Overload has very little to talk about, especially compared to the other guys I reviewed this week. At least Soundwave had a role in spying on the Autobots while also having dialog, Topspin was involved with the Wreckers and would later speak in The Last Knight (albeit with Leadfoot's head and with a new name), Cliffjumper had some lines and would later be split in half, and Blitzwing was cool yet frustrating at the same time. I guess I can say that Overload had a prior incarnation from Armada where he combined with another Transformer. Oh, and he was red, too. Does that work? Anyways, let's see what the final Constructicon member has to offer as an action figure so he can make up his lack of character!
Here is his backdrop, which is the same as the other Constructicon backdrops, only in Leader size. LET'S MOVE ON!!!!
Here we have Overload in his vehicle mode. In terms of design, it looks like how it should as a long dump truck, though parts of it look pretty off, especially from the side view. I think I like the front portion of it since it at least feels relatively complete, though the In terms of coloring, there's not really much to say about it aside from the predominant red at least having some grays, blacks, and small bits of silvers and dark blues here and there to break it up.
You can better understand what I mean with the proportions from this view. The front part looks fine but the middle and parts of the back start to look pretty bad. It's especially noticeable when the hip joints are exposed and there are some discrepancies that are made for the robot mode and later the waist mode. Oh and I find it odd that there is one pair of rear wheels on the back, but that's just me. Overall, not the best-looking vehicle mode, though I do appreciate the effort in making it a larger size after just having the Legends one.
He has one piece of Devastator that requires some storage, and it's the Vortex Grinder! The piece can only be placed on the top, and it looks silly, I won't lie. Still, this piece will help with a component of Devastator's head, which we'll get to very soon!
Here he is next to the other Constructicons in the line, and what a team they are! Isn't it satisfying to make it this far, after waiting for so long to finally complete the team As a Leader Class figure, he along with Scavenger at least make up their robot mode sizes with good vehicle mode sizes that have lengths which make Scrapper, Rampage, Mixmaster, and Long Haul feel like they're still Voyagers. But this is only the beginning, boys!
The transformation is a little involved yet not quite as complex as Scavenger's was. I think it's a little disappointing that the most involved part of the transformation are the arms, which certainly have a lot of joints to them, but they are otherwise more acceptable than transforming something like Supreme Cheetor. As for the rest of the transformation, the way the legs work is fairly simple, but it gets the job done. Also, there are heels that need to be hinged back. As for the robot mode we end up with, it's a little like Bonecrusher but with the added arms replacing the big tail. I guess it's neat, but it makes him a lot wider than Voyager-sized toys would be. The legs don't really have much to offer in terms of their design, but I like how crazy this guy looks from the top. Almost like you can't really expect him to make his move so you have to be careful whenever you get near him. He is a little hard to keep him standing still, and I feel his head sculpt's a little to Shockwavey but with added eyes and no horns.
Now it's time for the articulation! His head is on a ball-joint, the shoulders move front and back as well as in and out on some heavy ratchets, the outer set of arms hinge in and out, they swivel, and they also hinge at two points. The inner arms swivel, they bend at two points, and their claws hinge. The hips move front and back, in and out, the thighs swivel, the knees bend, and there are some ankle pivots.
For a size comparison, here he is next to the other Constructicons, here he in the back of the team. And I feel he's got a height similar to what Scrapper and Rampage have while his price point makes sense with the width that he has. And while these guys never appeared as a team in their robot modes, I like this display. It's much more refreshing to have the Constructicons stand out from one-another compared to the G1 versions, who weren't really all that different aside from Long Haul and all shared the same color schemes. These guys are different from their designs, their colors (for the most part), and they make for a unique display as a team.
And now, it's time to turn him into his waist mode. You're essentially going to need to turn him into his vehicle mode, rework the dump bed to have the stabilizers like in robot mode, and twist and turn it into the thighs and hips. As for the front of the vehicle mode, you need to hinge the parts around and give them a V-shape that will later be used for the torso to be filled in. And as it stands, this guy's not quite descriptive like with Scavenger, though he is easier to tell that he becomes a part of Devastator because he has thighs. But what about the figure itself? I think it's a nice way to cap off the Studio Series Constructicon team, and while his vehicle mode may not be the best-looking of them all, I do at least appreciate that he has some ways to make the price seem more worthwhile by at least being long in vehicle mode and wide in robot mode. I know people would love to see the spider-design that the concept art had, but this guy is still the best version of the character in ROTF, even if he was barely in the film. I recommend this guy, especially if you want to complete the Constructicons or if you love his design.
Final rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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