Toy Review: Transformers Age of the Primes Quickstrike (Deluxe)

Review:  #939

Name:  Quickstrike

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  Predacon

Line:  Age of the Primes

Year of Release:  2026

Size Class: Deluxe (Wave 4)

Mold Status:  new

BEAST MODE:

Quickstrike is based upon his appearance in the Beast Wars show, and transforms into a hybrid scorpion / snake.

The snake takes the place of the stinger, and it's a unique look, given his gold and teal color scheme.

Even accounting for the fact that he transforms into a beast mode, Quickstrike is fairly big for a Deluxe.

That being said, given the type of beast he transforms into, he's fairly flat.  The head doesn't really have much movement, although it is on a hinge for transformation purposes that you can use.

The snake head for the stinger looks really nice though, and the mouth can open and close, and you can even attach an effects part to it.

All the legs are immobile and cannot be posed, however, the arms are another story, and they can be posed in a lot of different ways, given that they're also the robot legs, so have enough joints to make them useful.

The snake is attached via multiple balljoints, and it is actually quite impressive how many balljoints there are, and it gives it a lot of flexibility.

However, from certain angles, the arms are a tad bit too big for the body, you'd just have to be careful how you pose the arms.

A fantastic beast mode, that's accurate as well as a lot of fun given the wide range of articulation.

TRANSFORMATION:

Quickstrike transforms pretty much as you'd expect, but it's not a bad thing as it is still interesting enough.  The front two arms form the legs, and they're easy as you just need to straighten them.  However, you then open up the torso, where there are some rotations and hinges that you use so that you can shift the snake to the right, and all eight legs to the right, for the robot arms.

ROBOT MODE:

Quickstrike's robot mode was also a bit over the top and asymmetrical given his design, and there's no change here.

Having all eight legs from beast mode form a claw for his left hand is still as overwhelming and bulky as you'd imagine, but it is a part of the character.

The head sculpt is fantastic, and the teal used has a type of metallic sheen to it.

Quickstrike is a decent size in robot mode as well, he stands as tall as a typical Deluxe, and a bit chunkier and bulkier too.

Articulation is absolutely fantastic, he has joints for his head, shoulders, his arms, hips, knees and ankles.

The snake arm in particular has multiple balljoints so it is super flexible in what you can do with it.

The right arm with claws is not as versatile, but still has a rotational joint.  It is big and awkward at times.

He has a wide range of articulation, given that nothing gets in the way of his limbs, which is great.  The addition of ankle tilts are always welcome, and gives him stability in most poses.

He doesn't have any other weapons, but having a giant claw and a snake head is almost good enough (he's just missing a range weapon, or a ranged effects part).

OVERALL:

Quickstrike is a fantastic update, and modernizes the figure without losing the charm of the original.  It's also great that the updates to the Beast Wars cast is still slowly expanding, Quickstrike is well worth your time and money.

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Toy Review: Hot Wheels x Transformers Collaborative Twin Mill (Deluxe)

Review:  #928

Name:  Twin Mill

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  Autobot

Line:  Hot Wheels x Transformers Collaborative

Year of Release:  2025

Size Class: Deluxe

Mold Status:  new

PACKAGING:

Twin Mill is packed in a carded format, designed to emulate the Hot Wheels packaging and it works well here.

The back is just a simple stock photo of the two modes and a scale showing the approximate size.

VEHICLE MODE:

Being a collaboration between Hot Wheels and Transformers, Twin Mill naturally transforms into a Hot Wheels car, namely... the Twin Mill car.

It's supposed to be a sleek vehicle, and he does look fast.

Despite being roughly Deluxe class, he is smaller than your typical Deluxe, which is slightly disappointing consider his wave mate Bone Shaker was a pretty decent size.

You might notice that he has a pair of engine blocks sticking up out of the hood... and that he has a pair of long exhausts that sticks out to the side... well, he comes with flame effects parts that can attach to the ends of those.

They look very nice there.  Although, the vehicle isn't without its issues.  Ignoring the original car, this figure has weird proportions where the vehicle is too narrow, so he looks off.

The only other play value here are the rolling wheels, so you can roll him on a flat surface.

It's an attractive deco, but the design is a bit hit and miss, depending on how nostalgic you'd feel about the original inspiration.

TRANSFORMATION:

Twin Mill isn't hard to transform, just that some parts are counterintuitive and makes it somewhat annoying.  The front splits to form the shoulder pads, and the arms are tucked in between those.  The arms are annoying as they're on multiple joints that you have to unfold, and they're small.  The back then forms the legs, and requires a few rotations as well, but it's not as bad given that they are larger pieces.

