DSC_0021
Crap distribution sucks, and every, single, year, without fail, there's always hard to find figures. In the case of Transformers, there has not been a single line that I collected where everything went smooth.
In the Studio Series, it was SS 38 aka Bumblebee Movie Optimus Prime, though at least he was eventually easily found. For the Titans Returns, it was Slugslinger, and for Power of the Primes, it was the "blink and you miss it" Novastar, which apparently clogged up shelves over in Asia, but never appeared at retail in Canada at all.
Folks, allow me to introduce to you the 2019 War of Cybertron entry - Springer.
My Lord, what an epic quest it has been to find this figure. I've been trying since the beginning of July, when it first appeared at EB Games, with my search eventually expanding to all EB Games and Walmart stores I cam across in two Provinces.
Mercifully, my RNG finally paid off, and I was able to pick one up in early September.
So without further ado, here is my overview of the figure.
Springer, for the uninitiated, is a character that was introduced in the 1986 Transformers movie. One of the character that was never given a true Earth mode, Springer is a triple changer, transforming from robot to Cybertronian helicopter and car.
There have been multiple iterations of the character throughout the years of course, with several toys released, but as with Jetfire, none really capturing the G1 character model.
Well, that wait has finally come to an end with the release of this figure.. well, 99% of the wait has ended anyway.
Springer comes with the figure, pair of twin blades, a rotor handle, and a gun that separates into two smaller pieces. As with all other Siege figure, Springer is compatible with the C.O.M.B.A.T. system, though due to sheer laziness I didn't bother attaching any to the guy.
As mentioned above, the main selling point, at least for me, is the fact this guy IS G1 Springer. All other characters in this line have been a "What If" look at their pre G1 Cybertronian forms. Springer is the G1 toy we should have gotten in the first place, but, you know, engineering limitations and all that jazz.
Springer has his classic headsculpt, along with awesome mid 80's shoulder pads. Colour scheme is the classic green, grey, and yellow. I could live without the battle damage paint apps, but at worst they are a slight eyesore.
Articulation is again, pretty much what to expect from a Voyager sized figure, meaning some ankle articulation, knees, waist, shoulders, biceps, wrist, and of course, head. Not mindblowing, but enough for some pretty creative posing, that include the ability to facilitate some decent lower body limb placement.
Weapons are all based on the standard 5mm socket, so you just jam in your weapon of choice, and try not to break it when pulling the piece out.
Paint apps are, well, pretty typical for a mainline Hasbro release. Being a unified product, the eventual Takara item will be the same, which is why paint work is overall solid. Masking is competent, and is featured where there is yellow, as well as, *gasp* the painted wheels. Other painted areas would be the face, the dark green sections, including the rotor housing and robot waist, the light green of the vehicle canopy, and of course, the aforementioned battle damage.
Paint work on the face is a bit crude, and resembles heavily caked on make up, but considering it's Hasbro I'll let it slide.
Transformation is where this figure shines, and again, goes to show that at least I know where the extra bit of MSRP has gone. The last, most solid Springer toy would have been the one released for Generations, which featured very good modes, but overall you can kind of see how the magic happens without picking up the toy, because vehicle modes never really changed a whole lot in terms overall size.
Siege Springer here actually becomes longer in Helicopter mode, and shifts his shoulder a bit forward, very subtle things that visually create a new look without an over reliance on vehicle shell parts. The secret, much to the dislike of many a collector, is the above average number of hinges and panels used for the shoulders and the legs. I say dislike because you really have to have the legs in JUST the right place otherwise the pieces don't really fit together perfectly.
Personally, having adored the Car Robots 2000 line, welcome this additional difficulty for the purposes of having much better alt modes. It can be frustrating, but my hats off the designers for coming up with such a slick solution on a mainline figure.
So, basically, the figure is a loving homage to the G1 character. But, why did I say 99% there?
Well, my biggest gripe, as it were, has to do with the fact the rotor connection piece doesn't form the hilt of Springer's sword. I know, I know, a bit anal retentive, but it's how I feel.
Nit picking aside, this is truthfully a very impressive figure, and hopefully will be easier to find as the Fall 2019 retail resets approach. If not, I urge you to continue to seek him out, as you will be rewarded with a unique and worthwhile transformation experience.
