General Information
Release Date: June 2025
Price Point: $24.99 (depending on retailer)
Retailer: General Release (Amazon, BigBadToyStore, Entertainment Earth, Target, Walmart etc.)
Accessories: Blaster, Wrist blasters x 2, Rotor
Official images and text in italics are from Amazon.com:
- COMBATICON VORTEX ACTION FIGURE: This 5.5-inch (14 cm) Combaticon Vortex action figure toy features deco and detail inspiration from the Transformers universe
- 2-IN-1 CONVERTING TRANSFORMERS TOY: Transformers action figure converts from robot toy to helicopter toy in 19 steps
- AWESOME ACCESSORIES: This Combaticon Vortex Transformers figure comes with a detachable propeller and 3 blaster accessories that attach to the figure in both modes
- ARTICULATED FOR PLAY AND DISPLAY: Transformers figures feature articulated heads, arms, and legs for action poses. A great collectible figure gift for any Transformers fan!
- PART OF TRANSFORMERS BRUTICUS: Transformers Combaticon Vortex action figure combines with other Combaticon action figures to create the Bruticus figure (each sold separately, subject to availability)
- COMBATICON VORTEX: Combaticon Vortex is a descendent of The Thirteen Megatronus Prime
- AGE OF THE PRIMES: The Thirteen Primes are the very first bots in Transformers mythology. Every battle, bot, and power in the Transformers universe can be traced back to them
Unite your favorite characters from across the world of Transformers robots into your collection with the Transformers Age of the Primes Deluxe Class Combaticon Vortex action figure! This 5.5-inch Combaticon Vortex action figure converts between robot and helicopter modes in 19 steps. Combine the figure with other Transformers Combaticon figures to create Bruticus action figure! (Each sold separately, subject to availability.) The Combaticon Vortex figure is inspired by the character from the Transformers universe and features articulated head, arms, and legs for awesome action poses. Transformers: Age of the Primes opens up the world of the Primes, the very first bots in Transformers mythology, a pantheon of Thirteen beings, each with a unique ability and personality. Every battle, every bot, and every power in the Transformers universe can be traced back to one of The Thirteen. Collect and combine different characters to create your ideal Age of the Primes lineup. TRANSFORMERS and HASBRO and all related trademarks and logos are trademarks of Hasbro, Inc. © 2024 Hasbro.
Background:
In 1985 Hasbro released teams of Transformers who would go on to be called Combiners. Each featured several characters coming together to form one larger robot. These teams generally centered around themes. One team was known as the Combaticons. As their name suggests, their alt modes were mostly military vehicles (except for Blast-Off, the Space Shuttle). One of these team members was Vortex, who transformed into a helicopter. This is not the first time Vortex has appeared in the Generations toy line. In 2012, a version was released as part of the Fall of Cybertron line and later that year there was a G2 themed redeco of the same figure. More recently (read: ten years ago) Hasbro released Vortex as part of the Combiner Wars line. This time however the character's aesthetic is largely aimed at the cartoon aesthetic from the 80's, distinguishing it from its predecessors.
Packaging:
Age of the Primes represents a dramatic shift in Generations packaging. Unlike previous years of the War for Cybertron trilogy or Legacy which went in dramatic directions with packaging shape and artwork, the designers have dialed back the look of the boxes a lot. The Age of the Primes packaging winds up looking a lot more like Studio Series packaging. The boxes are now rectangular. No weird angles or anything. The background is just plain black. The "Transformers" logo is no longer vertical (dropping a trend that began over ten years ago) and is now horizontal in the front of the packaging with the "Age of the Primes" name underneath it. Character art is featured to the right, but it's only partial art showing a bit of the character in robot mode with focus on the vehicle mode underneath. To the left are icons describing how many steps the character takes to convert from one mode to the other and the age recommendation (8+ in this case).
Vortex sits inside the box attached to a cardboard tray. You can see the entire figure in robot mode thanks to the return of plastic windows! Fans will recall that for the last few years Transformers toys have had no plastic windows in an effort to (ostensibly) make more eco-friendly packaging. However, this led to damaged toys with heads being yanked off and sometimes figures being outright stolen. For many fans, the return of the plastic windows is a welcome one.
