Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Toy Review: Transformers Generations Combiner Wars Firefly


Review:  #234
Name:  Firefly
Brand:  Transformers
Allegiance:  Autobot
Line:  Generations - Combiner Wars
Year of Release:  2015
Size Class:  Deluxe (Wave 1)
Variations:  remolded into Quickslinger

JET MODE:


Firefly, or otherwise known as Fireflight back in the G1 days, transforms into a jet, naturally, since he is a part of the Aerialbots.


This is a good jet mode, the red and white works well together, unfortunately, the robot forearms are clearly visible.


Then you realize that there is a lot of undercarriage kibble, which is effectively the whole robot.  He only has flip down front landing gear, instead, he relies on the robot feet to sit flat on the table.


Being a jet certainly helps make Firefly look a bit bigger, but all in all, he is not too big.


You can plug in the weapons on the underside of each wing, which is about the only way to store them in this mode.  It makes him asymmetrical as a result.


Instead of a comic (however, a rerelease in a later wave does include a comic), Firefly has a collector's card, featuring art from the Legends mobile game.


He nose is made for a softer plastic.  You might also notice that there is no translucent plastic used here for the cockpit.


A decent jet mode but with a bit of undercarriage as its main drawback.

TRANSFORMATION:

Firefly shares a similar transformation with the rest of the Aerialbots, the arms sit on the side of the jet so you don't do much there.  No, the surprise is the legs, which split apart into halves, unfold and then pegs together again.  It's quite elegant.

ROBOT MODE:


Firefly becomes predominantly white in robot mode, gaining some silver  and black in the process.


He wears the nosecone on his back and the wings fold back.  It's not that bad as far as backpacks goes, and it doesn't affect his balance.


The head sculpt is great, the silver paint coupled with the blue eyes really make his face pop.


Truth be honest, he is a little bit short in robot mode.


He's got fantastic poseability, with a waist swivel to boot.


Firefly has the combiner port as his torso, which is accurate to the G1 toy.  The molding of it is unique for all Aerialbots but Firefly has a very bland sculpting, which is a shame.


In terms of weapons, he has a rifle and a dual-barreled gun made from the combiner piece.


The rifle fits perfectly and Firefly looks great wielding it.


He doesn't have any wrist articulation so you need to be a bit more creative in your posing.


The dual-barreled gun is just an excuse to use the extra combiner bit for something, it is way too big and clunky to look good.


Firefly has giant feet which makes him very stable.


A fantastic robot mode who looks great thanks to some great sculpting and clever paint applications.

OVERALL:

Firefly is a very fun Transformer.  His simplistic transformation works really well, giving us two great modes with no compromises.  Furthermore, he is part of a five-member combiner which is just icing on the cake.  The colors are great and the figure good, so get out there and buy Firefly!

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For other Transformers reviews, have a look at this page.

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Firefly can form either a leg or foot to create the massive Superion, who will get his own review soon.  In the meantime, let's have a look at Firefly's limb modes.


First up are the additional pieces which can form either a hand or a foot.  The foot is pretty normal and doesn't require much manipulation of the parts.


The way the hand is formed is quite ingenious and very effective.  Note that all the Aerialbots have unique molding for this piece, which is impressive.


Leg mode is very solid and stable, the nosecone provides some kneecaps.


The arm mode is not that bad either, using the robot waist and knee joints as elbows.  Unfortunately, it seems like his robot arms doesn't have anywhere better to go and makes the upper arm seem a bit busy.


I find that the heelspurs need to be bigger in order to properly support the combined form in poses.


The designer succeeded in creating plausible limb modes.  That's it for now, thanks for reading!

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