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kurdt_the_goat
21st July 2008, 04:22 PM
Well i promised this for the weekend, so to anyone who was wondering where it was, sorry it's late :)

Animated Blitzwing is my first triple changer ever - as a kid i always wanted one.. not even sure which! But the concept really sold me as a kid. So in that respect, i'm glad to have one finally! ... now onto the review

http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/640/P1020125.jpg

Head

http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/man-e-faces.gif

http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/200/P1020131.jpg (http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/640/P1020131.jpg) http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/200/P1020132.jpg (http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/640/P1020132.jpg) http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/200/P1020133.jpg (http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/640/P1020133.jpg)

Blitzwing's only real gimmick is his head - just like the show you can change between the 3 faces to give the toy a different personality - as much personality as a toy can have anyway! The feature is controlled by a dial (think music volume old-skool style) on the back of his head, which unfortunately given the simplicity of the task, doesn't quite work flawlessly. The hothead/Arnold head has a whopping great chin which can make it tough to rotate by dial alone - often you have to dig in to his helmet (which is made of a flexi-plastic) to force the head around to the next slot. Once in place though, all heads do look good and are very show accurate. You can see the 2 hidden heads behind the current head, only slightly, and not really enough to detract.

Robot

http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/200/P1020120.jpg (http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/640/P1020120.jpg) http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/200/P1020122.jpg (http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/640/P1020122.jpg) http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/200/P1020123.jpg (http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/640/P1020123.jpg)

I don't want to give away the rest of the review here.. but oh well - Blitzwing's robot mode is the best of his 3 modes. With any triple changer, one mode has to be the best right? - so i'm thankful my preference lies with having a good robot mode! Blitzwing is very show accurate - only missing a few applications of purple (hands, top of ankles), and his inner shoulder is a bit different too. The main point of difference though, is the decepticon logo on his chest - now gold rather than purple. It still looks good, but seems odd, was there really a good reason to change it? Overall, the toy's proportions seem more realistic than the actual animation model - his shoulders are less exaggerated, his thighs are larger and his back-mounted guns are thicker. Overall i think this works for the better, without sacrificing the Animated stylings. His colours hark back to the G1 toy - but a bit more subdued hues of cream/beige, and purple. The purple paint is slightly metallic looking like the red on Voyager Starscream and Leader Megatron - overall very nicely applied as well. The other dominant colour is black, creating a colour scheme befitting of the character, and one that fits right in with a cast of decepticons.

http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/200/P1020135.jpg (http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/640/P1020135.jpg) http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/200/P1020136.jpg (http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/640/P1020136.jpg) http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/200/P1020137.jpg (http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/640/P1020137.jpg) http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/200/P1020138.jpg (http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/640/P1020138.jpg)

In terms of his articulation, Blitzwing is not bad, but not perfect. His legs are quite well articulated, only really limited by a lack of side-to-side motion on his feet (which are otherwise really solid - the heelspurs don't stand out more than they should). His arms are only missing rotation at the elbows (they have it at the shoulder though). However, because of the wings, shoulders and back mounted cannons, Blitzwing can't really do a "star" pose with hands arms outsretched. His hands are locked in a pose and unfortunately they cannot rotate, only bend inwards.

Overall, i can live with the faults i've mentioned - the only thing i think is truly wrong with the robot mode, is it's inability to point the canons over his shoulders as in the show. It doesn't seem like something they couldn't have done with a bit more thought, so it's a shame. I do really like the overall look - i'm not sure whether it was intentional or not, but his thighs remind me of a german soliders pants - here's a picture of what i mean (http://markhumphrys.com/Bitmaps/ivangorod.jpg) - it's not outrageously graphic but given this is a toy review, i'd rather not display it inline :)

Transformation
Blitzwing's transformation is simple, but admirable for moving between the 3 modes quite effortlessly, and dispersing space very well. Unfortunately it's hampered by what i can only describe as laziness on the designers part. Since this adversely affects the 2 remaining modes, i'll go into detail in their respective sections - but to summarize - Blitzwing just doesn't hold together all that well in either of his alt modes.

