Transformers Evolution Armada Optimus Prime review

After Armada ended, fans of the series yearned for an updated take on the design with more articulation and a better design than the brick of the old days. While Hasbro did give fans a Galaxy Upgrade retool of Siege Magnus, a fully new mold was revealed as a prototype for the Unicron Trilogy Prime's first design, in grayscale and with only the robot mode shown next to Gen Selects Star Convoy. It took a long while to get to that stage, but we finally got what might be an arguably better figure with the Legacy Evolution design for the Generations line-up. With the reception towards the series growing positive overtime thanks to fans not wanting to follow 1984, I think Armada truly deserves some more love this time. So let's see if this guy is worth obtaining.

Here we have Armada Optimus Prime in his vehicle mode. The series was known for having more experimental altmodes in contrast to the earlier traditional ones of G1 (excluding Season 3 & beyond) or the more realistic altmodes that the Autobots utilized in RID, so it was cool to have a new take on Optimus that while similar to G1 Prime in terms of coloring and being a truck, has an identity of its own simply by reinventing the wheel (literally in a way). This is a beefy truck with an equally radical trailer that he comes with. Some would probably complain about the gap where the cannon lies, but I think with some tweaks, you can fit those crates inside the gap. The cannon stays on top as it should, and I have to say overall how much I value a time when Optimus Prime would experiment with his appearances in different universes vs nowadays how Cyberverse, all prequel movies, and Earthspark to an extent, revert to the G1 look.

In general, you can really see just how much character is put into the vehicle mode with the chunkiness of Prime alone, but even the trailer does its "similar-but-different" approach with how the stripe and Autobot insignia calls back to the G1 days but the tank treads and the bulk on the sides contrast everything from the norm. Some would wonder why there are tank treads, but looking it up, there are trucks that use rubber tracks for a few different purposes. Aaron Archer does know more than I do.

For a Commander Class vehicle mode size comparison, here he is in-between Legacy Motormaster and Kingdom Rodimus Prime. It's quite interesting seeing how varied these truck bots can get as far as styles are concerned. We have Motormaster being a traditional truck bot with the aesthetics and trailer being grounded in reality, Rodimus being a space Winnebago, and Optimus being a more fictional truck that would be impractical in real life to an extent. I don't mind if trucks like these get to be made as Commanders when it comes to them getting more mass in their plastic as well as having more features that wouldn't normally be added in an average Voyager. We've got another Commander truck coming soon, and perhaps we'll see what is set to come with Magnus.

And here he is with two Leader Class figures with trailers, on the left being Earthrise Optimus Prime and on the right being Velocitron Scourge. no disrespect to G1 Prime and RID Scourge, but I can't help but feel their more traditional design philosophies make them feel smaller than with Armada Prime. I don't have him with me in vehicle mode, but I will add that DOTM Prime from Studio Series is comparable to those two.

Up next, here we have him with his future self in the Unicron Trilogy, specifically the Galaxy Upgrade Optimus from way back in Siege! Now, that figure was a pretty heavy retool of Ultra Magnus, meaning he wasn't entirely accurate to the original toy. I should mention that this was before Hasbro finally had the balls to make toys that weren't based in G1 or Beast Wars for the Generations line, and also after we had those subpar TFP figures from Legacy Wave 1 & 2 (apart from Bulkhead to an extent)..

Leader Class Megatron takes up the spotlight next. While Leaders have been getting smaller to the point they're now Voyagers with Benefits, these two are at least in scale with each other and aren't going to be much of an issue for future Armada updates once we get to play with them in the near future.

And for a look without his trailer, here he is next to Armada Starscream and Hot Shot. It's pretty decent scale between these characters, though Optimus Prime and Hot Shot is somewhat going to be seen as undersized next to Hot Shot and the same could be said for Starscream. Regardless, not bad for three of the four big faces of the Unicron Trilogy. Also I did find one minor issue with Prime's truck mode: that being the small gap between what will be the shoulders and forearms of the robot mode.

