Toy Review - RtS Windcharger

[griffin]

(Please post comments, photos or even a fully comprehensive review - these are just brief details to start you off)

Toy Review - Windcharger

Series - Reveal the Shield
Sub-line - Hunt for the Decepticons
Size/class - Scout
New/remould/redeco - New
Wave - 4 (RtS wave 1)
Released here - December 2010
Approximate Retail Price - $15-20
Approximate Size - 12cm
Allegiance - Autobot
Alt-mode - Car
Main Features/Gimmicks - none
Main Colours - Red, grey, black
Main Accessories - none

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/tftoys/rts05.jpg

[kaiden]

I voted only if cheap because he's $8 today! and you'd be silly not to get him at that price.

other than looking terrible from behind, he's awesome. and if he (i dont have jazz/tracks yet) is proof of the quality of upcoming G1 tributes - then im happy.

[Lint]

Excellent toy, nice transformation, neat and tidy alt mode, complete paint apps, great robot articulation and looks fantastic in both modes.

Go buy!

[SkyWarp91]

Pros: Hands can be switched for weapons, good body proportions for robot mode, simpler transformation, nice use of the rubsign (more like a touch sign now), well designed alt mode and overall toy engineering design.
Cons: Panels don't sit together nice and tightly in alt mode, especially at the rear of the car where the legs become the boot but this is a minor hassle. Also for an Autobot his robot head does look similar to G1 Megatron, especially to the eyes of a mild TF fan - though it's not necessarily a bad thing it's unexpected for an Autobot (like Movie Ironhide).

TOTAL: 4/5 - A very good figure that you'll enjoy spending money on, but has minor flaws in fitting the alt mode together nicely and a near-perfect transformation.

[kaiden]

Cons: Panels don't sit together nice and tightly in alt mode, especially at the rear of the car where the legs become the boot but this is a minor hassle.

mine fits nice and tightly actually.


Also for an Autobot his robot head does look similar to G1 Megatron

http://images.wikia.com/transformers/images/c/c1/Windcharger_wheeljack_otp.jpg

looks really close to his movie version actually. but yeah anyone with that kind of head looks like megatron (points at grey-head legends g1 starscream.)

[Lint]

mine fits nice and tightly actually.


Same with mine, i'm quite impressed by Hasbro's improvement in quality compared to 2008/2009. However I still think its entirely possible that there are a few bad apples in a batch.

[optimus1]

A highly recommended figure.
I just got mine yesterday from Kmart, he fits together really well.

The return of the rubsign tops him off as well :cool:

[dirge]

Awesome Generations figure (regardless of the packaging), great first proper tribute to this G1 character (no, the co-opted Overdrive with half a gun isn't a proper Windcharger tribute). Even at full price well worth it!

[Doubledealer]

Damn you all! :p Hope I find this guy soon, he just oozes personality and like Megatron the paint apps are spot on. Looks like you could get some pretty dynamic poses outta the lil fella too!

[Sharky]

he is a great little figure, good posability and transformation on mine, the front grill is a lisstle sloppy with the paint however its hardly noticable unless you specifically look for it

i wonder if we will see a tailgate repaint

[The_Damned]

will buy two if they ever come to batemans bay

[Robzy]

mine fits nice and tightly actually.


Same with mine, i'm quite impressed by Hasbro's improvement in quality compared to 2008/2009.

Me 3!

I love this figure... great transformation. Excellent alt mode. And Robot mode is very cool too - especially the chest, arm guns and head sculpt.

[gdmetro]

Picked up a this guy today- just as awesome as I imagined from the first pictures. Thanks again to VectorPrime for the info on the whereabouts.

Very poseable- barring a waist swivel- everything is good.

The whitish grays could be improved upon- and I will get the Takara version for the hopefully better paintjob and permanent insignia- but this guy for $8 is such a steal and worth every dollar.

His transformation is decent as a car design can get on a scout. The magnet/hands are just an awesome touch/homage to g1.

One issue is on the left side of his head from the front- my one has a bit of flash on it- gotta shave it off.

This is definitely one figure that I am so grateful to Has/Takara for- this scout figure gives me hope that they will do more of the classics minibots in this perfect scout size. Huffer/gears please? And I can dream about Powerglide and Seaspray... and even though I enjoyed universe brawn and beachcomber updated scout sizes? I think not likely anytime soon- but perhaps as DOTM scouts? I can only hope.

The engineering on Windcharger, hubcap and breacher is just amazing...
Looking at RTS windcharger and comparing to his g1 minibot counterpart just shows how far Tfs have come since the 80's. The updated engineering, poseability relative class size in terms of g1 and g1 homage/aesthetic really is the essence of what a classics design should be.

