Review: #888
Name: Silverbolt
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Autobot
Line: Age of the Primes
Year of Release: 2025
Size Class: Commander
Mold Status: new
PACKAGING:
The 2025's Commander in the Age of the Primes line was given to Silverbolt, and he comes in a box with a nice piece of artwork.
It's your standard packaging though, with the back showing off some stock photos.
JET MODE:
Silverbolt transforms into a jet, and he looks fairly decent overall.
There are several issues with the figure but we'll get into that later. The tailfin sticks out from the bulk of the undercarriage kibble.
Silverbolt, while being in Commander class, isn't quite so big yet, he's approximately slightly larger than a Voyager, but not quite up to a Leader. Being a jet helps make him look and feel bigger than he actually is.
He's based off a Concorde jet, and the nose can fold down, while the cockpit can also lift up (although there's no meaningful sculpting inside).
The robot gun can peg underneath the front section, which helps with the look.
This is because you can see that there is a huge amount of undercarriage kibble, and this was always an issue with Silverbolt, but even more so here. He features flip down landing gear but they're molded wheels so he cannot roll on any surface.
You can see that the whole robot is folded in the undercarriage kibble. Basically, this is a robot block with a jet on top, and that's what makes him flawed, as it feels the laziest way out.
TRANSFORMATION (TO BOOSTED JET MODE):
Bulking out the Commander price point, as well as provide parts for the combined mode, Silverbolts comes with a booster jet that can pegged onto the back of the jet. It's attached via two main clips, and then a few pegs and slots to keep it secure. You'll need to fold the tips out from Silverbolt's wings before attaching it.
BOOSTED JET MODE:
To be honest, for an attachment that was never part of the original and is a superficial extra piece, it is integrated quite well and looks decent.
It's not perfect, since it's the combiner mode's kibble folded up into an approximately of something, so there are no thrusters at the back, rather you get to see Superion's thighs.
Silverbolt is absolutely massive in this mode. He's huge and is very heavy too. It's this mode where you feel that that Commander price point is worth it.
He's pretty much a solid brick here, and with the big fat attachment at the back, it helps alleviate the lopsided nature of the jet mode. It doesn't make the jet's original undercarriage kibble that bad anymore, given the attachment dwarfs it completely.
The robot mode's gun is slotted above towards the back.
A surprisingly good combined jet mode given that they had to do something with the extra kibble.
TRANSFORMATION (TO BASE MODE):
The booster attachment has an additional mode, which is a base mode / turret mode. It's surprisingly easy, as you just need to flip the rear section around, and attach the gun on top.
BASE MODE:
Unlike Devastator, where the combiner kibble has nothing else to do apart from being a trailer, Superion's kibble takes note from Menasor's, and it can form a base mode, or a gun turret.
You'll have to take now that the attachment is big, it's like three times the size of a Voyager class figure itself.
The base mode is not a great looker, but it is better than nothing.
It's lacking some serious firepower, as the sole gun feels too long and thin.
It also sticks out a lot. This mode is definitely an afterthought.
Despite that, it looks okay as like a walled gun turret, and it is better than the kibble doing nothing at all.
TRANSFORMATION:
Silverbolt's transformation goes pretty much as well as you'd expect. The jet pieces does nothing but fold back. All the transformation happens with the undercarriage kibble, with the legs unfolding from the side. Then you get the arms out, open up the chest, push Superion's head inside while folding Silverbolt's head out.
ROBOT MODE:
Silverbolt's robot mode is as you'd expect, he big, bulky, and has an aged look to him.
He carries a lot of kibble on his back, it's basically the whole jet mode, which is always disappointing that they couldn't design a way to hide some of it.
The head sculpt is fine, his face is painted silver, and again, he has that aged look to him.
He's approximately the height of a Voyager, although he has a lot more mass and heft to him.
You can see how much the kibble sticks out his back, it just feels so awkward and lazy.
He has joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, hips, knees and ankles.
He comes with a small gun that he can hold in his hand.
The gun can peg on his back.
The wings on his back are jointed so you can fold them out of the way.
He is quite easy to pose, thanks to his large feet. Given all his joints are hinges, they feel great when you're posing him.
For what it is, Silverbolt has a solid robot mode, even if it's a bit boring and uninspiring.
TRANSFORMATION (TO SUPERION):
The booster attachment splits into five pieces, two for his arms, two for his legs, and one for the torso. The arms transform very similarly to Menasor's, which require you to unfold a few joints to lengthen them. The legs require you to flip out the feet. While the torso piece is folding down the legs.
Silverbolt himself makes the core torso of Superion, and he transforms very similar to older toys, although he doesn't need to form the thighs or the chest plate, so his arms and legs can fill out the torso more as a result.
SUPERION:
Even though it doesn't make much sense for this character (unlike Menasor where he was shown in the cartoon to be like wearing the Stunticons, rather than them integrating into the limbs), Superion has a skeletal frame this time around.
The figure is designed such that even if you don't get the remaining four Aerialbots, you still get a working Superion mode, just one that's a bit skinnier.
The head sculpt is great, and looks majestic. The antennae are soft bendy plastic, although they have a tendency to fall off.
A quick comparison next to Menasor to show how big he is, and what the differences might be. Apart from the arm designs, and part of the lower legs, Superion doesn't have that much engineering.
The chest plate looks very well integrated too, not like a random piece that is stuck on awkwardly.
The legs are hollow right now, but they are springloaded and have panels designed to close when you attach the appropriate Aerialbot. The negative of this design is that you don't see the jet modes in combined mode at all, which kind of defeats the purpose in the first place.
He has all the articulation you'd expect of a smaller non-combined figure, such as joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, wrist, hips, knees and ankles.
He comes with a very long gun, the tip of which is Silverbolt's gun.
He can hold the gun in his hand, although it looks too long and unwieldy, the length just makes it look awkward.
There's a tab on the gun that slots into his forearms, which makes it look slightly better as not as much length is sticking out.
It's not a bad combined mode, even without the rest of the Aerialbots. It's only the arms that look a bit too slim but otherwise, it still works.
The color scheme can be drab, as there is a lot of grey, with not much red and copper to help contrast it
You can see that this has the potential to be a good combined mode.
OVERALL:
Silverbolt is a must get if you are aiming to get Superion, that's not a choice. However, does he stand up on his own? Yes he does, but just barely. Silverbolt himself is an uninspiring mold, it does the job but it doesn't stimulate you with its engineering. Superion feels a bit too familiar, coming off of Menasor, and the skeletal frame doesn't make much sense in terms of screen accuracy, but rather it is mostly for stability reasons.
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