General Information:
Release Date: October 2022
Price Point: $24.97 (depending on retailer)
Retailer: Wal-Mart Exclusive (with limited quantities on Hasbro Pulse)
Accessories: Blaster, Rocket Launcher (non-firing), Rocket
Official images and text below in italics are from Hasbro Pulse:
Universes collide! Transformers: Legacy brings together fan-favorite characters from across the Transformers multiverse. Figures feature deco inspired by their universe with an updated Generations design. In honor of the almost 40-year legacy of Transformers entertainment, the fandoms come together from across the Transformers multiverse, all in one toy line. The race is on! Bots from across the multiverse have gathered on Velocitron to participate in the Speedia 500, a planet-wide race to determine its next leader.
Crasher is tough, hotheaded, and stubborn. She will smash fenders with any bot on the racetrack who crosses her the wrong way. Transformers and all related characters are trademarks of Hasbro. Includes: Figure, 2 accessories, and instructions. Figure scale: 5.5 inches Ages 8 and up
Includes: Figure, 2 accessories, and instructions.
- UNIVERSES COLLIDE: Universes collide with Transformers: Legacy! This epic line of Transformers toys brings together fan-favorite characters from across the Transformers multiverse
- VELOCITRON SPEEDIA 500 COLLECTION: The race is on! Bots from across the multiverse have gathered on Velocitron to participate in the Speedia 500, a planet-wide race to determine its next leader
- G2-INSPIRED DESIGN: This Transformers 5.5-inch Decepticon Crasher robot toy is inspired by the character’s appearance in the Transformers comics, updated with a Generations-style design
- 2 EPIC MODES: Action figure converts from robot to racecar mode in 18 steps
- AWESOME ACCESSORIES: Comes with 2 blaster accessories. Accessories attach to figure in both modes
Packaging:
When the original Generation One figures were released, they were packaged in a rectangular box with a large flap on the back. They sat inside the box in their alt-modes relying on the package artwork to show off the robot mode. However, for quite some time now, Transformers have been mostly packaged in robot mode instead, a move partly intended to show off the value of the figure you are purchasing. This has led to more vertical packaging that discarded the old "rectangle box with flap" design. Aside from some Vintage reissues and the Vintage Headmaster line, this style of packaging has been very rare in modern day releases.
Enter: the Speedia 500 collection! This entire line features its characters packaged in G1 shaped boxes complete with a rectangular shape, a window in the front and a flap on top. The only exception is Scourge, who is packaged in a big, closed box with an illustration in front. The background features a wonderful black to blue gradient and each box features the text "Velocitron Speedia 500 Collection". A lot of graphics on the boxes are references to the race including arrows and even the symbol of Velocitron itself boldly shown off on the front of the boxes. Each character does featuring both modes. The flap on top has the vehicle mode while the left side of the rectangular section shows her in robot mode. The robot mode uses Siege Mirage's artwork as a foundation but alters the head and colors. It still however shows the wide spoilers on the arms with 5mm ports which do not exist on Crasher. Interestingly, Crasher's name does not call out any "Universe" of origin. This figure is clearly a callback to the Gobots character Crasher, and Hasbro does own that trademark so I find it curious they did not choose to exercise it here. The back of the box shows the figure in both modes, calling out a 16 step transformation.
To say I love this packaging design would be an understatement. It manages to blend some nostalgia with a modern day line and the graphics are all consistent with the world of Velocitron itself.
Background:
Back in the halcyon days of the 80's, kids had a ton of transforming robots to choose from at toy stores. Two of the biggest lines were the Transformers and the Gobots The Gobots was a cartoon and toy series licensed for release in the United States by Tonka between 1983 and 1987. These figures were originally released in Japan as part of the Machine Robo line by Bandai.