And finally, here he is with his old Supercon self from 2 decades ago! Yes, good ol' Bendy Prime from way back in 2002! That figure was the only Armada Prime I had in my collection for quite a long time, especially when he had articulation and wasn't overly reliant on a gimmick like his Superbase counterpart. I think both figures do a good job with resembling the character model in the show well enough, though I will admit I kind of wish the new Legacy one had more silver on the bumper as well as some yellow headlights.

Transformation is pretty involved for this design, as it isn't just a case of hanging the front down into the arms, flipping the chest down, or extending the legs as well as flipping down the feet. Instead, parts of the truck front hinged onto the shoulders, the forearms now rely on double-elbows rather than friction joints, and the wheels rotate while the shins have panels that help with the foot transformation. The resulting robot mode looks leaner than the norm, but it does match the character model much better than in the past with his older toys. He maintains the same bulk that makes this Prime stand out from other incarnations, and I couldn't have it any other way. The gold is a balance between the duller gold that was on the Hasbro version of Superbase Prime and the Takara vibrant yellow, and other details such as the gray fists and the black stripes on the chest. Plastic quality is also nice, though one issue I did have comes from the waist, that being how it doesn't peg together from the back properly even if you try to squeeze it tightly. Doing this also leads to the issue where the butt flap splits in two when it shouldn't. But beyond that I have no complaints. This is a great design for Prime, capturing the time when Optimus was not just a stylized evergreen/G1 bot.

Head sculpt continues the trend of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" that Hasbro failed to do with the TFP guys by leaving it in the same style it had in the Armada series, from the yellow/gold forehead to the yellow eyes, the curved-back antennae, and it's great that Hasbro decided to leave it as it is rather than a lazy reuse of a G1 head. His articulation consists of a ball-jointed head, shoulders that swivel front and back as well as hinge in and out, swivel above the elbows, double-bend at the elbows, wrist swivels, hips that move front and back as well as in and out, thigh swivels, knee bends, (which are ratcheted like the hips), and ankle pivots to boot. No waist swivel like Bendy Prime, but there is a very good reason why he doesn't have one. Am I right, Siege Apeface? Am I right, Earthrise Seekers?!

His ion blaster can be held in his hand, looking badass and at least doing a better job of imtegrating the classic G1 look of the weapon while still adding a bit more sculptwork to make it less 1:1 rather than make it look like it has excess plastic unshaved. Interestingly, the instructions say the gun can be pegged on the back if you relocate the Autobot insignia to his shoulders...perhaps this might be a sign of things to come for a future combination? If it were to involve a jet, man that'd be fire.

He has a Matrix chamber, similar to the Superbase Prime; this time, it IS removable, allowing you to either depict him handing it to Hot Shot before the younger bot rejected it due to not being seen as fit to use it or when Prime abandoned it at the end of the series before he went soul-searching.

Here he is with his fellow Armada gang, and being a Commander Class figure made him perfect for scaling next to these characters as a Voyager-sized figure while still retaining his bulky proportions. Taller than Starscream and Hot Shot while still being a bit shorter than Megatron. 

Here he is next to his Supercon self once again, and you can definitely see how different these two are when it comes to the aesthetics they maintain. I'm sure fans who never saw Armada since it last came out as well as stick with the Deluxe toy for years would be startled by how the new Prime is as lean as the previous toy is wide. You could say that Legacy Prime is meant to represent his cartoon appearance and the old Supercon is meant to be his Dreamwave form. I would argue that \the old toy has not just the wider proportions but also the more oversized tires on him vs. the ones on the new figure, the darkened scorch on the grill, and the darker colors (in addition to the clear plastic). Also next to Galaxy Upgrade Prime, you can tell which figure got the freedom of being a new mold vs another which is a retool and nothing more.

And here he is with RID Scourge and G1 Prime once again. He is slightly shorter than either figure, though that might be the way the shoebox used for the review setting sort of dips down in the middle. In any case, he should be a little closer to their heights, and in case you're wondering why we have RID Scourge and not Laser Prime, I prefer Scourge overall and wanted to get that figure in these colors. A G1 Nemesis Prime is only available in Siege colors rather than the Earthrise mold because of the Netflix series, but Armada Prime getting a Nemesis Prime repaint...will require a lot of modifications to make him a Voyager beyond the retooled head and deciding if they'll color him as either Hasbro or Takara's take on the old toy.

