http://www.kapowtoys.co.uk/transformers ... -6228.html
Having watched and read some reviews on this guy from the last few days I've got to be honest I was dreading this morning and fully expected the devil in plastic so I'm happy to report I was pleasantly surprised. Right off the bat yes the shoulders are annoying, the left one seems to be the fave that does not peg in when in robot mode and it does mean the shoulders can roll when moving the arms, is it a deal breaker ? no, its just annoying, nothing more nothing less and was improved with a quick dab and dry of super glue. Blitzwing is a lot more complex than Springer, you can see the sheer amount of work which has gone into getting a robot to switch between robot, tank and jet, its a lot and it can't be ignored, sure he is far from perfect but whoever designed this guy must have cared about the character and for me they have done a good job.
In robot mode he looks like a Blitzwing should do, bulkier than his counterpart Springer and standing a little taller giving that feeling of imposing foe rather than easy opponent. The sword is a faithful update of the original whilst the gun comes off as a little weak, its quite tiny and sits rather awkwardly in his fist due to clearance issues it is however a good fit for a tank machine gun so maybe they were trying to strike a balance for both modes. Leg articulation is very nice with ball joint ankles, swivel and hinge knees and ball joint hips. There is no waist swivel due to the nature of the transformation and the fact the turret barrel and jet nosecone switch between this area for storage depending on what vehicle your picking. With regard to the 3 faces they are a nice touch and very cool bonus feature but don't interest me personally.
Jet mode comes across as very Alpha Fighter which in my book is only a good thing, it clips together well and the empty area some have complained about can actually be filled with the sword and then the machine gun plugged on top, the turret barrel can flip from exhaust to weapon in an instant adding play value for kids and big kids alike.
Tank mode is small but nicely formed, again if you transform it correctly it all clips together nice and tight, the tread transformation is quite nifty and another example of the level of thought and effort that gone into this toy. He freewheels nicely across the desk and the turret does pivot but at an awkward angle, does this bother me too much ? no because I've got 3 modes from 1 toy when I'm normally getting 2.
Overall Blitzwing scores 8/10 he's scoring this high due to the fact he is a design triumph for Hasbro and they have really thought about how its put together however if things like the shoulder issue really annoy you then chip off another point which will bring it down to a 7/10 and help make your mind up about a potential purchase, I don't purchase my figures to play with them anymore, its more about the design and engineering so I don't want to mislead any fans that do like to spend some time with their figures.