Review: #268
Name: Streetwise
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Autobot
Line: Generations - Combiner Wars
Year of Release: 2015
Size Class: Deluxe (Wave 3)
Mold Status: retool of Combiner Wars Dead End
COMIC:
Streetwise comes with Robots in Disguise
#33 (or Combiner Wars #9), this is the first issue in the "First Strike"
arc of Combiner Wars. This was
originally released in September 2014 and considering the Wave 3 figures
arrived in HK in April, that's actually not a bad time delay. Anyway, the issue skips the Dark Cybertron
arc (which were the pack-in comics with the final few waves of 2014's
Generations) where Wheeljack is revived and is being convinced by Starscream to
rebuild the Aerialbots. Cybertron needs
another combiner and Superion is the answer.
It also nicely provides the explanation for why Slingshot is replaced by
Alpha Bravo. The issue mainly deals with
Wheeljack's thoughts as he tries to decide whether he should help
Starscream. It's not too boring and
there is a good recap at the beginning of the issue in case you missed some
stuff. The aesthetics of the art can
take some getting used to but is still nice to look at. This comic succeeds in getting you to want to
read the next issue.
VEHICLE MODE:
Streetwise transforms into a off-white and blue police car... a sports model police car that is. All the windows and strobe lights are painted though.
The paint applications in this mode leaves some to be desired especially since the rear of the vehicle is left unpainted, even though there are some great sculpting there. Also, the blue stripes on the side also feel like it was done halfheartedly.
Streetwise is a Deluxe figure and he is a good size, especially with the costcutting these days.
You might not be able to tell right away but Streetwise is actually a heavy remold of Dead End. Effectively, the whole vehicle has been reshelled and in my opinion, Streetwise looks leaps and bounds better than the already decent Dead End.
The sculpting of Streetwise is just amazing, especially the hood details. The bullbar and air intakes suit the vehicle very well.
You can attach all the weapons in this mode, the smaller weapon can attach to the side as a sort of exhaust pipe. The combiner weapon can peg on top (loosely) as an overhead cannon.
A wonderful vehicle mode that looks absolutely fantastic.
TRANSFORMATION:
Streetwise transforms exactly the same as Dead End, it's a reshelling, not re-engineering. Therefore, the arms are formed by the sides, and the rear of the vehicle unfold back to form the legs. It's a nice transformation though.
ROBOT MODE:
Streetwise's robot mode is equally as good. Red comes out a lot more here with the blue only appearing in his eyes.
He wears the vehicle hood on his back but since it is hollow and sits so closely against his back, it presents no stability issues.
The head sculpt is once again one of the best. The angular pieces of his face gives Streetwise a unique look and flair.
He's pretty standard in height in robot mode too.
It is more obvious in this mode that he is a retool of Dead End but a lot of the parts has been resculpted. The only sections where he and Dead End are the same is the core torso piece, hands and thighs.
Poseabilty is one of the best here, and also includes a waist joint. One of the best things about Streetwise is that there is a chest piece that covers up the combiner joint, it gives Streetwise his individual personality.
He is very stable in this modes thanks to the large feet. Although the way the elbows are jointed is a little bit weird due to the design and being the sides of the car.
His weapon is a triple barreled shotgun, colored in gunmetal grey.
Naturally, the gun can be held in either hand and for some reason, it just seems to suit Streetwise very well.
His other weapon is the combiner piece which is a double barreled blaster (with four more smaller barrels on top).
This means he can dual wield.
You can also peg it to the outside of one of his arms to act as a shield. Unfortunately though, Streetwise doesn't have too many painted details in this mode.
One of the best robot modes in the Combiner Wars line, you cannot fault it.
OVERALL:
Just like how Dead End was the best figure out of Wave 2, Streetwise is the best figure of Wave 3. The significant retooling makes Streetwise feel like a completely new toy. The sports model police car looks amazing and the robot is pure win as well. Streetwise is one of those figures that you just need to purchase.
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For other Transformers reviews, have a look at this page.
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Streetwise can combine with the other Protectobots to form Defensor. While Defensor will be covered in his own individual review later on, we'll take a quick look at Streetwise's other two modes.
His foot mode is the vehicle with the hood folded over in front. Too bad they couldn't get the front of the hood to show to give the leg a more vehicular feel to it, as it is, it looks like a stump.
His arm mode, just like every other Combiner Wars figure, is the robot mode with the arms tucked in and the head tucked away.
As Defensor, he looks fantastic. Defensor is also one of the bulkiest figure too.
While he is poseable in this mode, the heaviness plus the small feet makes it hard to give him some good dynamic poses.
That's all for Streetwise, thanks for reading!