Review: #293
Name: Vortex
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Decepticon
Line: Generations - Combiner Wars
Year of Release: 2015
Size Class: Deluxe (Wave 5)
Mold Status: repaint of Combiner Wars Alpha Bravo
COMIC:
Vortex comes with Robots in Disguise #8, an
issue that was originally supposed to come with Alpha Bravo. It follows Ironhide and the Dinobots as they
search for the missing Aerialbots but of course, they are still a bit from
achieving their goal, the best they could do was find a piece of
Silverbolt. It swaps scenes from time to
time, following Bumblebee and Prowl through their pre-elections and also
follows Shockwave and Dirge, as Dirge has seen something that shocked him to
the core. It is an average issue and as
per normal, will be confusing if you have not been following the comics until
now.
HELICOPTER MODE:
Vortex transforms into a dark grey helicopter with yellow missile pods and some purple. Note that the combiner piece acts as a stand here, you can leave it off if you prefer.
This is a good helicopter mode, although a bit thin and sleek than what we are used for Vortex.
Vortex is a Deluxe sized figure and he feels a bit smaller than you're used to, but still fairly decent. Note that the rotors spin freely and that's about it for play value in this mode.
His gun can be placed in various spots, including just behind the fuselage or underneath the missile pods.
A quick comparison with Alpha Bravo shows that he is just a straight repaint in this mode.
The helicopter has a good sculpting although the colors are a little bit garish.
TRANSFORMATION:
Same old same old, by this point in the Combiner Wars line, transformation schemes feel uninspired. As we have already experienced this with Alpha Bravo and Blades, what surprise of ingenuity the mold had has long since been dulled. Still, the transformation is simple and elegant, and I find that the legs detach from helicopter easier than Alpha Bravo (which were absurdly tight-fitting).
ROBOT MODE:
Vortex's robot mode looks very good. He has good proportions and some nice sculpted detailing.
The biggest issue with helicopter Transformers are where to store the rotor in robot mode, and Vortex has done it neatly by tucking it away on his back. The back rotor sticking up behind his head is uncharacteristic of the character though.
The headsculpt is fantastic, it suits the character perfectly, and the red visor completes the look.
A quick size comparison shows that he is a little bit thinner than your average Deluxe figure.
A comparison with Alpha Bravo shows that Vortex is just a straight repaint, although lets be honest, ever since Alpha Bravo was released, we all knew it was designed to be Vortex.
Articulation is excellent on this guy, he has all the joints that you would want including the all important but often neglected waist swivel.
The colors are a little bit garish with the bright yellow and purple lavished with a bit of red. It isn't as horrible as the original stock photos had him though.
His first weapon is a gun, too bad it is in an ugly unpainted grey plastic, it seriously looks horrid.
He can hold the weapon in either hand although lets be honest, he is already well equipped with missile on each arm.
The hip joints on Vortex seem to be more restricted than expected since it can't spread out as much.
His other weapon is the combiner piece which is sculpted to look like twin gatling guns.
Apart from holding it in his hands, there's really no other place to store the combiner piece.
A good robot mode but the colors are a little bit iffy.
OVERALL:
Vortex is a nice figure but to be fair, Blades and Alpha Bravo look better if you're only interested in the mold. As a part of the Combaticons forming Bruticus, he is a no-brainer. The engineering of the figure is nice though.
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Vortex is a part of the Combaticons, who can combine to form Bruticus, therefore he has two additional modes: an arm mode and a leg mode.
His arm mode is good but the robot arms get in the way of the elbow articulation.
Vortex's arm mode has good proportions since the forearm isn't too thick.
His leg mode is fantastic too since you don't get this weird cut-off where the figure joins with the combiner piece, instead, it feels as if the foot piece was naturally integrated into Vortex.
He gives the combined mode a knee spike which is always cool and helps hide the combiner connections. Bruticus will be covered in a later review, thanks for reading!