Review: #703
Name: Gigawatt
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: N/A
Line: Back to the Future x Transformers Collaborative
Year of Release: 2020
Size Class: Deluxe
Mold Status: remold of Siege Sideswipe
PACKAGING AND CONTENTS:
As part of the Collaborative line, Gigawatt comes in a G1 inspired box, one that actually looks pretty decent and definitely feels more premium than standard retail releases.
The back shows off the classic artwork from Back to the Future, as well as tech specs.
In true G1 fashion, the sides have simplified transformation steps as well as other shots of the figure.
Opening the packaging up, the figure it in a clear plastic insert, the figure itself doesn't have many accessories.
The instructions booklet is a little bit more fancy, being bigger and having the Gigawatt artwork on the front.
VEHICLE MODE:
Gigawatt transforms into a silver DMC DeLorean, an iconic vehicle thanks to the Back to the Future movies.
It's a customized version with all the stuff at the back, as inspired by the movie.
The vehicle has a brushed metal look to it, so it's not bare unpainted plastic (thus you need to be careful of chipping it).
It's well painted all around, even the rear lights and license plates are filled, which is to be expected considering that this figure, despite being the size of a Deluxe, is at the price point of even higher than a Voyager.
While Gigawatt is a remold of Sideswipe, it is effectively a new toy borrowing the engineering of Sideswipe. Little it reused here (mainly limbs in robot mode), and it's quite impressive actually.
Thanks to the squared aesthetics of the vehicle, Gigawatt is slightly larger than Sideswipe, and is average sized for a Deluxe. Above is a comparison against TLK Bumblebee.
The figure has a ton of detail, particularly around the back. It might look like a mess of sculpted detailing at first glance, but pay attention and there's a lot of intricate details present.
The doors are able to be opened, although as there are no bottom door frames, it can look somewhat weird. The option is nice though.
You can also fold the wheels down to simulate the flying mode, and he comes with a mini Mr Fusion generator accessory that can peg on the back.
Finally, he comes with the wire hook that we saw at the climax of the movie. This is made of soft flexible plastic, which is understandable, but this does warp out of shape too easily.
The wire hook can peg onto the back.
Looking underneath, you can see how packed the figure is, and you can also store the robot weapon beneath, another nice touch.
This is a fantastic vehicle mode, and it's great that Hasbro ended up listening to fan feedback from its initial reveal and decided to make the windows much darker, to lessen the visibility of the hinges (as that was definitely distracting).
TRANSFORMATION:
Gigawatt's transformation is largely the same as Siege Sideswipe's, with a few smaller touches of difference. Basically, the back unfolds to become the legs, the arms fold out from the middle, and the hood of the vehicle folds down to form the chest. The differences are: the hood has a flip out piece to reveal the flux capacitor in robot mode; his shoulders have small pieces that flip out to lock in car mode; and perhaps best of it, the panels where his shoulders sit now peg against the torso, preventing it from becoming loose like it did with Sideswipe.
ROBOT MODE:
Robot mode is initially a bit of a hit and miss. In particular, the chest is humungous and overwhelms the figure.
In person though, it's a lot easier on the eyes, and actually looks pretty good. The photos definitely make him look worse.
The head sculpt is pretty good, although feels quite generic.
Here's a quick comparison with Siege Sideswipe and you can see just how different Gigawatt is. The only things they share are some limb parts like the thighs.
In terms of size, here's a comparison with Earthrise Sunstreaker, so Gigawatt is around normal height for a Deluxe.
Gigawatt has a few cool details, like the flux capacitor on his chest, which also shows various dates corresponding to the times that he had travelled to.
Articulation, as you can expect, is excellent. He has joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, waist, hips, knees and ankles.
Speaking of which, his feet are better designed than Siege Sideswipe's, as his feet doesn't sag forward.
He comes with two weapons, the wire-hook from vehicle mode, and a gun (which has the Mr Fusion generator accessory plugged onto the back, so that's a nice way to store it).
He can hold the gun in either hand, but unfortunately it's unpainted grey plastic.
Thanks to the large chest, his arms feels a bit too short, and is unable to lift high enough up to his eye level.
The wire-hook's default position is to peg onto one of the slots on his upper arm, as a melee weapon.
It's passable as a weapon, but does look a bit awkward at times.
Otherwise, this is a better robot mode than photos initially showed. He's solid, has a few nice touches to tie him back to the Back to the Future movies, and has enough play value to be fun.
OVERALL:
Gigawatt is a nice figure, and one of the better Collaborative figures in the line. The vehicle is definitely the stand out here, as it is just pure awesomeness. The robot mode isn't bad, it has a few minor issues, so it just depends on which mode you'd want to display him in. At full price, he is a bit pricey, but on sale, he's worth the cash.
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