Now for another Commander Class core bot comparison, with Motormaster on the left and Rodimus Prime to the right. While G1 fans will be scratching their heads as to why an Armada character is getting a toy in that scale and not Silverbolt, it shows one thing I appreciate with the Legacy line of late: variety. And that's what the line needed after Combiner Wars stuck with Oops All G1 outside of Combiner Wars Armada Megatron or Titans Return Tidal Wave. Even still, they were repaints, and the same went for whatever FunPub did with Beast Wars Uprising. All to appeal to just G1 fans vs. the growing interest put towards non-G1 stuff such as the Beast Wars series in Kingdom. 

As we give attention to the trailer, it can transform into its battle platform mode manually, so thankfully, Baltmatrix won't set his balls on fire when he messes with the motor incorrectly! On a more serious note, this trailer is much more involved than what we previously had, as it actually transforms more like the Powermaster trailer did to an extent rather than open and splay all of its sides out like a box would. The resulting battle platform is less like how it once was, especially without the central tower on top. Ultimately, if any mode had to be altered the most, it had to be the trailer. On the positive side, with the artillery cannon on the back and the blaster on the front, it sort of looks like an aircraft of some kind. And hey, I'd rather have poseable legs rather than a motorized gimmick.

For another comparison, here he is with the G1 trailer, showcasing signs of how much deviation is made from the simple, opening box to the sprawled-out battle platform.

With the tanker trailer base of RID Scourge, they are both sprawled out and have a bit of a towering cannon, but Armada beats the tanker trailer.

And this is Rodimus Prime's own take on the battle platform. Certainly much taller but it makes sense given how big the Winnebago is as a whole. I also like the trailer on Roddy, too.

And we now have Motormaster's base for one final comparison. These two almost look like they're combined, which makes it feel rather Power Rangers-ish in a way. Or moreso how the Titan bases and some Commander bases connected in Titans Return and the WFC trilogy.

Combining Prime with the trailer is where things truly shine for this design. We get Optimus becoming the upper body first having the legs become the arms, and the rest of him becoming the torso (this time, the front of the truck becomes the torso in a way unexpected at the time). The trailer transforms somewhat like Powermaster Prime while maintaining the faithful approach of the Unicron Trilogy design philosophy. You are told to have Prime's grille slide into the cavity of the backpack before attaching the torso to the waist, but you could technically do the latter step first if you really want to experiment with the transformation. Also, don't forget to hide the gaps properly with the feet under the forearms because I failed to do that. The resulting super mode is breathtaking. A design that was ridiculed by purists back in 2002 slams any insults back at them by being much more striking with the modern-day toy engineering that makes him feel completely definitive. He is much more refined, especially in the legs, the super mode looks effective in terms of proportions, and in contrast to the old toy, he is no longer a brick this time around without betraying his design aesthetics. The only issue I have with the super mode is that the butt flap looks a bit out of place, especially if you leave that piece attached to the back. Other than that, I love how this guy turned out.

Head sculpt is signature for Armada, with the golden paint apps for the pipe ears, the mouth plate, and the forehead crest. The only inaccuracy I can find for the eyes is the eyes not being red. I was hoping Hasbro would fix them before the release since they did the same with Studio Series Mirage's head becoming blue after it was originally gray, but hey, it's better than Earthrise Prime not having any silver paint to separate the blue eyes from the face when they were originally yellow in the stock images. His articulation gives him the same ball-joint range, the shoulders ratchet front and back as well as in and out. The biceps swivel, the knees-now-elbows bend, the wrists swivel, and his fingers articulate. There is a waist swivel underneath the waist flaps, hips that ratchet front and back as well as hinge in and out, thighs swivel, knees ratchet, and ankles pivot.

