Bludgeon!

[onslaught86]

Gah, I want him. The headsculpt bugs me, and I dunlike that particularly blah shade of green - looks very Armada Megatron with the unpainted green parts and orange plastic in places - but it's Bludgeon, and I'm a sucker for characters like him. Not in the Armada-era Furman "LOOK, it's BLUDGEON!" sense, more in the Joe vs. TF volume 3 sense. Bludgeon can be a great character when used appropriate, and zombie robot samurai is still a highly entertaining concept.

He's not out here yet, we'll probably have to wait for a case refresh since we just got Mindwipe and Stupid Repaint Mega Prime, which're in the wave after Bludgeon.

[BWprowl]

we just got Mindwipe and Stupid Repaint Mega Prime, which're in the wave after Bludgeon.

Implying that there's any repaint of that mold that isn't stupid. Seriously, what use of that thing are we up to now? And they're almost all just minor color tweaks. Although that seems to be a running theme with the "repaints" in ROTF.

-BW "Seriously, who's going to bother with Red Windows Sideswipe?" prowl

[Onslaught Six]

Truthfully, if someone had told me a Sideswipe would come out later with red windows, I wouldn't have looked for a fucking age and a half for him last summer. Red Windows Sideswipe is for people who couldn't get Blue Windows Sideswipe.

Now, what's really stupid is Pistols Sideswipe. You already have Red Windows Sideswipe coming out! And where the fuck is Tracks?! Now, if they repaint Pistols Sideswipe as Tracks, then I'm down.

[138 Scourge]

Y'know, I would almost get Red Windows Sideswipe, just because that mold is awesome. But yeah, if that's the best repaint they can think of...

Anyway, yeah, wound up with this toy after all the time I spent saying "Eh, don't want him that bad." Heh. He's okay, really. Don't know if I like the green so much, but I guess I can't expect 'em to do the tank mode in purple, can I?

The kibble really bugged me at first, he seems to have a lot of it that just gets in the way, but as I fiddle with him more, it seems like less of a problem. The only other real problem I had with him is that the legs were a motherhumper to transform at first. The instructions were less than helpful, and I was having some trouble.

Other than that, I do kinda like him. And my affection for this toy's grown over the course of the day, so pleasant surprise for me. He's a lot better in person than the pics make him look, I think.

[138 Scourge]

...And later reflections. And keep in mind you can find me saying all over here that I wasn't really interested in Bludgeon.

Ahem. I hereby and officially eat a big ol' bowl of crow. The thing in my last post, where I said that I liked him more and more as the day went on? Yeah, that's pretty much continued. This is a really, really good toy.

Most of my disinterest came from the fact that he looked like he had a pile of kibble on him, and I figured that tank turret was gonna be just a massive kibble chunk just hanging there. Well, it kinda is, but this turret's flat enough that it doesn't intrude too badly. The scabbard-automorph helps with this, it seems to distribute the kibble-chunk better. The shoulder pads and hip-armor eat the rest of it right on up. The treads hanging from the shoulders aren't too bad a distraction, and the treads on the legs are covered by the hip armor. And it's kind of great that they took such a different path with the treads in the first place.

I know, I'm not saying anything new at all here, but I'm just impressed at how much I like this thing when you figure that I went into it kind of half-interested in the toy. If the girl hadn't reminded me how cool the tank into skeleton concept was, I probably would have passed on this guy again.

[Onslaught Six]

Next time, just trust us, alright? Now go get Mindwipe.

[Onslaught Six]

Expect a full review this week sometime (Or maybe tomorrow?) but I've figured out a solution to his waist/head rod thing. I was trying really hard to get it to move back for vehicle mode the first time. Tried what Prowl said, no dice. Best solution? Untransform his waist and fold it back around. The friction will automatically pull his head down. I think this was intentional.

[Onslaught Six]

LOOK! It's BLUDGEON! Does anyone even remember where that came from anymore?

After a good solid few months of looking, I finally found him. And he was well worth the wait. There's so much good I have to say about this toy, it's difficult to know where to start...actually, no it isn't, I'm starting at the vehicle mode.

Vehicle Mode!

It's a tank.

Alright, those of you who know me know that usually I don't pay too much attention to the altmodes. They're there, and I like that they're there, but the robots are the coolest part to me, and then the transformation. In spite of this, I still like when the toys are packaged in vehicle mode, because then it's a sense of unfolding and becoming when they turn into a robot. The upcoming fall line's shift to robot mode packaging for all the Voyagers disappoints me, partially because I feel like it's going to encourage Hasbro to make shittier altmodes. But that's a story for another topic.

Anyway. Bludgeon's a big green tank, which is exactly what he was in G1. I like this! For literally years I've proposed a Bludgeon toy, green tank turns into yellow samurai. They could make it work! And they did here. With the exception of some front parts and some bits on his treads, Bludgeon's robot mode orange is pretty well-hidden. It's almost like those orange bits 'belong' on the tank. 86 mentioned that the green and orange was giving him a real Armada Megatron vibe, like it was a bad thing, but I don't think it is. I liked ArMegs, so this is just a bonus.

