Here’s the bots I got for Christmas!
I’ve already talked about SS ROTF Bee at length, but it’s both the best SS deluxe and the best deluxe movie Bee IMO. It’s an awesome figure, and I picked up this release partially because I wanted the box (and I love the renders they chose for it), but primarily because I’ll be repainting it into Stealth Bumblebee at some point!
First looking at Sideswipe - it’s not all that different from the DOTM version, but I’m happy to have it! I think it’s pretty good too, the only problem I have with it is that it’s difficult to line up the back of the car (specifically the piece from the backpack with the chest pieces) when transforming to alt mode. That’s a problem I’ve had with the DOTM release as well, it’s not a huge issue but definitely my biggest gripe with the mold.
I really like the darker gray plastic used with this release! It makes the silver accents stand out very well, when I get around to painting it I’d like to keep more of that darker plastic visible rather than silver-ing the whole thing up. The gun storage in bot mode is also excellent - they just tuck away into the backpack without a trace that they’re there!
The backpack is bigger, and comparing it to my DOTM Sideswipe, I do prefer the wing positioning of the DOTM release.
Now looking at KSI Sentry, it falls into the same category as Heli Dropkick for me: it’s not super screen accurate, but it is a really good figure! The blue looks really nice, the head sculpt is excellent, and I like that the claw/blade thing helps fill out the kibble gun. The only thing I’ve noticed is that the one shoulder piece (with the headlights) is really tight, which makes me nervous because that piece broke on my Stinger. Just something I’ll have to be careful with. Anyway, I think it’ll look really cool next to Stinger and next year’s Galvatron!
Thrust is neat, I like the different ways you can pose the wings in bot mode, and that Blitzwing head sculpt is SO good. There is something that really bugs me about bot mode though - the green collar that goes around his head. I know the cone behind his head is accurate to the movie, but the collar that extends from it doesn’t appear to be part of the CG model from what I can tell from the box (or it’s not nearly as prominent) - it looks like he has a C-spine collar and it messes with his proportions. I think I might trim some of that plastic off in the future, we’ll see.
I really, really like alt mode though! Definitely my favorite between the two modes. It feels a lot like the Seekers from the WFC/FOC games, but with this huge freaking gun pod sticking out the bottom. It nails that alien feel, I really dig it. Overall, I think Thrust is cool and it’ll be fun to paint, but I have no interest in jumping on with the other BB seekers.