Holding the Ion Blaster in his hand, Optimus's smokestacks from the regular mode can peg on the front. They don't become a pistol that lights up for this mode, but it's better than how the Supercon Prime's inability to do the gun mode. Next to Motormaster, he is shorter than the Gestalt, but I feel that makes sense when Prime's trailer is meant to be integrated into him specifically in contrast to Menasor's requirement of utilizing all limb-configured Stunticons. Regardless, I'm sure Armada Prime can beat the slag out of G1 Menasor.

And here we have him with his Cybertron self, and you can see how the shorter height kind of helps this guy not make the Galaxy Upgrade figure seem too out of scale. That being said, I am interested in seeing how a proper updated Cybertron Prime will look if we get that in a future Generations line.

And here he is with the rest of the Armada characters. He now towers over everyone else, and it makes me interested in seeing how Hasbro will tackle future Generations lines when it comes to the future characters that they will later get to, from Jetfire to Overload, and hey, Tidal Wave is on the way! Overall, Armada Optimus Prime is not just my favorite Commander Class figure tied to Sky Lynx, but he also might be the best figure in the Legacy Evolution line! I thought Tarn or Dreadwing would take the spotlight, but no! This guy wins in the same ranking the same way Spinister won over Siege, Netflix Soundwave with Earthrise, BW Megatron with Kingdom, and Transmetal Megatron with Legacy. The David Kaye Megatron chain is broken, but spoiler alert: Armada Megatron might be close in the ranking list while Armada Prime is number 1!

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Transformers Studio Series Rhinox review

Another Rhinox months after the mainline version?! The last version of the guy was based on concept art that made him better resemble his original Beast Wars design. Meanwhile, this guy is said to be closer to the CG model, which was briefly shown on-screen as he didn't show up as much in that mode compared to his beast mode. On the bright side, Rhinox said a line or two, but let's see how this guy turned out compared to the mainline version.

Here is Rhinox in his beast mode, which is much closer to the CG model this time around. The proportions are more organic and rounded this time around, and the gray is certainly much closer than the brown he had on previous merch. What I like on this guy is how it mimics the way a normal rhinoceros would have this armored look to their skin, as this guy is multi-layered on the face, shoulders, and back. Some of the parts represent this via gunmetal paint apps in key areas. The problem is that I wish the rest of the figure was cast in a more metallic silver plastic or painted in silver so it could make the sculpt pop more than the bare gray plastic does. Even adding a few more rust paint apps would go a long way, as seen on the forelegs. At least the horn looks fairly impressive.

His articulation consists of jaw movement, slight front leg movement, and slight hind leg movement. In other words, no different from past Rhinestone. His hammer can hinge at the head so the handle can peg on the back. In this way, it's like a missile launcher, thinking about it.

For a beast mode comparison, here he is with the mainline version of himself. Slightly bigger, much closer to a normal rhino than the mainline version (which reminded me of the vintage Deluxe), and undoubtedly closer to the CG model. That being said, I still think the mainline Voyager is still a good toy, all things considered. Its sculpted details on some of the exposed inner workings and the chains is cool!

And here he is with the other Studio Series Maximals. This should be the right scale, more or less. Of them all, he is the closest to the movie. Cheetor should be a little more gold and have a ore accurate beast head while Airazor is not like her CG model.

His transformation is not too different from other Rhinox figures for the most part. You still have the beast limbs become the robot limbs while the head is stored into the chest, and I do like how the hands swap the rhino feet. But this figure is probably like the old Deluxe with how parts come off too easily. The shoulders, chest, stomach panels, and even the assembly holding the hands/beast feet do not stay on their nubs well. Is it hard to add pins onto a VOYAGER?! If the tolerances were together, I wouldn't complain. But we've seen other figures handle their assembly much better than him in this line. At the very least, I do like the robot mode. It's appropriately muscular and better suits him than his blockier mainline Voyager counterpart, considering this one was made likely after the film received final character art. He looks quite massive from the top in contrast to how small everything feels going downwards. He's almost stylized in that way when viewed from certain angles. More bronze is present in the abs, crotch, and shoulders, which helps break up the drab gray. The torso feels like either a callback to gis Transmetal toy or a hypothetical Beast Machines version of him had he not been Tankor thanks to Megatron's takeover of Cybertron.

