Review: #264
Name: Offroad
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Decepticon
Line: Generations - Combiner Wars
Year of Release: 2015
Size Class: Deluxe (Wave 2)
Variations: repainted into TFCC 2.0 Ruckus; heavily retooled into First Aid
COMIC:
Offroad's comic is Robots in Disguise #14
(or Combiner Wars #6). Continuing
straight from the previous issue of Megatron's return, the details of Prowl's
plan, including his intentions, has been revealed. This was a great issue in that it explained a
lot of things, such as how Prowl could rationalize betraying his fellow
Autobots. The revelations were
satisfying, the intricacies of the plan, and how it involved Megatron and
played out against everything, was cleverer than expected. The cliffhanger ending was just what was
needed as the final cherry on top.
Seriously, some of the things here will make you stop and think at how
it all works and intertwine together.
VEHICLE MODE:
Offroad transforms into a grey pick up truck with a partially gunmetal hood and some red squiggle marks on the sides. The crimson windows are a nice touch.
This is generally a good figure, unfortunately like with a few of the other Combiner Wars figures, the robot feet don't fold in and so it makes the back a weird shape. Furthermore, there are no painted details on the rear of the vehicle, which is a shame.
Offroad is a Deluxe figure and he feels very solid and a good size, even when compared to the Deluxes of yore.
You can plug in all the robot weapons onto this mode, one nice thing is that there is a dedicated tab on the bed to attach the combiner piece (as an exposed engine block I suppose). Offroad's only play value here is his rolling wheels.
A decent vehicle mode and a unique type of vehicle for a Stuncticon...
TRANSFORMATION:
Offroad transforms in a very similar way to the Wave 1 Aerialbots. His legs are formed with exactly the same engineering, the hood folds onto his back and the arms pull out from the sides. A bit underwhelming and boring but the transformation scheme works and makes for a fun conversion between modes.
ROBOT MODE:
Offroad's robot mode is unique and looks fantastic. As the newest Stunticon, he looks the part, sharing the primary color with Wildrider, while having his own flair with the teal and yellow.
He wears the hood on his back and it sticks out like a sore thumb. While it adds to his uniqueness it's still kibble at the end of the day.
The head sculpt is nice, and is situated on a balljoint. Note that the face sculpt looks very similar to Ruckus, and that is because it was originally supposed to be that character.
Offroad is shorter than Drag Strip but he is bulkier and still feels solid. Ruckus has the combiner port as his torso, which is somewhat bland with the unpainted grey.
Poseability is your standard affair, although the large shoulder pads are Offroad's biggest flaw, they get in the way of the hood on his back.
Proportions are good except for his forearms which are too skinny and oddly shaped due to where they sit in vehicle mode.
Offroad's main weapon is a purple ax, which looks quite nice.
He can hold the ax in either hand (naturally) and it is a suitable weapon for a bot like Offroad.
The ax can also plug into one of the peg holes on the outside of his arm to add some variety.
His other weapon is the combiner piece which doubles up as a four barreled gun.
It is a bit big so it passes off as somewhat unnatural. It is also a heavy-ish piece and can sag the arm.
A solid robot mode. He can feel a bit too generic at times though with nothing that stands out as great about him.
OVERALL:
Offroad is a nice figure and an acceptable replacement for Wildrider. His own unique robot design as well as a different secondary color really goes a long way in separating him from who he is replacing (unlike Alpha Bravo who is basically Slingshot with a different vehicle mode). The only thing against Offroad is his generic-ness, there's just nothing about him that screams awesomeness.
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As mentioned, Offroad is a part of the Stunticons, who can combine to form the mighty Menasor. Menasor will be covered in his own review but here's a taste for now.
Offroad can transform into an arm which is basically the robot mode with the arms tucked away and the combiner hand attached.
His normal place is as the left foot of Menasor though, and Offroad provides a kneecap in this mode. Note that while the combiner piece looks too big to be a hand, it's too small to look good as feet.
Combined into Menasor, Offroad's color scheme melds well with Motormaster himself. Although having one leg having a kneecap while the other doesn't makes it somewhat lopsided.
He holds together well in combined mode and you can also attach the ax in this mode to prevent losing it.
He looks better as an arm though, providing some nice layering effect due to how the robot arms are placed. His robot knees and hips act as elbows for combined mode. That's all for now, thanks to looking!