General Information:
Release Date: April 2016
Price Point: $99.99 (Includes: Dustup, Jumpstream, Pyra Magna, Rust Dust, Skyburst, Stormclash)
Retailer: Limited Release (Toys R Us, Target, Amazon, Walmart etc.)
Accessories: Fists x 2, Feet x 2, Crescent Blade, Swords x 2, Sword base, Sword hilt, Staff
Official images and text below in italics are from Amazon.com:
Victorion is the first Fan-Built Combiner. Through voting in the Transformers app, fans voted on whether the team would be Autobot or Decepticon characters, their vehicle modes, what the Combiner robot's special power would be, and the name of this Combiner character. Bring home a piece of fan-made history and build a Combiner super robot with this Combiner Wars Victorion collection pack.
In the Combiner Wars, teams of Autobots and Decepticons combine into giant super robots and battle with the fate of worlds in the balance. Laws don’t apply in the Sea of Rust, the unstable area of Cybertron where the Rust Renegades learned to work together and survive. When it’s time to stand tall, the team combines to form Victorion, the most relentless and resourceful Combiner. The helicopter twins Skyburst and Stormclash make Victorion the only Combiner able to fly, and her extreme adaptability makes Victorion the only Combiner who can change her configuration to meet any challenge.
Get 6 Rust Renegades figures that combine to form a Victorion Combiner figure. The Voyager Class Pyra Magna figure forms the torso; the Deluxe Class Dust Up, Jumpstream, Skyburst, and Stormclash figures form the arms and legs; and the Legends Class Rust Dust figure becomes Combiner armor.
These figures work with other Combiner Wars figures! Combine the Pyra Magna figure with other Deluxe Class Combiner Wars figures or combine the Dust Up, Jumpstream, Skyburst, and Stormclash figures with other Combiner Wars Voyager Class figures to build more Combiner super robots! (Additional figures each sold separately.)
The Pyra Magna figure converts from robot to fire truck. The Dust Up and Jumpstream figures convert from robot to sports car, the Skyburst and Stormclash figures convert from robot to helicopter, and the Rust Dust figure coverts from robot to motorcycle. Comes with 5 accessories, a poster, and a Victorion character card.
In 2015 Hasbro held a poll on its web site to give fans a voice in planning out the next Combiner figure to be released. Fans were able to decide on the figure's gender, name, molds, color scheme, special power, place of origin, rival and personality. This extensive poll was much wider in scope than previous fan built Transformers since its results would affect not just one or two characters but an entire team and Combiner robot. The result of this poll was Victorion, the first "Scramble City" style Combiner with all female components. This represents a huge shift for the Transformers toy line. Once upon a time, a team of all female robots at this price point would have been unthinkable from a marketing perspective. However giving fans a say clearly helped push this idea through.
Prior to writing this review I covered each of the individual Rust Renegades in this set in their own separate reviews. Here's a list so you can check them out:
Packaging:
This boxed set is a really impressive looking piece. The box is large and rectangular, intended to be displayed horizontally. The front uses the black background seen on most "Generations" packaging with the red "Transformers" logo set vertically on the right. The middle section has new artwork featuring Victorion from the poster inside, but zoomed in to just feature the Combiner herself. Overlaid on top of that are small thumbnail images of all six team members and the words "Combiner Wars Victorion" below that. The back of the packaging features a large photos of Victorion fully combined with a brief write up on the character.
Open up the box and you slide out a huge, clear plastic tray with all the Rust Renegades in vehicle mode. The accessories are all placed near the member they belong to. Also included in the package is a cardboard envelope with the instructions and a print inside. The envelope also contains a trading card which features same art as the box, but again it is zoomed in just to focus on Victorion herself. If you want to see the rest of the team, check out the print. All of this is scanned for your viewing pleasure above.
It might be because I've had Victorion for a while now or because I reviewed all the component parts in a row, but as I look at this figure I have to say the colors are nowhere near as garish to me as they seemed before. There are a couple reasons for this. First off, having the hand, feet and some weapon parts being silver helps offer a more machine-like and grounded color on the figure. In addition, there are several black plastic parts on the torso via Pyra Magna. This does not sound like a lot, but it really goes a long way in helping to contrast and balance out the brighter green and red colors.