In the 90's, Hasbro purchased Tonka and all its intellectual property. This included the Gobots IP. This ownership is rather complex however and for a while, Hasbro seemed reluctant to use it. There were some releases here and there like Fracture (a redeco of Classics Mirage) from the 2007 live action movie toy line. More recently, characters like Bug Bite and Road Ranger made appearances in the Generations line, showing a willingness to use the names of Gobots characters and their signature colors on modern day sculpts. As part of the Velocitron collection, Hasbro released a Generations version of Crasher, one of the main characters from the 80's Gobots cartoon!
This figure is a redeco and retool of Kingdom Mirage who came with Grimlock. That Mirage was a significant retool and redeco of Siege Mirage. I never got to review Kingdom Mirage, so this will be my first review of this specific iteration of this sculpt.
Accessories:
Crasher comes with the same three accessories as Siege Mirage. This includes:
- Rocket Launcher (non-firing): Featuring a 5mm peg on the bottom and back.
- Rocket: Features a 5mm peg on the bottom and back so it can plug into the launcher. The tip of the rocket can fit a Blast Effect.
- Blaster: Features one 5mm peg on the bottom and another in the back. The barrel end can fit a Blast Effect.
All accessories retail their previous functionality but instead of being a mixture of black and silver they are all made of black plastic with no deco.
Vehicle Mode:
Crasher represents an Earth-based F-1 Race Car, so many of her details differe from the more Cybertronian design of Siege Mirage's vehicle mode. Here are some of the key differences between the two from front to back:
- The front "wing" of the vehicle has a new design. This new piece sweeps back rather than forward as the Siege one did. It also features several layered lines on top and there are vertical panels on either side of the fins.
- The suspension rods that connect the front wheels to the main body of the vehicle are different. On Siege Mirage there were only two rods, but on Crasher there are three, which better resembles how real life F-1 race cars appear.
- The driver's seat on Crasher features an open cockpit with a seat and steering wheel sculpted in. Siege Mirage did not feature any of these details but instead had a closed cockpit section. This makes sense since he would not have been disguised as an Earth vehicle during the events of Siege.
- The side panels of the vehicle are different. The basic shape is the same but Crasher's side panels are a bit more curved and streamlined looking than those on Mirage.
- The spoiler halves are a completely different design between the two figures. On Siege Mirage they were giant spoiler panels that swung out from the robot shoulder sections. They also features 5mm ports on top. On Crasher however these pieces are much smaller and directly bolted onto the shoulders.
- Due to the way the spoilers are different above, the parts of the robot forearms that were hidden on Siege Mirage are visible here and do not feature the engine-like detailing from Mirage.
- The back of the vehicle looks very different between the two figures. Siege Mirage had part of his faux-vehicle mode chest sticking out in the back of the vehicle mode. Crasher on the other hand does not. Instead the back just has some mechanical looking details and obvious swivel panels for the transformation, but it is nice and flat so it doesn't look like robot parts are sticking out.
As you can tell from all the bullet points above, the designers changed a lot between Siege and Kingdom Mirage and Crasher gets to benefit from it! Overall the vehicle mode is more like an Earth-based design but it also feels a lot more sleek and streamlined.
The original 80's Gobots Crasher toy was mostly black in color with some red and white details. This figure borrows those colors but the proportions are different. Most of the vehicle is black (either through paint or plastic color) but the middle section and spoiler have significant sections that are white. Then some red is used mostly running down the middle of the vehicle from the front to the back. A silver Decepticon symbol is found near the driver's section and right on the nosecone is are the numbers "01" in white paint. This is a callback to Gobots Crasher who had a 1 on her hood in vehicle mode. The sides of each wheel are painted silver, giving this beautiful deco a nice added touch.
Since the spoiler has been redesigned for this iteration of the sculpt, you can no longer attach the weapons to it. Instead, there are ports on either side towards the back, near the rear wheels.
Transformation to Robot Mode:
- Detach all accessories and set them aside for now.
- Swing the parts that make up the spoiler section up (these are the robot arms).
- Split the nosecone and mid-section of the vehicle down the middle by pulling the two halves apart (gently).
- Swing the front wheels to the other side of the lower leg section.
- Swing the mid-body panels (with the driver's seat halves) out to the sides, then swing down the robot feet.
