There are moments where reviewing simpler figures wouldn't be as easy as you'd think. You want to talk about the most that there is to say about them but can't really have much of a presence elsewhere. That being said, I think there's a chance we can make the most out of some tiny Transformers, which is a trend I'd like to be taking every once in a while. I sort of did that when I covered Construct-Bots Lockdown, some Tiny Turbo Changers, and a Burger King ROTF Optimus Prime, but that also had a Lex Luthor figure and two Spider-Men from the Spectacular series. It's time we take a look at what might be a somewhat recurring series.
1. Cyberverse Spark Armor Shockwave
Here they are in their vehicle modes. Shockwave is a very more-than-familiar walking tank because he popped up on his own as the first-ever Cyberverse review I made as well as gain a Deluxe Class release that was covered with the rest of the Deluxes on a week of (late as fuck) reviews devoted to the first wave. It has all of the details I'd expect Shocko to have from his other counterparts, so I see nothing missing with him. What is interesting is that he comes with the Solar Shot spark armor. For those that don't remember or are familiar with Cyberverse, Season 2 presented itself with a Power of the Spark gimmick that has the Autobots and Decepticons use gear from other items and make use of them as armor. It's a neat idea yet was rarely used in the show, with only Optimus Prime, Megatron, and Starscream being the only dudes to do so. The satellite itself is decently made and captures how it'd look, though the color scheme favors Shockwave nicely.
Transformation is the same as with prior versions of the guy, but with more partsforming added. The robot mode is very much faithful to the Cyberverse design, but with some chunk on the arms thanks to the feet molded from the back. If there is one thing I don't like, it's the fact that his backpack doesn't tab on the back.
And as for the head sculpt, it's got the same details one would expect from him yet the empty space surrounding the eye is not painted. At least the eye is painted properly. His articulation only consists of shoulders that move front and back on one joint as well as in and out on another joint. The biceps swivel, the elbows bendm and the hips move around on ball joints while the thighs swivel and the knees bend. The spark armor can separate into armor for him, which gives him a chest armor, his cannon, a hose, another cannon, an extension piece for his cannon, and the windmill blades on the back...it does the job but is certainly drowning the body awkwardly.
The only reuse this figure has received so far, which removes the armor and leaves him with his gun, hose, and now has a control helmet and is also included with Prowl and a Quintesson Judge...a story arc from Cyberverse that doesn't feature either of them.
2. Siege Blackjack and Hyperdrive
Here we have the two Micromasters in-hand. While their vehicle modes are Cybertronian-style sport cars, Blackjack is black DeLoreon with gold paint apps. Those help him stand out nicely from the weirldy brown windows. Their scupting is decent for each vehicle, and there is nothing missing from any of them whatsoever.
Transformations for both of them are relatively the same, though the way the hoods hinge back are different from one another while Blackjack's arms have the wheels on the shoulders. They both have the same Micromaster design traits of doors for arms and rear legs being unfolded backs of the cars. Their designs are fine for what they are, but there is not much else to say about them. They havve ball-jointed shoulders and hips as well as hinge knees.
Their conversion into the gun mode just has them halfway turned into their vehicle modes but with the waist swiveled. One thing worth mentioning is that you can use them both as independent guns, and you might as well do so because while I succeeded in taking a good picture of Thundercracker here, getting them to hold the combined gun mode is kind of annoying since the hinge is somehow unable to keep the thing from drooping.
In terms of their prior uses, they were made from Roadhandler (left) and Swindler (right), which had different heads and chests as well as different color schemes to them. The black windshields work well as one would expect, but despite looking a bit boring in gray, Swindler is definitely cool as a tiny DeLoreon.
3. Siege Stakeout and Redheat
And here we have Stakeout and Redheat, with the former pretty much resembling an Autobot Barricade and the latter being a fairly original take on a fire truck Transformer! Both are once again styled to resemble Cybertronian vehicles, and aside from rolling okay, Redheat has a blast effect nub on the ladder.
Transformation is the same as always with unfolding legs and chunks of vehicles left on the back. Redheat at least has the front be the legs. Their designs are the typical Micromster designs one would expect as mentioned earlier, and while their articulation is the same (they even have swiveling heads!), they each have problems worth mentioning: their legs are hard to pose because they're both floppy and come off easily because of the lack of space, and Redheat suffers from his heels not being stable and lacks the space necessary to swivel his head.
Transformation into the weapon mode is pretty much turning them halfway into their vehicle modes but halfway hinging the front of the police car and rotating the waist of the lower legs. Their cannon is pretty weak and doesn't hold together well. But at the very least, we can let an ambulance Transformer hold a weapon made up of Micromasters that are a police cruiser and a fire truck. Makes me realize I can get Prowl and later Kingdom Inferno to help.
