Toy Review - DotM Human Alliance Reverb

Not a bad little figure, this one.

Robot mode is interesting, reasonably posable, and looks pretty cool. I like his weapons, both rockets and blades. The downside is the feet, which are not really separate from the legs at all but just rather just an extension of them. They're kind of flat and thin, almost looking like he's wearing high heels. Considering the engineering in the model is pretty darn good, it's a pity they couldn't do something more with the feet.

The "shield" mode is a little odd, with the 3 large fans not lending themselves to the look of a shield. I understand the shield mode is supposed to fit with leader-class figures, but I haven't tried it out as yet. If it can in fact be used in this way, I'm not certain that Optimus Prime would have a human soldier riding on it, as is shown in the stock photos.

The vehicle mode is best mode of all. It's a great little vehicle - you could imagine this little hover bike zooming around Chicago in Bay's DOTM, engaging the enemy. Being a fictitious vehicle means that the scale issues that dog Human Alliance Backfire are not present here. And I absolutely love the asymmetrical nature of the hover-bike mode, especially considering the other two modes are almost even.

To sum up, it fits in nicely amongst the Bayverse figures, even though the character did not appear in the films. It's a pity it's so tough to get, especially at a reasonable price. Importing is probably your only bet, but if you get a chance, grab it. Recommended.