The back of the box shows the character in both modes calling out a 19 step transformation. Behind the character is a sky background with a wheel showing some of the Thirteen Prime symbols. While Vortex's "limb mode" is not shown, it is called out in a text blurb describing him as "1 of 5" and the phrase "Collect to Combine" (catchy!). The right side of the box (if you're looking at the front) features the phrase "'Til All Are One" in multiple languages along with artwork of Primes including Solus Prime. The other side features a part of Bruticus' artwork.
I think the designers were going for a more "adult" and "premium" appearance to the packaging and to that end it works. It looks like something you'd see in a museum shop, but I do feel some of the fun and whimsy of the dramatic Legacy artwork and visual bombast has been lost and I'm a tad sad about that.
Accessories:
Vortex includes several accessories, all based on his G1 appearance:
- Blaster: Vortex's larger weapon is a hand-held blaster of a fairly simple design. It is basically a series of tubes with the middle narrowing and then widening out towards the front. The top has a targeting scope on it. This design is based on the weapon he was seen wielding in the G1 cartoon and comic books. The weapon has a 5mm peg on the bottom and two small tabs sticking out the sides on the back to attach to the vehicle mode. The front has a tip that allows you to attach Blast Effects. This piece is made of gunmetal grey plastic with no paint applications.
- Forearm Blasters: The two smaller weapons are based on the blasters seen on the forearms of the G1 animation model. The G1 Vortex toy had forearm weapons too but proportionally speaking they were huge. These weapons were shrunk down and simplified for the animation and comic book models. These weapons have the same rough shape as those but they have some mechanical details that were not found on the animation model. Each of these pieces features a 5mm peg on the bottom, a tab at the back to attach to the vehicle mode and a tip that can fit a Blast Effect.
- Rotor: The rotor blade from the vehicle mode can be detached and attached to his arms or fist as a weapon. The rotor is two parts held together with a mushroom pin and you can spin it manually. The rotors are made of gunmetal grey plastic with silver paint at the base.
Robot Mode:
This version of Vortex uses the G1 cartoon and comic book version of the character as its foundation. Design elements from that version include:
- Head: The head design features a round part on top, large visor eyes and a mouth plate. The middle parts of the head are sandwiched between two flat panels. This is a carry over from the G1 toy which had a rectangular shaped head to serve as the connection point when he was in his limb mode.
- Arms: The arms feature two cylinders on the sides of the shoulders and then ports on the forearms to attach the forearm blasters. The designers also made sure to make the shoulder sectiosn rectangular while the forearms are more curved in shape, just like the animation model.
- Torso: The torso is pretty generic looking with mostly rectangular shapes. The chest features two vertical sections on either side and a couple "L" shaped designs on the center of the chest. At the top of the chest is a small piece which looks like a thin vent.
- Waist/Hip: The waist/hip area features a small section with the one between the legs overlapping it like armor. This is a callback to the G1 design.
- Legs: The front section of the robot legs are mostly rectangular in shape, but if you look on the side you'll see a subtle curve sculpted into the sides. This is a visual reference to the design of G1 Vortex's legs, which had both a rectangular section and a curved section towards the knees (a carry over design from the G1 toy).
Anyone who's read my site for a while knows that I'm an Old Skool fan whose origins go back to G1, so I have a special attachment to the way the characters looked in the original comic books and TV shows. This figure comes very close to nailing that appearance but there is one big issue I have with it: the arms. See, the arms themselves are just fine, but the vehicle mode's tail section splits into two pieces that each just dangle from his arms. They don't fold up flush (which would have required more intricate design that was probably out of budgeting scope for this figure) so they just look kind of awkward. Don't get me wrong, this is not a dealbreaker, but this is the one thing about this figure's design that bugs me.
Vortex is made up of dark silver, blue and black plastic. Paint applications include red, silver, blue and black. Some fans may question the choice of blue over green (which was found on the G1 figure). However the blue makes sense if you consider this is meant to be the version seen in animation, which did use blue instead of green. Also taking a cue from the animated series, Vortex's Decepticon symbol is on his left shoulder instead of the middle of the body as it was on the G1 toy.
There are twenty four points of articulation on this figure. This includes four on each arm and seven on each leg. I'm being generous here by counting the movement of his "heel" and "toes" since you can, in theory, use those to help the figure strike certain poses. Each fist has a 5mm port and the side of each forearm has another. The armor dangling off the arms also has a port on it and he has one on his back for the rotors. He also features a 5mm port on the front of each lower leg and on the bottom of the feet. This offers a lot of attachment points for accessories. It's cool to still see so many 5mm ports on figures so many years after Siege.
Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
- Detach the accessories and set them aside for now.
- Straighten out the arms and legs.
- Rotate the cylinders on the shoulders so they point upward.
- Swing the vehicle tail pieces down over the back of each arm.
- Swing the rear rotor section down on the right arm.
- Turn the part on the back that attaches to the rotor so the longer parts are facing out to the sides.
- Rotate the head around.
- Behind the robot head is a dark silver panel. Swing it up and over Vortex's head.
- Push the heel and toe pieces on each foot together.
- Swing the front panel on each lower leg forward.
- Snap the two lower legs together.
- Swing the lower legs back and up so they cover the thighs, then swing the lower leg panels up.
- Push the two tabs from the lower body section into the corresponding slots on the upper body.
- Rotate the rotor piece around again. The thinner side should face forward.
- Swing each arm up, then back, connecting them to form the tai.
- On the tail, rotate the black piece at the end so the fins are set horizontally.
- Attach the rotor to the top.
- There's a variety of ways to attach the weapons to the vehicle mode but the most "classic" would be to attach the forearm blasters to the ports on the tail and the blaster to the underside of the front of the vehicle.
Vehicle Mode:
The original Vortex toy transformed into an approximation of a Kaman Seasprite but when it came time to make the toy into a cartoon/comic book model his alt-mode was simplified a lot, turning it into an oval shaped helicopter with a tail and very curved features. This figure seems to split the difference between the original toy and the animation model. Like the real life vehicle, there is a sharp angle for the front window and the main body of the vehicle is straight instea of having the curves of the G1 animation model. This makes sense since realistically, the humanoid shape of the robot mode requires some straight lines. Still, other details such as the air intakes under the rotors do call back to G1 Vortex nicely. It's not a perfect representation of the cartoon, but it still looks very cool as a vehicle.
This mode shows off a lot of the silver mode since all the robot mode parts "condense" into the helicopter form. We also get a better look at his rotors, which are gunmetal grey. The main rotors have silver paint in the middle. The windows in the front and sides are all painted black and he has a blue stripe running from the front of the vehicle up to the rotor. The blue stripe in particular is a nice touch as it comes right from the animation model (the G1 toy did not have that detail).
I have to say, when I first opened Vortex I did not expect so much to be going on in the vehicle mode. Of course his rotors can spin when you push them, and the weapons can attach as described above but the designers decided to have some fun and give fans plenty of options. Aside from the two 5mm ports on the tail section, the two 5mm ports from the front of the lower legs wind up on the bottom of the vehicle towards the front. This allows you to attach weapons to that area for extra firepower. In addition, the sides of the vehicle feature a slot between the middle and rear windows that allows you to attach his weapons using he tabs molded into each of them. On top of that the underside of the vehicle features slots from the robot chest to the nose of the vehicle that allow you to use the tabs on the weapons. This allows for a variety of weapon configurations on the figure and that's super fun. Possibly as part of his Combiner feature, the nose of the vehicle can tilt upward sightly. Finally, in a move that is somewhat rare nowadays Vortex has landing gear on the back of the robot head that can swing down. This goes along with the two wheels that are sculpted into the sides towards the front.
Final Thoughts:
It's funny. Until I was writing this review (and those of the Age of the Primes Aerialbots) it had not dawned on me that it has been over a decade since Combiner Wars was released. At the time the line was celebrated by fans and I'm sure the Combiner Wars versions of various characters still grace some collector shelves to this day. That said, it's great that we are now getting a revival of the Combiners and Vortex is a great addition. Is the figure perfect? Not at all. The arm "armor" bits dangling bugs me quite a bit and the vehicle mode is not quite as animation accurate as the robot mode, but given the price point and the need to combine with Onslaught (or Silverbolt) I get why certain sacrifices were made. Recommended!
For those curious, I totally believe this figure will be repainted into Alpha Bravo. The vehicle mode is much more "Alpha Bravo'ish" than "Vortex-ish".
Pros:
- Excellent cartoon-based design in robot mode.
- Beautiful colors that look great and call back to the cartoon.
- Weapon designs based on the cartoon are most welcome.
- I appreciate all the extra attachment points for weapons in vehicle mode.
Cons:
- The tail armor pieces dangling on the arms is not great.
- Less than stellar show accuracy in vehicle mode (but I get why this had to be).
