Toy Review - Studio Series Dropkick
DROPKICK
Series - Studio Series
Sub-Line - Bumblebee
Size/class - Deluxe
New/remould/redeco - New
Wave - Four
Released here – November 2018
Approximate Retail Price - $29
Approximate Size - 11.5cm
Allegiance - Decepticon
Alt-mode – Bell AH-1 Super Cobra attack helicopter
Main Features/Gimmicks – scale
Main Colours – grey & blue
Main Accessories – x2 guns
VEHICLE MODE
Highly detailed and incredibly accurate to an actual Huey attack helicopter. Okay, the back of the hands are visible on the tail boom, but we all know how tricky it is for aircraft modes to conceal robot parts. And this is one thin helicopter. And given that there are almost no other robot parts visible in this mode, I can easily forgive partial exposure of the hands. There are blue parts which accent the toys, and while this may not be accurate to how Hueys are coloured IRL, it's obviously a carry over from the robot mode's attempt to look more like the show model. So it's understandable and it doesn't detract from the look of the chopper.
https://image.ibb.co/jX09s0/dropkick-SS01.jpg
The rotor blades don't spin which does detract from the playability of this mode, but the upshot is that they sit firmly into place in robot mode. We all know that a lot of helicopter TFs have loose hanging rotor blades that can be a bit cumbersome in robot mode as they dangle side to side. So I can understand why they tightened the rotor blades for the benefit of the robot mode. The blades still turn fine, you just can't spin them. Stabiliser tail rotor spins just fine.
Transformation
I don't usually go on about a toy's transformation. I tend to just review each individual mode and unless there's something of note in the transformation, it's something that I usually skip. But damn, Dropkick's transformation has got to be one of the most beautifully intuitive transformations that I have ever seen on a toy. It's not ridiculously easy but not frustratingly difficult either. It seems to hit that Goldilocks spot of being juuust right.
Now I'm the kind of person who, for some weird OCD reason, always likes to take out the instruction booklet and transform a toy according to the instructions. No matter how basic, I just always do it. But this is one of the very rare moments where I didn't bother doing that. Right now my Dropkick's instructions are still in the box. I never do this! :eek: But the transformation is just so good - so intuitive - so fun, that I found myself transforming it before I could get the instructions out. Sure, I that this may be normal for many of you, but this is out of character for me and it just goes to show how delightfully inviting this toy is to transform. Man... I really usually don't even mention a toy's transformation. Partially cos it feels kinda spoilery, and I won't go into details here... but it is a damn excellent transformation! Go look up a video review if you wanna have a look at it in action. :)
ROBOT MODE
Okay, let's address the Beast Wars Ironhide in the room. At first this toy's robot mode looks screen inaccurate, and this is mostly due to the colours. And yeah, also partially to do with the actual mould/design, but not as much as one might think. Certainly not as much as I first thought. When comparing this with Dropkick's screen model, we can see that the chest, head and back are reasonably screen-accurate. In the movie the chest and back are made from helicopter kibble, not car kibble. The legs are also sculpted to be screen-accurate, most notable on the knees and feet (as they are also accurately coloured). The thing that makes these points of accuracy less noticeable is really the colour. And this is really due to the fact that SS Dropkick is a grey helicopter. The toy has admirably added blue on the head, rear engine ports (which become faux-headlights floating on the robot mode's lower ribs), inner leg panels and feet -- all blue. And yes, the rest of the toy is grey, but again this is because it's a grey helicopter. You can't really add any more blue to the robot without doing the same to the helicopter mode, which would risk making the chopper mode look less realistic. So there are about as many blues on this toy as the alt mode (and budget) allows.
https://image.ibb.co/fOYjQL/dropkick-SS02.jpg
And I quite like how the designers have tried to bulk up the robot mode by having panels fold in on themselves, sometimes more than once. This is similar to what we've seen before in toys like TLK Voyager Optimus Prime, Titans Return Kup etc. It's a neat way to reduce/conceal alt mode kibble, in it can also serve as a means to visually bulk out the robot so that it doesn't look too stick thin. They've also done some pretty clever things with the main fuselage becoming the torso. Count the number of windows on the chopper mode, and now count how many you can see in robot mode. Yeah. Where did half of those windows go?! ;) Sorcery! Or just really clever engineering. :p
OVERALL
To be perfectly honest, I wasn't really expecting to like this toy all that much. It initially felt like an "obligation purchase." A toy that I had to have because it appears in the movie. But this toy has truly gone above and beyond in exceeding my expectations. Until I got this toy, I thought that Studio Series 18 Bumblebee was going to be my favourite toy for 2018, but now it's become SS22 Dropkick! :) Okay, while Bumblebee may visually look nicer in both modes, Dropkick doesn't require loads of panel-massaging only to end up with one panel side not clipping in properly. As I mentioned before, it's an incredibly intuitive and fun transformation. I wasn't expecting to like this toy, but now I love it! :D The arms don't swing out to the sides due to the tall shoulders which get in the way. They still swing laterally up and down just fine, just not out to the sides. But this more limited shoulder articulation is just due to the shape of the shoulders which is carried over from the helicopter mode. You would need to design the shoulders with hinges that all the tips to fold down, but it would more than likely eat into this toy's budget. This is a Deluxe Class figure, not an MP. :)
I honestly cannot find any real faults on this toy and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...h_jaam_yum.gif
