Toy Review - BREAKDOWN

[GoktimusPrime]

BREAKDOWN
Series - Generations
Sub-line - Legacy
Size/class - Deluxe
New/remould/redeco - Retool and repaint of Legacy Wild Rider
Wave - Four
Released here - January 2023
Approximate Retail Prize - $37
Approximate Size - 12.5cm
Allegiance - Decepticon
Sub-Group - Stunticon
Alt-mode - Ferrari Countach
Main Features/Gimmicks - Combines with fellow Stunticons to form Menasor
Main Colours - white, blue
Main Accessories - x1 guns, x1 boomerang/spoiler

Note: Refer to the Legacy Wild Rider review thread for comments about the original mould. This review thread will focus on differences made.















* Cartoon-inspired design.
* Comes with just one gun, although it can be stored in vehicle mode underneath the bonnet.
* Spoiler detaches and becomes a giant boomerang weapon

Overall this is an okay Breakdown. I like it enough, but I'm not enamoured by it either. The boomerang-spoiler thing is weird and cumbersome. Would've preferred for the spoiler to be two pieces, but I suspect that it was made as one piece due to budget reasons. Arguably the weakest of the Legacy Stunticons. Recommended to complete the set.

[dirge]

I hate that the front half of the car wears Wildrider's car model (the back half is fine)... but the thing that just bewilders me... is the fact the spoiler has no place to go in robot mode. Not something we expect in 2023 (and frankly, makes this toy sub-par). I'm happy I've completed Menasor, but this should have been better.

[Tha_Phantom]

One thing I noticed is that the spoiler on Breakdown perfectly fits the Earthrise Sunstreaker/Spinout/Cordon mould.




I don't mind the robot mode, but the vehicle is a massive let down given how much attention to detail was paid on the other four Stunticons. And don't give me any excuse about licensing, as there's literally Countach approximations in the photos just above.
I voted that this toy is worth getting only if something else - that being only if you need it to complete Menasor. This is a disappointing Breakdown by itself.

[Deano85]

Can't wait to get Breakdown to fill in Menasors empty leg. Then need toyhax to finish off the Stunticon stickers sets

[KELPIE]

Yeah the bonnet gets me here. Such attention to detail with the rest of this set.

Clearly ran out of budget and it's a shame. They did mention that the spoiler was a last minute addition that the design team squeezed in to give him more of the Lamo look in alt mode. even though it doesn't fit in anywhere else, I'm glad they did it.

But yeah... that bonnet... such a shame.

Still, he's not my favourite of the Stunticons so I guess I have to be happy that Drag Strip and Dead End came out on top here.

[Sutton]

Maybe I'm being too harsh, but...

This is peak short-sighted super-lazy Hasbro right here.

I don't think many of us would have begrudged Breakdown sharing engineering with Wildrider - it makes sense - but the lack of effort put in here is really astounding, especially when compared to the amount of effort that has gone in to other mold reuses in the same lines.

Would it have killed their margins that much to redo the front of the car, especially since it just sits on his back? Would it have destroyed the business' viability to split the spoiler in two?

What this means for me is that when they announce another redo of a combiner team in the near future, I'll be holding back on buying any of them until I can see that they're putting the full effort in to all 5/6 members.

It's a real shame to end an otherwise pretty solid team on such a weak effort.

[Tha_Phantom]

Maybe I'm being too harsh, but...

This is peak short-sighted super-lazy Hasbro right here.

I don't think many of us would have begrudged Breakdown sharing engineering with Wildrider - it makes sense - but the lack of effort put in here is really astounding, especially when compared to the amount of effort that has gone in to other mold reuses in the same lines.

Would it have killed their margins that much to redo the front of the car, especially since it just sits on his back? Would it have destroyed the business' viability to split the spoiler in two?

What this means for me is that when they announce another redo of a combiner team in the near future, I'll be holding back on buying any of them until I can see that they're putting the full effort in to all 5/6 members.

It's a real shame to end an otherwise pretty solid team on such a weak effort.

No, not too harsh at all. It is disappointing as they had otherwise done so fantastic with the alt modes of the other 4 which raised our expectations for the final member.
We also had a few instances of having that one team member done "wrong" in CW, only to get the "proper" one later (if you didn't just buy the Takara boxset from the beginning) and Hasbro still hasn't learned from this. Or perhaps they feel emboldened by what happened in CW knowing that many fans purchased both versions ultimately. So yes, totally fair on your part for skipping future teams until being able to see all the members.
I am hoping that we get a proper Breakdown retool in the G1 colours at some point, but at least do it for the G2 version - if that happens. I think a G2 recolour is more likely than a G1 redo, but I'll take both.

[Magnus]

Breakdown isn't a bad figure, and I don't even mind the fact that he looks so similar to Wildrider in robot mode, but as others have typed, the car mode suffers aesthetically from being too clearly derived from Wildrider. I've seen some people suggest that the car looks like a Lamborghini Jalpa, although this wasn't the intended effect, since the remoulded rear is definitely meant to evoke the Countach. I suppose it's better than the treatment given to Combiner Wars Break-neck, which was a straight re-deco of Dead End with a new head.

[Tha_Phantom]

I've seen some people suggest that the car looks like a Lamborghini Jalpa, although this wasn't the intended effect, since the remoulded rear is definitely meant to evoke the Countach.

Yeah, the Jalpa thing is nothing more than wishful thinking. The middle and front section are unchanged from Wildrider. It's a hybrid of two different vehicles which coincidentally resemble a Jalpa, although the first thing I saw was a Ford Mustang.
To be clear, I'm not saying it's actually a Ford Mustang. It's just a mess.

[Paulbot]

He's a good looking robot and I'm overall happy with him