Review: #404
Name: Bludgeon
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Decepticon
Line: Robots in Disguise (2015)
Year of Release: 2017
Size Class: Warrior (Wave 11)
Mold Status: repaint of Blastwave (which itself was a retool of Megatronus)
TANK MODE:
Bludgeon, as you'd expect of a homage to the character, transforms into a tank with an unlikely color scheme of orange and green.
From the front, the tank mode looks good but it falls apart at the back since it feels unfinished with the huge amounts of gaps which doesn't help when the back treads are half the width of the front portion.
While a repaint of RiD Blastwave, Bludgeon is also a retool of Megatronus with everything except the treads being a new mold. Thanks to the large shielded front and a wider and longer turret, Bludgeon looks much more substantial.
Part of the Warrior class, Bludgeon is approximately Deluxe sized but a fair bit lighter due to the hollow parts. Above is a comparison against RiD Warrior Stormshot.
The turret can rotate and due to the way the cannons work, it can tilt upwards but looks awkward. There are plastic wheels underneath allow Bludgeon to roll on a flat surface.
This is a fantastic remold that improves upon the original usage of the mold.
TRANSFORMATION:
The transformation is near identical to Megatronus but has a few minor changes due to the remolding. First off, the fists do not flip out now, they are already exposed at the back of the turret. The second part is that the turret can remain attached behind his head. The most interesting part still remains to how his legs form by collapsing the treads together.
ROBOT MODE:
Bludgeon's robot mode nails the character with the samurai-esque armor and the extra orange and red.
He has a chunk of kibble behind his waist but it is solidly attached and doesn't get in the way.
The headsculpt is fantastic with heaps of intricate detailing, including pupils inside his eye slots.
Size-wise, Bludgeon is a typical Warrior height but appears bulky thanks to the wide shoulders. Compared to the rest of the line, Bludgeon's usage of hollow parts isn't too obvious and not too bad.
You can see via the comparison with Megatronus that apart from the core legs (since the kneepads are new), everything else is completely remolded so it is more of a case of saving money by reusing the engineering rather than saving money by reusing all the parts.
Poseability is excellent and while he doesn't use it for transformation (rather inheriting it from Megatronus's usage of the mold), he has a waist swivel.
The large feet does wonders for helping to keep him stable in all poses.
His weapons include a gun made from detaching the tank's cannon from his back, and also a sword.
The gun can be held in either hand and for a tank cannon, looks decent as a handheld weapon.
Unfortunately, Bludgeon suffers from a reliance on friction joints rather than pin joints. It affects him via his chestplate and the panel his head is attached to since a little bit too much force while transforming him will mean that they will detach.
To be fair, the sword is a tad bit too short to be perfect.
The tank cannons can also be tilted forward to form shoulder cannons.
Bludgeon has an excellent stature and looks amazing in person.
A very well done robot mode that has a lot of versatility with the weapons.
OVERALL:
Bludgeon is a case of a remolding done right. The Megatronus mold was already one of the better ones in the line and Bludgeon just makes it one of the best Warrior figures in the series. It nails the character and improves the look of the tank mode, and having a fabulous robot mode, Bludgeon is highly recommended.
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