Generations Thrilling 30 Whirl

[BigTransformerTrev]

Series - Transformers Generations
Sub-line – Thrilling 30
Size/class - Voyager
New/remould/redeco – New
Wave – 2, 2014
Released here - not yet, maybe never
Approximate Retail Price - $30
Approximate Size – 20cm
Allegiance -Autobot
Alt-mode – Helicopter, Heloped
Main Features/Gimmicks – Multiple Weaons, spinning copter blades, G1’ish sticker sheet
Main Colours – Blue, Light Blue, Yellow
Main Accessory – 4 attachable weapons





Robot Mode
This figure is far more G1 based than many of the current Generations toys which are either based on the current comics of the semi-recent video games. As such Whirl certainly fits the bill as an homage to his 1985 predecessor. Long lanky legs, long feet (though not ski’s), thin torso with the cockpit in the centre, claw hands, cycloptic face with antenna etc. A funny looking bot but then so was the G1 incarnation so I think they have done very well. His null ray can fit over his right hand and guns can be attached to the sides of his calves just like the original toy too. As I said, weird looking, but very well done!


Heloped Mode
Did they really need to bother? I think they just created the figure and someone said:

“Hey, check this out – if you leave his legs down halfway through the transform he kind looks a bit like the bad robot from Robocop 2!”
“Oh shit! He does too! Reckon we can sell that off as on purpose?”
“Damn straight we can! We can even market him as a triple changer now!”
“Good call! Let’s go to lunch”
“Hooters again?”
“Yeah, the buffalo wings there give me heartburn, but I don’t go for the food”
“Dude – you are such a perv! Lol”
“Lol - yeah I know”

And that’s how we got the Heloped mode.


Helicopter Mode
The G1 Whirl was a great looking helicopter. Very realistic and a nice set of weaponry. The Generations version is no different. Very streamlined, balanced, realistic and a multitude of weaponry options to attach to the sides (though adding them all to both sides in the middle can make him look a tad bulky in the centre). Looks like how a Wrecker should look if he has an terran mode. They even got the cockpit the same colour! A very nice vehicle indeed, an a welcome realistic aerial vehicle to get on the Autobot side.


Transformation
For once the instructions seem spot on. The Heloped mode as stated it pretty much just a pit stop between the two other modes with his tail tucked between his legs. Not a particularly hard transformation going in either direction.


Overall
A pretty good figure who while not the norm really does justice to his G1 heritage. One thing I was not keen on was the sticker sheet. A lot of those stickers were really tiny and very hard to separate and apply. Outside of MP Starscream, Generations Metroplex and MP G2 Sideswipe I’ve been happy for the sticker sheet to go the way of the dodo and here it is just annoying rather than fun and nostalgic. The size too is a disappointment. I know sizes have gone down across all classes, but this does not even compare to this size of Doubledealer who was the other Voyager in the same wave! If released in the Armada line would be comparable to Hot Shot sizewise. But despite these quibbles, this is a fantasic figure and if you are a G1 fan well worth picking up.

[Omega Metro]

Yes good figure. My only complaints are those stickers and had trouble figuring out where the weapons go in robot mode. They are not on the instructions!
It's a personal nostalgic nod to my G1 toy that mum and dad got me for Christmas.

[Omega Metro]

I like your reviews too, BigTansformerTrev. Short, sharp and down to the facts. Keep up the good work!

[BigTransformerTrev]

I like your reviews too, BigTansformerTrev. Short, sharp and down to the facts. Keep up the good work!

Cheers mate, always nice to get some good feedback

I'm stuck at home with a crook back at the moment and since I cant do much else physically I'm working my way through a bunch of unopened figures and writing reviews on them. Thanks for putting a smile on my dial

[M-bot]

I like your reviews too, BigTansformerTrev. Short, sharp and down to the facts. Keep up the good work!

Well, not entirely down to the facts:

Heloped Mode
Did they really need to bother? I think they just created the figure and someone said:

“Hey, check this out – if you leave his legs down halfway through the transform he kind looks a bit like the bad robot from Robocop 2!”
“Oh shit! He does too! Reckon we can sell that off as on purpose?”
“Damn straight we can! We can even market him as a triple changer now!”
“Good call! Let’s go to lunch”
“Hooters again?”
“Yeah, the buffalo wings there give me heartburn, but I don’t go for the food”
“Dude – you are such a perv! Lol”
“Lol - yeah I know”

And that’s how we got the Heloped mode.

...but damned funny! Good review Trev.

My thoughts on Whirl:

Pros: I love the funky look, a great G1 homage. Oddly enough, this is very similar to many of the Bay-verse toys in terms of aesthetic, especially the chicken legs. He's a nice size, and feels solid to me. The one I have has really nice tight joints and ratchets, although I'm hoping that doesn't mean the ratchets are going to strip with use over time.

Have to disagree with Trev regarding the stickers. I think it's a good compromise to return to the age of stickering TFs out of the box. For years we've come to expect diminishing paint apps in Hasbro toys, and I've seen first hand how a (relatively) inexpensive sticker sheet from Reprolabels can improve figures immensely. Hasbro can surely produce stick sheets much less expensively than Reprolabels can (economies of scale and all that). The only thing I would be wary of is the quality of the sticker stock - generations Metroplex being an example of that done very poorly. Whirl's stickers are quite a different material, so time will tell how they go. I really like the detail they add to the figure.

Cons: The instructions aren't the best in regards to sticker placement (there are 2 different types of stickers labeled 17 & 18, and I managed to bungle these. Fixed now though). The instructions also fall down with regards to the weapon accessories - I only worked out the forearm/hand replacement gun because of the stock photos in Trev's first post. I'm still trying to figure out weapon configurations that work for me in alt mode.