Tank

http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/200/P1020156.jpg (http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/640/P1020156.jpg) http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/200/P1020151.jpg (http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/640/P1020151.jpg) http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/200/P1020152.jpg (http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/640/P1020152.jpg) http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/200/P1020153.jpg (http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/640/P1020153.jpg) http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/200/P1020154.jpg (http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/640/P1020154.jpg) http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/200/P1020155.jpg (http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/640/P1020155.jpg) http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/200/P1020157.jpg (http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/640/P1020157.jpg)

While Blitzwing is clearly a tank, it's not the kind of tank we're used to seeing . Not at all realistically styled like the G1 toy, it looks almost super deformed. However it is relatively show accurate, and looks good from all angles excepting the back. It has compressed the robot mode very well, to a size that apart from height, is more in line with deluxe toys! The turret can rotate a full 360º but cannot lift up and down - again something that could have easily been included. The missiles fire as you'd expect. Blitzwing seems more purple in this mode than his robot mode - while his size lets you better appreciate the detail on his tank tread and the like.

My disappointment with this mode stems purely from the transformation aspects. The purple wings fold inwards to form his front, but there is no clip to hold them together, when there very easily could have been (in a non-obtrusive manner too). This pales compared to his tank treads however. They fold/compress up against his thighs. The thighs have a tab, the tread has a hole... but they do not clasp together well at all. This could this have been fixed very easily with a better fitting mechanism given the mass of plastic the designer had to play with. The tank treads are fine when on a table (and roll decently), but try and pick up the tank from the treads, and they will literally collapse in on themselves. Considering how well his arms clip inside, and his canon to the roof (sometimes hard to detach!), it's very annoying that the legs are held in place so poorly.

Jet

http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/200/P1020160.jpg (http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/640/P1020160.jpg) http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/200/P1020161.jpg (http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/640/P1020161.jpg) http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/200/P1020162.jpg (http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/640/P1020162.jpg) http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/200/P1020163.jpg (http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/640/P1020163.jpg) http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/200/P1020164.jpg (http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/640/P1020164.jpg) http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/200/P1020165.jpg (http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/640/P1020165.jpg) http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/200/P1020159.jpg (http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/640/P1020159.jpg)

The Jet mode unfortunately bears the triple-changer fruit - almost proudly displaying it's tank tread with no effort whatsoever made to hide it. To be honest, with the current transformation scheme, there probably wasn't much they could do without adversely affecting the robot proportions - so i was ready to live with this fault. In my mind it's not as bad as say Classics Astrotrain's split train fronts sitting on either side of his wings, but i guess that comes down to preference. In general the Jet mode ... well, it looks like a Decepticon Jet, and a very fast one at that - due to its elongated shape and angled back wings. The colour scheme again works well and retains quite a degree of show accuracy.

http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/200/P1020166.jpg (http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/640/P1020166.jpg) http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/200/P1020167.jpg (http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/640/P1020167.jpg)

Like the tank mode, the jet mode is let down by how it is(n't) held together. For a period, i had the jet mistransformed - you're supposed to flip his feet out as if he were standing on his toes. This improves the tank's problem, giving a place for the underside of the turret to slot into, but it'll still collapse if you hold it too tight. New problems have been introduced though. The position where his turret sits to form his back wings, is a good 1.5cm away from where it looks like it should be when viewed from above or side. There are these folding beige flaps that could have easily been connected to the front of the jet in a number of ways. It honestly strikes me as completely odd, it's a blatant visual blunder and yet it remains. Also frustrating, is the lack of any solid clipping mechanism for the cockpit. The slightest nudge will dislodge the very tip of the cone, and a bigger nudge will dislodge the entire cockpit. This is again an annoying oversight - the cockpit is hinged off-centre, so it was bound to tip forward - but no attempt has been made to secure it in place.

Overall

http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-blitzwing/640/P1020119.jpg

Well like most triple changers (from what i've gathered while scouring the _Encyclopedic_Site_of_Dirge_ (http://www.cliffbee.com)), Blitzwing is certainly not without his faults! However, unlike the usual problem of mismatched parts between modes, he gets off lighter than usual - only the tank tread in jet mode really stands out.

But the methods used to secure a good number of parts clearly let the toy down. It is a massive shame because both modes scream to be played with, but a child would experience nothing but frustration from doing so. Most times, it gives the impression of being broken, while not actually broken - which i'm sure you'll agree is not a good sign!

I think it's pretty clear - Blitzwing is a toy full of missed opportunities. If you plan to display in robot mode, i can definitely recommend him - but if you're looking to appreciate a solidly transformed alt mode (or 2), prepare to be let-down.

STL
21st July 2008, 04:30 PM
Great review once again. (And brilliant pics too). I think I'm going to agree w/ your assessment of this figure. But why no score?

kurdt_the_goat
21st July 2008, 04:39 PM
This guy is real hard for me to put a number against because i'm simultaneously impressed and disappointed ... does that mean a straight 5/10? Or one good mode, two bad = 3/10? Or because i weight the robot mode more than the others should it be 7/10?

