Here we have Impactor in his vehicle mode. He turns into a cybertronic tank, consisting of a sci-fi turret, a barrel not with the standard round circumstance, and a cannon on top of the barrel with its own gun on top (which is the harpoon or drill used for the right hand). There are other details added for the vehicle mode, as between the treads, there are additional guns molded in gray plastic. There are also silver spikes making up the mine plow, and battle damage that mimics the yellow paint scrapped away as it reveals silver metal underneath (though the silver detailing is just paint). I think the battle damage fits someone like Impactor, given how much damage he's faced during the war for Cybertron. If you want, you can also add the effect pieces to evoke the firepower that his altmode would display. Some may wish the molded detail would be better fleshed out with a wash, but at least the contrast between the orange-yellow plastic and the purple plastic doesn't look too bad.
The design works well, and considering how we've already got tanks in the Siege line consisting of toys like Megatron and Skytread's legs, it's great to have yet another tank that doesn't feel redundant (setting aside any repaints). Also, if you note the difference in paint application layout from both sides of the toy, the look of the battle damage isn't repeated on both sides. Very nice touch.
For functionality, the turret swivels while the barrel can hinge up and down thanks to the connection of the 5mm ports holding in the gun. Siege Megatron can only swivel at the turret, and Skytread's legs can't even move around at all, so this guy wins with multitasking! Some may find the symmetry odd, as what will become the shoulder cannon isn't center on the barrel; I don't think it's that bad, though I will say that there is a case of color inconsistency here. The yellow on what will be the robot pecs doesn't match up the plastic of the orange-yellow (though it does match the yellow paint apps on what will be the shins) and the purple used on the back portion of the shoulder cannon doesn't match up the purple that is molded plastic. I'll get into better detail when we get to robot mode.
The transformation seems different from other Tankformers that I've owned or seen reviews of. To my knowledge, I never saw a toy using the arms to make the front portion of the tank turret before, and swiveling the rear treads to make up the sides of the legs to reduce kibble is as cool as Studio Series Brawl's leg transformation. The simpler stuff, like the chest panel, the head reveal, and the feet, do seem basic in comparison, but still, Impactor works overall without having any engineering borrowed from another toy.
The robot mode certainly evokes the Marvel UK appearance he's got, but with more beef and badassery added in the mix. The color scheme looks just as good here as in the tank mode. The design may not quite match up the IDW proportions fans would always want, though the toy does have the best of both worlds when it comes to having the blocky proportions of old with some sharper flare of the new. The sides and rear views look pretty clean, though the back juts out a bit more than I'd expect. If you look closely, his Autobot insignia is weirdly purple. Could almost fit the Shattered Glass universe, though his colors are already for him as a good guy, and there is no SG version.
Head sculpt looks 50/50 to me. The design looks neat, but I don't like how the yellow is purple plastic with the dome painted in yellow, which doesn't look like it's applied nicely (also doesn't match up with the yellow on the toy. Still, the face does have some nice silver paint along with the red eyes, yet the mouth should be a little sharper. It's either got a little too thick of a layer or a mouth not sculpted properly. Makes me think of POTP Jazz released a year before Impactor.
Articulation is normal for the Siege line. Head is on a slight ball joint, shoulders move front and back on swivels, in and out on shoulder hinges, swivel at the biceps, and bend at the elbows. Hands move inwards but only for the transformation and added accessories. The diaphragm swivels, the hips move front and back, though they sort of ratchet in and out, thighs swivel, knees bend, and the ankles pivot. Also, if there's one thing I really hate about this toy, it's the inner legs. They're very hollowed out, and they just look BAD. At least with Ironhide, he had some panels that helped fill in the massive gaps that would otherwise be left empty, but here, I honestly wish the rear treads would hinge a la Optimus's wheels to wrap around the back legs and cover-up those ugly gaps.
The accessories he comes with are now a harpoon for the right arm and a rifle for his left hand. They look the part, especially the harpoon on the right arm.
This figure has one use only as of this moment. This is the 3 pack version found on Amazon, which gives him an IDW head, red knee details, added paint for the chest and shoulders (evoking the caution stripes that miners had in the comics (other figure being Megatron), slightly less prominent battle damage (to the point where it shouldn't even be a detail at all), and...a Decepticon insignia? Yeah, the fan polls made this guy a Decepticon against Mirage, which is kind of weird since he was never a Decepticon in any fiction he was in apart from here. Maybe he was chosen to have a big bruiser from an aggressive task force contrast the mostly goody-two-shoes nature of the 1984 Autobots.
The mold would see another reuse with the Netflix WFC subline made for Walmart. He's got a more olive tint to his yellow, and he now has a Decepticon insignia to go along with the regular head. Why go that route when we already had Decepticon Impactor with a new head is probably to be close to the already toy-accurate cartoon design. On a side note, I don't like his voice because it sounds sort of like Shadow the Hedgehog.
Another head swap and slightly different deco gives us a comic deco and yet another head sculpt, this version of Impactor came in a 2-pack with Spindle, a retool of Paleotrex. Yeah, this is a trend for him to have different takes on media that he appeared in.
For a size comparison, here he is with said mostly goody-two-shoes Autobots Optimus Prime and Ironhide. Yeah, kind of funny to see some yellow and purple break up most of the red, gray, and blue (for Optimus) in this image. He's pretty much the same height as Ironhide, and it's so neat that Impactor's got a new mold of his own rather than share a mold with someone like Ironhide, because knowing the past, he would have easily been a reuse of Ironhide or Megatron.
Overall, this guy does turn out a lot better than I expected. I didn't think I'd get this figure too soon since I was mainly busy catching up with Studio Series, Lightning Collection, and Beast Morphers, but that bigass eBay haul certainly makes me happy to get this guy and some other figures I skipped out on or couldn't find. While there are some paint discrepancies, the awful gaps in the legs, and the questionable use of ratchets used to move the hips out, this figure at least manages to be a neat non-cartoon character that is both a neat mix of Marvel UK and IDW. Definitely get this guy if you can. And he can do this, too.
Overall, this guy does turn out a lot better than I expected. I didn't think I'd get this figure too soon since I was mainly busy catching up with Studio Series, Lightning Collection, and Beast Morphers, but that bigass eBay haul certainly makes me happy to get this guy and some other figures I skipped out on or couldn't find. While there are some paint discrepancies, the awful gaps in the legs, and the questionable use of ratchets used to move the hips out, this figure at least manages to be a neat non-cartoon character that is both a neat mix of Marvel UK and IDW. Definitely get this guy if you can. And he can do this, too.
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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