His turret can turn! That's awesome, in an age where this kind of feature is sorta eroding from tank TFs. But if I do have one complaint about the vehicle mode...it's a lack of gimmicks. I know, we as adult fans have been GRARGH GIMMICKS AM BAD for years, and now they strip them out, and...we complain about the toys being boring. I feel like his tank barrel should be a missile launcher, or the quadguns on his turret should be able to move around. (Speaking of, they're made of the same soft plastic his sword is, and maybe it's just me but they feel really fragile.) The small gun mounted on top of the tank can swivel around, though, that's something!

As usual, looking at the underside of the vehicle just reveals a bunch of robot bits, but that's nothing new. One thing is that part of his treads become his robot shins, and have orange paint detailing on them. Bludgeon rests on four wheels (to make up for the treads not really moving), so it's elevated off the surface, but it still makes me wary that it might chip the paint. Then again, Bludgeon looks like the kinda guy who would have scuff marks on his shins.

One last thing--the brown things in the front of the tank are supposedly meant to be flaps. It'd have been really neat if they could find some way to make them out of flexible vinyl or cloth instead of just being plastic, but that's not the kind of thing TF usually does so I don't fault them for it.

Transformation!

...is surprisingly painless. As Prowl said, there's not a lot we haven't seen before, and he's actually really straightforward. This even applies when changing him back to vehicle mode. For the first time since I can remember, I could transform an ROTF toy the first time without getting lost and having to hopelessly resort to the (usually crappy) instructions. Bludgeon's a piece of work. His transformation does a lot of inneresting things 'without' being stupidly overambitious and thus sucking a lot for it.

The separating rubber treads from Deluxe Rampage return here, but aren't the suckfest that those were--you just pop them on and off and they go, without feeling like you're stretching them to the point of breaking like the Rampage treads. Everything during transformation--and back--really just fits together where it's supposed to be, and everything intuitively hits. Just by moving pieces, you feel like you know where it's supposed to go, and that's a rewarding feeling. And because it's not too difficult, it's actually pretty *fun* to transform him back and forth! I think I've transformed him more than a few other ROTF toys 'combined.'

Robot Mode!

He's a samurai robot with a skull for a head.

Do I overuse that joke? And it really loses its punch when you have to describe a guy like Bludgeon.

Anyway. Lots of orange appears in Bludgeon's robot mode, which is apropos since yellow and orange were the primary colours of the original Bludgeon's Pretender shell. it's good that they made no attempt to revive the concept here--it wouldn't work well, I don't think. In fact, I think the only way to do a Pretender these days would be with clip-on armour pieces or something--and that I could maaaybe see. Normal robot with a bunch of snap-on samurai bits. But I digress.

Bludgeon's one of those rare TFs you get every once in a while where he's not really designed to stand straight. I briefly searched for a while to find another quick example, but I couldn't really find one--although I know they're out there. In any case, to get Bludgeon to stand and not look awkward, he basically has to either have his legs parted slightly, or be bending his knees in some kind of crouchy poised pose. This especially works out since Bludgeon 'looks awesome' while he's doing that.

Bludgeon's Head. If there's one thing that makes Bludgeon into Bludgeon, it's that he's got a skull for a head. This version eschews the original human skull with teeth and everything for a more alien looking one--perhaps it's not a skull at all, just kinda looks like one. Initial pics were disappointing, and I know 86 has said he doesn't like it, but I find it helps if you do imagine it as a standard skull, sort of. The nose hole is obvious enough, and the bits underneath that are clearly front fangs of some kind, with the curved bits underneath being a jaw. What's really interesting, though, is the big red eyes aren't just circles--they're detailed like there's a 'face' underneath, with regular TF eyes. So it's like he's wearing some kind of alien skull overtop his regular head. What's ROTF-universe Bludgeon hiding under that? Is he violently scarred? Lacking facial parts? Did Ironhide shoot him in the face eons ago? Or is this a result of his fight with Whirl? The world may never know. He's also got cancelled lightpiping, and that sucks, but not too badly because it wouldn't have shown too well anyway, what with the tank turret behind his head.

Bludgeon's got really good articulation. A lot of people have commented that he can actually hold his sword with both hands--and believe me, this really is a feat. Most TFs 'cannot' do that. In fact, a lot of times it's difficult to have them hold a rifle with two hands (or look like they're doing that), although this is likely why all TFs look kickass holding a gun with one hand. He's got that awesome transformational inside wrist joint, but what's really cool about Bludgeon is that his hands can go 'backwards' the other way. This actually lets him do a cool bracing-the-sword-backwards pose as if some lucky Autobot (Do any of the Movie Autobots really have swords, and are compatible at this scale?) is pushing Bludgeon into defense. Judging by the tabs there, though, I suspect this wasn't intentional.