I'm pretty indecisive is the answer you're looking for! I dont think a number helps people make up their mind better than the words and photos should. Glad you enjoyed though, i give your reply 10/10 :)

jaydisc
21st July 2008, 04:40 PM
Great review yet again kurdt! I'm still keen for this fig though.

Soundwarp
21st July 2008, 04:46 PM
Awesome thanks!!

SilverDragon
21st July 2008, 05:24 PM
I want this guy because I love the character.

Robzy
21st July 2008, 05:28 PM
Great review! :)

I'll be picking this guy up for sure!

Kyle
21st July 2008, 06:27 PM
Another great review! The toy would have been much better if the parts can be secured. :(

Pulse
21st July 2008, 07:12 PM
Excellent review Mate :)

For it's time, G1 Blitzwing was an awesomely-designed figure but for 2008, Animated Blitzwing could have been designed a hell of alot better... :rolleyes:

Stompy
21st July 2008, 07:48 PM
Excellent review as always. I guess they really are trying to keep the robot modes as close to the cartoon as possible while sacrificing the alts. Triple changers aren't the best toys in my opinion. They are great int heory but they always have something off with at least one of the modes. Even at the Voyager scale they couldn't engineer decent alt modes, but as you said, they really couldn't do much more to the alt modes considering they needed to keep the robot proportions.

Still though, The robot mode is spot on and the tank mode is decent.The jey ain't too bad until you see the underside. I guess Movie Starscream and Blitzwing can be bed mates with their huge undercarriages.

1orion2many
21st July 2008, 11:01 PM
:)Reading your reviews almost makes me want to have a go myself:D, almost but not quite as you do far to good a job for me to try and hurt my brain;), well done again Kurdt another 10 bleat review:cool:.

Bartrim
22nd July 2008, 09:28 AM
I want this guy because I love the character.


Same here I really enjoy his character. Thankfully I've heard lots of the same things about this toy so I know I wont be too let down but I'll be displaying him in robot mode anyway.

i_amtrunks
22nd July 2008, 11:08 AM
Great review, and I have to agree with you on everything you wrote, the alt modes by themselves aren't overly terrible, but the poor execution really lets the figure down in both tank and jet modes.

And I also have the same problem with the head turning gimmick, I dont even bother with the dial anymore, just turn the head with my fingers.

kurdt_the_goat
22nd July 2008, 11:23 AM
:)Reading your reviews almost makes me want to have a go myself:D, almost but not quite as you do far to good a job for me to try and hurt my brain;), well done again Kurdt another 10 bleat review:cool:.

Not to mention you'd actually have to open your toys right? :eek: And possibly clean up the room for good photo opportunities! :)

Lord_Zed
22nd July 2008, 06:17 PM
Whenvever I see animated Blitzwing he reminds me of Man-E-Faces from He-man. To bad Matel owns He-man or wecould have had him repainted for the crossover line. :D

MV75
22nd July 2008, 09:10 PM
Mmmmm, bit of a letdown really. Jet undercarriage is really ticking me off over the last few years, and this one just looks like a fast tank. :D

I'll have to say though, yes, the robot mode rocks, but the other two arn't that great.

I have a G1 blitzwing, and yea, the g1 tank and jet are really much better than this one, but this ones robot craps all over the g1 robot for sure.

So I'd have to say if I got this toy, it would be to have the "perfect" blitzwing, (this and the g1 toy). :)
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SilverDragon
23rd July 2008, 09:47 AM
I'd just like to say I like the tank treads on the jet mode. It looks cool in a bizarre way.

GoktimusPrime
23rd July 2008, 11:48 AM
I have a G1 blitzwing, and yea, the g1 tank and jet are really much better than this one, but this ones robot craps all over the g1 robot for sure.
Look at it in context though - by 1985 standards I'd say that G1 Blitzwing was a pretty darn good toy. Amongst all the G1 Triple Changers Blitzwing is my favourite. Ono Koujin (the dude who designed most G1 TFs, including the triple changers) himself considers Blitzwing and Astrotrain to be his best works. Judging from these pictures, Animated Blitzwing doesn't come off as being the acme of triple-changing Transformers by 2008 standards.


So I'd have to say if I got this toy, it would be to have the "perfect" blitzwing, (this and the g1 toy).
Animated and Blitzwing are the perfect Blitzwings... yeah man, they're the only Blitzwings! :D :)


I'd just like to say I like the tank treads on the jet mode. It looks cool in a bizarre way.
Heh, I agree. :) The jet mode does look like the cooler of the two alt modes. That tank mode looks like fail. :/ (Armada Megatron's tank mode looks better than that IMO!)

