Blitzwing (Transformers - Legacy) Review

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Blitzwing (Transformers - Legacy) Review

Blitzwing
Transformers - Legacy (Hasbro)As the year draws to a close, it's a good time to look back at all the cool toys we've gotten this year, and this guy is one of the coolest, or at least I think so. This year saw the launch of Hasbro's Transformers Legacy line, dedicated to covering the wide history of Transformers, ranging from G1 to Beast Wars to Prime, all done up in a G1 style. I've mostly gotten the Core Class bots, but I have picked up a Leader Class: Blitzwing.

Another thing Hasbro did this year was switch over to plastic-free packaging, which means no more window boxes. What it also means, though, is that they're able to give boxes like this really cool artwork. There's even a bit of cross-sell on the right side of the box, showing off other Decepticons included in the line. As for the inside, Blitzwing and all his accessories are held onto a piece of cardboard, and removing everything is easy to do.

Compared to the other Leader Class figures I've gotten, Blitzwing is notably smaller, standing about 6 1/4" tall. His sculpt is based directly off the G1 cartoon, with a few changed details such as the white rectangles on his chest. He's not a flat, toony sculpt, however; there's plenty of little details here that make the character pop. The "kibble" from his vehicle modes blend in well with the bot mode, with the tank turret resting on his back and other parts making up his wings. The paint on him is very clean, and the Decepticon symbols are perfectly printed on.

Don't expect Blitzwing to move like some of Hasbro's other outputs; his transformation gimmick is still the most import thing. Still, he has simple but useful articulation, with a ball-jointed head, swivel/hinge shoulders and hips, swivel biceps, wrists, waist, and thighs, hinged elbows and knees, and ankles that hinge inwards on the side. His wings can hinge in and out as well, though I doubt any Decepticon has flapping wings.

Converting Blitzwing into a tank may sound complicated, but it's actually pretty easy, at least for me. Just fold his wrists in, align the elbow kibble with the shoulders, fold the feet into his thrusters and flip the "fins" back, open up the legs and push them up onto the thighs before closing them and connecting them together, flip up the chest part and pull back the back kibble, flip the head into the torso to bring out the cockpit, connect the chest part to the back, then flip out the front half of wheels before lowing the whole pieces down and connecting them to the arms and fins, flip in the wings on the tank sides to hide them on the bottom, bring forward the turret, open it up to release the cannon (or whatever it's called), and swivel it around. I know that's a lot, but it's easier than it sounds.

The tank mode for Blitzwing looks nice, spanning about 6" long and 2" tall. There's little wheels on the bottom so it can roll along, and the turret can turn as well. Yes, the cockpit is present in this mode, and while a tank shouldn't have that, it's accurate to the cartoon (or at least I read it is). Blitzwing comes packaged in this mode, and the manual shows hows to convert him into a bot; just reverse the instructions for when you want a tank.

As a "triple changer," Blitzwing isn't just a tank, he's also a jet. The steps to covert him into that mode is similar to the tank process, expect you open up the cockpit to flip out the nosecone, keep the wings on the legs folded out and the fins pointing out, fold down the arms as a whole and connect them to tabs on the waist, connect the back pieces to the arms, and fold out the little wing pieces on the legs. The jet mode is a little longer than the tank at around 7", but is about the same height. While the jet looks nice, I prefer the tank mode over it.

Blitzwing is well-outfitted when it comes to weapons. He includes two blasters, a sword, and two weird missile launcher things. All of these accessories work with the figure in almost every mode, with the exception being the sword and tank mode. The missile launchers are both two pieces each, and can be reassembled with the launchers inside the square pieces for tank mode. The top of the launchers also flip up, but I'm not sure what the purpose of that is.

I've gotten plenty of Transformers old and new this year, but Blitzwing impresses me quite a bit thanks to the good blending of his gimmick and sculpt, the latter of which looks great, and the included arsenal adds to the fun. His transformations may be a little complicated, but as long as you don't struggle with them, you'll have a great time with him.

- 12/29/22