[GoktimusPrime]

he is a great little figure, good posability and transformation on mine, the front grill is a lisstle sloppy with the paint however its hardly noticable unless you specifically look for it

i wonder if we will see a tailgate repaint
They need to at least retool the head to make it Tailgate.


His transformation is decent as a car design can get on a scout.
The only gripe I have with the car transformation is getting the roof to be exactly flush. The robot toes don't seem to align right on mine and tend to dip. :(


The magnet/hands are just an awesome touch/homage to g1.
I didn't know the hands were magnetic. That is cool... I shall have to try it out! :D


One issue is on the left side of his head from the front- my one has a bit of flash on it- gotta shave it off.
Yeah, I have the same issue on mine right in the middle of the forehead... but it's rather slight, so I'm gonna leave it alone.

The head absolutely evokes Megatron, but it's obviously something that's come about through sheer coincidence rather than any explicit intent from HasTak. :)

[gdmetro]

The only gripe I have with the car transformation is getting the roof to be exactly flush. The robot toes don't seem to align right on mine and tend to dip. :(


I didn't know the hands were magnetic. That is cool... I shall have to try it out! :D



(Correct me if im wrong but wasn't his ability to have magnets from the barrel things from his hands from g1?) That's what I was referring to. :D

I have the roof problem-that is it pops up. But sometimes I can get it to stay down reasonably well (That is, looking on the side of the car, the roof is flush with the back window.) As for the foot panels, I think there is meant to be a small gap lining.

[GoktimusPrime]

(Correct me if im wrong but wasn't his ability to have magnets from the barrel things from his hands from g1?) That's what I was referring to. :D
The original G1 bio just says "Casts powerful magnetic field which can attract or repel large metal objects." - doesn't state that it comes from his hands, although G1 fiction often portrays him as using his hands. In the cartoon his hand converted into some kind of gun that he used to project an electromagnetic tractor beam (The Ultimate Doom (http://tfwiki.net/w2/images2/7/7a/UltimateDoom2_Windcharger_tractorbeam.jpg)) - and it seems that this toy's hand-cannons are inspired by that episode. Although in another episode Windcharger projected the electromagnetic field from his chest (http://tfwiki.net/w2/images2/8/87/PlagueOfInsecticons_Windcharger_repulsorfield.jpg) . And in Transformers The Movie you can even see his electromagnetic field generator inside the hole in his chest (http://tfwiki.net/w2/images2/7/7f/WindchargerTFMovie.jpg). Maybe... okay, I just made that up. :p In the comics he projected the electromagnetism from his hands (such as in "And There Shall Come... A Leader!")

Anyway, I only had a quick fiddle with Windcharger last night, but tonight I had a more thorough play and yeah, I saw the 'hand cannons' that flip out. I didn't know about them at the time I made my previous post. :p But now I know!


I have the roof problem-that is it pops up. But sometimes I can get it to stay down reasonably well (That is, looking on the side of the car, the roof is flush with the back window.) As for the foot panels, I think there is meant to be a small gap lining.
Actually, I've worked it out now. You need to get the toes to point flat down - you may need to push the heels up. Get the toes to line up with the shin panels before trying to fold the lower legs over. That way the top of the toes are already lifted up and should fit in flush with the roof. It's kinda tricky, but doable.

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

I reckon its an awesome toy. Mine clips togethr nicely in car mode, except for the bonet and one of his arms, but the back is fine.

Badly mixed paint all over though, he has swirls throughout entire body. I love his knees, soooo bendy!

BUY IT!!

[christalcase]

just got him today and I love the toy, especially the flip out guns/magnets, looks really good, but I kinda wished the hands werent red as they blend in a bit with the red panels behind them. Tranformation is simple and quick, making him quite a lot of fun to transform. Although I cant get the roof flush in vehicle mode which is a tad bit annoying but I think he is a really good toy (looks better in person than in pics so far)

[Eazy D]

Can't go wrong for 8 bucks.

Great homage.

Mine is actually really stiff in the joints which i suppose isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Paint is not too gret though. I love the deep red but there are lots of swirls in it.

I also can't for the life of me get the roof to stay down fully so that it sits flush against the doors and rear window. it keeps popping up slightly. otherwise the car mode holds together very solidly

[5FDP]

Picked up Windcharger for 8 bucks yesterday. Since the packaging wasn't up to my standards of perfection (it was the last one on the self), I decided to open him up. It's an awesome toy and immediately recognisable as Windcharger. There was also no noticeable defects with mine e.g. panels not lining up, paint problems etc.


...but I kinda wished the hands werent red as they blend in a bit with the red panels behind them.

Agreed!

