Review: #143
Name: Trailcutter
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Autobot
Line: Generations
Year of Release: 2013
Size Class: Deluxe (Wave 5)
Variations: remolded into Generations Hoist
COMIC:
Beginning with this wave of Deluxes in which the designs were inspired by the IDW comics, the toys came with comics (full sized ones, not the truncated six page issues that used to come with Armada toys). Trailcutter naturally comes with the comic The Transfomers Spotlight: Trailcutter, "The Reluctant Specialist". This is actually a really recent issue, being first released in April 2013. While part of an ongoing series, the story makes sense even if you read it as a one-shot, and it was enjoyable. The art was great and there were some good humor. That's not to mention the amazing cover art.
VEHICLE MODE:
Trailcutter transforms into a black pickup truck (with a radar on top?). He has an armored look to him thanks to the reinforced side windows and the bull-bar.
There are some great sculpted detailing, especially the front of the car, it's amazing. Overall (and especially the back), Trailcutter feels a bit plain thanks to the lack of paint applications. His head (or at least the back of it) is visible on the roof, which is disappointing.
The only gimmick here is the fact that Trailcutter can roll (and that's not much of a gimmick at all). You can also remove the back part (his robot weapon) so he can have a trailer bed. In this mode, Trailcutter reminds me a lot about Prime Commander Ironhide.
Trailcutter holds together fairly well. The biggest flaw here and it's one of the first things you'd notice, is that Trailcutter is tiny. Next to him is Deluxe Kup (who isn't exactly huge), you start to feel kind of ripped off here (and this is after the waves of Generations Deluxes with added extra large weapons, so you'd expect plastic quantity won't be as skimped).
Ignoring the size issue, this is a decent vehicle mode and homages Trailcutter's original G1 toy very well.
TRANSFORMATION:
It's hard to tell when you compare the robot and vehicle, but Trailcutter actually has a simple transformation. His legs are deceptively easy (just folding out), and his arms flip out, chests folds down and that's it. There are no tricky parts here, but thanks to the tabs of his hood, it can sometimes catch and you need to use excessive force to push it down (I ended up stressing mine as I tried to do it too quick). The most interesting parts of the transformation are that his uses the side mirrors as tabs for his shoulders (clever, but as we'll soon discuss, the execution can be better) and the way the hood and front window fold down to form his torso. Nice and easy, it works for Trailcutter as it does not leave either mode feel lacking at all.
ROBOT MODE:
Trailcutter's robot mode is heavily influenced by his IDW appearance. To the point where apart from the engine block above his head (and his actual head itself), there's not much resemblance to G1 Trailcutter. I actually miss his distinctive (beer-gut-like) torso which was formed by the hood of the vehicle.
There is nothing on Trailcutter that you could classify as useless kibble. Trailcutter feels solid as a toy.
The sculpted detail on his torso (carried over from the vehicle) is amazing, it looks great here and gives Trailcutter a distinctive look. The front windshield covering the hole in the middle is different (although it's weird that they decided to hide the Autobot symbol in robot mode.
The head sculpt is equally good, and the lightpiping is spectacular.
There are still flaws here, Trailcutter clearly felt the effects of cost-cutting and trying to fall within the decreasing toy budgets. The designer opted for hollow parts wherever they can, sure, it's only visible from the back but it lends itself to a lighter weight and you can just feel the lightness.
His legs are also hollow thanks to the transformation but they are well painted. I somewhat wish that the feet could have more parts manipulation since it's just the back of the truck and feels too blocky here.
Trailcutter expands in robot mode so that he doesn't feel as small as he did in vehicle. As mentioned before, his vehicle side mirrors acts as tabs for his shoulders, however, they don't work well and on mine at least, the shoulders don't stay pegged in (only an aesthetics issue since the shoulders connect to the front wheels which have tight enough joints to keep his shoulders in place). Clever in concept, slightly lacking execution.
Off to the weapons, Trailcutter's weapon is the back of the truck and it's a hybrid shield/twin-barreled laser gun.
It can be attached to the ports on the outside of his arms and it looks great. Although look from certain angles, it can look too big and stuck out. I assume Trailcutter can also hold this in his hands but I never tried (it slipped my mind until now).
Next, you can fold out a piece in the gun so it forms an even bigger shield, this also releases another handle such that Trailcutter can hold the shield out in front of him.
Like so. I don't know if I had gone it wrong or if there is some other purpose for this, but you have to retract the hand in order to get this to fit. Maybe there's another function for this shield mode, but I can't figure it out (not that I tried very hard).
You can also attach the gun onto his engine block to form a pair of overhead guns, looks great here.
And lastly, if you just want Trailcutter to look neutral, you can store it on his back (via plugging it on the engine block).
Trailcutter has all the standard articulation you'd come to expect off modern Transformers. He also has a waist swivel (that isn't required for transformation).
The only limiting thing here are his feet, which is fairly static. They're big enough so that Trailcutter is stable in a lot of poses, but in more action oriented ones, it'll take a bit more fiddling to get him to stand without falling over.
This is a great robot mode that still evokes the Trailbreaker toy (without actually sharing many design elements). The shield weapon has a lot of versatility.
OVERALL:
This is a solid toy and the best one out of his wave. Both modes are solid, not compromised by any gimmicks. It does make you wonder though, if the inclusion of the comic (no matter how good it was), decreased the budget for the toy, as Trailcutter feels like he could have been bigger and a bit more complex in terms of transformation. No matter though, as this is still a fun toy and a good display piece.
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Other Transformers review (including all his wave mates) can be found on this page.