Raz Reviews: War For the Skies, SPINISTER RETURNS Options

[Razorsaw]

War for the Skies
Legends Jetfire - Autobot Blades - Thundercracker - Spinister
Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen
K-Mart Exclusive

(IMG:http://pics.livejournal.com/razorsaw/pic/0001gfrh)

Bio: The sky over one of Earth's largest cities erupts into flame as four powerful warriors from another world meet in combat. High in the thin, freezing air of the stratosphere, the ancient warrior Jetfire takes on the Decepticon master of fear in the delicate strategy of a supersonic battle. Meanwhile, in the air just above the tops of the buildings, Autobot Blades and Spinister exchange brutal volleys of missile and machinegun fire, each hoping to bring the other crashing down.

Introduction: One of the things about the Transformers: Legends molds is that they're really conducive to being cheap, easy redecos. The main line has its share of them, including the Brawl redeco Tankor, and it's no surprise that store exclusives would follow suit. One of two Legends gift packs available at the moment, War for the Skies is a K-Mart exclusive and features the characters of Blades, Spinister, Thundercracker, and Jetfire; redecos of Legends Springer, Blackout, Starscream, and, err, Jetfire, respectively.

Because I like that sort of thing, I'll be providing bios for each character; in the case of Spinister and Blades, they will be my own creation.

Jetfire

Bio: Jetfire grew tired of war a long time ago. The reckless ambition of the Decepticons, and the senseless violence of their war sickened him, and so he left Cybertron to go into hiding. The form he eventually chose on Earth seemed appropriate for one who wished to remain unseen. He slumbered in peace for years. Now, reawakened by the arrival of the war on Earth, he decided once again to enter the fight - this time on the side of the Autobots, and this time to end it for good, whatever the cost.

Vehicle Mode: I bought the Jetfire mold for my sister, so I've technically owned it before, but never reviewed it! So yay, a review! Jetfire transforms into an SR-71 Blackbird, a vehicle mode he accomplishes reasonably well. The only obvious robot mode element is... well, his face at the back of the thing. But considering how alien it looks, it's forgivable, especially at this size class. His color-scheme is primarily silver with black framing and gold accents on the thrusters, an inversion of the original colors that nonetheless looks rather believable on its their. Actually, it accomplishes the effect of making Jetfire look shiny and new, which is a sharp contrast to his usual portrayal as black, rusted, and broken down. He also has an Autobot symbol mounted on the rear, in contrast to his previous release, which was labeled a Decepticon.

Transformation: Jetfire's transformation is rather creative, especially for this size. While you get expected things like the arms coming out from under the main length of the jet, you get really cool things like the legs folding out entirely from the thrusters and assuming Jetfire's standard "bent leg old man" stance. All in all, really solid, and proof of just what cool stuff you can do with the size class.

Robot Mode: Jetfire captures the spirit of his larger toy and CGI model rather effectively. He has a hunched over, old man stance, due in part to his torso being compact and triangle shaped, with a bit of hump, and the thrusters becoming his legs (something not even the leader toy got right!) His signature landing gear cane is molded into one of his arms, which just adds to the toy's charm. How they managed to work that into all three versions of Jetfire astounds me.

This color-scheme is almost an inversion of the original one. Not literally, as I previously thought, as they have a different deco patterns, but it certainly is in spirit. A bright silvery grey instead of entirely black, these colors, like the vehicle mode, make Jetfire look shinier and newer than you expect from the character. In fact, he looks very knight-like, with his "beard face" looking almost like the grill of a helmet. One could easily repurpose this Jetfire as a new character (this is what I'll be doing. I'm calling him Nightscream. Get it? "Knight"scream?) or perhaps imagine him as Jetfire revitalized in a newer, flashier body.

This mold was already one of my favorite Legends, and he's just as good in this deco.

Autobot Blades

Bio: Blades is part of the Autobots' rescue force, the Protectobots. Serving under the powerful Strongarm, it's Blades' job to carry the wounded off the battlefield. However, Blades doesn't like his lot in life, and would much rather be on the front lines, tearing through Decepticons like they were sheet metal. He finally gets his chance while on a mission with Jetfire, but will he be able to stand up to Spinister, who goads and feeds into Blades' desire to fight, making him question his resolve and honor as an Autobot.