[jaydisc]

This guy is near perfection. Both modes are fantastic and perfectly evoke the G1 character. The transformation is perfect for the size class (maybe a bit simple), and since it's a small Scout, it's ball jointed articulation is fantastic.

The only complaint, and an extremely minor one, is the coloring; the pinkish hue to the red (no where near as bad as past Hasbro instances of Hasbro Pink™) and the abundance of Hasbro Grey™. A TakaraTomy release should sort both issues, so I'm looking forward to that to complete this otherwise perfect figure.

[doublespy]

got him today:D. awesome figure overall.

the abundance of articulation makes up for the relatively simple transformation (compared to the high standards of recent scouts releases). particularly love the extra pair of ball joints at the ankle which is essential for wide stance cool poses.

i think they could've made the hands with the same grey plastic as the flip out guns, but i'd like to display him with the guns out so not a big loss.

mine has the same roof issue as many people pointed out - i find it easier to do the lower legs and toes first, make sure the toes sit flush against the shin/back window before rotating the legs. use the rotating waist section (as it doesn't peg on anything) and the ball joints at the hips to adjust the position of the legs and you will find the perfect spot where the rooftop would sit flat. then arrange the arms at last.

[griffin]

I actually had a tough time trying to get it all locked together first time in car mode - figuring out the order of the parts needed to be moved into their places.
And even after I got it transformed, I first thought mine was faulty with the rear section of the car, until I later found out that the outer legs actually slide sideways to make the leg narrower in bot mode (the two black panels in car mode on mine had a gap).

[i_amtrunks]

Look out for some dodgy paint apps on the front grill/chest area.

If you get one without dodgy paint, this is one of the better scouts released in recent times, great alt mode, simple and easy transformation (love the legs and feet transformation, kind of different but familiar).

And for $8? a steal, he's a scout easily worth the overs we pay for figures.

[Doubledealer]

This toy is pure love from Hasbro. :D It's not until you get him out of the packaging and play around with him that you realise how beautifully constructed he really is. Unlike Breacher whose joins were horribly tight and (imo) a bit cheap feeling, every joint on WC is smooth as silk. Some smaller Transformers can feel a bit brittle or fragile but that's not the case here, WC feels nice and solid allowing for great playability, and less worrying about breakages. 10/10!

[Lint]

This toy is pure love from Hasbro. :D It's not until you get him out of the packaging and play around with him that you realise how beautifully constructed he really is. Unlike Breacher whose joins were horribly tight and (imo) a bit cheap feeling, every joint on WC is smooth as silk. Some smaller Transformers can feel a bit brittle or fragile but that's not the case here, WC feels nice and solid allowing for great playability, and less worrying about breakages. 10/10!

Picked up breacher yesterday to replace the absolute junker I recieved from evilbay. I totally agree though, Breacher makes Windcharger look like one smooth operator.

[dirge]

Awesome.

Buy. Now.

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

What everyone else has said - aside from the roof not staying flush he's a very cool toy indeed, and for $8 he's a must-buy.

[Oilspill]

Picked up breacher yesterday to replace the absolute junker I recieved from evilbay. I totally agree though, Breacher makes Windcharger look like one smooth operator.

Funny, the same thing happened to me. I bought a Breacher off eBay, and when I got him he was partially melted and had two left hands. Feels like someone is grabbing the factory QC rejects and selling them.

Allegedly a replacement has been sent, but it is well overdue :(

Anyway, Windcharger is effing awesome. I had issues getting the feet to align with the roof the first time I transformed him (which was w/o instructions), but was fine after that. Do it in the order the instructions do it and it seems to work better. I think the instructions forget to mention that his legs slide inward/outward too.

[GoktimusPrime]

Funny, the same thing happened to me. I bought a Breacher off eBay, and when I got him he was partially melted and had two left hands. Feels like someone is grabbing the factory QC rejects and selling them.

Allegedly a replacement has been sent, but it is well overdue :(
Wow... the first Drift toy I got (from Uncle Petes - soon brought that back for a refund) had two left hands, and just a few days ago an overseas fan reported getting a RtS Jazz with two left hands. I wonder what became of the Breachers, Jazzes and Drifts with two right hands?! :p


What everyone else has said - aside from the roof not staying flush he's a very cool toy indeed, and for $8 he's a must-buy.

The roof stays flush if you transform the toes correctly. It wouldn't stay flush for me when I first got the toy until I worked it out. It's fiddly, but it does sit reasonably flush once it's done properly. :)

FLUSH LIO CONVOOOOY! (http://www.oafe.net/yo/art/tfbw2_lc4.jpg) :p

[Lint]

Funny, the same thing happened to me. I bought a Breacher off eBay, and when I got him he was partially melted and had two left hands. Feels like someone is grabbing the factory QC rejects and selling them.