DSC_0021
Crap distribution sucks, and every, single, year, without fail, there's always hard to find figures. In the case of Transformers, there has not been a single line that I collected where everything went smooth.
In the Studio Series, it was SS 38 aka Bumblebee Movie Optimus Prime, though at least he was eventually easily found. For the Titans Returns, it was Slugslinger, and for Power of the Primes, it was the "blink and you miss it" Novastar, which apparently clogged up shelves over in Asia, but never appeared at retail in Canada at all.
Folks, allow me to introduce to you the 2019 War of Cybertron entry - Springer.
My Lord, what an epic quest it has been to find this figure. I've been trying since the beginning of July, when it first appeared at EB Games, with my search eventually expanding to all EB Games and Walmart stores I cam across in two Provinces.
Mercifully, my RNG finally paid off, and I was able to pick one up in early September.
So without further ado, here is my overview of the figure.
Springer, for the uninitiated, is a character that was introduced in the 1986 Transformers movie. One of the character that was never given a true Earth mode, Springer is a triple changer, transforming from robot to Cybertronian helicopter and car.
There have been multiple iterations of the character throughout the years of course, with several toys released, but as with Jetfire, none really capturing the G1 character model.
Well, that wait has finally come to an end with the release of this figure.. well, 99% of the wait has ended anyway.
Springer comes with the figure, pair of twin blades, a rotor handle, and a gun that separates into two smaller pieces. As with all other Siege figure, Springer is compatible with the C.O.M.B.A.T. system, though due to sheer laziness I didn't bother attaching any to the guy.
As mentioned above, the main selling point, at least for me, is the fact this guy IS G1 Springer. All other characters in this line have been a "What If" look at their pre G1 Cybertronian forms. Springer is the G1 toy we should have gotten in the first place, but, you know, engineering limitations and all that jazz.
Springer has his classic headsculpt, along with awesome mid 80's shoulder pads. Colour scheme is the classic green, grey, and yellow. I could live without the battle damage paint apps, but at worst they are a slight eyesore.
Articulation is again, pretty much what to expect from a Voyager sized figure, meaning some ankle articulation, knees, waist, shoulders, biceps, wrist, and of course, head. Not mindblowing, but enough for some pretty creative posing, that include the ability to facilitate some decent lower body limb placement.
Weapons are all based on the standard 5mm socket, so you just jam in your weapon of choice, and try not to break it when pulling the piece out.
Paint apps are, well, pretty typical for a mainline Hasbro release. Being a unified product, the eventual Takara item will be the same, which is why paint work is overall solid. Masking is competent, and is featured where there is yellow, as well as, *gasp* the painted wheels. Other painted areas would be the face, the dark green sections, including the rotor housing and robot waist, the light green of the vehicle canopy, and of course, the aforementioned battle damage.
Paint work on the face is a bit crude, and resembles heavily caked on make up, but considering it's Hasbro I'll let it slide.
Transformation is where this figure shines, and again, goes to show that at least I know where the extra bit of MSRP has gone. The last, most solid Springer toy would have been the one released for Generations, which featured very good modes, but overall you can kind of see how the magic happens without picking up the toy, because vehicle modes never really changed a whole lot in terms overall size.
Siege Springer here actually becomes longer in Helicopter mode, and shifts his shoulder a bit forward, very subtle things that visually create a new look without an over reliance on vehicle shell parts. The secret, much to the dislike of many a collector, is the above average number of hinges and panels used for the shoulders and the legs. I say dislike because you really have to have the legs in JUST the right place otherwise the pieces don't really fit together perfectly.
Personally, having adored the Car Robots 2000 line, welcome this additional difficulty for the purposes of having much better alt modes. It can be frustrating, but my hats off the designers for coming up with such a slick solution on a mainline figure.
So, basically, the figure is a loving homage to the G1 character. But, why did I say 99% there?
Well, my biggest gripe, as it were, has to do with the fact the rotor connection piece doesn't form the hilt of Springer's sword. I know, I know, a bit anal retentive, but it's how I feel.
Nit picking aside, this is truthfully a very impressive figure, and hopefully will be easier to find as the Fall 2019 retail resets approach. If not, I urge you to continue to seek him out, as you will be rewarded with a unique and worthwhile transformation experience.