Toy Review: Transformers Generations Studio Series KSI Widow (Deluxe)

Review:  #900

Name:  KSI Widow

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  Decepticon

Line:  Generations - Studio Series

Year of Release:  2025

Size Class:  Deluxe (Wave 29)

Mold Status:  new

VEHICLE MODE:

KSI Widow is a "Concept Art" character, in that she never appeared in the movie, and is based upon the concept art.

That said, the vehicle, surprisingly being a licensed McLaren MP4-12C did appear in the movie.  And this is a fantastic vehicle mode, with transparent windows, and painted both front and back in the appropriate places.

She's an okay size for a Deluxe.  Being a supercar, the vehicle's stance is wide and flat.

There are some panel lines but it's fairly clean for the most part.  Surprisingly, the headlights are painted, as well as the back section, plus her hubcaps.  It's impressive for a Deluxe toys these days...

The wheels roll on a flat surface and that's it for play value.  Both her robot weapons store underneath the car, out of sight.

There's really no compromise in vehicle mode, and is one of the best we've had.

TRANSFORMATION:

KSI Widow has an interesting transformation, although it is one we've seen before.  Basically, most of the vehicle, being the middle panels spanning the whole car, will fold and collapse itself into the robot legs, thereby eliminating most of the kibble.  This is similar to how the Prime Vehicon figures did it, and while it's a little bit less impressive here, it's still very cool and neat.  The front fenders then form the shoulder pads, and the rest of the robot is basically revealed.

ROBOT MODE:

KSI Widow's robot mode is stunning, and not hampered by matching an onscreen model, so there's no faux kibble or anything.

And she doesn't have much kibble.  The vehicle doors fold behind her back, but that helps to bulk up the torso.  Most of the car ended up being folded into the legs.

The head sculpt is one of those that's more organic looking, and she's definitely a Decepticon based on that look.

She's slimmer in robot mode compared to your usual Deluxe.  Due to transformation, a lot of the mass is down in her lower legs, which is a bit chunkier than it should.

Articulation is great, with joints for her head, shoulders, elbows, waist, hips and knees.

She comes with two blasters.

These blasters aren't designed to be held, but rather pegged onto the forearms (similar to Shatter's), and they look really nice there, as if integrated into the arms.

Those blasters can also store on her back by plugging into the the doors.

This is a unique robot mode, not only due to the design, but also the orange color scheme.

From the side, you can see the thicker legs, and these also stop her from having ankle articulation.

Still, she has great shelf presence and she holds together well in robot mode.

A wonderful robot mode that barely has any flaws.

OVERALL:

KSI Widow is one of those figures that's a good toy because it's a good toy.  She has a fantastic vehicle mode, an interesting transformation, that leads to an equally good robot mode.  Sure, she may have some slightly restrictions in her lower legs due to transformation, but that's barely a nuisance.  She just looks so great that even if she never appeared on screen, she's still worth getting.

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Toy Review: Transformers Generations Studio Series Elita-1 (One) (Deluxe)

Review:  #899

Name:  Elita-1

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  Autobot

Line:  Generations - Studio Series

Year of Release:  2025

Size Class:  Deluxe (Wave 30)

Mold Status:  new

VEHICLE MODE:

Based upon her Transformers One design, Elita-1 transforms into a pink Cybertronian motorcycle / vehicle.

There are actually two wheels at the back, making three in total, and the robot jetpack is attached to the back, so this looks like a chunky bike-like vehicle from the rear.

For a female Transformer, she is actually fairly decent in size in vehicle mode for a Deluxe.  Although most of that are just panels, given she doesn't actually have that much mass to her.

The robot gun can attach to the side, and you can kind of imagine it as some sort of massive exhaust... maybe.

Her wheels roll, and that's about it for play value.  She holds together okay in vehicle mode, there are tabs, but they can also be prone to popping out since tolerances aren't perfect, particularly the front fenders.

From the bottom, you can see the hollow parts, it's not too bad but it is definitely there.

A cool looking vehicle mode at first glance, and while she does look good, handling her isn't nearly as nice.

TRANSFORMATION:

Elita-1 is one of those figures that suffers from an awkward transformation scheme, where it is too fiddly and things pop off or poor quality control lead to floppy joints, just making everything worse.  Her transformation relies on a few panels that need to be moved and then pegged somewhere else, the problem is that those panels also like to pop off at the slightest touch.  Otherwise, the sides are the arms, while the legs are from the core of the vehicle mode.  The torso is revealed and you fold the rest of the bike up in panels on her back.

