Intro:
I
love Triple Changers. Who doesn’t? Having a robot with ONE alternate mode was
cool enough. Having a robot with TWO alternate modes was definitely better.
During
the G1 era, both the Autobots and Decepticons had their fair share of Triple
Changers. On the Autobots side there were Sandstorm, Broadside and their most
famous Triple Changer – Springer, who played a starring role in the 1986
animated movie. On the Decepticons, there were Blitzwing, Astrotrain and
Octane. Maybe it’s just me, but overall, I do think that the Decepticons had
the better lineup.
Blitzwing,
though wasn’t really a major character in the franchise, he was best remembered
as both the guy who wanted to seize control of the Decepticons from Megatron
with his “brother” Astrotrain; and as the guy, who defected the Decepticons and
join forces with the Autobots in the last part of a five-episodes story arc
during Season 3 called The Five Faces of
Darkness. Oddly though, Blitzwing was never featured in the cartoon
thereafter, although another character called Octane, despite the differing
alternate modes, does fit Blitzwing’s personality.
Anyways,
I’ve always wanted Blitzwing, even more so compared to the rest of the Triple
Changers. He just seems a bit cooler. He has tank and jet as alternate modes,
of course he’s cool! Come on, who doesn’t like jets and tanks, right?
Ehem…
Anyways, my very
first Blitzwing figure was from the Animated line, but its alternate mode
weren’t really that convincing. It was just too… well… animated – pun not
intended
So when it was
announced that Blitzwing was going to be released in the newer Generations
line, I knew I had to get him, which I did – at a superb bargain price.
Tank
Mode:
 |
| Visually awesome |
I
have to admit, the Tank Mode isn’t exactly the best tank-former out there, but
it definitely not the worse either.
Overall
visually, the tank does look okay, although there are a lot of eye-sore gaps
all over the figure.
 |
| Nice |
Kibbles
are aplenty, especially when you turn the figure over.
The
turret turns, although I would’ve preferred that the turret’s point of rotation
could’ve been moved slightly towards the middle of the turret. As things are, things
can look quite awkward at some point.
 |
| Horrible Kibbles |
Although
some of the details are quite nice, such as the side of the tank and tracks; I
do wish that there were some ways to cover up some of the glaring gaps,
particularly at the front of the tank. They could have at least completed the
tank tracks, rather than just leaving it half way.
 |
| Yuck! |
The
blaster can be stored on top of the turret, which acts as an extra weapon,
while the sword can be attached to the side that serve no purpose.
Jet
Mode
 |
| Jetfire-esque |
The
jet mode is probably the more convincing alternate mode among the two, although
it is not without its flaws.
I
kind of like the general visuals of the mode, which kind of reminds me G1
Jetfire, particularly the two plastic pieces on top of the plane formed by
Blitzwing’s hands, which resembles Jetfire’s jet pack. Even the wings evoke the
classic Valkrie wings.
 |
| Kibbles! |
The
cockpit opens, but barely. The tank’s kibbles are definitely glaring, particularly
the tank’s cannon, which now acts more like a thruster in this mode and an
attempt to cover up those visible “unnatural” gaps that kind of ruined the look
of the jet.
For
landing gears, Blitzwing’s front “wheels” protrudes, wheels not included. The same
goes for the back, where it’s merely a bump with outlines of wheel. Nothing suggests
that wheels could not be included in this set, and that makes it kind of disappointing.
 |
| Cannon Deployed |
The
sword can be attached underneath one of the wings, while the gun can remain at
the same position where it was stored in tank mode.
Robot
Mode:
Visually,
Blitzwing in robot form looks great. It takes a lot of cue from its G1
appearances – the color scheme, as well as the robot design in general.
The
most unique part of this mode would definitely be his head sculpt. Since it’s
G1 years, the name Blitzwing have been in obscurity until the Animated series
was released. In that series, Blitzwing was depicted to have split-personality
syndrome, and he comes with 3 different faces for each corresponding personalities.
Those
gimmicks were brought forward to this version as well. Unlike in the Animated
series, where the face changes horizontally underneath his helmet; this version’s
face turns vertically. It does add some playability to this figure.
The
body build is quite proportionate, and it isn’t as hollow as most newer
generation Transformers. Having said that, he is still quite light. Gone are
the days where Transformers figures used to feel quite hefty.
I
wish I could say that Blitzwing is a great figure, I really do, but
unfortunately, I can’t. This figure has one major issue plaguing him – the arms-body
locking mechanism. In theory, there is a peg within the chest that is supposed
to lock onto a peg-hole on the shoulder piece, but unfortunately they don’t.
That means that whenever you try to move the arms, chances are they will unlock
on its own, which is kind of irritating.
You
would think that with the advancement of toy-making technology available at our
disposal, this sort of issues should be non-existent at all, but unfortunately,
apparently it still does.
Summary:
In
theory, this should have been a great action figure. It’s a Triple Changer, it’s
supposed to be good and I wanted it to be so good, so bad, but unfortunately,
it’s a major letdown.
The
arm-body locking mechanism is one of the main issues plaguing this figure. Although
the alternate modes aren’t exactly stellar, I can still accept them, but this
is just too much. So far, the figure’s mold have been reused for the character
Doubledealer and recently, repainted and retooled as Starscream, but unfortunately,
the same problem still exist, which is a huge disappointment.
Make
no mistake, I would still recommend this figure to any G1 or Blitzwing fans,
because I reckoned this would be the best Blitzwing figure we are ever going to
get… period. But if you expect this to be a great and perfect figure, then you
will probably be hugely disappointed.
Rating – 4/10
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