Universe2.0/Generations Review Thread

[andersonh1]

Universe Silverstreak

Silverstreak is of course the current name of G1 Bluestreak. The old name better suited the character's garrulous nature, while the new one describes his appearance. I prefer Bluestreak.

Auto mode: the original Bluestreak was a Datsun 280zx, and the modern update is a Nissan 350z, which is the present day equivalent of the old model as far as I know. I appreciate the attempt at continuity when it comes to the vehicle mode. There are enough changes to the auto body that licensing is not required, but it's clear what the car is intended to be.

The original Bluestreak was solid silver with clear windows and some chrome at the rear. Universe Silverstreak is about half metallic silver and half black. The front bumper, engine cover and roof are black, while the lower panels and most of the rear are silver. This mimics the animation model which gave Bluestreak a similar decor. The car has a silver spoiler, and five-spoked red rims, and red disc brakes.

Transformation: similar to the original, with some variations. The rear of the car becomes the legs and feet, with the usual modern trick of having the rear bumper fold up to form the knees, with the rear of the car forming legs. This prevents gaps at the back of the car. The doors do not open, but they pull away from the side of the car along with the front wheel wells. The arms sit straight back to the sides, rather than being folded up under the hood. The head folds up from the very front of the car hood, and can actually be pushed out in auto mode like some odd hood ornament.

This bit is a little more touchy than I'd prefer, and it's very likely that the door/fender will pop off the ball joint while attempting to move it into place while also moving the robot shoulders into place. The shoulders pull out and rotate into position along with the elbows and wrists. This is the part of the design that will require some massaging to get lined up again for auto mode.

In a nice touch, Silverstreak's twin shoulder missile launchers are attached, and can fold up from underneath the roof of the car which has become the robot's back. The gun unfolds and fits very snugly in the fists.

Robot mode: roughly G1 Bluestreak, with the doors as wings, the hood as the robot chest, the windshield and roof as a cape, and the rear of the car as the legs and feet, though with changes due to the altered transformation scheme. The chest is narrower thanks to the trick of having the side fenders fold behind the door. The solid black hood gives Silverstreak a different look that I'm not sure I like as well as the all-silver original, but on the other hand it's hard to go wrong with red, black and silver as a color scheme. There's some blue highlights on the waist and eyes to break up the other colors.

Stability is good if the knees are configured correctly. There's a joint that needs to bend forward, otherwise Silverstreak ends up being back heavy. The door wings need to fold back just about as far as they'll go to be clear of the tires on the back of the shoulders. The head sits up on a short "neck" which looks a little odd. All the usual articulation is present.

Overall: a pretty good update of Bluestreak. It's a little too fiddly around the shoulders and doors, and as I mentioned, the door/bumper section is likely to pop off, but it's nothing major. I'd have preferred all silver to the silver and black deco, but it still looks good. All in all, Silverstreak is wll worth the $7.77 that Wal-Mart is currently charging for deluxe figures.

[Onslaught Six]

Silverstreak is of course the current name of G1 Bluestreak. The old name better suited the character's garrulous nature, while the new one describes his appearance. I prefer Bluestreak.

I finally got rid of this stubby little problem by just using his Japanese name, Streak.

[andersonh1]

Silverstreak is of course the current name of G1 Bluestreak. The old name better suited the character's garrulous nature, while the new one describes his appearance. I prefer Bluestreak.

I finally got rid of this stubby little problem by just using his Japanese name, Streak.

I'm not sure I like that approach either. The problem is that I love the way the name "Bluestreak" refers to his tendency to run off at the mouth rather than his appearance. It's a touch more creative and not quite as cumbersome as "Silverstreak", which doesn't really tell us anything about the character, just what he looks like. To my mind, "Streak" is even more generic and connotes only speed, which is not Bluestreak's primary character attribute.

[Onslaught Six]

Well, in actual 'fiction' I've used, of course I refer to him as Bluestreak. That's his name. It's just that I commonly just refer to recent toy and character uses of him as Streak. ClaStreak, and such. If he showed up in a comic I was discussing, I'd be all, "Hound and Prowl and Streak go do this."

[andersonh1]

Hey, if it works for you, go for it.

[Dominic]

Transformers Universe:
It feel like a bit of heel reviewing the new Legends scale figures, as I am pretty sure they are not available at mass retail right now. Aside from the "Animated" style Starscream, this wave seems intended to evoke the old Minicars from the old series. (The next wave seems to be continuing this tread.) I skipped the Starscream, as I neither want the toy for its own virtues nor for customizing.

All three of the 3 figures, (Bumblebee, Beachcomber, and Brawn), that I did get are basically modern updates of old toys.

Bumblebee: This is a smaller-scale variant on the "Classics" character model. (Volkswagen got snitty about being associate with the line. So, the company founded by Adolph Hitler's most famous vehicle is now "verbotten" for Hasbro to use.) While the toy is still mostly Bumblebee's signature yellow, the paint-masking on this toy varies considerably from earlier iterations of the character model, lacking both the white and black striping. The engineering is fiddly, without being annoying. There is plenty of repaint potential, both for fans and Hasbro. Besides adding the above white or black striping, this toy could be recolored as Glyph, Tap-Out, Bugbite, or Cliffjumper (though Hasbro will probably take care of that one).
Grade: B Worth picking up.

Beachcomber: This toy closely evokes the original (from the 80s) in engineering, but adds enough new steps to avoid redundancy. Besides the additional moving parts, this toy has a few more colors than the original. The addition of a gun to the top of the vehicle is a bit of a stretch given that the character represented by the toy is a pacifist. (Yes, I know the character profile allows for Beachcomber to fight, but the gun is out of character.)
Grade: B If not for the gun, this would be a solid "A".

Brawn: While not perfect by any stretch, this toy is better than I expected it to be. (I actually found myself fiddling with it more than the other two while writing this review.) This toy largely ignores the original toy in favor of the animation model from the cartoon. The only elements it shares with the original toy are those also shared with the animation model. There are some nice elements to the transform that keep this toy from being too obvious and derivative while avoiding being needlessly complex. The only real problems with this figure are more due to scale than anything else.
Grade: B The low grade is due largly to the fact that this toy easily could have been scaled up and greatly improved.

[andersonh1]

Transformers Universe:
It feel like a bit of heel reviewing the new Legends scale figures, as I am pretty sure they are not available at mass retail right now.

I found all three plus Starscream at Wal-Mart on Thursday evening, but that's the only place I've seen them. So they're out at retail, but perhaps just not everywhere yet.

[Onslaught Six]

Almost nowhere around here carries the single-packed Legends, which sucks.

[BWprowl]

I... somehow did not know that Beachcomber came with a gun. I do want that toy, but I think I'm gonna have to find another place for that gun.

[Dominic]

Almost nowhere around here carries the single-packed Legends, which sucks.

www.digital-toys.com

I actually do about half my toy buying online now.

Dom
-has already pre-ordered Hotshot.