1orion2many
24th July 2008, 10:13 AM
Not to mention you'd actually have to open your toys right? :eek: And possibly clean up the room for good photo opportunities! :)

:oYes yes clean the room:o. I filled up about 4 or 5 large bin bags with bubbles opening a lot of the ones that are up on the shelves, will do the same to the rest:D. There are certain items I keep all the packaging for but in general to save space now I just keep the backing cards:). 2000 posts WOOHOO:D

iceburn
24th July 2008, 12:37 PM
ohhh the transformation of the alt vehicle modes is definitely difficult and doesn't really stay in place due to design faults. there's no real clips to lock features in and they tend to move around during transformation.

i've given up transforming him so far but i've came up with a better pic of him in Guardian mode (half plane, half robot)... *keke* pics up later as i'm like most of us are still stuck in the office (slaving away mindlessly)

[edit - added pic]

http://img67.imageshack.us/img67/5034/p7240037agv1.jpg

GoktimusPrime
24th July 2008, 09:58 PM
Now put it in Gerwalk mode (arms up, legs down). :)

_____
Disclaimer: I'm using the Robotech definition of "Gerwalk." In Macross Gerwalk is the same as Guardian (re: Robotech II sourcebooks).

iceburn
24th July 2008, 10:11 PM
Now put it in Gerwalk mode (arms up, legs down). :)

_____
Disclaimer: I'm using the Robotech definition of "Gerwalk." In Macross Gerwalk is the same as Guardian (re: Robotech II sourcebooks).

yes yes..that's the word i was trying to find! thanks gok!

GoktimusPrime
25th July 2008, 03:25 PM
(offtopic)
By Robotech standards yours is in Guardian mode, not Gerwalk mode. By Macross standards it's Gerwalk (Macross doesn't make a distinction between the Gerwalk with arms deployed or not whereas Robotech does).
(/offtopic)

PirateCop
9th August 2008, 02:12 PM
any idea when this thing is released here?

SilverDragon
9th August 2008, 05:20 PM
I dunno, October/November?

Omega Supreme
9th August 2008, 07:00 PM
Great Review!!

I have been waiting for this figure, but as others have mentioned not as great as it could be. I still am hoping to get hold of one.

Kyle
9th August 2008, 07:12 PM
We're so behind... I want Supreme Roll-Out Prime, Activators wave 2 and Deluxe wave 3 already... :o

Pulse
9th August 2008, 08:33 PM
We're so behind... I want Supreme Roll-Out Prime...

Kyle,
If I were you, I wouldn't spend a cent on him - the reviews for him are shocking... :(

As soon as you take it out of the box, you'll probably get disappointed & immediately wanna exchange him for something else...

MV75
9th August 2008, 08:51 PM
Look at it in context though - by 1985 standards I'd say that G1 Blitzwing was a pretty darn good toy. Amongst all the G1 Triple Changers Blitzwing is my favourite. Ono Koujin (the dude who designed most G1 TFs, including the triple changers) himself considers Blitzwing and Astrotrain to be his best works. Judging from these pictures, Animated Blitzwing doesn't come off as being the acme of triple-changing Transformers by 2008 standards.


Animated and Blitzwing are the perfect Blitzwings... yeah man, they're the only Blitzwings! :D :)

Robot MODE Doh!

And put animated blitzwing in robot MODE with g1 blitzwing and you have the perfect blitzwing.

Geddit? Gottit? Goodit. :)

And yea, as triple changers go, nothing has beaten g1 blitzwing. Ever. I absolutely love tank mode, it's what I display it as, and its jet mode, well, almost all of the current jets that suffer from crap undercarriage could learn a few things from it. :)
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Tommy K
9th August 2008, 09:09 PM
oh man i want this figure bad! i need a triple changer lol, i think the fact that he can transform into a deluxe sized tank and a voyager sized plane is very funny though

Kyle
9th August 2008, 09:36 PM
Kyle,
If I were you, I wouldn't spend a cent on him - the reviews for him are shocking... :(

As soon as you take it out of the box, you'll probably get disappointed & immediately wanna exchange him for something else...

I'll end up getting him anyway... because of the character. Just like how I bought 2 x Ultimate Movie Bumblebee... :o:p

(Sorry to be off topic guys)

Decepticon
1st September 2011, 04:33 PM
Yeah, got him at last. Takara version though. I have always liked this fig but never saw one at retail. The tank tracks in jet mode really annoys me though. I did see a video few weeks back where someone did a mod to it but cant find it anywhere now. May just paint the tank wheel/tracks black so it doesnt stand out.