Review: #48
Name: Mindwipe
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Decepticon
Line: Revenge of the Fallen
Year of Release: 2010
Size Class: Voyager (Wave 7)
Variations: repainted into Tokyo Toy Show Exclusive Dreadwing and Reveal the Shield Strafe
JET MODE:
Mindwipe transforms into a stealth jet that is based on a F-117 Nighthawk, and this is a jet that I really like. It is one of the best looking jet Transformer I have encountered, with barely any kibble, there are two things that detract, the first is an obvious hinge right in front of the tail fins.
The second thing is that is there is a huge gap at the back, why they couldn't add in a panel or whatnot to fill it I do not know, as such, Mindwipe's not perfect, but still very good. He has a subtle colour scheme, primarily a dark charcoal in colour, he sports a few purple highlights and a red transparent cockpit.
It's when you look at Mindwipe from the side that you notice that he is no undercarriage kibble, a rarity among jet-formers. This makes for a great looking plane.
He features three-point landing gear, and the wheels do roll! They not solid plastic, this makes for a very nice change. All in all, a well tucked up robot and brilliant jet mode.
That's not all for play value though, if you have ROTF Skystalker or one of it's repaints (I have used Sunspot above) you can plug him in jet mode on top via two plugs.
Although a bit of an oddity on why in real life they would do that, I think this is adds a lot to the play value, and the value of a figure in general.
It would work better if you had Skystalker since their colour schemes are similar but the overall shape you get still looks good, plus, it's not like this compromises the engineering of the two figures, it's basically a nice little bonus.
TRANSFORMATION:
Okay, Mindwipe has an awesome transformation, another aspect that I really like. The best part of it is the Mech Alive feature, as you fold his wings back, the tips automatically fold as well as little red spikes flip up, a really really nice touch. The transformation is solid, not too complex and a lot of fun to go through. I like how the fuselage rotates to form his chest, and then the tail fins push in to fill the gap that his head pushes through. All these nice little touches make Mindwipe pleasing to transform.
ROBOT MODE:
Okay, I just love Mindwipe's robot mode, the stature is great, from the bulky upper torso to the weirdly angled legs that is typical of the Movie figures, to the head, everything is awesome. The wings on his shoulders emulate a bat's wings (appropriate since G1 Mindwipe transformed into a bat). Proportion wise, he is a bit thin at the hips, making him not so great looking from straight head on (if you're viewing him from a higher angle, he looks great), and his ankles are really thin.
It is a very neat robot mode too, with not too many things sticking out at odd angles getting in the way. His feet can pivot so he can stand flat on the table at all times, which is a really nice touch. I just like the overall build of him, he has grown on me a lot, From the sides, his arms are oddly shaped and I don't like the hollowness of his forearms, but it is a necessary evil due to the way transformation works for his hands.
He has two knives that are formed from the cockpit, it works a little bit better than it sounds. Looks great from an inward angle, since it does look like a proper dagger.
It falls apart from it's got half a cockpit stuck on when viewed from the outer side, and it thickens up the blade so you doubt it will be able to slice through anything. These daggers can swing back and clip onto his forearms as a way to 'store' it, however, it is permanently affixed to his hands so there's not much point in doing so.
The head sculpt is really interesting in that you get two different expressions from it when viewed from different angles. From head on when you can see the eyes, you get a sense that he's staring at you with a hollowed look.
When the head is tilt down the transparent red visor (which I love) makes Mindwipe a lot more evil looking. Just an awesome head sculpt, very suitable for a Decepticon.
Poseability is great, the only hindrance you'd get is when you're angling the shoulders in such a way that the wingtips hit each other, but it's very easy to get around that anyway. A brilliant robot mode, that's very solid and great fun to play with and pose. All the elements such as the red spikes from his wings, the way they are situated, the daggers and chestplate make for a very good looking robot.
OVERALL:
As you can probably tell, I really like this figure, initially I was completely uninterested in him, thinking he looks ugly. However, I got him due to positive comments from other fans, and I do not regret it one bit, even when I purchased it at full price. He is a brilliant figure, that has grown on me, from the solid transformation to two excellent modes, he is truly one of the best figures ever. My favourite Decepticon toy, and my second favourite toy (the first being Binaltech Tracks), I highly recommend Mindwipe, I've just had so much fun with him, he was outstanding and went above and beyond my expectations.
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Additional photos can be found by clicking this link (at another site).
Credits: pictures and text is all mine, but I've linked a few pages to TFwiki.net
Reviews of other figures can be selected from here.
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Since it's not official, I shall put this section at the end of the review. Remember how there's a gimmick where Skystalker/Sunspot can attach in jet mode on top of Mindwipe? Well, there are unofficial combinations in robot mode between the two, which is worth a mention and attempt here, as it escalates Mindwipe's awesomeness, and it's produces a good result.
Basically you shove Sunspot into Mindwipe's chest section (and he fits in very snugly, in fact, it can be somewhat annoying to get him out again) and arrange Sunspot's arms and wings to form a chest plate of sorts. Admit it, it looks awesome, you can also attach Sunspot's axe weapons either in his hands (where they normally clip on) or on Mindwipe's shins, I wouldn't recommend doing the latter too often as it's not a proper C-clip joint, it'll stretch and loosen the clips eventually.
Sunspot's legs can then be arranged as a sort of rocket booster back pack, there are many ways to do it and this is just one of them. In this form, Mindwipe is a lot harder (but not impossible) to balance and stand up, but the formidable look more than makes up for it.
Negatives of this form is that Mindwipe's head is perpetually tilted down, and you can see Sunspot's head through the gap, so this combination only looks good from head on.
Meanwhile it's a mess from the side, the legs are situated much more forward (and they were already forward enough for Mindwipe), with a lot of bulk in the upper torso focusing on the back. I actually like the contrasting colours of Sunspot with Mindwipe, I know Skystalker's colours matched Mindwipe perfectly but this isn't a bad combination either, it brings out the 'enhancements'.
Mindwipe retains all of his poseability minus the head motion, the trick is just balancing him. You can also fold the wings of Mindwipe back out for an even more formidable look. Overall, a lot of options here, and it's really just a bonus if you have the two toys, definitely worth a try.