His head sculpt looks good but is severely let down by the lack of paint on him. There are splotches of silver here and there but it feels super incomplete. It's like, FILL IT IN!!!! At least his eyes aren't in the creepy PTSD look that the mainline Voyager has. That felt more moviefied than this head, ngl. His articulation consists of a ball jointed neck, shoulders that move front and back as well as in and out, bicep swivels, elbow bends, wrist swivels, waist swivel, hips that move front and back, in and out, thigh swivels, knee bends, and ankle pivots. He can hold his hammer with the spikes probably still being missiles if he wanted an explosive MC Hammer approach in his attacks.

For a robot mode size comparison, here he is in-between Cheetor and Airazor once more. We barely saw them in their beast modes compared to their robot modes (not to mention Airazor never transformed) but this should be accurate to the movie if the Studio Series line is anything to go by.

And here he is with the mainline counterpart. Massive difference between the more Beast Machines influence of the Studio Series guy and the closer-to-Beast-Wars-Season-1 look of the mainline figure. I recommend both figures regardless, but while the mainline figure had some decent paint apps for a lower-tier toy and did not have issues coming apart, this Studio Series guy could really use better durability and better paint apps than he currently has. The bronze is fine, but give him more silver.

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

Transformers Rise of the Beasts Core Mainline RANKED

Rise of the Beasts may be over for the toyline, but that won't stop me from wanting to revisit the mainline's Deluxes and Voyagers. This movie, unlike AOE, TLK, and Bumblebee, provided toys that were comparable to the Generations line, each of which had varying degrees of screen-accuracy. So for example, Optimus Prime is pretty close while the Maximals generally aren't. Regardless, that won't be a knock against them because I'd rather judge them as action figures. I will say that the distribution getting weird on top of Hasbro delaying the movie has caused some overlap between these guys and the Studio Series offerings, so some of them might have been weird to get after the Generations offerings. But with that out of the way, let's cover them from worst to best!

9. Bumblebee

This really was a rough figure overall for Bumblebee. The shades of yellow between the painted areas and the molded plastic don't match, the proportions are an odd hybrid of his ROTB and 2007 designs, and there could be a few more paint apps to make him look less awkward. That being said, I do like the arm cannon being sort of like the AOE Camaro Concept form from back in 2014, the daggers being made from the bumper is cool (and certainly better than the dumb "shield" of the windshield guard), and the tires going behind his head rather than in front of the doors like all the other Bumblebees is something we rarely see. On his own in some markets, he is easy to skip in favor of the Studio Series version. In the US where he is in a 3-pack with two other figures we'll get to, you're stuck with him.

8. Nightbird

Much like Bumblebee, she is the dud of the overall set she comes from. While better than Bumblebee, her biggest issues come from the hip kibble combined with the back kibble hindering her leg articulation as well as the waist swivel. Her car mode could use a bit more color consistency thanks to the caramel plastic breaking things up. Positives include the metallic purple, her weapon storage in vehicle mode being clever, and the car mode itself looking slick for the most part. The Studio Series one better be good in spite of the shorter scale and tiny wings.

7. Mirage

How do you NOT put out merch of one of the more prominent characters from the movie until now? While detractors will say his altmode is not accurate or the colors are bad, and the head sculpt was never like that in the entire film, there were plenty of things that do admittedly make this guy better than the Studio Series version. Namely the proportions, slightly better kibble management, and the transformation being a bit closer to what the CG model went for. If this guy has the better paint apps, head, and properly licensed altmode of the Studio Series version, then he'd be perfect. If only I could get another mainline Mirage and customize away...

6. Cheetor

Obviously he looks more Beast Wars than he does Beast Machines as seen with the CG model in the film, but I still like how this guy turned out. While he copies the Kingdom figure, his plastic isn't as cheap, the tail whip is a little more effective, ans the gut gun is a nice bonus. His cheetah head does match the CG model more than the Studio Series one, though. But I will admit the brown lower legs look like weird pants in both beast mode and robot mode. At least the brown shoulders match a bit.

