Toy review - Studio Series Lockdown

[Magnus]

Series - Generations
Sub-line - Studio Series
Size/class - Deluxe
New/remould/redeco - new
Wave - 2
Released here - September 2018
Approximate Retail Price - $29 (Big W and Kmart Studio Series deluxe class price)
Approximate Size - 14cm
Allegiance - 'Decepticon'
Alt-mode - Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 coupe
Main Features/Gimmicks - In scale with other Studio Series toys, screen-accurate detail and proportions, licensed vehicle mode
Main Colours - grey
Main Accessories - hook; dagger



Vehicle mode







A Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4. The car is painted a dark metallic grey, which is darker than the brownish grey of the previous Lockdown toy released for Age of Extinction's Generations line. Major details from the car are present and correct; I particularly like the fact that the wheels have brake discs sculpted into them.

Due to the transformation, the exterior of the car isn't very 'clean', with lots of shut lines for seams, although the dark colour makes the shut lines less obvious than they otherwise could be.









In vehicle mode, Lockdown is now bigger than The Last Knight's Hot Rod, who was himself bigger than the original Lockdown, the toy he was based on. I no longer own my original Generations Lockdown, but the two can be compared indirectly through Hot Rod.

Transformation

Not complex in terms of steps, but some parts need to be twisted a little bit to get them to align properly for vehicle mode and to release them for robot mode.

Not mentioned in the instructions is a step wherein you have to reach into the back of his open torso with your finger and press the chest plate out before collapsing the car roof up to form his backpack.

Robot mode









Toys of movieverse characters made after their debut appearances on screen tend to be better than the toys made to coincide with the character's first appearance, since the toy designers have been able to study the final production art and movie footage, or in the case of the Studio Series, have access to ILM's CGI files via Paramount. Lockdown is no exception. His proportions are far better than those of the original deluxe released for Age of Extinction, and he has a lot of surface detail that comes from the CGI model. He's not as lean as his CGI model and has a substantial backpack, but a more complex transformation to address these issues would probably not be possible at this size class and price point.

Lockdown is well articulated - the head is mounted on a ball joint, which is itself on a hinge; the shoulders and elbows are on ball joints, the upper arms and thighs have rotators, the waist can rotate, the hips have two-axis rotation, and the knees and ankles are pinned.





Lockdown is armed with his hook and a large bladed weapon, which can be either inserted into his fists or attached to his forearms via tabs. It's a shame that Lockdown doesn't come with a gun, or better yet, a head-mounted cannon to turn him into 'gunface' (probably the one area where the original toy is superior to the new one), although Shadow Warrior, the orange redeco that has Lockdown's visored head, has a handheld gun.





Both weapons can be attached to the vehicle mode if you so choose.





Again, here is an indirect size comparison with the original Lockdown via Hot Rod.

Backdrop



Lockdown's Studio Series backdrop is of the landing platform in the knights' ship.



Verdict



Undeniably a step up from the previous Lockdown toy, and a welcome addition to the Studio Series line. Recommended.