If Bludgeon's missing one joint, it's some kind of below-elbow swivel. There's no way to make it so Bludgeon's wrists face any direction other than sideways, and that's kind of a shame. His arms do have a 'massive' amount of other articulation, though. But for all of that--Bludgeon still can't do a crossed-arms pose, and that's something I've wanted to see a TF do ever since I saw Fire Convoy doing it in the Car Robots anime. I don't fault him for that, though.

Bludgeon's got a gimmick here, though! His tank turret, mounted on his back, flips open to reveal a neat flippy little scabbard with a tiny blade inside it. That's really cool, and it's one of the best things done with the Automorph concept. The official transformation and most pics show Bludgeon with his back turret turned at an angle, and the scabbard always flipped out--but that looks really bulky to me, so I tend to favour closing it and turning the turret so the barrel is facing straight up. Or the opposite! With a big huge full tank turret behind his head. Sweet.

Only A Fool Trusts His Life To A Weapon!

Speaking of weapons, Bludgeon's got the two swords. One is supposed to be a katana, but it doesn't really look quite like a katana at all. I think it's part of the US's tendencies to just label any thin Japanese sword as a "katana," since Leonardo from the TMNT has had this problem before too--though Bludgeon's sword is closer to a katana than Leo's. I suspected this before he was released, especially since nobody really had pics doing it, but the tiny daggersword can actually plug into the hilt of the longer one to form a kickass double-bladed weapon. I've been a sucker for dual-blade things ever since I saw The Phantom Menace as a kid, and that's largely part of why I think Darth Maul is awesome. This is probably how I'm going to display him with his weapons.

The only thing about the swords is the rubbery plastic they're made of. I know, I know, it's for safety reasons. I'm not opposed to it because of that. It's just that sometimes they're so rubbery that I'm afraid of permanently bending them and ruining their swordy shape. This is especially true when I'm putting them in the sheathe holes in his hip--it seems like any time I do that, the swords get bent, either going in or by some obstruction past the holes. By comparison, the rubber treads on his shoulders and thighs feel much more flexible while retaining their shape and not feeling like I'm going to permanently bend them.

But there's something missing. In my opinion, Bludgeon Needs A Gun. It'd be nice if his tank barrel could have come off to mount in his hand or something--or, much more feasible with the current design, if that tiny gray gun on his turret could come off. Every TF needs at least a pistol--you need range to fight in a war where everybody 'else' has a gun, even if the Bayverse Transformers tend to favour physical combat. That said, it could be that Bludgeon's sword is just so long that it doubles as a ranged weapon all by itself.

My only other complaint is the treads on his shoulders. It's very cool and well done, it's just that I wish they could move out to the sides more on their own. They don't even really physically get in the way, it's just a visual thing--they're always just hanging there, instead of being able to flow more like I'd imagine them doing. It's not a major thing, and I'm sure nobody else is bothered by it.

I might sound like I hate this figure, but I really don't. Bludgeon's 'great.' His transformation is almost perfect (except that minor problem moving his head up and down discussed earlier in this thread) which already puts him in a class above and beyond most ROTF toys. And there's not even that much 'ROTFey' about him, since Bludgeon is naturally supposed to look like this. If you like Transformers, 'at all,' you kind of owe it to yourself to pick this guy up--especially if you like the late G1 comics (Or even G2, where Bludgeon was sort of important at first!), or any of Bludgeon's other appearances (He was a major player in IDW's Stormbringer and DW's second War Within series, plus he showed up in DW's Armada comic!) It's a great toy and he'll pretty much fit into 'any' collection, regardless of where you put him. Mine is going on my Classics shelf. Which has a bunch of G1 because I don't have enough G1 Decepticons.

[JediTricks]

Truthfully, if someone had told me a Sideswipe would come out later with red windows, I wouldn't have looked for a fucking age and a half for him last summer. Red Windows Sideswipe is for people who couldn't get Blue Windows Sideswipe.

Now, what's really stupid is Pistols Sideswipe. You already have Red Windows Sideswipe coming out! And where the fuck is Tracks?! Now, if they repaint Pistols Sideswipe as Tracks, then I'm down.

I hate to say it, but I'm intrigued by Pistols Sideswipe. I like the mold, but I want another figure that does something a little different out of it, not just a stupid repaint of the same thing. I'd prefer it was a different character with a new headsculpt too though.

It's not a major thing, and I'm sure nobody else is bothered by it.

I am absolutely bothered by it, they just don't go, and they can be folded differently but it doesn't help.

[Onslaught Six]

That just proves me wrong, I guess.

I already have Sideswipe and Swerve, though, so I can't see myself justifying PistolSwipe unless he's drastically different. Like Tracks!