Transformers Review: ROTF Voyager-class Bludgeon

Intro:

            Welcome back to another edition of Transformers Review. This time around, we will be reviewing one of the classic characters from the old G1 Transformers comics. Back in the comics, Bludgeon was a Pretender, whose shell was that of a skeleton samurai warrior, while the inner robot transformed into a green tank. His old bio showed that he was well-verse in the ancient Cybertronian Martial Art called Metallikato – kinda like the Cybertronian version of “The Way of the Samurai”.

            He was one of the leader figures in the ranks of the Decepticons, and for a time, in the absence of Megatron, he briefly led the faction, but was eventually killed for its effort.

            So yeah, in theory, Bludgeon was a cool character, but in most cases, as with most Decepticon Pretenders, the Pretenders shells tends to be more universally recognizable (read: more famous) than its actual robot mode. As far as I was concerned, I won’t be able to recognize Bludgeon’s robot mode without the Pretender shell, because to me, he might as well be some common generic robot.

Alternate Mode:

The first thing that you would literally notice about Bludgeon alternate mode is the amount of details this figure has. I mean, the last time I’ve ever seen such exquisite details on a Voyager-class figure was the Cybertron/ Galaxy Force Vector Prime figure – and that particular figure was AWESOME!!! Compared to the many Tank-formers that we have had throughout the history of the franchise, this figure has got to be the most highly detailed one. Any more detailed, you might as well end up with the Leader-class Brawl figure, whose robot mode kinda dragged the points down for it. 

The details are amazing! You have spare wheels and threads carved onto the plastic; ladders, shovels, sledgehammer etc. Heck, even the grill/fencing behind the turret looked amazingly detailed. 

Shovel

Sledgehammer

Spare Tyre and Threads

Fencing Grill

The turret turns 360°, but unfortunately it isn’t able to tilt upward, which is a little bit of shame. 

I also absolutely love the rubber threads. Yes, I do wish it could function as it should, but eventually, you’ll learn to give some and take some. 

The small machine gun on the turret can also turn, adding more firepower to the existing main cannon and also the twin-missile launchers on either side. 

            It is also worth to note that there is a slight kibble beneath the tank, but it is totally ignorable. 

            Awesome tank mode, really.

Robot Mode:

            I just love Bludgeon’s robot mode. He’s just so darn unique – kinda looked like Skeletor (of Masters of the Universe fame), but with a hell lot more body armor. Skeletor… I mean Bludgeon is predominantly orange and green, with a touch of black here and there, which blends quite well together. I like the skeletal samurai-theme that is hugely noticeable here, which, no surprise here, harkens back to the G1 Pretender shell. The groin cover plate is a welcome touch, which I think really adds to the general outlook of the figure. The tank threads also manage to do a double take as armor plates. In this mode, Bludgeon only wields melee weapons, in this case, a Nodachi (Japanese long sword) and a Wakizashi (Japanese dagger). When not in use, you can also store those weapons in several available ports, as seen from the various photos attached. I also like the hip guards, which is darn awesome in my book. 

 

 

            The rotatable turret also passed as a backpack of sorts, which you can use to store the sword and dagger

 

            Articulation-wise, he’s not excellent, but not bad nonetheless. The head is not on a ball joint, hence it only rotates, which is always a disappointment. The shoulders rotate and there are also upward motions slightly below the shoulder pads. Right below the shoulders, the arms rotate. The elbows are surprisingly double-jointed, which is always a welcome, but unfortunately his wrists only move inward and outward, and non-rotatable.

            Bludgeon, unfortunately also lacks a waist joint, which could’ve add more value to an already awesome figure. The soft ratcheting hip joints move in all directions and the legs rotate slightly above the bendable knees. Although the knees aren’t double-jointed, they can sure bend all the way. Lastly, the ankles do not rotate – they only bend up and down. Oh, by the way, the feet also have a small heel joint each. 

            However, as awesome as the figure may sound, it doesn’t come without any complaints. I really got issues with the feet, although this may be a preferential issue on my part. They just looked too chicken-leggy for me. Also, the dangling tank-threads on the shoulder pads look kinda messy for my liking, although some may argue that it might pass as an armor accessory. But honestly, I don’t see the point of them being there. I also think that the 3 missing articulations: the ball-jointed head, waist joint and wrist joints are sorely missed here. They could’ve provided more posing dimensions for the figure. 

            Still, despite the complaints, it doesn’t really take away the value of this particular figure. 

Gimmicks:

            Since he is an ROTF figure, Bludgeon of course do feature a Mech-Alive gimmick. The gimmick does, however, managed to be absolutely insignificant. When you turn the lower legs, the bone-ish contraption within the thigh pieces turn as well – and that’s about it. It is rather a slight anti-climax to a brilliant figure.

Overall:

            The Voyager-class Bludgeon is definitely one of the better products of the Revenge of the Fallen line, and absolutely on a class of its own. I dare say that he is even better than the Voyager-class Optimus Prime itself.

            The details are amazing, the articulations have its highlights and lowlights, but either way, the good outweighs the bad by miles. It really doesn’t take a genius to tell you how much I love this figure.

Absolutely recommended – no doubt about it.

            Final verdict: 9.5/10.