ROBOT MODE:

Similar to vehicle mode, at first glance, Elita-1 looks great in robot mode.  The pink does seem to have a slightly shimmery sheen to it.

She had some kibble, such as behind her forearms, and also her backpack, but isn't too bad overall, which is surprising.

The head sculpt is also very nice, and the silver paint pops.

She's very slim in robot mode, and you can see just how much of the vehicle mode was panels, masking her mass.

In theory, her articulation is good, with joints for her head, shoulders, elbows, waist, hips, knees and ankles.

She comes with two accessories, one is a jetpack, while the other is a gun.

The jetpack can plug onto her back and bulks her up.  This same piece can also attach to Studio Series versions of Transformers One Optimus and Bumblebee.

She can hold the gun in either hand, although it's huge, and so looks kind of awkward given she's so slim.

So this is where the main flaws of Elita-1 lies in, and those are poor quality control or design.  Her chest panel in particular likes to pop off and doesn't stay properly attached.  The other panels do a similar thing, and makes the whole figure feel fragile and something you don't want to touch since it's annoying to put the pieces back where they were.

Her legs also don't feel great, they just feel fragile.  It's like there is something stopping her from being properly posed, it's not as if the whole figure is a floppy mess, but it gives off that vibe.

So Elita-1 looks good as a display piece, but not one to be played around with.

OVERALL:

Elita-1 feels like the rest of the Transformers One figures, and that they feel a bit rushed to market, despite being released a year after the movie.  The designs are flawed, and so we get flawed figures that are frustrating because we know that they could have been better.  Elita-1 isn't a disaster, she looks good in both modes, but is just something you don't want to play with.

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Toy Review: Transformers Timelines Bumblebee (Hearts of Steel) (Deluxe)

Review:  #898

Name:  Bumblebee

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  Autobot

Line:  Timelines

Year of Release:  2025

Size Class:  Deluxe

Mold Status:  new

PACKAGING:

Similar to the Optimus Prime / Starscream two-pack, Bumblebee comes with Megatron, and they're in a very nice box with a great looking piece of artwork on the cover.

Take the cover sleeve off and the figures are packaged in a book like packaging, that can open up with windows, so you display them like that if you didn't want to take them out.

VEHICLE MODE:

Based on the Hearts of Steel design which had a steampunk theme, Bumblebee transforms into a yellow and black tank engine.

It looks very good even from the back, and the color scheme really helps invoke his namesake.

The only negative is that he is quite small, even for a contemporary Deluxe.  The figure is so compacted in vehicle mode that he is super short.

There is a bit of an scale issue when you compare the alternate modes with his packmate Megatron, but the Hearts of Steel figures, if you have all four, will look great together.

The wheels can roll on a flat surface, but the black bars don't, they're just for show.

There's an Autobot insignia at the front, and even the cow catcher is painted, this is perhaps the most surprising thing, given that Bumblebee didn't shy away from having a lot of paint applications.

Viewing from the bottom, you can see just how compact this figure is.  There is no unused space, and both robot weapons store underneath, which is neat.

A great train mode, even if the size is questionably small.

TRANSFORMATION:

Bumblebee has a more complex transformation compared to Bumblebee, and he is more fiddly than Optimus given his smaller size.  It can get frustrating at certain points as pieces may get in the way of each other, or you might need to grip a small small to put it out. . The front and bottom of the train become the legs, and this is the easy part.  The back is the chest piece, and the arms from underneath that.  The shoulder pads are from the front of the train.  Getting the torso and shoulder pads out can be fiddly.

ROBOT MODE:

For such a compact train mode, Bumblebee manages to expand significantly and the robot mode looks very good.

He doesn't have much kibble on his, the shoulder pads adds character to the design.

The head sculpt is good, although the head looks a bit small compared to his chest, which proportionally dominates the whole figure.

He is still quite small in robot mode though, shorter than your typical Deluxe.

He's much much smaller than Megatron, and the shortest out of the four Hearts of Steel figures.  Although the set as a whole looks fantastic together.

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

Bumblebee comes with two weapons, a hammer and a gun.

Both of them can be held in his hands, although the gun is small sized.

Something a bit surprising is that there are not dedicated places for you to store those weapons on robot mode if you don't want him to hold it.

Due to his smaller size, and where his knee joints are located, getting his legs to where you want when posing can be annoying too.

While there are some proportion issues, given his chest is so big, this is still a nice robot mode.

OVERALL:

There aren't really any real duds in the Hearts of Steel figures, and while Bumblebee may not be the best one, he is still a very solid figure.

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