- Swing the mid-body panels down over the lower leg sections.
- Rotate the legs so the feet point forward.
- Swing the top half of the robot body down.
- Swing the small piece on the back of the robot chest back, then swing the robot head up and turn it around. Then swing the piece back in place on the back.
- Swing the rear vehicle mode wheels back.
- Swing the robot arms down and straighten them out.
- Swing out the fists from each forearm.
- Rotate the spoiler panels so the flat parts on the sides are pointed up.
- The weapons can be attached to any 5mm port on the figure including the fists and behind the shoulders.
It is very unusual for a redeco/retool of a Transformers figure to be so significant that the transformation is affected, but that is the case here and adds to how impressive and significant the retooling was between Siege Mirage to Kingdom Mirage.
Robot Mode:
Siege Mirage served as the foundation for this figure, but it is not a direct redeco of the Kingdom Mirage. Instead, it is a mash up of different Mirage parts thanks to the use of the head from the "holo-Mirage" released for Siege. This robot head features a much more G1 toy-centric design than the one used on either Siege or Kingdom Mirage. The head is wider and features a face with distinct segments, especially around the cheeks which stick out a bit, then sink down towards the mouth/chin area. The wider, half circle shape of the head actually serves as a wonderful callback to the original Crasher's head design and I appreciate that this particular iteration of the Mirage sculpt is a unique combination of parts.
In this mode, most of the changes to the figure wind up in the top half of the body. The shoulder sections are very different, both in terms of how they transform from vehicle to robot mode and how the spoiler is attached. On Siege Mirage the panels could swing out to the sides for dramatic poses. Here the spoiler panels are attached flat to the sides of the shoulders. The shoulder pieces are also different sculpts, featuring no Blast Effect peg on the right shoulder. The left shoulder does have one, but it is so small I have had a hard time getting an Blast Effects to attach and stay on. Of course, the torso panel is also different. Like Mirage it is meant to look like the front of the vehicle mode condensed into the torso, but the designs like the shape of the nosecone and front wing is very different. Finally, the legs are different since the side panels of the vehicle mode become the front of the lower legs and knees. Here they have a more curved shape that makes the figure look a bit more sleek than its Siege counterpart.
This mode shows off a bit more break up between the black, white and red colors that make up most of this figure. We also get to see some gunmetal grey on smaller parts like the elbows. The black/red combination of colors is one of my favorites on Transformers so I think it looks great. Even better? The designers used a pink paint with yellow eyes on the head to better match the appearance of Crasher from the 80's Gobots cartoon!
There are twenty four points of articulation on this figure including five in each arm and leg. Crasher can hold her weapons in her fists or you can attach them to one of the three 5mm ports on the back of the figure (one on each shoulder and one on the back). All these ports hold the weapons nice and snug. Interestingly, there are also 5mm ports on the underside of the forearms, making her look almost like a Triggercon if you attach her weapons there. Now, since this is Crasher, I'm totally cool with how the weapons attach to the figure. However, if this were my Mirage review I'd have to express disappointment that in all the retooling, the shoulder area attachment ports for the rocket launcher were removed from the figure. The ability to do so is part of Mirage's iconic silhouette, so it was disappointing to see the figure lose this ability. However, as Crasher I'm willing to give it a pass, even though technically it would have offered a bit more play value.
Final Thoughts:
Crasher is fantastic. I absolutely love the use of Gobots characters in the Transformers line and the mash up of parts used for this release makes it unique and fun. I also appreciate how much change was made to the base Mirage sculpt between Siege and Kingdom, though I do wish the rocket launcher was able to connect to the shoulder area. This figure is by no means perfect, but it is totall worth adding to your collection. Recommended!
Pros:
- Significant retooling.
- A unique combination of Mirage parts.
- Intuitive and fun transformation.
- Fun Gobots reference.
- Beautiful deco colors.
Cons:
- No shoulder port to attach rocket launcher.
- The Blast Effect attachment point in robot mode doesn't really work well.
