Review: #636
Name: Smokescreen
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Autobot
Line: Generations - War for Cybertron: Earthrise
Year of Release: 2020
Size Class: Deluxe (Wave 2)
Mold Status: new
VEHICLE MODE:
Smokescreen transforms into a sports car that has a vibrant color scheme. The blue plastic here just pops in real life, and coupled with the bright (but not eye searing) red and white, and this is a striking vehicle.
As part of the Earthrise line, it is an earthen inspired vehicle and is styled to the vehicle of his G1 incarnation.
Deluxes have shrunk over the years, but you still may be surprised at how small he can feel in your hands once you've gotten him into vehicle mode for the first time. Above is a comparison against TLK Bumblebee.
Smokescreen has rolling wheels and all three of his guns can peg on top of the vehicle. That's the extent of the play value in this mode though.
This is simply a fantastic vehicle. The color scheme makes this one of the best ones in the line.
TRANSFORMATION:
The transformation is inspired by the Siege version of the mode but provides a few neat twists of it's own. The arms fold out from underneath, the hood forms the chest, and the back extends into the legs. It can be a bit tricky the first time around when you're trying to fold the robot legs back into vehicle mode but do it once and you'll get the trick. The feet are interesting in that there is a piece that you fold down as a heelspur, and a panel from the inside that folds down to partially cover up the gap.
ROBOT MODE:
Smokescreen's robot mode is equally as good as the vehicle mode but now with the addition of black and a whole lot more white.
He doesn't have much kibble at all, and while his legs are extremely hollow, this is due to transformation and not due to cost cutting. To be honest, as far as hollow limbs go, Smokescreen doesn't have much of that either.
The headsculpt is good and is a "fatter" version of Prowl and Bluestreak. It is very cartoony in its aesthetic though.
Also, if you thought this was just a heavy remold of the Siege figure, it is not. It's a completely new mold that shares a lot of the engineering design but the pieces are all different. This is the better mold given the blockier pieces.
He comes with three weapons, two shoulder guns and a handheld gun.
The two shoulder guns peg onto either side of his head and looks great there (it's actually the same position as in vehicle mode).
Articulation is where Earthrise figures are brilliant at and Smokescreen is no exception. He has joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, fists, hips, knees and ankles.
While he can hold the gun in either hand. His feet are absolutely amazing in its flexibility and stability. It has such a huge range of motion whether it's side to side or front to back.
Despite the lack of additional paint in robot mode, what carries over from vehicle is more than enough to give the figure enough color.
The handheld gun can store on his back when not in use.
You can also combine all three guns into one bigger one.
A great robot mode that is equally as amazing as the vehicle mode.
OVERALL:
Smokescreen is a fantastic figure and is the definitive Smokescreen figure we've had for many years (the MP only slightly edges it out but is a lot more expensive). The biggest negative is the small size, but other than that, he has plenty of paint, two great modes, and heaps of articulation in robot mode.
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