Review: #520
Name: Elita-1
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Autobot
Line: Generations - Power of the Primes
Year of Release: 2018
Size Class: Voyager (Wave 2)
Mold Status: retool of POTP Starscream
JET MODE:
Elita-1 transforms into a pink and white jet of varying shades. As a retool of Starscream, this is a really chunky jet with way too much undercarriage kibble.
The robot feet are unceremoniously tucked as landing gear at the back which is quite horrible.
Perhaps the worst aspect of the figure is Hasbro's cost-cutting tendency to use a massive amount of stickers for detailing. Elita-1 has too many separate stickers, particularly on the edges of joints which causes them to easily peel even straight out of the packaging.
Above is a comparison against Titans Return Optimus and you can see that Elita-1 is pretty massive, but hollow.
As part of the Power of the Primes line, Elita-1 comes with a character art card.
The robot weapons, which doubles as the combined mode's feet, peg onto the underside of each wing.
Despite its flaws, this is still a decent jet mode.
TRANSFORMATION:
As you can probably tell from the huge amount of kibble in jet mode, the transformation isn't too hard. The legs extend from the back, the sides become the arms and the nose folds away allowing you to reveal the head. It's almost too bland...
ROBOT MODE:
It's rare to get female Transformers, and even rarer when they're not overly slim. Elita-1 is bulky but still pulls off the female aspect and looks really good.
She carries quite a bit of kibble on her back, being the wings and nose of the jet.
The headsculpt is nice and accurate to the G1 design. It is on a balljoint so has a wide range of motion.
She's pretty tall here as well and while she may look bulky, the whole figure is hollow, from the forearms to the legs.
The hollow legs are more of an issue since it her center of gravity is higher than normal. The multiple joints also likes to unpeg the panels.
Otherwise, articulation is decent with mostly hinge and swivel joints.
There are a few weaponry options, the first are the small red guns that she can hold in either hand.
The reason for the huge forearms is that they double up as combiner joints, it kind of throws off the proportions of the robot.
Elita-1 has the Enigma of Combination which is the same shape as a folded up Prime Master.
The other weapons are the combined mode's feet which appears as some sort of gauntlets or shields.
There are multiple places where Elita-1 can use the two pieces, the best place are her upper arms to act more like shields.
The Enigma can peg onto the pieces to "power" it up.
Just like jet mode, despite some flaws, this is still a solid robot mode.
TRANSFORMATION TO COMBINED MODE:
Combined mode is pretty easy in theory but ends up being quite a mess. This is because there is a reliance on panels (mostly being the wings and top of the jet) but lacks solid connections. The arms form the knees while everything else folds into a lump to form the torso.
COMBINED MODE:
Elita-1's combined mode is named Elita-Infin1te, which is a unique name to say the least.
The torso looks pretty good but as touched upon in the transformation section, it doesn't quite hold together as well as you would hope.
The headsculpt is similar to the core robot but with a bigger crown.
Size-wise, it is much taller than a Voyager and Deluxe as expected.
Poseability is good, the combiner ports all have ratchet joints which is able to hold the weight of the figure.
The feet now have ankle ratchet joints which is a boon since by being able to keep the feet flat on the table, the combined mode is a lot more stable.
The torso has a unique layered look which is really nice.
A good looking combined mode, if a little bit unstable.
OVERALL:
Elita-1 is a solid figure. It's not the best Transformers in the line but it does a good job of being fun and versatile. The biggest flaws are the usage of stickers, the hollowness and the slightly unstable combined mode.
-------------------------------------------
For other Transformers reviews, have a look at this page.
(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases)