Overall, I really like Whirl, and would recommend him.

[Lint]

I hate to say this, but Generations Whirl is a toy that looks best in it's plastic prison. I was so excited when I recieved him yesterday looking crazy with his claw hands and displayed in bubble alongside his very many armaments.

However when you take him out of box, you start to notice things. Things that annoy you. His tiny head, his stupid reverse kneecap joint that kills poseability, weakly designed shoulder joints that will only sag with time, and this is is my favourite mode!

The alt mode is worse: his transformation is copied almost directly from Energon Bulkhead but somehow does a poorer job of pulling off a convincing helicopter. The helicopter mode is gappy and hollow which is really noticeable when you're holding him in-hand. The 'heloped' mode is a joke.

There are many highlights though; above average articulation, claw hands, spinning rotors, perfect colours, an OPENING CANOPY, no landing gears whatsoever, and the many ways and places you can plug in the weapons (though I wish they had designed them so that you could connect them all together into one giant crazy chain of weaponry).

Overall Generations Whirl is a figure with many strong points but is SERIOUSLY let down by a couple of very critical flaws. If you buy this toy and are partial to MISB I suggest you leave him in the box, the experience doesn't get much better once out of it.

[Bidoofdude]

I got this guy the other day and I love him. All stickered up, though I prefer the IDW-esque positions. The chicken feet work well and his head/neck are great. You can feel his IDW personality emanate from the toy really well.

However, I would have like the helicopter blades to lock in alt mode, rather than just flop there.

[i_amtrunks]

Got mine during the week and have a limited play with him (mariokart is too addictive.) He is a very posable figure, looks like IDW Whirl in both modes and his transformation is nice.

I know he is meant for the older fans, but I wonder how many younger fans would've snapped his feet (or damaged from trying to) since they have a different style method of transformation?

I love the extra weapons he gets, it suits what we know of him. Only I wish he have been given a bow of some sort!

[GoktimusPrime]

Finally opened mine up after getting it on Sunday. The sculpt is a really good representation of IDW Whirl, which helps to make him look more distinct from G1 Whirl. This is something that I'm appreciative of, as G1 and IDW Whirl are two extremely different characters. Although his tech specs bio describes him more as G1 Whirl. I would've liked to see it being based more on IDW Whirl who's a pretty darn interesting character... but I guess Hasbro might've been afraid that kids didn't want to read about an evil Autobot. :/

As others have said, the itty bitty stickers are just annoying, but I do appreciate the sentiment behind the idea. The digitigrade stance is pretty stable when it's set in the digitigrade position, but if you try to stand him in a plantigrade position, then the toy becomes back heavy. The toy does have two large heel spurs, but they're designed to work when the toy is in digitigrade position, and don't provide sufficient support for dynamic plantigrade poses. It seems that the legs are really meant just be digitigrade, like IDW Whirl. This doesn't bother me so much as I accept this as IDW Whirl (my G1 Whirl is G1 Whirl ), but for lovers of plantigraded robots, I can see how this might be an annoyance. Whirl certainly pulls off a MUCH more stable digitigrade stance than any of the Beast Machines Cheetor toys!

Overall I really like Whirl. Keep in mind that Whirl is based on a pre-determined artist's model (just as Prime and AoE are based on screen models), so it's also been created with the limitations of trying to faithful to an artist's design (instead being purely toy-first). Given a similar level of design limitations, I find that the standard of engineering and design behind this toy (and Generations in general) is SO much better than anything from TF Prime or Age of Extinction. Ideally I would still like to see Hasbro going back to creating Transformers as being toys first (as Classicsverse originally was). The whole digitigrade stance thing is a by product of Whirl originating as a comic book design. Comic book artists don't have to consider things like that's going to affect balancing and transformation etc. This is why I still very much prefer for Transformers to be created just as toys first, then later let artists adapt the toys as comic book or screen characters. But anyway, the Mach Kick has already bolted when it comes to IDW Whirl, so given what this toy is --- an adaptation of a comic book design --- I think it's reasonably impressive. My personal toy has a QC issue with one of the back side panels not clipping into the tail wing properly (keeps popping out). :/

The Heloped mode is... meh... not sure why they're homaging Macross in a character that originated from Dorvack. Anyway, a few photos -- excuse the grain and I hadn't applied all the stickers yet when I took them.

[BigTransformerTrev]

I got this guy the other day and I love him. All stickered up, though I prefer the IDW-esque positions. The chicken feet work well and his head/neck are great. You can feel his IDW personality emanate from the toy really well.

Got mine during the week and have a limited play with him (mariokart is too addictive.) He is a very posable figure, looks like IDW Whirl in both modes and his transformation is nice.

Finally opened mine up after getting it on Sunday. The sculpt is a really good representation of IDW Whirl, which helps to make him look more distinct from G1 Whirl. This is something that I'm appreciative of, as G1 and IDW Whirl are two extremely different characters.

I'm quite surprised many folk seem to think he comes across more as IDW Whirl. Certainly the head is very IDW'esque but in body I think he is much more G1 Whirl. What with the canopy pointing down in robot mode rather than forward with a couple of big cannons, no big loops at his elbows and the fact he is a terran helicopter with spinning blades in alt mode rather than a sorta cybertronian-jet-thingie with a couple of blades just sweeping back at the top. Also his weaponary like the null ray fitting over the claw and other guns able to be attached to his calves is far more G1 as well in my opinion.

I remember opening the toy and being somewhat surprised that they had gone the G1 rather than the IDW route like they had with Skids, Swerve and Tailgate. Still, if I am wrong in my assessment I'm happy to be corrected.