I've already reviewed the Legends Springer mold, so I'll save the nitty gritty for that one. Springer is, basically, the anti-thesis of Blades' deco. While Springer is olive drab and very military-looking, Blades is gleaming white and red in a "rescue" themed color-scheme, with black colored windows and an autobot symbol. The inspiration, of course, comes from the G1 Protectobot Blades, but while G1 Blades' primary color-scheme was red with white, ROTF Blades inverts it and makes him primarily white with red. Interestingly enough, he retains the G1 version's characteristic blue face. All in all, it does a very good job of separating itself thematically from Springer, which is always good for a redeco to do, as it sets the two toys apart a bit more. Articulation is the same, of course, but oddly, he's a bit more solid and not as loose as my Springer was. In short, Blades is a nice redeco. The only thing I'd want from it is a bit more creative; maybe put his Autobot symbol someplace else than where it was found on Springer, or give him something akin to Springer's "5PR1 N63r" serial number; maybe "B14 D35"? Heh.

Thundercracker

Bio: Thundercracker lives on fear. Special materials in his vehicle body allow him to emit controlled sonic detonations that can be heard 200 miles away. Cruising along at Mach 6, he wants his enemies to hear him before they see him. He wants them to know he's coming, and cower in fear at their impending doom. Not as devoted to the recovery of the Allspark as the other Decepticons, he stays with Megatron because the evil leader allows him to indulge his chaotic tendencies.

Ah, with a Starscream mold comes redecos. There was a Thundercracker in the first movie toyline; a remold of the Starscream mold with a G1-style head. This Legends version is the same character as the larger one, naturally, so now you can recreate the seeker trio at the Legends size... that is, if there were a Legends Skywarp. Which there isn't. Um.

Vehicle Mode: Thundercracker faithfully recreates his larger incarnation's deco, with a primary blue color, a yellow cockpit, and wings with red and silver stripes. The tailfins are black, but that's unavoidable. However, the vehicle mode is somewhat unconvincing as there's a big hole right behind the cockpit, and what clearly appears to be a pair of robot arms on the bottom. So, pluses and minuses here, really.

Transformation: While Jetfire is a testament to what one could do creatively with the Legends class, Thundercracker... isn't. Very simple transformation, with the nosecone folding back, and revealing the legs, with the arms flipping down to become the shoulders and the tail fins folding down. Not my favorite transformation.

Robot Mode: Huh, that explains why there's a hole in his torso; so you can see the cockpit behind him. Thundercracker faithfully retains the wedge shaped torso look of the larger mold, which is about all it does well. He has no leg articulation that's useful, and his arms are spindly messes that make him look rather gimpy. However, he does have some merits; his color-scheme is intricate and still faithful to the larger toy, even in this mold. There are a pair of fake tailfins that are colored blue and red, in order to make up for what the vehicle mode couldn't do, and there's a lot of nice silver on the chest. Unfortunately, but understandably, he doesn't have the larger toy's head remold, which is entirely okay but just worth pointing out. Nevertheless, Thundercracker is the weak link of this set.

On another note, thanks to Thundercracker, one can now, for perhaps the first time, represent all six Seekers in the form of different toys all from the same line; Ramjet uses the original Starscream mold from the first movie line, Skywarp is that same mold with a head remold, Thrust is a remold of RoTF Breakaway, Starscream got an entirely new mold for this line, Dirge is getting a completely different one very soon, and... now we have Legends Thundercracker. That's certainly how I'll be displaying these guys! AT LAST, they have broken free of looking nigh identical.

Spinister

Bio: Spinister is a natural individual to pair with Thundercracker. Cold and merciless, Spinister specializes in his own kind of psychological warfare. He's a talker, and when he talks, he seizes upon his opponents most apparent weakness and capitalizes on it. He goads them into self doubt and insecurity, thereby allowing Spinister to easily take them out with his superior strength and ordinance. And with Thundercracker, the pair are nigh unstoppable, with Spinister's machinations leaving their victims ripe for Thundercracker to swoop in and shatter what remains of their psyche with his mastery of inducing fear.

