by Wolfman Jake » Tue Oct 27, 2020 11:17 am
- Motto: ""A mountain with a wolf on it stands a little taller."
-Edward Hoagland"
- Weapon: Retractable Mecha-Fangs
Now that I have all of the Earthrise Wave 2 Deluxe Class figures in my possession, I thought I'd give my thoughts on each, except for Arcee, because I've talked enough about what a disappointing figure that is already.
Airwave is a pretty solid modulator figure. I'm happy to FINALLY have the other modulator mold in this line, as to this point, I've only had Ironworks and the repaint and slight retool as Greasepit. Airwave's robot mode is quite good. He's got a funny but refreshingly different head for a Transformers character. The pegs on the pelvis could fit into the holes atop the legs a little more snuggly. Mine are loose and like to fall off if jostled to much (or for no reason at all). Two of Airwave's base mode configurations work really well, with everything snapping together securely. The third mode, though, that of the "tank," is pretty weak. Although seemingly intended to hinge at the back, there are clearance issues, and the top part won't stay put anyway, as it's prone to collapse back closed. The treads on the bottom are also upside down, so they don't touch the actual ground. Oops! I feel like this mode was shoehorned in when they decided that Hot House was just going to be a direct repaint of Airwave. The tank mode kinda looks the part of Hot House's G1 tank configuration, but you have to squint a fair bit. Not every configuration is going to be a winner, and the disappointing tank mode is less of a problem for Airwave than it will be for Hot House.
The Allicons are fantastic. They are chunky and solid figures. They look just like they did in the '86 movie. The transformation is a little simple in parts, especially since the lower half of the figure just spins around and you're done. The legs are identical in robot and beast modes. Everything tabs in where it should, though, and you can get some nice mouth articulation in alligator mode. Weapon storage works great too. I've got three of them guarding a Quintesson Judge in my display.
Last, but certainly not least, is Smokescreen. He's fantastic, honestly. I'm glad we did get a new "Datsun" mold just one year after the Siege version, because it's the best we've had outside of the Masterpiece line. The G1 fidelity just blows the old Universe 2008 mold out of the water. The paint apps are crisp and look mostly correct. It's too bad he can't have his old number "38," but what are you gonna do? The transformation is familiar, but nuanced just enough as compared to the Siege figure. The engineering and design is very impressive, as the robot parts fold up nice and tight into alt mode, leaving very little empty space inside the body of the car. The arms are tricky to peg into the doors in alt mode, but it's not needed to get the panel lines all flush on the outside, and there is still plenty of clearance for the wheels to roll unobstructed. I wish the shoulder cannons and the gun were either cast in white plastic or painted over in white like the Siege figure for more toy and cartoon accuracy. I just swapped the accessories from the Siege figure to Earthrise smokescreen, giving me the correct colors for those accessories. The bonus is that the Siege shoulder cannons are also sculpted more like Smokescreen's G1 cannons, whereas the Earthrise ones look more like Bluestreak's cannons. The Earthrise "Datsun" gun looks more on model, but I still prefer having the correct color for the gun over the better mold. Overall, Smokescreen is like a "Mini Masterpiece" figure, and I can't wait to get Prowl and Bluestreak now as well to have them all together. I'm also looking forward to the fourth use of the mold as an Earth mode Barricade.
Wolfman Jake - Spendin' the day howlin' away.
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