Transformers Age of the Primes Red Alert review

When I think of Red Alert, I don't think of the paranoid Sideswipe repaint. I think of the Unicron Trilogy alternative to Ratchet. Best known for losing a hand and being a second-hand man to Optimus Prime, this medic prefers to assist his allies than directly fight in the war. While not necessarily afraid of battling the Decepticons, the severe damage he had made him reflect on what he and his allies went through these past few years. He would eventually get a new design after retiring during the events of Energon and upgrade even further into the Cybertron Defense form, but those are stories for another day. Let's take a look at his Armada design in the Age of the Primes line for this review!

Here we have Red Alert in his ambulance mode. It's a lot more like an SUV meant for search and rescue than a normal ambulance, though it could be in reference to how futuristic some Armada vehicles modes tend to be. Some say it looks like a Nissan Patrol from around the same time period, and I could see the resemblance even with the modifications. I love the use of clear red plastic on both the light bar and the windshield; they pop marvelously amongst the white and go well with the red on the sides. We have a bit of clear red for the turn signal lights, and some gunmetal gray as well as silver to accentuate the rest of the alt mode along with the blue and yellow.

In general, the altmode looks spot-on to the way it was depicted in the show, though the Red Cross signs are replaced with more generic ambulance logos. I wish the rims were painted since we've had plenty of Transformers in recent years with those added details, and they could easily be bronze to match the old toy.

For a size comparison, here he is with Optimus Prime and Red Alert. Though Optimus's truck mode doesn't have much height to him, this is still a more reasonable scale that matches the cartoon. Makes me want to get a Smokescreen ASAP...along with the other characters in the show. Armada's cast wasn't that big, so it would be ideal to complete along with the Beast Wars and Animated characters.

Transformation is fairly straightforward with the hood-chest-door-wing design that was carried over from the old toy and the show. The joints for the elbows and knees are incredibly stiff, however, so be ready to deal with those tolerances. The robot mode feels even more retro than a lot of G1 character designs with a similar part layout. It could mostly be with how little changes with the front of the altmode and backpack, not to mention the kibble around the lower legs. Most of the time, character models would be streamlined to animate them better, which was something done in older Transformers media, though RID and the Unicron Trilogy stuck with tracing from the toys themselves. Said toys tended to have gimmicks integrated into the designs, which resulted in unique silhouettes like Hot Shot's and Demolishor's. Red Alert was also designed to resemble older Power Rangers Megazords at the time Armada was in development according to Aaron Archer. I could see that from the way the Lightspeed Rescue Megazords and maybe some of the Turbo ones were designed, being more man made than most of the lineage at the time. Oh, and since the renders lied that there would be a left hand, be sure to have the nozzle attached to the left arm. You get two, and they're stored in the kibble slapped onto the calves. 

His head sculpt is heavily based on Robocop, right down to the visor and the way his lips are sculpted. One equally badass detail is the inclusion of LIGHT PIPING! In an era where Transformers have their eyes painted, seeing a figure with clear plastic implemented in the head is always a treat. I bet Thew had an orgasm. His articulation consists of a ball joint and neck hinge combo, rotation at the shoulders, outward arm movement, bicep rotation, double jointed elbows, and rotation at the right wrist. The waist swivels somewhat due to the backpack being in the way, the hips are on universal joints, the thighs rotate, the knees bend, and the ankles can hinge and pivot.

His shoulder cannon is deployed manually since all Armada updates since 2008's Universe Hot Shot have non-functional Minicon ports. Sadly, even at this price point, he can't be reunited with Longarm, and I will be annoyed if we get a repaint of a Deluxe character that comes with him, Swindle, Wind Sheer, Sparkplug, and Leader-1. The cannon is removable, and it has its own dedicated nozzle that almost looks like it could be a claw. It comes detached from the figure likely to remind fans that it can be removed like on the old toy. Sadly, his chest doesn't open to.shoot out any discs like on the old toy, though that's to be expected.

Here he is with Hot Shot and Optimus Prime, two characters who were playable in the Armada game alongside him. The scale is much better this time around than with the old toys, and much closer to the cartoon. Still, with how short Red Alert is for a Voyager, was including Longarm hard to do? I bet a Generations Selects repaint featuring his Powerlinx colors will include his partner. Until then, Red Alert is a good figure, though I feel his missed opportunities would annoy some collectors. While some would wish the lower legs would make pseudo repair bays, I'm more disappointed that he doesn't have Longarm to make up for his shorter height. Good luck getting him before the tariffs fuck things over!

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