Toy Review - KICKBACK (Legacy)

[GoktimusPrime]

KICKBACK
Series - Generations
Sub-line - Legacy
Size/class - Deluxe
New/remould/redeco - New
Wave - 1
Released here - May 2022
Approximate Retail Price - $39.99
Approximate Size - 12.5cm to top of head, 13.5cm to antennae, 19cm max height to wing tips
Allegiance - Decepticon
Sub-group - Insecticon
Alt-mode - robotic grasshopper
Main Features/Gimmicks - pilot compartment
Main Colours - black with yellow and purple accents
Main Accessories - x1 electrothermic blast tube gun, x2 Energon blades







A gorgeously cartoon-like Kickback toy, Generations continues to knock another one out of the park with a figure that feels like a Poor Man's Masterpiece (which I always mean as a compliment). The Energon blades are pretty lame and not nearly as fun as the gun-axe weapon on Legacy Skids. It fits rather loosely in the fists, on the arms or attached to the wings. But it doesn't really affect the toy and you can just set it aside. Even as someone who prefers toy-accuracy, I must say that the cartoon-like red visor does look better than G1-accurate black as it really does pop out against the black body. The head on mine is a bit wobbly. Kickback also has a panel that conceals his robot face in Insecticon mode, and this panel seamlessly tucks away in robot mode.

Now here's the weird thing about this toy: it has a pilot's compartment. The chest door has a hinge, and inside the chest is a compartment. However, chest door is fastened shut; you cannot open it unless you force it open with something like a hobby knife, and even then you'll probably damage the toy in the process. I've seen a photo of someone who opened his Legacy Kickback, and he did indeed scratch up his toy like a champion... so this is not recommended (I'm certainly not game to try!). But this does mean that this toy was designed to have a pilot's compartment in his chest. The hinge is still there! It seems that Hasbro must have decided to abort this feature at the last minute, having the door glued shut. It's so odd. Titans Return Kickback has a chest compartment that can hold a Titan/Prime Master pilot. I know that Titan Masters and Prime Masters aren't a thing anymore, but it seems strange that Hasbro would go to the effort to create a compartment on this toy only to nerf the feature. I'd be curious to know why.



I can't wait to see what they'll do with Bombshell and Shrapnel, and if they're all at this level of quality, I'd like to see all three released in Diaclone colours as the Insecticlones.

[Autocon]

Robot mode looks good. Bit daft on the alt mode, im a turn at the waist and lay down. Good ole G1 accuracy.

[GoktimusPrime]

Good ole G1 accuracy.

I was gonna say

This toy isn't quite daft enough. I'd like the robot face to be exposed in Insecticon mode instead of concealed!
↑And this is why fans like me should never be in charge of designing toys

[Bemblebuu]

Insect mode looks about as good as Spike Witwicky's vehicle mode exo-suit... Would it have killed the design to have the grasshopper legs elongated and more angled???

[dirge]

Insect mode looks about as good as Spike Witwicky's vehicle mode exo-suit... Would it have killed the design to have the grasshopper legs elongated and more angled???

While what you're saying makes anatomical sense, I think they were shooting for G1 accuracy (which they've nailed).

[Bemblebuu]

While what you're saying makes anatomical sense, I think they were shooting for G1 accuracy (which they've nailed).

G1 accuracy could've been retained while improving the design. You could argue the bot mode achieves this. I don't get why people defend poor design... especially when the costs of figures keeps going up and up.

[GoktimusPrime]

G1 accuracy could've been retained while improving the design. You could argue the bot mode achieves this. I don't get why people defend poor design... especially when the costs of figures keeps going up and up.

Because cartoon likeness is what the majority of collectors demand. I much prefer toy-accuracy, but you can hardly blame Hasbro for giving fans what they want.
Ransack has a more realistically proportionate grasshopper* mode though, so hopefully Hasbro will make a CHUG Ransack. My dream is for every G1 toy to be made as CHUG. They could also give us a CHUG Beast Wars Scourge, which is even more accurately proportioned (and BW Scourge is in desperate need of an updated toy). CHUG BW seems to mostly stuck in the first gear though with most of its figures being drawn from the first year or two of BW. We have very post-Transmetal era BW CHUGs.

-----------------------------
*before someone tells me that Ransack is a locust, I will remind you that locusts are grasshoppers in their swarm phase.

[dirge]

G1 accuracy could've been retained while improving the design. You could argue the bot mode achieves this. I don't get why people defend poor design.

I'm not defending it; just acknowledging that it's slavishly G1 accurate, rather than accurate to what the actual insect looks like. As Gok alluded to, it's what the fandom (generally) wants.

[Bemblebuu]

I dunno. Masterpiece is for super cartoon accuracy, Kingdom/ Earthrise/ Legacy seems somewhere in between. Some figures tick the 'slavish G1 toy accuracy' checkbox, most don't. It just doesn't seem like a there's any consistency, so I can't help what I see as flawed design... I guess I'm in the minority!

[Sinnertwin]

Sometimes it's just easier for Hasbro to oversize a G1 toy and add some articulation.
Kickback was probably a 4:58pm Friday afternoon special.