Transformers Legacy United Silverbolt review

This version of Silverbolt is the best namesake we've ever had. This guy has done a lot more throughout the Beast Era in contrast to the G1 Aerialbot. He was initially a Predacon, later joined the Maximals, grew a crush on Blackarachnia, and helped save the stasis-locked G1 Autobots and Decepticons from total annihilation! He even had crazier adventures when he was briefly a Vehicon named Jetstorm (who led the Aero Drones) before Blackarachnia was able to slowly rescue her lover and make him technorganic like the rest of the Maximals were. Silverbolt's appearance in Beast Machines is bizarre as hell, but his Beast Wars counterpart was still great overall. And after years of having the same old Deluxe for years, we can finally have an updated version of the character to go with our additional Kingdom and Legacy figures!

Here is Silverbolt in his beast mode, seen in the first pic showcasing an already good level of articulation if you untab his limbs. The jaw opens, the wings gap at two points, and they can also hinge up and down at the swiveling mushroom pegs. The forelegs are supposed to be tabbed in place, but they can untab so you can have them with the same range they will receive when used as robot legs, so we'll save them for later. The hind legs don't do much even when untabbed. Anyways, the Fuzor elements of this beast mode give a prominent wolf body with the wings and claws of an eagle. Admittedly, I kind of wish he'd have a wash on the feathers or fur to make them stand out more beyond just the usual sculpt work, though silver paint could have worked. At the very least, the proportions are accurate to the show, though the hind legs could be a bit bigger than they currently are. While there is a lot of bare gray plastic, the copper paint apps on most of the feathers & legs, the white tail feathers, and the black on the tips of the feathers and muzzle of the wolf head are appreciative.

For a size comparison with another Voyager Class figure who didn't go Transmetal in Season 2, here he is next to Kingdom's Rhinox. These two look pretty good as two of the sole non-Transmetals in season 2/3. I probably should have used Dinobot but we'll get to him in a moment, just wait. The scale between these two appears fairly consistent, though I remember Rhinox transforming less and less in the cartoon.

Transforming him is fairly close to the original Beast Wars toy, though now the wings can be positioned the same way on any normal winged Transformer. It's a case of "if-it-ain't-broke, don't try to fix it" for how faithful it is to the old toy, though it is a reminder that Mainframe made some of their CG models pretty close to the toys with slight liberties taken. The resulting robot mode looks good, though apart from the lack of silver paint to make it pop, a big issue I do have includes the fact that the arms and wings hang a little lower than they should. Despite these issues, the rest of the toy looks good, especially when put next to his appearance in the cartoon. We get more copper paint apps for the torso and loincloth-esque plate, the red orb in the stomach is picked out, and the rest of the proportions are spot-on to what we previously had.

His head sculpt is good, though a small part of me wished that it was both a little wider or for there to be a bit of a snarling expression. Silverbolt's canine teeth stood out amongst a majority of characters in the show, and it'd be neat for him to flash his pearly whites for added personality. His articulation consists of a neck swivel, shoulder rotation, bicep rotation, double-jointed elbows, wrist rotation, waist rotation, universal hip joints, thigh swivels, knee bends, ankle hinges, and ankle pivots. The feathers can come off and swerve as his swords, though their slots have unique sculpting to store them in specific sides of the wings.

Here he is with Rhinox once again in the photo on the left, showcasing the consistent scale between the two in the cartoon. Maybe Rhinox should be a little taller than Silverbolt, but at least the scale between the Fuzor we're reviewing and Airazor is great. With these two united, Silverbolt can now share love with the dark poison of his heart.

And here he is with the other characters of Beast Wars voiced by Scott McNeil! YES!! I love how versatile the man himself is when it comes to playing numerous characters in the show, between the raspy and noble Dinobot, the sarcastic yet somewhat cowardly Rattrap, and the buggy whipping bot Waspinator; Silverbolt's Adam West-esque (Adam Westque?) mannerisms mixed with that of a superhero proves how memorable each character portrayed by Scott was, even to this day. As for Legacy Silverbolt, while there are a few things I'd do better, I at least value seeing an already great Beast Wars toy get a well-deserved glow up, which makes me hope we see Quickstrike as a Deluxe in another line along with the Transmetal versions of most of the Maximals and Predacons, TMII Cheetor and Blackarachnia, Depth Charge, Rampage, and Dinobot II.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