And now we come to the unquestionable star of this set. For those of you who love homages to G1 characters NOT from 1984, 1985, or the movie, Spinister is your guy. Last seen as a G1 Targetmaster, the most awesomely named Decepticon ever finally makes a reappearance. Now, he's a redeco of Legends Blackout, and thankfully NOT purple and teal.

Vehicle Mode: Spinister transforms into a Sikorsky Pave Lowe helicopter, which is rather well known and established in the brand by the myriad versions of Blackout and Grindor. Between the original Blackout, Desert Blackout, and Grindor, the mold has had its share of redecos, but Spinister is the first to go with the whole "black helicopter look", seperating him rather well from his mold brothers. He's reasonably detailed, and I rather like how he's got all six rotors like the bigger version of the mold. As stated, he's mostly black, befitting the original's status as a "mysterious individual" better than his brightly colored one from G1. He has a bit of silver and grey, including a Decepticon symbol on his sides.

Transformation: Not as good as Jetfire, but certainly more involved than Thundercracker. The front end becomes his arms and the back of the body of the helicopter his legs. The rotor flips up, and then you're done. Like I said, simple, but it gets the job done, and makes both modes solid and believable.

Robot Mode: Spinister's robot mode reveals dark purple to the mix, thus providing a visual throwback to his original toy without being as ridiculous. This mode has good forward articulation for the arms and legs, but the knees and elbows can only bend inwards. Not a big deal for this size class. The rotor on his back is rather prominent, constantly remaining deployed like a giant fan, which is befitting of Spinister's name. The robot mode is lankier and less muscular than the larger toy, which is an odd fit for Blackout, but just fine for Spinister. The lankyness makes me imagine him as creepier, befitting the original character and the bio I wrote for him. All in all, a solid robot mode, and all in all, a solid toy and redeco in general. The fact that we get a new Spinister in the first place has a charm all its own.

Conclusion: And now we come to the elephant in the room. This review mostly sings the praises of the set, but there's something that might deter potential buyers. Namely, the price. This set is upwards of 25 dollars, which is a bit steep considering there's a giftset of similarly sized Mini-Cons at K-Mart that offers TEN toys in comparison to this set's four. Combine that with the fact that Thundercracker and Blackout are the fourth release of their respective molds, and the fact that Jetfire and Blades' original versions are available in spades. So, hardcore fans might not be too keen on getting this one. Nevertheless, this set is really solid, and serves as a nice "booster pack" of characters for the ROTF line. Spinister could also pass rather easily in a Classics display, as the Legends Blackout mold is less movie-esque than the other versions.

General Grade: C+
Personal Grade: A
Pointless Observation: Blades can now chop people up with his rotors by way of punching them. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

This post has been edited by Razorsaw: Oct 5 2009, 12:54 AM

[Esser-Z]

Now, he's a redeco of Legends Blackout, and thankfully NOT purple and teal.

Heretic. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-waspy.gif)

[Creature SH]

Seeing the name "spinister" on this set convinced me once again that the whole movie series is made solely to annoy me. Kind of flattering to have this kind of budget devoted to that, but still...

[Database]

Seeing the name "spinister" on this set convinced me once again that the whole movie series is made solely to annoy me. Kind of flattering to have this kind of budget devoted to that, but still...

Look on the bright side: Its trademarked, that means that they can use it for future Decepticon Helicopters as well. Just like Cyb Shockwave, eventully lead to us getting Ani Shockwave.

[Creature SH]

Aaah, the first, bitter taste of that terrible illusion... Hope.

[Jeremy Gargo]

I didn't mind the price too much, since K-Mart charges $6 for their Legends anyway.

The Mini-Con pack is ten toys, not eight, by the way.

[Razorsaw]

I didn't mind the price too much, since K-Mart charges $6 for their Legends anyway.

The Mini-Con pack is ten toys, not eight, by the way.

Thank you for the correction.