5. Airazor

Out of all the Maximals, this figure stands out the most from the others. Firstly, she is nothing like the others in terms of aesthetics, better resembling a TFP or Earthspark version of herself. Secondly, she resembles the beast mode even less than the already inaccurate Studio Series. And third, she doesn't borrow the engineering of her Kingdom counterpart the same way the others do (Studio Series did that lol). Still, this figure is awesome! Original transformation, bird wings can still articulate despite involving the legs as part of transformation, and the figure still looks great even if she never showed her robot mode in the movie. 

4. Rhinox

While he may be blockier and browner than the CG model, he is more tolerable to transform than the Kingdom figure he is based off of. I think the brown looks good on him if it were more metallic, and while the outward arm movement is a bit annoying with how the plastic for the joint either has the arms parallel or nearly 45 degrees, this guy at least has good range elsewhere, and hey, he not only has better cannons than the Kingdom guy but even doesn't have parts pop off too easily like the Studio Series version! More on that for his review!

3. Wheeljack

Remember how everyone first saw this toy and went "wHy DoEsNt hE hAvE hIs BuMbLeBeE dEsIgN?! wHy DoEs He LoOk LiKe StEvE uRkEl?!?! wHy DiD yOu ReMiNd Me Of ArMaDa WhEeLjAcK jUsT tO mAkE mE lOoK sTuPiD?!?!?!"...yeah things never change with the ungrateful side of the fandom. But setting aside the manchild drama, this figure is surprisingly good amongst the mainline Deluxes. While he us bulkier and unlicensed, he matches the character model quite well, the glasses and suspenders give him a unique personality that hadn't been seen too often in Transformers of late, and the brown us off white adds a but of an underrated color combo. And combine that with his voice actor adding a cool accent, it all results in a nice toy of Wheeljack for fans who still aren't Geewunners or Beewunners who are butthurt over Pablo having a girlfriend and not them.

2. Optimus Primal

The one Maximal that matches the CG model the most in both modes amongst his brethren is also the one in need of having better colors that the CG render on his box contains. If his dark gray was gunmetal black and the light gray somewhat gold, then I could rate him higher. Some would find the boxier proportions and weird head articulation distracting, but I ultimately liked seeing what this guy can provide as an action figure thanks to tbe sculpted details and simple yet pretty effective ape-to-robot transformation that one does not hate when it feels a bit iconic for Primal thanks to the different chests, heads, shoulder pads, and the waist swiveling. And hey, he can make his swords dual-bladed easily compared to Kingdom Primal!

1. Optimus Prime

It's no surprise this guy showed up in first place, but I love how he turned out. Still not perfect thanks to his somewhat thin plastic and severe lack of paint in addition to relying on painted parts here and there, this guy still has a great amount of articulation, a respectable amount of sculptwork, and two pretty decent takes on Optimus's design for the movie! Is he worth getting in the aftermarket for higher prices? No. But if you were lucky to get him in a store, then you can't complain with how good he generally is. And it was getting this release that tempted me to get the entire mainline series of Deluxes and Voyagers.

And that covers the ROTB mainline! In case you're wondering where Battle Changer Mirage as well as the Weaponizer versions of Arcee and Scorponok are, they will pop up in another ranking list coming soon! While I do like this line-up, it is odd that Arcee, Scourge, and Battletrap, three of the more prominent characters in the movie that is neither oversized (Stratosphere & Unicron), cannon fodder (Scorponok & the Sweeps), or barely prominent/cut from the film (Apelinq and Transit). So we are left with 4 of the 5 Autobots and only one Terrorcon while the Maximals are complete. Arcee has 2 mainline figures (one I covered previously), Scourge has a few mainline toys but not a Voyager with articulation, and Battletrap has vittually nothing besides his Studio Series toy and a weird orange Ironhide that was somehow proof that Unicron reformatted him into Battletrap (which thankfully didn't happen). But with all that said, this is an early tease for the rankings coming at the end of the year, as we are now in the final quarter of 2023!

