General Information:
Release Date: February 2018
Price Point: $9.99 (depending on retailer)
Retailer: General (Toys R Us, Target, Wal-Mart etc.)
Accessories: None
Hot on the heels of the first wave of "Power of the Primes", the second wave began to hit shelves in the first couple weeks of February 2018. Among the figures released in this wave was Tailgate, the Autobot made popular by the IDW Publishing comic books. This was a pleasant surprise for fans, but also happened quickly enough that there were very few retailer listings for most of this wave online, not even on Hasbro's own web site hence the lack of official photos and text for this figure. This is not a re-release or redeco of the 2014 Legends Class Tailgate. Instead, this is a retool and redeco of last year's "Power of the Primes" Windcharger figure, making him more "G1" in appearance than the 2014 Tailgate. In Generation One, the original Windcharger figure was retooled and given a new deco to create Tailgate so this is history repeating itself.
Packaging:
Tailgate is packaged in blister card style packaging. The card features the "Transformers" logo in the front against a black background with the "Generations" logo above that. Most of the card is taken up by Tailgate's new artwork with a smaller "Transformers" logo on top, almost like a watermark. This is all new artwork based on the figure in the packaging. The art is colored in a beautifully painted fashion that recalls the artwork from G1 toy packaging but more dynamic, with Windcharger in a running pose. The figure is in robot mode inside the bubble with a collector's card behind him. The insert in front shows a photo of the figure in vehicle mode with the name "Windcharger" printed next to an Autobot symbol. earThe back of the packaging features a grey grid with CG renders of the figure on top in both modes. Overall it's really cool packaging and I'm happy the art features so prominently.
The "Power of the Primes" figures from Legends Class up come with collectors cards. However, unlike the "Titans Return" cards which featured tech spec stats, these focus on what ability the character gets if they connect to a specific Prime Master Spark. This means there are thirteen potential card variations per character (one for each Prime)! In my copy of the Tailgate figure it indicates he can Power-Link with Liege Maximo to eliminate speed limits on Earth, a callback to G1 Tailgate's belief that Earth machines were all alive.
Robot Mode:
Tailgate features a new head sculpt based on the G1 action figure. The previous Legends Class Tailgate based its design on the way the character looks in the IDW Publishing comic books, which makes him more curved, sleek and modern looking. This sculpt pays homage to the G1 version which was more square and bulky looking. The head features the flat, angled top of the G1 head sculpt. It also has a small triangle in the middle with the eyes underneath and a mouthplate with distinct horizontal lines etched into the sides. The head sculpt looks fantastic and it really helps distinguish this figure from its predecessor.
Most of this figure is now made up of white, green and black plastic. The torso is where the dark green color is concentrated, but the front plate of the torso is actually painted green with a glossy paint. Then on top of the green paint, there is a layer of silver on the chest, calling back to G1 Tailgate's chest sticker. Another callback to that sticker are a series of black line details on either side of the chest, mirroring details on the G1 Tailgate's chest sticker. Look down and you will see a tampographed Autobot symbol on the waist/hip area. This too matches up with a sticker detail from G1 Tailgate. More paint is used on the head and legs. The head used white paint on the "helmet" portion, blue on the eyes and silver on the nose and mouthplate. This is a bit different from the G1 figure which had an all silver head and eyes (I prefer this to be honest). The thighs are painted silver, which calls back to the vacuum metallized silver legs on G1 Tailgate. The front of the lower legs are painted black, also mirroring G1 Tailgate's paint applications. Overall this deco is absolutely gorgeous. I am very pleasantly surprised at the amount of paint and tampographs used on this Legends Class figure.
All of Tailgate's joints are nice and tight. His fists still have 5mm ports, allowing him to hold weapons from other figures.
Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
- Straighten out the arms and legs.
- Lift the back panel then swing it up over the back of the robot head.
- Push the arms into the sides.
- On each foot, swing out the heel pieces and straighten them out.
- Push the lower legs together.
- Swing the robot legs up and over to complete the vehicle mode cabin section and rear area.
Vehicle Mode:
There have been no tooling changes for this mode, so it basically looks like a white and black version of Windcharger's vehicle mode. This jives with how G1 Tailgate looked since he too was a Windcharger redeco. There is silver paint used in the front and black paint used in the back. The hood has a large Autobot symbol on it, calling back to the sticker that was on G1 Tailgate's hood. The deco looks great and is serves as a cool G1 homage.
Just like Windcharger, you can swing open the back section of the vehicle to reveal a seat inside for a Titan or Prime Master to sit inside. I love this feature.
Final Thoughts:
When Windcharger came out, most fans assumed there would be a Tailgate figure coming out of it. I am very happy to see this was the case. Even better, this is a more "G1" based Tailgate (while the previous "Generations" version is more of an "IDW" Tailgate). Recommended!
Pros:
- Excellent sculpt in both modes.
- Great homage to G1 Tailgate.
- Nice deco.
- Figure has some good bulk to it.
- Keeping the interaction with Titan and Prime Masters was very smart.
- Love the way history has repeated itself with Tailgate (once again) being a redeco and retool of Windcharger.
Cons:
- The tab sticking out of the fists are a bit odd looking.
- I do wish the torso was given a retool like the G1 toy.
- Some fans may not like the visible gap when looking at the figure from the sides.
