Toy review - Studio Series 68 Leadfoot

[Magnus]

Series - Generations
Sub-line - Studio Series
Size/class - Deluxe
New/remould/redeco - New
Wave - N/A
Released here - N/A
Approximate Retail Price - USD19.99
Approximate Size - 12cm
Allegiance - Autobot
Alt-mode - Customised Chevrolet Impala stock car
Main Features/Gimmicks - Screen accuracy, licensed vehicle mode
Main Colours - red
Main Accessories - Steeljaw, minigun, machine guns, missile racks

He's red, he's fat, and he has a beard... but he's not Santa Claus.

Vehicle mode





A Chevrolet Impala NASCAR stock car, as driven by Juan Pablo Montoya with Target livery and the number 42.

The car has a very low-slung stance - more so than the car used in filming, and what I've found is that not only do all four wheels not seem to 'catch' and roll when Leadfoot is pushed, but there are ground clearance issues. The front splitter doesn't clear the ground, so it scrapes along as Leadfoot rolls.

Leadfoot comes with a total of five weapon accessories - an M134 minigun, two M240C machine guns, and two missile racks. The missile racks seem to be prone to popping off their mounting tabs.

Steeljaw



Steeljaw has his origins in Josh Nizzi's concept art, and although he's not a strictly 'necessary' addition to Leadfoot, seeing as he never appeared in the movie, I'm not going to complain about an extra accessory. Steeljaw has no articulation and is just made of two pieces attached together.

Steeljaw stands at just over 2.5cm.

Transformation

Fairly simple.

When transforming to vehicle mode, the instructions state to secure the legs to form the back of the car and tuck the arms in last, but I prefer to swings the legs up but not secure them in place, put the arms in position first, and then secure the legs.

Robot mode







Short and stout, like the character model. Leadfoot stands at 12cm to the top of his head.

Leadfoot has fairly good articulation, but the shapes of his body parts limit the range of motion his joints have; then again, Leadfoot doesn't have the look of a lithe, agile fighter in the vein of Sideswipe anyway. The head is mounted on a ball joint. The shoulders have ball joints, but swinging the arms forwards tends to dislodge the missile racks, which end up under his armpits. There is an upper arm rotator joint just above the hinged elbow.

The hips have ball joints, but Leadfoot's gut means that the legs can't move far forward. There is a thigh rotator above the hinged knee. Finally, the toes have slight upward movement as part of transformation.





The backdrop is an image of battle-scarred Chicago, as seen from the LaSalle Street Bridge where Optimus Prime, Sentinel Prime, and Megatron had their final showdown. It's the same backdrop as the one that comes with Sentinel Prime and the other Wreckers.



With Sideswipe and Optimus Prime.



Aside from the aforementioned tendency to pop off the missile racks if you move the arms, I would say that the only real negative to the figure itself is that the tabs that connect the faux doors to the shoulders can come undone if one moves the shoulders too vigorously.

Verdict



Not a bad piece at all, but Leadfoot won't be easy to come by. His Target branding made him a Target exclusive in the US, and Leadfoot has not been seen at Australian retail, meaning that he needs to be imported. Because of this, Leadfoot can be quite pricey for a deluxe class figure, meaning in turn that I can only recommend him to completists.

[Seraphim Prime]

Leadfoot has been such a hard figure to get any figure of, so I appreciate that he has had a new life in Studio Series, even as a hard to find exclusive.

I have issues with not just the missile racks, but with the machine guns staying attached due to loose fittings, so it appears milage may vary with regard to his accessories.

He fits in well with the other Wreckers and is an enjoyable figure to play around with.

Steeljaw is unarticulated, but a cute accessory that matches the concept art that had been around for him.