Marvel Legends Avengers 60th Anniversary Hawkeye w/Skycycle review

Hawkeye has been quite an interesting man when it comes to past Legends iterations. While Jeremy Renner gets figures that feel no different from one another in God knows how many MCU films he's stuck in, the comic iteration has at least 4 prior iterations that were each mixed in quality: a ToyBiz version that is its own mold with great value for money (Sky-Cycle included) but has poor-proportions, the 2013 Marvel Now design that is basically a comicified MCU design because that's what Disney does nowadays, an All New/All Different modern classic comic design with a poor reuse of the MCU Winter Soldier arm, and a Retro release that is alright but not by much. Back to avoiding run-on sentences from here, we got a new Hawkeye that might be reminiscent of the Toy Biz version but better-proportioned mostly. We'll see if that's the case for today's review.

Here we have Hawkeye in-hand. This figure has a lot of new elements added onto the Sunfire body, such as slightly longer limbs to fit Hawkeye's body frame  as well as the tunic sculpted on the upper body to go with his belt, arm bands, gauntlets, and the strap meant for the quiver. I like the metallic purple on the tunic and the arm gear, but I wish it was more spread out on the rest of the purple part, including the mask, for consistency sake. This figure uses pinless joints, and I'm sure there are kitbashers willing to use this for sleeveless figures in some way. The shade of blue used for his costume should be accurate to the classic look, but I feel it could use a bit of shading to make it look less plasticky than it currently is (would also go well with the metallic parts of the costume). The thing that makes this figure stand out from the others is the inclusion of fabric goods for the loincloth. The idea is nice on-paper, and some would argue that the added details that match the tunic are nice details, but I feel it looks cheaper on this guy, especially with how it makes the upper body feel like it's loosely connected. So overall, it looks mostly good, but I know there is room for improvement.

His head sculpt is the best part about the figure, reinventing the nicer details of the life-like appearance of the ToyBiz figure that Hasbro failed to live up top with their Allfather and Retro versions of Hawkeye. The mask looks appropriately classic and better uses the realism moreso than the other Legends figures, and that means not having his lips look odd or the face too much like a cosplayer. His articulation is standard for the Sunfire mold, including the butterfly joints needed to better help his archery posing work a bit more. That being said, some of the joints feel a bit gummier than normal, something that affected numerous pinless joints. With his alternate hands along with his bow and arrow, the latter accessories are nicely painted yet annoying with the former not being flexible enough and the latter not being good at staying in place for a firing pose. It could really benefit from having certain hands meant for the arrow, and I am tempted to give this guy the ToyBiz bow and arrows if I see them online.

The Skycycle comes disassembled for the platform, the main portion of the vehicle, the domey windshield, and the flight stand, which is unique to Hasbro for utilizing an asymmetrical length for two of the legs while the ball joint facing upwards can be used for different lengths depending on which part of the base is used. The assembly is easy to work with, and you can disassemble this item without the fear of things getting hard to disassemble if you want to customize this for better weathering or wear & tear. I like this, though with how shitty the economy is and how Hasbro likes to market its items to justify their sometimes higher than deserved price, this would have been marketed as an accessory back in the ToyBiz days vs the second main asset of a toy. Hawkeye rides it well enough, but only the handles keep him secure as there are no pegs for the feet.

For a comparison with other Marvel Legends Avengers new and old, here he is with Retro Cap, Ant-Man, Iron Man, and Ragnarok. It should be mentioned that while everyone else began as heroes, Hawkeye began as a criminal and enemy of Iron Man, but now he has some new friends to fight with. I guess it I could get her, I could also buy Black Widow even though people would associate her with the MCU version. Overall, Hawkeye is a mostly solid release that I feel has room for improvement. If he was $5-10 less, I would recommend him more; as it stands, he is the best Hawkeye that Hasbro had ever done, though I admit there are things the ToyBiz version does better with the paint and accessories.

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