ROBOT MODE:

Twin Mill's robot mode is okay.  Due to the vehicle's narrowness, this produces a lanky robot.

He doesn't have too much kibble, but his legs are giant pieces, and they're hollow due to transformation, which isn't great.

The head sculpt at least looks decent, and very heroic looking too.

He's around the height of your typical Deluxe, but feels smaller due to his lankiness.

The engine block and exhausts detaches during transformation and can peg onto the back of his arms, they're designed to clip on.

Those exhausts act as weapons, basically guns, it's okay.

However, once you attach the flame effects on it's another story, and they look great as flamethrowers.

As mentioned, his lower legs are giant pieces that are also somewhat hollow, which really cheapens the feel of the robot mode.

A quick shot against Bone Shaker, the other Hot Wheels collaboration figure, and Bone Shaker is the better one of the pair.

Articulation is good, with joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, waist, hips, knees and ankles.

Due to his large lower legs, the shins are big, and the knees are situated a bit further up than normal, so it's a bit awkward to use at times.

It's a passable robot mode, but one that does feel that it could have been a lot better with some more effort put in the design.

OVERALL:

Twin Mill is an okay figure.  Bone Shaker is definitely the better Hot Wheels Transformer.  He's still a worthwhile figure to get if you can get him on sale, and if you like the look of him, but he isn't anything spectacular.

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Toy Review: Hot Wheels x Transformers Collaborative Bone Shaker (Deluxe)

Review:  #927

Name:  Bone Shaker

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  Autobot

Line:  Hot Wheels x Transformers Collaborative

Year of Release:  2025

Size Class: Deluxe

Mold Status:  new

PACKAGING:

In collaboration with Hot Wheels, Bone Shaker comes in a carded packaging, something we haven't seen for a while now.

It's nothing too fancy though, and the packaging is evocative of your typical Hot Wheels packaging.  It has a nice presentation and doesn't look too bad if you leave him sealed.

VEHICLE MODE:

Bone Shaker transforms into a Hot Wheels model of the same name, which is basically a vintage hot rod car.

It's actually a really nice vehicle, and one that isn't compromised at all.  There aren't any exposed robot parts, or unsightly gaps, it's really quick impressive.

Despite his higher price, Bone Shaker is only Deluxe sized, but he is a little bit more solid than your typical Deluxe.

The robot weapon can tab in between the wheels, although looks a bit ridiculous there, however, there is no other place to store it in vehicle mode.

The vehicle features an open top and sculpted seats inside the cage.

The sides have a flame deco, as well as silver exhausts.  The vehicle is surprisingly well painted too.

And perhaps the most striking feature is the skull face in place of the grill, it's quite an iconic look and works so well here.

There is even a small Hot Wheels logo stamped on the hood.

A really nice vehicle mode, and the bigger scale doesn't hurt it at all either.

TRANSFORMATION:

Bone Shaker has a solid transformation too.  The legs in particular, which are formed from the back, are quite interesting and fun thanks to the steps involved.  The upper body is a bit more conventional, and naturally, the skull face grill forms the torso.

ROBOT MODE:

Bone Shaker has a decent robot mode as well.  He may have a tiny proportion issue of being a bit lean, but that's easily overlooked and the shoulder pads help.

He doesn't have too much kibble, just the hood on his back, and the wheels on the sides of his legs.  His legs are hollow thanks to transformation but they don't feel cheap though.

The head sculpt is fine, again, it's well painted with the red visor and silver highlights.

He's around the height of your typical Deluxe, but feels a little bit more solid and higher quality.

The skull face as his chest works amazingly well, and very suitable given how much of a set piece it is in vehicle mode.

Articulation is great as well, with joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, waist, hips, knees and ankles.

He comes with one weapon, a mace, and the tip of it has a skull painted on it.

He can hold the weapon in either of his hand, although it looks a little bit ridiculous, and doesn't really suit him.

A shot with his wave mate Twin Mill, and Bone Shaker is hands down the better figure out of the two.

It's surprising how well painted he is, or rather, how well the designer used the paint budget.  Bone Shaker just feels very nice and looks very nice.

Unfortunately, there's no way to store the weapon in robot mode if you don't want him holding it, which is a bit of a miss.

A fantastic robot mode that looks and handles excellently.

OVERALL:

Bone Shaker is a great figure, even with the Hot Wheels collaboration.  It's just a bonus at this point, and he's a fun figure to play with and fiddle around with.

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