In 2007 something terrible happened. Something that had so much heavy repercussions that we still feel the effects, even to this day. Michael Bay directed a Transformers movie.
Now, in retrospect,the movie was not bad (though when there's an entirely pointless 15 minute sequence that I fast-forward through, you know I'm giving a film some heavy leeway), in fact it was a decent take on a silly concept. Just don't expect to see any transforming robots in it. Or at least not many.
The ones that DO appear, however briefly, have some excellent designs to them (at least in my opinion). Of them, one of my very favorite, was Barricade! While there has been everything Decepticon flavored, from jet fighters, tanks, guns, and sports cars, to construction vehicles, lions, and cassette tapes, there has never been any Decepticon police cars until now! Which is really wild when you think about it!
Then again, there's been no Decepticon lamps either, but I digress.
There have been some excellent toys of Barricade over the years, there have been some stinkers too, but I'm only interested in the good ones! And this very year, Hasbro released a Masterpiece version of Barricade! He's a Toys R' Us exclusive (which means no one in the US can get him unless they order online now, haw!), and when I picked him up, he was on a special discount from $120 down to $89! So that makes me happy, because there's no way I was going to pay over $100 for him, no matter how much of a fangirl I am!
The transformation is easy, and turns the sleek Saleen mustang vehicle mode into a sharp and pointy looking robot! Surprisingly, there is not a lot of superfluous car bits hanging off of him! And he looks as close to his on-screen appearance as he possibly can!
Barricade's robot mode is excellent, and he comes with his spinning blender mace flail weapon attachment! He used it for all of 2 seconds in the movie, but at least they represented this iconic weapon in all it's rubbery glory for his masterpiece toy. It even comes with it's own crystalline pedestal! Such a majestic display piece.
Barricade is decently articulated, having tight double-jointed knees and enough hinge and swivel in his arms so he can do whatever pose you'd like to see him in. Even his mouth opens and closes, so he can talk to you about glasses, and arrest Shia Labeouf for suspected cannibalism!
Masterpiece Barricade is definitely front and center in my small Barricade collection! Though there are some things I think he's missing. I wish his fingers were articulated, I would have liked if he he had come with a little Frenzy figure that turned into a radio, and I would like if his backpack folded up to better resemble how it looked in the movie rather than a lump of car parts.
Of course, it's hard to be mad at the guy when he can pull off his promotional art poses so well! Masterpiece Barricade is an awesome toy that my cheap butt wouldn't own had it not been on sale! Speaking of my butt, I'm gonna go hit the shower.
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