Toy Review - Generations VOY Blitzwing

[SuspectimusPrime]

I knew I made a mistake when I decided to open Sandstorm first, then Springer, and lastly Blitzwing.

I do really like the fact that the two parts that conflicts with his two alt modes the most - tank trends and plane wings - are built into the same part of his body, which makes for a really simple solution of turning his legs 90 degrees to reveal or hide the said part. Love the part where his treads open up to reveal more treads.

Don't really like to mod my TFs so will put this shoulder fix off for some time. It does not look like it will take long to fix both the left shoulder and remove the head spring gimmick. My real concern is the large amount of soft plastic used for a vital part of the plane mode - with the amount of force I had to use on it, I cannot see the soft rubber nosecone hinge joint standing the test of time.

The face gimmick works in a smarter way to the original Animated head, but I find it unnecessary and felt that the head may have looked better if it was 10-15% smaller. Maybe that would have allowed for a non-soft rubber plastic nosecone.

Aesthetics-wise, what was missing in the robot mode for me were wings. Real wings, and not little purple triangles.

[Gasaraki]

'If only I could turn at the waist, I'd be able to show you some real POSEABILITY!'

This guy will probably go down as the most opinion polarizing Transformer of the year... it's quite fascinating to read/hear the huge variety of thoughts on poor little Blitzwing! For myself, I've actually been enjoying the guy quite a lot... much has been said, so I'll use points:

Positives:

• He's a triple changer!!
• He's a Voyager - I do love the size they've chosen to do these guys in, and can now only hope for Astrotrain and Octane.
• Good robot mode, IF shoulders are fixed - I think he looks great, and poses well if you take advantage of the articulation that's there. The accessories are also good fun, although I think the gun should've been larger. Yes, I agree that we should not have to fix things, but I don't mind doing a little handy work - it adds an extra level of familiarity to the toy, which I can do with as too often it's transform-thrice-and-shelve for me.
• Nice plane mode - I can see the weaknesses, I keep the turret out (as per pic below) as I like the over-the-top-ridiculous look of it, and this helps cover some of the gappiness. Also like the FAST pack look it harkens to.
• Triple changing head - really quite subjective... I think it's OK to have the gimmick in there, and I might sometimes use the monocle guy, but it does seem to cater mainly to Animated fans (of which I am not one). I get the Generations idea, so I can get behind this. It's good that you can just ignore it, I don't think it makes the head too big myself. The round head shape also nicely reminiscences a pilot's helmet. Although... I never really got the shockingly different color (which is also on G1 BW) - the vast majority of TFs have head colors that also appear elsewhere in the scheme, this one doesn't, and it's weird, as if the head's been transplanted on.

Negatives:

• Triple changing head ***
• Not nice tank mode - it's passable at some angles, and shocking at most. I like the transformation they've come up with, and I think it's an OK effort, but it does really seem like it could be much better. The jet/tank parts swap over is one of the best parts, but the tank suffers a little too much.
• QC issues - shoulders obviously. I seemed to have gotten lucky with my nosecone, but I can see how it can be a real bummer.
• Articulation - Arrgh, no waist! Knees could/should be lower. Gun could easily have been larger and not have the holding problem. Most of us would probably take a ball jointed head rather than the triple face changer. Oh well.
• Paint - honestly I didn't notice the different colored beige on the lower legs until it was pointed out. I can forgive this myself as in most modes, there is enough else going on color wise that it's not a major fail - the tank suffers the most. It was MUCH more crucial in figures like Sideswipe and Sunstreaker as the one color dominates so much of those toys... less so in BW.

Would like to post the shoulder fix I chose to use, but it's late, so for now here's my preferred plane mode:

[Jim_jim]

I had this as I think that the official image looks great. it turned out to be, looks great when you are looking at it from a distance. It looks so empty after transformation. So many holes and so so many spaces in between.

The only mode that I would recommend is the robot mode, yet, the faces are really really hard to change. Unless you are really really a fan of it, otherwise, buy it when you have an extra couple of bucks.

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

Just landed my TakTom Blitzy today and I like it. Robot mode is pretty nice and after doing that shoulder fix (why wasn't this done at the factory????) my main qualm of robot mode is gone. The face thing I don't mind, it's certainly not necessary but it doesn't kill the figure, so no problems there. The faces for me flip around nice and smoothly too.

