Sunday, April 21, 2019

Toy Review: Transformers Bumblebee Barricade (Speed Series)


Review:  #494
Name:  Barricade
Brand:  Transformers
Allegiance:  Decepticon
Line:  Bumblebee
Year of Release:  2018
Size Class:  Speed Series (Wave 1)
Mold Status:  new (but shares it with Hot Rod)

VEHICLE MODE:


Barricade, despite not appearing in the film, gets a few figures in the toyline.  He transforms into an 80s muscle car.


The paint job is reminiscent of his original 2007 self, as a police car with white sides.  Unfortunately, due to the gimmick, Barricade has an ugly post hole at the rear of the vehicle mode.


The Speed Series is pretty much a different name for the Legion class.  Above is a size comparison against TLK Legion Crosshairs.


This is a good little figure that's surprisingly well painted.

TRANSFORMATION:

If you had ever played with the original 2007 Legends figure then you'd notice that this version shares a lot of similarities.  It effectively copies the transformation with the sides of the vehicle forming the arms, the rear folding to become the (awkwardly shaped) legs and the front folding down to form the chest.

ROBOT MODE:


To be fair, Barricade's robot mode does a pretty good job at shrinking the 2007 movie's design down to this scale (the shoulder wheels are particularly nice).


Kibble at this size is unavoidable but Barricade does well in not having them get in the way.


The headsculpt is complex and is excellent in representing the character.


In terms of size, Barricade is average for the size class.


Articulation is also standard for the size with balljointed shoulders and hips, and hinged knees and ankles.


Unfortunately, the knees are as awkward as they look.  They were the weakest aspect in the 2007 figure and they're the weakest aspect here.  It doesn't help that he has the post for the vehicle's gimmick on the left knee.


The knees cannot straighten much more than 45 degrees which is a shame since the figure looks so good.


A decent robot mode that's hampered by the weak knee design which is slightly alleviated by the hinged ankles.

OVERALL:

For its size and relatively cheap price point, Barricade is a nice little figure.  He is surprisingly good as a representation of the 2007 movie's design.  Barricade is well painted and is fun to fiddle around with in your spare time.

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For other Transformers reviews, have a look at this page.

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