Review: #256
Name: Mudfighter with Thrasher
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Decepticon
Line: BotCon 2015 - Souvenir Set
Year of Release: 2015
Size Class: Deluxe with Targetmaster
Variations: repaint of Generations IDW Waspinator (along with rest of Waruders); Thrasher is a repaint of the Generations Waspinator that came with Legends Starscream
BIO CARD:
Mudfighter comes with a bio card which shares the same text as the other Waruders, so it feels somewhat lazy. The only difference between each of the four cards is the color of the robot. The artwork isn't the best since it so feral and beastly instead of being robot like.
WASP MODE:
Mudfighter transforms into a yellow and orange wasp, which works only as well as it sounds, i.e. not very well at all. The yellow is very mustardy and needs to be more bright to stand out.
Mudfighter's color scheme is based upon the Fox Kids repaint of the original Waspinator toy. He features transparent green wings and stinger.
This is a good wasp mode apart from the legs, which looks weird due to it being attached to the body at different heights.
This is a Deluxe classed figure and here he is compared with Trailcutter, so he isn't too big after all.
And now a comparison with Waspinator, who looks much better in the normal green deco.
Mudfighter has a gimmick where if you pull back on the lever, it lifts his wings up, so you can mimic the wings flapping.
He comes with Thrasher, a black repaint of the smaller Targetmaster Waspinator.
Mudfighter only came in a set of four "Waruders", and the different decos work well together.
While the mold is good, the colors is definitely the weakest of the set.
THRASHER:
Let's take a quick look at the "pilot", Thrasher, which is mainly black with a grey head and silver wings. It's a decent wasp mode.
Getting him into robot mode is as simple as standing him up and folding the beast head down, yay...
He has limited poseability, being his shoulders and hips which swing forward, not meaningful in any way.
Thrasher has a third gun mode but the downside of this mode is that it doesn't truly lock into place, and the pieces feel thin and fragile enough like it'll break.
TRANSFORMATION:
Mudfighter has an easy tranformation, the most interesting aspect is when you push the shoulders in, which splits his beast mode into two. The legs are also fun in how they fit.
ROBOT MODE:
Mudfighter's robot mode is decent but once again, the color scheme fails to work very well. It's too drab and ugly.
There is a bit of kibble (but accurate to the character), being his insect legs hanging off the limbs, the wings on his back and the abdomen sticking out.
The head sculpt is fantastic and his teeth are painted black, giving it some emphasis. The green lightpiped eyes work well too.
A comparison with Trailcutter, Mudfighter isn't too tall.
A comparison with Waspinator who still looks better in this mode.
Poseability is decent but Mudfighters shares a fatal flaw with his fellow Waruders, the heels are extremely weak to the point that they flop. This makes even standing him up a massive pain.
You need to lean him back a little bit in order to keep him upright, this is quite annoying and frankly, unacceptable.
Mudfighter comes with a stinger gun, which looks great.
He can hold the gun in either hand and you can still pull off some good poses.
His knees are somewhat restricted in that they cannot bend a full 90 degrees, otherwise the articulation is as great as you'd hope.
A comparison with Thrasher, both in robot mode, would be nice if they had shared the same color scheme so that it can be more unified.
Mudfighter with the rest of the set, they look nice together and FunPub should have really sold the set as Waspinator drones instead of this super obscure Diaclone made-up scenario.
He can hold Thrasher in gun mode too. While a nice robot in terms of sculpting, the colors takes some getting used to.
OVERALL:
As you can probably tell, the biggest thing holding Mudfighter back is the colors. Considering he comes in a set, there's not much you can do. He is very expensive, partly due to the inclusion of Thrasher. Even so, it's hard to recommend Mudfighter on his own unless for some reason, the colors really appeal to you.
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