I love the appearance of bulk in the robot and the fact that he keeps enough vehicle mode stuff so you can immediately tell there is a plane and a tanks for this guy. LOVE the sword! It's brilliant! the gun, um well, it's small and even though it IS small, he can't hold it straight? That's a pretty big oversight I think. Tak's colours are nice with a great beige and nicely metallic purle going on. The silver paint is pretty cool and matches rather well with any silver plastic

Transformation is clever and enjoyable, and gave me a few surprises. I like the wings and tank treads both being in the legs and the way they kind of swap places between vehicle modes is very clever. I also like how the wings have the little fold out part to give them a bit more body for the jet mode. It's little touches like that which help me overlook his various flaws.

Sadly those flaws are his vehicle modes. Actually just tank mode. I don't mind the jet mode that much at all, it looks pretty good and the various options for his tank turret are fun. From the back it looks bad, but at least it is solid.

The tanks mode on the other hand. What an abomination! Sure I found some parts of transforming him fun and interesting, but getting the legs to clip into the right spot was a ridiculous pain in bum That part took me the longest and I actually had to shave a little bit off the calve tabs... Then when I got him into tank mode. AAARGH! MY EYES!

It was horrid. So gappy. So dorky. So not what a tank should be. Very unimpressed there. I prefer Animated's gun Turret tank mode thing over this ugly bugger.

I think Blitzwing is a tricky fellow to design as you need the bulk for the tank and some sleek for the jet. That can't be easy (and let's remember that G1 you just flipped it over and that was pretty much it, with a turret hanging off the bottom of the jet!) so I think they have done a pretty good job designing him. I just wish the tanks mode didn't look so unfinished.

Really though, thumbs up for the robot mode! That's where the love is for me!

[BigTransformerTrev]

Well I FINALLY got around to tackling my Blitzwing. Took him out of the box a month ago, got annoyed mid transformation so put him on a shelf and went to play with one of my 50 BBTS POL figures.

Tank
I have to say that tank mode is my least favorite mode, which is surprising because I really love tank TF's and was looking froward to having a Blitzwing that didn't have a upside-down cockpit at the front (G1) or two comically large black cannons (Animated). But something just doesn't appeal with this mode on the Generations model, I dunno, feels a bit too boxy for my liking, the main body should be longer and flatter, and the turret is too tall, even taller when you add the machine gun on top.

Jet
Jet mode was the mode I didn't think I'd like which I'm surprised that I do. Since I've decided to look at this figure through cybertron optics rather than true earth mode eyes, I think it's a great looking jet you could imagine bombing the hell out of Iacon Personally I prefer to have his cannon underneath with the sword filling the gap at the top, but I do like the option of having a big cannon on top as well.

Robot
Robot mode is the most faithful official toy Blitzwing to the G1 cartoon we have had. Really looks like a commando that is going to get into the thick of it and kick skidplate! Sword is nice, gun is nice. I suppose its kinda cool they put in the 3-face gimmick from Animated, but as this is portraying G1 Blitzwing for me, its a gimmick I looked at once and will never look at again.


Overall I don't mind this figure. Like the robot, like the jet, don't think much of the tank and the transformation is a bit fiddly for my liking. Glad I got him,but he will prob spend more time sitting on my shelf than getting transformed for the joy of it.

[lancalot]

this guy a total disappointment .... i finally got him and transformed him into his different shape... none of them really looks good ...

[Lint]

Just landed my TakTom Blitzy today and I like it. Robot mode is pretty nice and after doing that shoulder fix (why wasn't this done at the factory????) my main qualm of robot mode is gone. The face thing I don't mind, it's certainly not necessary but it doesn't kill the figure, so no problems there. The faces for me flip around nice and smoothly too.

I love the appearance of bulk in the robot and the fact that he keeps enough vehicle mode stuff so you can immediately tell there is a plane and a tanks for this guy. LOVE the sword! It's brilliant! the gun, um well, it's small and even though it IS small, he can't hold it straight? That's a pretty big oversight I think. Tak's colours are nice with a great beige and nicely metallic purle going on. The silver paint is pretty cool and matches rather well with any silver plastic

Transformation is clever and enjoyable, and gave me a few surprises. I like the wings and tank treads both being in the legs and the way they kind of swap places between vehicle modes is very clever. I also like how the wings have the little fold out part to give them a bit more body for the jet mode. It's little touches like that which help me overlook his various flaws.

Sadly those flaws are his vehicle modes. Actually just tank mode. I don't mind the jet mode that much at all, it looks pretty good and the various options for his tank turret are fun. From the back it looks bad, but at least it is solid.

