Review: #1
Name: Windcharger
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Autobot
Line: Reveal the Shield
Year of Release: 2010
Size Class: Scout (Wave 1)
Variations: None
VEHICLE MODE:
Windcharger's alternate mode is that of a car, which is based off the Dodge Charger LX. He is primarily cast in red plastic, and it does look quite nice, although as many people have mentioned, it has 'swirls' in it, which is a bit worrying, since it might be more fragile than usual. That being said, it is a really nice shade of red. Since he is part of the Reveal the Shield line, he has a rubsign on his hood. Rubbing it, or apparently touching it (it's based on heat), will 'reveal the shield' or more commonly known, his allegiance, he is an Autobot.
There's not many (if any) flaws with his vehicle mode, he rolls very well, with all four wheels of my one touching the ground, which is nice. The only flaw that I have found would be his roof not being able to sit flush with the rest of the car (seen in the photo above), and it is annoying as it breaks up and ruin the overall look and aesthetic. All the important details is painted, even the rear (it is just all too common to have the back of a car having a lack of paint), I guess the only other thing that I would have liked to have seen painted would be the hubcaps but it's far from a dealbreaker. Although not noticeable in the pictures, it would be nice if the two panels that form the rear of the car was lower to the ground, as it's a tad bit too high (there are two unpainted exhaust pipes molded in).
The underside could be a lot worse, but it's not too bad, you can practically see the whole robot there, and he does look like a shellformer. The gaps in the underside, and the whole cheap feel of the plastic, makes you think he might not be worth the money (in terms of material). The sunshade in place of the more common rear window did not bug me as much as I thought I would. One last thing is that fingerprints are easily left on the plastic (but just can be wiped of just as easily). All in all, an excellent vehicle mode, especially for a scout.
TRANSFORMATION:
Transformation is extremely simple, but not to the point of a Legends class figure, and nowhere near as fiddly and annoying as Breacher's. This makes for a great piece to play with, since you can convert from one mode to another in a matter of seconds instead of minutes. I have a couple of tight joints, especially the hinge for the room and hood, it's a bit scary forcing it to move. One thing I have to say, the transformation is more of a "been there, done that" type, with the back of the car forming the legs (although it's just a tiny bit different than normal), the sides forming the arms, and the front forming the chest. The reverse transformation back to vehicle is a bit tricky, especially with the rear of the legs and getting everything to fit and click together. A really nice touch is that the rear of the cars can slide sideways in order to create thinner legs, something I didnt pick up at first.
ROBOT MODE:
First thing's first, he does have hands! If you were wondering if he did or not, just have a closer look, they're red and they tend to blend into the red panel behind the arms (which is a shame as the hands are well sculpted). The red hands is actually my only complaint about the robot mode, as it just looks really nice. Pictures does not give him justice, it's only when you have him in your hand, and played with him do you fully appreciate how good he looks. He has little restrictive kibble, the main one being the roof of the car and a bit of the hood on his back and behind his head. The legs looks really nice, and the panel in front of his knee, although some might see it as unnecessary kibble, is something I think that really adds to the look. His shoulders looks great too, being the sides of the front of the car, it's just a very well proportioned robot.
One thing I do recommend is... dont look at him from the back, it's just a big mess. The roof and hood really clutters the look, and the empty legs doesnt help either. To be fair, the legs arent just a big hollow rear of the car, it's actually fuller than you'd expect. He has some nice sculpted details and his headsculpt is just pure awesomeness, some might think that it bears some resemblance with Megatron's, and I can see that, but in hand, it's really unique and gives the robot some character.
The first gimmick is a carry over from the vehicle mode, and also the name of the line, the rubsign. It's now on his chest and looks good there (it would be even better if it wasnt crooked...), I guess the negative of a rubsign would be that there's no stamped Autobot symbol anywhere. I think the whole "is the robot an Autobot or Decepticon?" gimmick of the line would be better if it doesnt tell you on the back of the packaging... (sorry for the flash and fingerprint in the picture above, and that's my hand holding him, it's hard to get the camera to focus enough, and I didnt have enough natural lighting).
The second gimmick is way cooler, in each hand, you can swap it out for a magnet or if you prefer, a gun, this makes for some nice shooting poses, or even dual hand shooting poses. Each gun has a 3mm clip (part of the 3mm Clip System), which you can use for any of the 3mm weapons that came with ROTF Recon Ironhide, AA Breacher etc, but I find that they look odd on him.
He has excellent articulation, as you would expect of a toy in this era. Windcharger has ball jointed shoulders, hips, head and ankles (which in addition is hinged, making him very stable in a variety of poses). Sadly he only has hinged knees and no rotation whatsoever (guess if it did, it would making transforming him into vehicle mode much more fiddly), and he has no waist swivel (not that it is missed).
OVERALL:
A good vehicle mode and an amazingly good looking robot mode makes Windcharger irresistible. I admit, I got him initially because he was cheap, but he's just too good to pass on, because he is just pure awesomeness. The G1 aesthetic should please everyone and even at full price I would gladly recommend him (though that's assuming the RRP of scouts isnt ridiculously high in your country as it is in mine).
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Credits: although the review is mine, I have used TFwiki.net and Wikipedia for information (I have linked their pages in the review)
Check out other Transformers Toy Reviews by going to the "My Transformers" Page.