GALVATRON
Wow, what a terrible toy. Over-engineered, and relying upon tolerances
that Hasbro and its manufacturers have just never been able to meet.
Things don't peg together well, parts pop off during transformation,
some joints are very loose and some joints are so tight it requires
excessive force.
The tank mode does not evoke the original character, other than the
barrel. Don't get me wrong, changing Galvatron to a tank is not a bad
thing, but it's one of those tradeoffs where you don't see the
character at all in that mode. A purple tank might have suggested the
character a bit more, and we already have a history of purple tanks in
Transformers, but I also understand the desire for a touch of realism
(which would suggest that the bright orange barrel is a mistake...).
The robot mode is a mess. With all these moving parts, you would think
that they could get something better, and something that looks more
like the character. He's sort of unmistakably Galvatron, but he looks
more like a generic grey robot with some purple Galvatron parts than
something designed to be Galvatron. And the purple is too dark,
although I can see wanting to make the ultimate leader of the
Decepticons a bit more masculine that the lavender robot of G1.
There's a lot of safety orange, for reasons that completely escape me.
There are also signs of an abandoned third mode, particularly the
strange little feet that fold out of his backpack. I doubt that this
is connected, though, since the colors can be changed late in the
process -- even if he was going to have a handgun mode at one point,
there's no reason for the orange to still be there.
Interestingly, the little wheels are painted. They are actually the
translucent orange plastic, and someone decided that that just would
not do, and so paint operations were expended on them to make them
safety orange. Take a moment to examine the robot mode, and consider
where you might apply paint if you had a couple more paint operations.
Anyway, I'm really beginning to feel like the new Universe molds
aren't for me.
SILVERBOLT
And then I get Silverbolt, who is pretty much the opposite of all
things Galvatron.
Silverbolt's vehicle mode has been updated to a cross between an SR-71
Blackbird and a Concord, but with guns. And the rear has the shape
from a B-2 Bomber. It's a very weird mode, but I can see what they
were trying to do -- update him into some kind of fighter, while
holding the basic shape. I'm not sure it works, but it comes close.
There are lights and sounds, which are nice if you like that sort of
thing.
The underside of the plane has a robot attached. If they weren't
molded together, you would have a plane, and a robot, which could sit
side by side.
Transformation is trivial. Fold plane in half, unfold legs, adjust
arms, fold out fists, push crotch up to reveal head, enjoy G1
transforming sound, and bask in the green glow of his fla****ng eyes.
He is unmistakably Silverbolt in this mode. There are differences with
the G1 character design, with the red being a burgandy, and the
addition of some orangish red bits, but it's very clear who this toy
is.
By all rights, I should hate this toy. His transformation is weak, and
his robot and plane modes share no parts. But, for some odd reason, I
love this toy.
He feels like the very last G1 or G2 toy produced. All the engineering
harkens back to that era, along with the earnest belief that burgandy
and orangish-red somehow go together. It was a simpler time, with no
ball joints and very few moving parts.
Put him next to a G1 toy like Sky Lynx or Galvatron, and he fits in,
although dominating them with his greater articulation. Put him next
to G2 Laser Rod Optimus Prime and G2 Megatron, and he fits in. Put him
next to G2 Dreadwing, and he starts to look a little dated.
Gustavo!
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