Review: #49
Name: Lockdown
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Decepticon
Line: Revenge of the Fallen
Year of Release: 2010
Size Class: Deluxe (Wave 8)
Variations: retooled in AA (or HFTD) Axor
VEHICLE MODE:
Lockdown transforms into a heavily modified car, with spikes and cowcatcher. As such, he looks really formidable and terrifying in this mode, i.e. he looks good. The spikes protruding out of his wheels are made of soft plastic.
It is a well formed car, with quite a lot of paint to bring out the details, excellent overall. There's a lot of green here, slightly metallic paint for his exhausts and silver on most of his spikes. The only odd thing out is the cowcatcher and engine being unpainted grey, which kinda looks odd and out of place.
Only flaw here is the back of the car ends too high off the ground, a really minor complaint, but it's there, and is noticeably higher than the rest of the car. I see a lot of potential bits that could be chromed here and make him look good...
There's some nice detailing for his headlights, something that wasn't really needed as it's hard to see through the transparent red plastic. There are some obvious transformation joints such as the front, but all in all, there's nothing there that breaks him up much.
A decently sized Deluxe and well proportioned, the only play factor is the rolling wheels, but even that is enough, I think, as Lockdown has other things going for him that I shall speak of later.
A fairly cleaned underside, only noticeable thing is this hook that just rests there (and can drag on the table is not transformed perfectly), to be honest, the designers have done a fair job into packing all the robot into this compact car, especially when there are no obvious robot kibble to be found anywhere.
A strong vehicle mode, and at first, the mode where I think Lockdown is strongest.
TRANSFORMATION:
A simple transformation, but once you do it a few times, you start to see how elegant and easy it is, going between the two modes is nice and fun. Getting the arms back into car mode can be a bit annoying due to how easy it is for the shoulders to pop off their ball joint, however, you will get the hang of it after transforming him a few times. The way the feet is formed from the front is neat (extending and then folding up), and also how half the roof forms his chest (so it isn't big and bulky like a lot of other figures). Overall, just a well designed transformation that works really wow. There are no surprises or innovative engineering, but very very solid.
ROBOT MODE;
Okay, I'll be honest, Lockdown in robot mode is an acquired taste. I absolutely hated it when I first saw it, but it grew on me, and I like him now. The feet are well formed, the proportions could be worse, and I like his asymmetric elements. On his left arm is the engine (which is removed and reattached during transformation) which can be interpreted as a gun or his EMP (coincidentally, it's part of a gimmick in which this weapon is interchangeable with ROTF Ratchet's gun). The hand and hook are both made of soft plastic, which is mildly annoying.
Other than that little gimmick I mentioned earlier, there are no more. The back of the car hinders his right hip's movement, which is somewhat unnecessary. Lockdown's kibble includes the bits on his shoulders and the wheels on his hips, but both them them adds to the look, and I really like them there. Lockdown is very stable due to large feet and there are rotators in his upper foreleg that lets him stand flat on a surface (a nice touch).
Lockdown is tall, abnormally tall, he is the height of a Voyager classed figure (and in many cases, taller than one). However, the downside is that he is very lanky, and has a thin side profile. Lockdown is very poseable.
If there's one thing I still haven't gotten over with, it's the head sculpt. Its very detailed, yes, but I still find it hard to pinpoint exact features. On a good note, the lightpipe works very well and he has a very articulated neck, comprised of two balljoints and a swivel. Its a robot mode that takes some time to get used to and appreciate.
OVERALL:
I know he is very hard to like from first impressions, but I think Lockdown is a figure that's worth a try. It's only when you have him in hand, and have fiddled around with him that you appreciate what a solid and good figure he is. The car mode is great, and the robot mode is visually... stunning (he has a Frankenstein feel), the green paint used is a very nice shade and in addition, he's as tall as a normal Voyager (albeit without the same amount of bulk). He's a much better toy than Animated Lockdown on which he is based on.
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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.