General Information:
Release Date: October 2012
Price Point: $5.99 (varies depending on retailer)
Retailer: Limited Markets (Dollar General, Big Lots! etc.)
Accessories: Sword
Back in 2011, the small "Reveal the Shield" line of Transformers was released with figures on different size scales. This included the "Legends" Class (now referred to as the Legion Class since "Dark of the Moon"). This small group of figures introduced classic characters such as Starscream and Optimus Prime in new molds in a small size. About a year later, these same figures were repackaged (sans heat sensitive rub symbols) and put on "Generations" style cards (minus the actual "Generations" logo) and re-released at stores such as Dollar General.
Fast forward a few months, and it was announced that several Legends Class figures were going to be given new decos with some even getting retooling and weapons as part of the "GDO" Asian exclusive line of Transformers. This included "Motorbreath", a redeco of Optimus Prime based on the G1 Stunticon leader "Motormaster". Motorbreath came with a sword, representing one of the key weapons included with the G1 version of the character.
This review is going to focus on the changes made to the figure for this release. For my original thoughts on the sculpt, check out my "Reveal the Shield" Legends Optimus Prime review, then take a look at my review of "Generations" Optimus Prime which is the version that includes the sword.
Robot Mode:
Motorbreath is cast in all black plastic. Since black was one of the base colors of G1 Motormaster, this makes perfect sense as a starting point for this figure's new deco. Paint colors include purple, light grey, silver and yellow. The layout of the colors are somewhat different than Optimus'. The purple is used on the windshield windows and the cylinders on his legs. The light grey is used to paint his lower legs, but not his feet. The middle of his body has silver on the sides and the smokestacks are painted silver as well. His mouthplate has a faint metallic purple color on it, but not as strong as the windshield colors. On his left forearm is a tampographed Decepticon symbol in purple with white outlines. Finally his eyes are painted yellow. Overall this paint scheme is cool and nicely done except for the left foot on mine where the spray pattern is a bit off, bleeding over onto the foot. I somehow doubt this is an issue with every single copy of the figure (mine was obtained via mail so I couldn't choose). If you can get it in person, I'd recommend examining the details on the figure carefully before purchasing.
Motorbreath includes the same sword accessory as the Optimus Prime suclpt, but it makes a lot more sense for this character. Indeed, the design of the sword is based on G1 Motormaster's. All the joints on this figure are nice and tight (despite this being the fourth release of the figure).
Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
- Push the robot head down.
- Connect the two legs together and swing them back.
- Swing the upper body back.
- Bend the arms at the elbows.
- Swing the robot arms back, then swing the forearms forward to form the sides of the vehicle.
Vehicle Mode:
The vehicle mode mostly shows off all the same details as the robot mode, but the front end is where most of the vehicle mode details come from. The grille, bumper and headlights are all painted silver. Combined with the smokestacks and the cylinders on the side painted purple the vehicle mode looks great. Indeed, the only additional detail I would've added are the side windows (which are generally left out of figure decos nowadays anyhow).
Final Thoughts:
Motorbreath is a good homage to G1 Motormaster given what they had to work with. I did find myself wishing however that the head had been replaced with a new sculpt. The piece is separate than the panel it is attached to. Another piece could have easily been sculpted but I get that this was essentially a quickie way of adding a figure to the assortment so a newly sculpted head was unlikely. One can dream though right? A good figure, but not the strongest figure of the assortment.
