Review: #80
Name: Bulkhead
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Autobot
Line: Prime
Year of Release: 2012
Size Class: Commander (Wave 1)
Variations: none as of yet
VEHICLE MODE:
Bulkhead transforms into the SUV that he does in the show. For a Cyberverse figure, it's very well formed, there are no major flaws here to speak off.
Obviously Bulkhead can roll on his four wheels. Even at this size, the vehicle gives of a sense of scale. There's a lot of paint apps, he does not feel cheap like some of the other figures.
However, there are some liberties taken, and that is you can clearly see the legs and arms bulging underneath the vehicle. You can only really tell when viewing side on, as normally, Bulkhead looks great.
The sculpted detail is amazing, from headlights to taillights, to windows and side mirrors, it's all there. The colour scheme is consistent except for some grey on the sides which are the robot mode shoulder struts (so it's unavoidable).
One thing that is somewhat weird is the transparent plastic seen on the hood and roof, this is primarily for the robot gimmick and thankfully, it doesn't detract much here.
Bulkhead comes with a weapon and there's a few places to put it in vehicle mode. There's a hole on the roof and one on each side. The default place would be the roof.
You can plug it onto the side in a gun-ish style, honestly, looks ridiculous there, then again, it looks bad wherever you attach it since it does not belong to the vehicle...
Biggest thing against Bulkhead?? The size. He is absolutely TINY, in the picture above, the figure next to him is a LEGENDS Rodimus toy, yes... he's barely bigger. Sure, Bulkhead is compact but that's no excuse for this obvious reduction in size.
When placed next to a Deluxe... the size difference is even worse, Bulkhead looks like he could be a Legends toy. Above is Sideswipe, honestly, this tiny size makes you feel like you've been ripped off. Bulkhead is pretty much the same size as some of the smaller DOTM Commanders. If you can ignore the small size, this is a brilliant and amazing vehicle mode.
TRANSFORMATION:
The transformation is interesting, to say the least, and I actually think it transforms, conceptually at least, similarly to the First Edition Voyager figure. The legs fold out from underneath the hood (which folds onto the roof) and the arms fold out from the back. It's quite ingenious at the simplicity of it, it is executed very well here. Beware of the shoulder ball joints though as they're easy to pop off when pulling the arms down. Bulkhead is quick and easy to transform, with a lot of fun packed into it.
ROBOT MODE:
Bulkhead's robot mode is equally strong here, if not stronger, and for most, this will be the main attraction and reason for purchasing this figure. Once again, he conveys a sense of scale and power. The wide look coupled with bulky features, make a very aesthetically pleasing figure.
You can fold the wheels back, unlike the official pictures (and how he is packaged), you don't have to leave it awkwardly above his shoulders. The shoulder armor looks really good.
Due to the transformation, his torso is completely hollow, and it's noticeable. Granted, it's unavoidable but you still feel a bit let down here.
There's actually a proper reason for the hollowness, you'd notice that the transparent plastic is now on his chest, this is due to the gimmick of the lights in the Voyager figures. The chest is designed so that it will 'light' up (works better with natural light to be honest but it's still underwhelming).
The head sculpt is another feature that just blows you away. It's so intricately sculpted, that you can see sculpted detail inside his eyes!! The head can turn... but it's very limited in motion.
I find that the legs are awkward, due to the way they transform, the knees are slightly convex (since the feet are angled so that it's sloped towards the front). This makes Bulkhead tricky to balance and keep the knees looking natural.
Let's have a closer look at the weapon, it's a transparent weapon, that's Bulkhead's trademark mace, and it really only works as a mace. It's made from hard plastic (not the soft rubbery ones that Legion toys have).
On each of Bulkhead's arms, there are two peg holes and also his hands can hold the weapons. You can't plug the mace weapon as a mace on the upper hole though. Also, there's an Autobot symbol on each arm.
There are a few ways to use the weapon, you can get Bulkhead to hold it over his hand, so it looks like the mace covers his hand from the front, you can also hold it upright so it looks like the mace is an external weapon.
While I guess you can hold it like some sort of gun but it doesn't work well, and the default position is pegging it onto one of the holes on the forearm so it looks like Bulkhead's hand turned into his mace from the side, and personally, it looks the best here. You can store the mace on his back if you like (there's a peg there, I forgot to take a photo of it).
Bulkhead carries on being tiny for his size, at least compared to prior lines. It's sad to see that he has noticeably less mass (which is compounded by the hollowness), and that the first Legends is actually almost bigger than him.
Articulation is excellent, he's missing knee swivels though, and the shoulders can be somewhat restrictive due to the big shoulder pads, and of course, he can be tricky to balance at times.
I really like the look of his chest, I think they captured the look perfectly in this small size.
An excellent robot mode, just a tad bit on the short side.
OVERALL:
In terms of engineering, this is an impressive figure. Yes, he is simple, but the show accuracy is high, and you can't help but be amazed at how well that captured that look in it's simplicity. The biggest thing detracting this guy is the small size, I know I have been going on, but when the retail pricing have not decreased (and actually increased in some cases), you are literally paying more for less. I would only recommend this guy on sale.
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Various other reviews can be found here.