that was a reuse of Earthrise Arcee, likely the worst figure in the entirety of the War for Cybertron trilogy. But now, they say the third time's the charm and perhaps that also applies to the Legacy line for some characters. We got a new mold that may or may not be a pretool devoted to a specific character, which means we can now look at Legacy Elita-1!
Here we have Elita-1 in her vehicle mode, being a bit of a buggy-themed car that goes well for her if I'm honest. The design is Cybertronian as one expects, and it's also great at balancing the bulk of a normal buggy while also having the standard look of a car. The cockpit has a few etched details to give it an alien look, which is appreciated, and I like how the red, pink, and white are made in a fairly decent layout, though it does look a little busy in the hood. The white on the wheels is the best use of the color along with the headlights, and no, the head is not spotted on the top of the vehicle mode.
It's a pretty neat vehicle mode, though some parts do look like they clash a little bit in terms of how it flows; granted, it's not as bad as the likes of Siege Mirage, but it is a little unusual as far as the execution is concerned. And yes, the feat on the back stick out a little bit, and it kind of makes the rest of the car look a little blobby with how it messes up the flow; like the front itself is pretty solid, while the back feels like it originally belonged to a different car that prevents it from fitting in with the rest of the vehicle had it not had enough of a flow.
The weapon storage is typical for what we've got, especially with the 5mm posts that haven't been new. And continuing the trope of the Legacy line, her weapons are translucent as is the case for some of the figures.
Comparing the vehicle modes, it's great that we get to have her in a more unique design that isn't just a nearly all-red Arcee. Yeah like the Netflix version.
Transformation is fairly involved, and I like how it's more than just straightening parts out, as the legs have a waist swivel that later goes to hinging the legs down while the edges of the spoilers fold away and the feet hinge into their proper spots. The resulted robot mode is another good mix of feminine proportions and proper vehicle bulk, and it's thanks to the use of vehicle kibble being integrated in the body. I wish we got fembots that did that in the past, especially since they can't integrate their vehicles properly into the robot mode. The rest of the body is recognizably Elita-1, and it doesn't feel entirely compromised while still utilizing the vehicle parts. The backpack is pretty big, but that's something we can touch up on in a moment.
Head sculpt is pretty good, and it's got a nice use of paint apps to break up the pink thanks to the white on the face and horns as well as the silver and yellow on the forehead as well as the blue eyes. Her articulation consists of a ball-jointed head, shoulders that move front and back, in and out, bicep swivels, elbow bends, wrist swivels, a waist swivel, hips that move front and back, in and out, thigh swivels, knee bends, and ankle pivots.
The guns can be held in her hands as always, with one of them being designed specifically for her and another for Minerva, and two-thirds of the front of her car can be turned into shoulder pylons that are part of Minerva's design! In fact...
...this was later reused into Minerva! She isn't a Headmaster this time, which does suck for those that were hoping she'd be Titan Master compatible, but it is in reference to when she was no longer a transtector like in Masterforce, considering she was a pure Transformer from now on in Victory. Anyways, she has her signature medic deco, a new head, one weapon is in black paint while the other is clear white, and a proper light bar that may or may not be reused from one of the Prowls or Ratchets that have a lightbar. Where we can obtain this repaint in the US is unknown, so hurry tf up, Hasbro!
And for a robot mode comparison, she blows the Netflix version out of the water, as she has a much better-engineered figure, a more impressive transformation, and started off well as a great figure that will also be a sweet Minerva, it makes me feel like a clown for buying the shitty 2020 Deluxe from a shitty Netflix show! Whether you want Elita-1, Minerva, or both, this is a pretty good release for the Legacy line, and much better than what we got with the first-wave Arcee figure.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
No comments:
Post a Comment