They were repainted for a 10-pack set of Micromasters, and they're now Road-Police (creative name, idiot!) and Wheel Blaze (better name but I'd remove the space). Road-Police is almost like a Prowl wanna-be while Wheel Blaze is a yellow fire truck (which is somewhat common). Redheat was actually a retool of Topshot, who came with Flak and was later repainted into Fireline, who is colored differently.
4. Siege Storm Cloud and Visper
Here we have Storm Cloud and Visper, the former being the jet with lavender highlights and the atter being a slick black jet reminiscent of Victory's Sky Shadow. These two jets are tiny and nicely detailed, but their jet kibble is pretty massive in terms of what there is with the junk under the trunk. While that's not necessarily a bad thing per se, these two definitely remind me of Silverbolt's handling of his robot junk. At least Visper looks cooler than Storm Cloud, and their deco could almost go well with Skywarp or Motormaster.
Transformation for both of them is very simple, but Storm Cloud is at least more involved. Their robot modes are amusing as they have swapped colors on their robot modes, though Storm Cloud's forearms and lower legs are not matched up with the shoulders and thighs. Their articulation for each figure is mostly the same, but Storm Cloud has elbows and Visper's head can slightly look up!
And the transformation into the gun mode involves turning them back into their jet modes and hinging the cockpit back up to reveal the handle. Then you jam the two together and make a sword that's made up of two jets! That's quite the amusing thing about them considering they look less like a sword than the Armada Dark Saber, for example. At least the connection between the two figures is decent, though don't expect it to remain straight if you keep hitting it on your toys! It scales decently with Mirage.
And these guys also have been repainted twice...and in the same multi-pack. From left to right and top to bottom, you have Autobots Groundshaker and Overair as well as Decepticons Nightflight and Slyhopper...meaning you can have two swords and customize each other and this original set!
5. Earthrise Smashdown
And here we have Earthrise Smashdown in his hammer mode, which is quite a unique weapon for the WFC Battlemasters which normally turn into guns. This guy, as well as the likes of Lionizer and the Selector shield/ramp Battlemasters, make for a great breath of fresh air in terms of weapon choice. It's obviously got the head of the robot mode revealed, but you can prevent him from losing his head by using him constantly and make the most of the effect piece!
Transformation is quite involved for a little guy and you get a cute little robot with a bull head! Smashdown looks kinda adorable and reminds me of a sports mascot with the chunkiness of the body...maybe he's a fan of the Chicago Bulls?
The articulation on this guy solely consists of ball-joints on the shoulders, hips, and head, and the handle of the hammer mode can double as a weapon...though keep him out of Sideswipe's view for what he's done. Oh and he's been in both Siege and Earthrise.
And if you thought that was all I have to present, well, you're in for a treat! Now if you noticed on some of my G1-related reviews, I generally covered G1 toys in a comparison but not outright review them. Case in point: Optimus Prime, who was seen on the reviews of my POTP, Siege, and Earthrise reviews, wasn't actually reviewed on his own (because everyone knows how he works at this point). This time, we shall go small with G1 and focus on the little Bumblebee!
Bonus Round: G1 Bumblebee
This has got to be a very adorable representation of the Volkswagen Beetle, what with the tiny proportions and details he has. I love the black windshield as well as the silver highlights for the headlights, bumper, and the chrome rims and rubber tires. He's smaller than the already small Netflix Bumblebee, and it's amusing to see both a chibi take on the car and a properly proportioned vehicle.
And here he is with Optimus Prime. Despite me thinking G1 is overrated and gets more praise than it deserves, these two look nice and also feel good in-hand; Bee's die-cast, plastic, and tires make him feel a little weighty!
Transformation is what it is: face flips up, arms pull out, and the legs extend while the feet flip up. The robot mode looks charming as hell and also has quite the chubbiness G1 Bumblebee is known for. He may not look that special from the back but at least he has a new faceplate that depicts his cartoon-accurate mug compared to the original toy having the faceplate and visor. Sadly, my copy's eyes aren't painted properly and he looks like he's crying a bit.
Here he is both showing his arm articulation and his size next to fellow 80s toy Optimus Prime and his more modern counterpart from the Netflix WFC wave. In terms of reuses, this guy has been more commonly known to have a red variant in the 80s, tons of repainted colors in South American countries, a gold chrome G2 repaint, a Glyph repaint, a keychain version (with a black variant in Japan) and since 2004, Bumblebee's head has been retooled to match his cartoon counterpart (and is the only Minibot to have a consistent head redesign) with the Collection and Encore line. Oh and he was also the only Minibot to not have a rubsign...which kind of makes him like the pre-rub versions.
And that concludes today's review!
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