Allegedly a replacement has been sent, but it is well overdue :(


We probably bought it off the same seller, the bottom half of my breacher was completely fused together. I got my money back instead of opting for the replacement.

One thing I did notice about dear Windcharger though is that if you turn him over in car mode he looks exactly like an RPM/Speedstar :p

[SharkyMcShark]

Picked this up yesterday. We've really been spoiled with some killer Scout class cars in the last year odd (Breakdown and Hubcap as well as this). Aside from the head and the shins the robot mode is kind of generic, but not really in a bad way. I mean to convey that the robot mode doesn't really scream Windcharger aside from these features (meaning it could easily be used for another character). Articulation is great, colours are great (there's red, two shades of grey, black and silver in play). Minor gripe, the top of the car and half the bonnet just sort of hangs off his back in a solid chunk. It's not pretty but its hardly a deal breaker.

Car mode is decent. That's it really. The silver headlight paint is kind of iffy (I had to dig through a few at my local K mart before finding a bunch that I was happy with). The back end is kind of a mess - your mileage will vary on whether you can get it to clip together properly and the 'toes' that are meant to form part of the roof aren't the greatest. Even if you can get them to line up properly they'll recess down into the body of the car if you play with it a bit. The lack of painted tail lights is an annoyance (unlike on Breakdown)

Overall this is second to RotF Breakdown (which has as good a robot mode, and a better executed car mode in that it holds together much better and has better paint), but still worth a buy.

[Tallestblue]

I got him yesterday, and while he's neat little guy I was kind of undelwhelmed as I really feel like i've bought this toy before and had more fun with it.

I'm hoping this new G1 inspired scout class leadfs to new stuff like a Scout class Wheelie, Huffer, Cosmos, Cliffjumper and Bumblebee.

[GoktimusPrime]

Aside from the head and the shins the robot mode is kind of generic, but not really in a bad way. I mean to convey that the robot mode doesn't really scream Windcharger aside from these features (meaning it could easily be used for another character).
I think what happened was that RtS Windcharger is influenced by G1 Windcharger's Marvel/Sunbow model (http://www.ntfa.net/universe/pictures/Windcharger1.jpg), which almost all Classicsverse toys are anyway - but it just so happens that Windcharger's G1 MAR/SUN model just happens to look pretty generic looking. The head looks kinda Megatronish to me, but I reckon it's more coincidental rather than intentional (when you take a head like this (http://tfwiki.net/w2/images2/f/fb/PrimeProblem_Windcharger_scrap.jpg) and translate it as a toy, it's not too surprising if it looks a bit like Megatron).

At least this toy doesn't scream, "OVERDRIVE (http://tfwiki.net/w2/images2/d/d6/AltWindcharger_toy.jpg)!" :D


The back end is kind of a mess - your mileage will vary on whether you can get it to clip together properly and the 'toes' that are meant to form part of the roof aren't the greatest. Even if you can get them to line up properly they'll recess down into the body of the car if you play with it a bit.
I initially experienced this problem too and I used to think it was a flaw, but after playing around with the toy more I figured that I just needed to align the toes properly and they do align flush with the roof. It can be a bit tricky, but once you get the hang of it it's okay. :)

I guess I was really stoked with this toy cos I got it shortly after it came out when Kmart were selling Scouts for $8 each. So at that price I have no real complaints (other than the flash on the forehead; sloppy QC much)

[Tabias Prime]

Funny, the same thing happened to me. I bought a Breacher off eBay, and when I got him he was partially melted and had two left hands. Feels like someone is grabbing the factory QC rejects and selling them.
I also picked one off ebay and the only problem I had with him was his upper half wouldnt clip in, but I have since fixed that with a small mode...but there was no melting or 2 left hands with mine, cant whine, i got him for $5.00...

also picked up windcharger yesterday and I was very happy....

[Grievous]

So this guy FINALLY showed up in Sunny Townsville...
& I have too say...he's just dripping with awesome sauce...
:D

[Blurrprimecoolboz2008]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_AaFPKkSF8

[tjparkside]

cool figure!
i like his G1 cartoon robot mode styling!
nice how the robot hands convert to weapons!
good scale size for windcharger
worth purchasing imo!
:)

[The Scream Man]

I like it. ALOT I think its the best Scout sized toy Ive ever owned. It's a mold I'd b tempted to get repaints of, and Im very dubious of repaints....

[GoktimusPrime]

"Tailgate" anyone? ;)

[tjparkside]

"Tailgate" anyone? ;)

great recolour idea!!

[GoktimusPrime]

Well, I'd like Tailgate to have a retooled head too. ;) But yeah, t'would be relatively simple to do. :D