Quote Originally Posted by SharkyMcShark View Post
Genuinely I do not know how to feel about this figure. I'm glad I bought it, have enjoyed playing with it, but also don't like it a huge amount?

I've been eyeing it for a while and finally crumbled yesterday (I had a Toyworld credit standing to my name).

The robot mode is awesome. Looks great, solid, very playable. This is the highlight of the figure. Beats the Titans Return figure hands down, and I bloody love that TR figure.

The transformation is also pretty good. It's not really as solid as it could be (those damned arm panels flapping about in all three modes), but there are some nifty tricks in there like the jet wings forming the legs. It's also fun to do! Great hand feel.

The tank mode is decent. I know the cockpit dong is G1 accurate, but I think it looks stupid anyway. Otherwise, no objections. A solid effort, though I think on balance I actually like Titans Return more.

The jet is a write off. You get to a certain point in the transformation where you have a fully formed, very serviceable voyager class jet made from Blitzwing's limbs and torso, with just a giant chunk of deconstructed tank shell beneath that doesn't actually really do that much to tidy itself up. Titans Return wins hands down and I think a big part of it is the choice of the jet mode design. Titans Return evoked a MiG 25/MiG 31, which is a giant chunky long slab of a jet with a brutally oblong fuselage. That figure also had a relatively wide wingspan. It certainly still looked like a jet with part of a tank under it, but so far as triple changers go it was relatively compact. Whatever this figure turns into as a jet looks like a chibi jet model. Tiny snubby nose, vestigial stabilisers, short wings. It's fun to transform into and out of, but the actual mode itself pants with terrible proportions.

The accessories are baffling. I could have done with just one gun and sword, and then having the extra engineering/plastic budget plowed into improving the figure itself. The gauntlets/missile pods and the second gun add some fun play value but I'd rather have a more proportional jet mode, all things considered. If you plug the gauntlets into the back of the jet to make boosters, the side profile of the jet is increased massively, for example.
Agree with all of this. I've had this guy for a while and have been waiting for him to grow on me more, but it's not happening. He's a bit of a letdown.

There are some characters that Has/Tak just can't seem to get right for whatever reason - Blitzwing is one of them (Ironhide/Ratchet comes to mind as being problematic too). To be fair, the design brief is tricky, triple changers are hard enough but when they also change colour? Hard stuff. I note that the 3P companies haven't nailed Blitzwing either, with the exception of some legends sized releases and the never-released FansToys attempts. T30 was a good first attempt, but had annoying QC that let it all down. TR was also pretty good overall, but had it's issues too - for me, mainly the colour scheme (I'm not phased by the headmaster gimmick personally, but the lack of optional head storage in tank mode let it down...). If I could have tracked down a Takara Legends version I probably would have stuck with that.

The robot mode on this guy is aces. On the shelf next to Octane and Astrotrain altogether, he looks fantastic. Tank mode is close enough, plane mode is terrifying. I think they would have done better to lean more in to a 'Cybertronian' or 'Future Military Hardware' aesthetic, that might have helped it get a pass.

I also think the Leader price point is wasted on this guy. The part count is higher, but it's not used in a way that helps the transformation. There's some good stuff there - the legs end up covered, the arm panels aren't hollow, that's all good - but I would have rather have gappy arms and legs, and the parts be put in to further transforming the jet and tank. The giant hands could have been an okay accessory (from a kid's play-pattern perspective) but the insistence on using clear coloured plastics for the accessories early in this line makes them ugly. Energon weapons have never made sense to me outside of swords/axes etc...

Get him on special for the bot mode.