The tanks mode on the other hand. What an abomination! Sure I found some parts of transforming him fun and interesting, but getting the legs to clip into the right spot was a ridiculous pain in bum That part took me the longest and I actually had to shave a little bit off the calve tabs... Then when I got him into tank mode. AAARGH! MY EYES!

It was horrid. So gappy. So dorky. So not what a tank should be. Very unimpressed there. I prefer Animated's gun Turret tank mode thing over this ugly bugger.

I think Blitzwing is a tricky fellow to design as you need the bulk for the tank and some sleek for the jet. That can't be easy (and let's remember that G1 you just flipped it over and that was pretty much it, with a turret hanging off the bottom of the jet!) so I think they have done a pretty good job designing him. I just wish the tanks mode didn't look so unfinished.

Really though, thumbs up for the robot mode! That's where the love is for me!

Finally got my TT Blitzwing after many months of waiting. Was going to write up a review but seeing as I'm so late to the game I'm gonna steal Tet's review as my own

One thing I have to add is that the TT version's plastic colours are just SUBLIME. I have no regrets forking out the markup for this version of the toy.

Overall I see this as a step up in HasTak's design ambitions. While there were certainly problems in execution it is exciting to see fresh-ish transormation techniques such as the swinging cockpit, the locking and firing mechanism for the turret and the swing-out-snap-on tank treads.

[Mythirax]

So originally I excitedly took this guy out of the box and well, I hated it. Turning him into his jet form, hated it. Why? My robot mode shoulders are both terrible, peaughs fix works for only one of the shoulders. Both of my weapons don't fit in either hand, no matter how much force I'm applying, anymore and I'll snap something. So he can't be posed with weapons in hands. And well jet mode, it would look cool if my flaccid nosecone would actually click in. I've tried everything I could find on it, but now I've just made a mess of where it should lock in. now he can't be a jet anymore

So I left it at that for a couple of days. But tonight I decided, well maybe I'll try the tank and get lucky. Everything was going well, he transformed pretty quick and was looking good. There he was in all his glory, I finally found a mode I can display him in... POP legs keep popping out of the 3 clips that hold each leg. So he sits on the shelf for a few minutes then POP. I end up with a V shaped tank. No matter what I do they like to pop out. End result, I hated it. Real let down of a toy. He can't be displayed like a statue for me or played with. Maybe I'll wrap his tank mode in sticky tape to hold him all together

0/10 - Worst transformer I've ever invested money in to date. Maybe I just got one worse than others.

[Gasaraki]

So originally I excitedly took this guy out of the box and well, I hated it. Turning him into his jet form, hated it. Why? My robot mode shoulders are both terrible, peaughs fix works for only one of the shoulders. Both of my weapons don't fit in either hand, no matter how much force I'm applying, anymore and I'll snap something. So he can't be posed with weapons in hands. And well jet mode, it would look cool if my flaccid nosecone would actually click in. I've tried everything I could find on it, but now I've just made a mess of where it should lock in. now he can't be a jet anymore

So I left it at that for a couple of days. But tonight I decided, well maybe I'll try the tank and get lucky. Everything was going well, he transformed pretty quick and was looking good. There he was in all his glory, I finally found a mode I can display him in... POP legs keep popping out of the 3 clips that hold each leg. So he sits on the shelf for a few minutes then POP. I end up with a V shaped tank. No matter what I do they like to pop out. End result, I hated it. Real let down of a toy. He can't be displayed like a statue for me or played with. Maybe I'll wrap his tank mode in sticky tape to hold him all together

0/10 - Worst transformer I've ever invested money in to date. Maybe I just got one worse than others.

You sure have a lot of cheesy grins in there for the worse TF ever!

But yeah, inconsistent QC is sure a big let down... I didn't suffer from any of the worst problems you described! I think peaugh's figure is one of the few where his fix works... Most people either have to add a bit of custom plastic or get one of the 3rd party fixes.

[Mythirax]

You sure have a lot of cheesy grins in there for the worse TF ever!

But yeah, inconsistent QC is sure a big let down... I didn't suffer from any of the worst problems you described! I think peaugh's figure is one of the few where his fix works... Most people either have to add a bit of custom plastic or get one of the 3rd party fixes.

I had to add some happiness to it haha. But yeah, real shame - My tank mode is working now though, covered the bottom in some bluetack