Review: #126
Name: Kickback
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Decepticon
Line: Generations - Fall of Cybertron
Year of Release: 2012
Size Class: Deluxe (Wave 3)
Variations: none as of date
INSECT MODE:
Kickback transforms into a Cybertronian insect that resembles a grasshopper or a wasp. He features six legs and clear purple wings.
While he rests solidly on the table, there has been instances where the friction for his insect leg joints is too weak such that he cannot stand on those legs (i.e. he can sag depending on your luck).
Kickback has a well defined abdomen although you can see his hands underneath.
Kickback is quite large but he lacks the solidness of vehicle Transformers. One of his flaws is that his legs doesn't peg into the body so they can flail about.
His legs are also a sore point. They seem lazy since there's minimal effort to distinguish them from the robot feet, and they do NOT look like insect legs (this seem to be a common complaint about this figure).
Surprisingly, the insect head works. It's basically the back of his head. The lower jaw (the grey bit) hides this fact quite well, I'm quite impressed.
The wings are on balljoints so you can adjust them according to your preference. You can also store his weapon but sliding it into slots that are on his wings.
The weapon is big and bulky and doesn't suit Kickback's insect mode at all but at least it stores somewhere. The shade of purple used is excellent.
While it's far from the best insect/beast mode ever, I think it does a decent job. It's supposed to be Cybertronian anyway, so it should be vague and disappointing, :P. Anyway, I for one am a fan of this mode and I think the designer had done a good job.
TRANSFORMATION:
A complex and convoluted mess. It's not elegant and going from robot to insect, it can be confusing even after you have done it a few times. The transformation is a mess of limbs, basically, Kickback unfolds and all of his limbs flip to the other side. Personally, I didn't think it was fun and it felt unnecessary.
ROBOT MODE:
Pretty much universally agreed upon is that his robot mode is awesome, or at least, it looks awesome. From the shoulder pads to his extra arms hanging over his head, Kickback oozes awesomeness.
He's relatively free of kibble, the most obvious would be the insect legs that just hangs from his back. It feels awkward and this also means you cannot pick him up by holding the back since these insect legs get in the way.
The headsculpt is good, and he looks suitably evil (he is a Decepticon after all). Despite having clear plastic for lightpiping, it doesn't work at all. The antenna is made of soft rubbery plastic and is adjustable.
Kickback has big feet that makes sure he's standing up and stable in a huge variety of poses.
Kickback stature can mislead you, he isn't that tall at all. He's shorter than most Deluxes and some of the Scout sized figures (such as the PowerCore Combiners and pre-2011 Scouts) are almost as tall as him.
His wings are detached for transformation and he can hold them in his hands as swords.
Frankly, they're not too convincing since it's too short and wide.
His other weapon, and you can't miss it, is his disc launcher. It has a pressure launch mechanism, thus the distance it launches the disc will vary from toy to toy (on my one, it doesn't fly very far at all). Apparently, this weapon bears a resemblance to the Gear Shredder weapon from the Fall of Cybertron game.
You can also plug in the wing pieces onto the ports on the weapon. The default is to attach it so the weapon looks like a crossbow, while if you plug them on the other end, you can imagine it's some sort of drone insect (takes a lot of imagination though).
However, you may also leave the wings where they were in insect mode, and let Kickback sport a pair of wings.
It does look quite good from a number of angles.
Obviously, Kickback can hold the weapon, however, it's too big and unwieldy for him. It's also too heavy so his arm tends to sag.
The other option is to attach the weapon onto his back and now he sports a jetpack. Kickback's feet are large enough to sustain the heavy weight on his back.
Kickback has a lot of articulation, sporting even rotating wrists. His extra arms are also balljointed at the ends and have a hinge joint in the middle.
His feet can be limited depending on how much spread you need while posing, but it is on a balljoint.
As mentioned Kickback has a great stature, and the paint applications highlight the figure well. He features gold paint in various areas.
There are some 5mm pegs on his extra arms if you wish to use those as well.
Hardly any complaints for this robot mode. It displays very well and is an impressive addition to your collection if you so desire.
OVERALL:
An excellent toy, although it may be an acquired taste. The insect mode is clearly the weaker mode here, but the robot mode is exceptionally strong. Don't worry about him being too small, since he still feels hefty in your hands (although that might be due to how big his weapon is). He poses well and is a pleasure to the eye. Highly recommended!
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