The paint deco choices on Victorion also help balance out the red/green brightness. Several parts on each team member are painted silver and appear prominently here. Perhaps the greatest example of how these various colors come together nicely is the head. The head has the red and green for sure, but it also has silver, black and translucent blue plastic. The head itself sits on a black base. This combination of colors works well when you see it all together. Even more impressive are some of the more detailed touches such as the "antennae" on the sides and the chin strap being painted red and the way the translucent blue visor piece overlaps eyes that you can clearly see underneath. From a deco perspective I am really happy with how the combined form of this team looks.
A quick note before we get into functionality. The sword weapon is formed from combining all of Victorion's individual member weapons, which is symbolically and thematically very cool. Here's how you do it:
- Attach the staff to the blades used for Pyra Magna's weapon.
- Attach the shield to the top of the staff weapon.
- Connect the crescent weapon to the staff where the blade is connected.
- Attach the swords to the bottom of the staff using the tabs and slots on the sides.
The sword is absolutely gorgeous as a weapon. I love the way the translucent blue and silver plastic play off each other. The sword blades being painted white with a beautiful blue spray help give the impression of energy flowing through the blades. It looks absolutely gorgeous and it's an impressive looking weapon.
Victorion features thirty one points of articulation. There's a lot of mileage coming right from the limbs themselves of course. However the hands and feet also have articulation. The feet not only have the ability to tilt side to side, but the front half is hinged too. That said, I found it oddly hard to stand her straight up. It's doable, but you'll have to fiddle with the legs and hips a bit to get her there. She seems to stand best with one knee bent slightly. The sword weapon is a tad heavy however, so I had to fiddle with the elbow joints to not have the arm just droop down. The figure is definitely fun to play with, especially if you're just plowing through Decepticon figures with her sword, but posing her will take a little bit of work.
Final Thoughts:
Victorion is a controversial set because despite her being "fan voted", most people were disappointed with many of the early photos (which were hand painted and used much brighter colors). It's true what they say, you only get one shot at a first impression and hers was not a good one. This filtered down disappointment in the final product. It also does not help that she is a latter release for "Combiner Wars" and by now many fans have the base sculpts for these figures many times over, so she's a harder sell.
Personally I'm happy with the set, partly because of what it represents. There was a time where having one "female" Transformer in a toy line was amazing, but an entire boxed set and a Combiner no less? That's nothing short of a minor miracle to me. I will confess however I did not pay full price for this set. I waited until it went down about $20 on a sale before purchasing it for the sake of my personal budget. Whether you should buy it or not largely depends on your perspective on the set and how much the idea of the characters excites you. If you're put off by the colors and the characters, then walk away. Otherwise I think this is worth it on discount. There are two very notable elements to this Combined form. First is the head sculpt, which is all new. The helmet section looks like a giant head dress, almost like something out of a Mayan ruin. It features a high crest and several panels that lead to "antennae" on the sides. The face has a visor over the eyes, a nose, mouth and chin strap piece. To me at least it looks almost like Victorion could take this helmet off like it's just a piece of armor. This head sculpt is very intricate and it is fun to see an original character head design on the Combiner as well as most of the individual team members.
The other notable part of this set are the hands and feet. Instead of the usual hand/foot/weapon pieces, Victorion's hands and feet are pieces specifically designed to be hands and feet. The hands are smaller than the typical bulky "Combiner Wars" hands and are not shaped in a fist but rather the hand is partly open. Each hand features a 5mm peg to attach weapons, which I prefer over trying to pray the fingers stay wrapped around a weapon securely. That said the pointer finger can be moved individually while the other three fingers move together. Inversely the feet are larger than the typical "Combiner Wars" feet. This gives the figure an added stability that is most welcome. Even better? The 5mm peg that connects to the limb can be moved side to side, allowing for more stability and articulation. I'm really happy with these pieces and glad they were included with this set. To me they are a huge value add.
