Breakaway
This is a repaint of Cybertron Hot Shot, intended as a homage to G1 Powermaster Getaway, as seen here:
http://www.tfu.info/1988/Autobot/Getaway/getaway.htm
The color matching isn't too bad for the most part, given the different transformation schemes. There's a lot more blue on Breakaway's auto mode than there is on Getaway's auto mode, but that saves Breakaway from being too bland. The bot modes both have blue and red in similar locations, and both even have large shoulders for a similar silhouette. It's not a bad fit for the Hot Shot mold at all.
Auto mode: some kind of low riding exotic car, which may or may not be based on an actual vehicle. The color scheme is white with blue trim, with red translucent windows, to mimic the original Getaway. There is a problem with this that's immediately noticable. The car has seams of course, to facilitate transformation, and they are very visible at several points where the blue paint is only on the surface of the car, and not down in the seams. In addition, there is a pretty noticable gap between the door and the back of the car on both sides, and I cannot get the two halves to sit flush. I can't quite say what causes this. It may be a result of the plastic being different than one the car was originally engineered for, or maybe all versions of the mold have this gap. I don't know. The end result is a car that looks less sleek and aerodynamic than it's obviously meant to, because the stripes are broken up at regular intervals.
There are, however, some nice touches. There's a tiny Autobot symbol, in red, dead center on the hood. rather than split in two, the whole thing goes to one side when the hood splits for transformation. There's also a molded interior visible through the windshield, consisting of seats and a steering wheel. It's dark, under pinkish-red plastic (a color I don't think I've ever seen on a Transformer before), so the details hardly jump out, but it's still a nice touch. The car rolls well on all four wheels, and there's a spot to plug in the weapon on the roof, which again fits well with the original Getaway, who had a weapon that could do the same.
So nice looking sportscar, with a so-so color scheme, marred by a mold that doesn't fit together as well as it should.
Transformation: Very simple. Not a whole lot of difference between this and the Legends version of Hot Shot, apart from flip out feet, rotating head and a few more joints. The legs pull down, feet fold out, hood splits and folds down to the side for shoulders, turn head to face forward, and rotate backpack. Definately not a movie design, despite the packaging.
Robot mode: Fairly good color mapping to match Getaway. It's a high-contrast color scheme with mainly white torso and lower legs, along with slate blue upper legs and lower arms. The visible portions of the backpack and blue as well, with a darker blue buttflap made up of the underside of the car interior. Extra points for the molded Autobot insignia on the shoulder, even if it is silver to match the movie aesthetic.
Well balanced and stable in a number of poses. LIke the Legends version, the backpack can get in the way of the shoulders if it's even rotated slightly. It does pop off, but I hate to remove parts. It feels like cheating.
It also seems like the car doors, which stick out well past the fist, should rotate out of the way, but they don't. There's a triple exhaust pipe/laser molded on the inside of the door though, so that at least gives him some offensive weaponry to compensate for hand obstruction.
This being a Cybertron mold, there's a Cyber key gimmick. The key is clear red with a silver Autobot symbol, and when inserted in the top of the backpack/back of the car, causes a spoiler to pop out. Not terribly impressive, but it's a gimmick that doesn't interfere with the engineering of the toy, so that's something.
Overall: Another fairly obscure G1 character gets a new toy, and I always enjoy that. The auto mode has some flaws, but is passable. The same is true of the robot mode. But for $7.77, which is cheaper than a basic these days, it's well worth it.
