General Information:
Release Date: October 2019
Price Point: $19.99 (depending on retailer)
Retailer: General (Amazon, Entertainment Earth, Target, Wal-Mart etc.)
Accessories: Blasters x 2, Light Bar
Official images and text below in italics are from Amazon.com:
- Build the ultimate battlefield: Discover an expansive ecosystem of collectible figures and weapon accessories with Siege figures. (Each sold separately. Subject to availability).
- Customizable weapon load out: Barricade figure comes with 2 weapon accessories. Multiple C.O.M.B.A.T. Weapon ports on figure enable weapon accessories to attach in custom configurations in Bot and vehicle modes.
- Expandable weapon selection: Fans can build bigger mission load outs by compiling an arsenal of additional weapon accessories from other Siege figures. (Each sold separately. Subject to availability).
- Inspired cybertronian Alt Mode: Deluxe class wfc-s41 barricade toy features classic conversion between robot and cybertronian vehicle modes in 14 steps.
- Add battle effects: attach fire blasts accessories (not included. Included with battle Masters figures. Each sold separately. Subject to availability) to the ends of weapon accessories to simulate blaster fire coming from weapons.
Build the ultimate battlefield with Siege figures. Siege plunges fans into the epic fight to survive on the final day of the Autobot and Decepticon battle to control Cybertron. The Decepticon resistance army and the Autobot counter-resistance fighters gear up with the C.O.M.B.A.T. (Cybertronian Omnifuctional Modular Battlefield Assault Tech) System, the universe's most advanced modular weaponry -- including the relentless Decepticon army sergeant and enforcer, Barricade.
Barricade was the name of a relatively obscure Micromaster character from Generation One, however this version of the character is inspired by the character from the 2007 live action movie. In that film Barricade was a Decepticon who transformed into a car that looked like a regular police car, but up close you could see it was something more sinister! Over time, some fans speculated about what a G1 version of Barricade would look like. Transformers artist Guido Guidi even went so far as to create fan art of such a character and you will see heavy parallels between that fan art and this figure. Barricade uses the Siege Prowl figure as its foundation. You'll want to check out that review before this one. This review will focus on the changes made to the figure for this release.
Packaging:
Taking a cue from "Studio Series", the Deluxe figures in "Siege" are packaged in boxes instead of the traditional bubble card used for Deluxe Class figures. These boxes are beautiful featuring an unusual shape with one flat side and one angled side. While elements of previous packaging are still found on the boxes (ex: the vertical Transformers logo, the "Generations" logo, a largely black background etc.) there is a lot more added on. First, the background is not solid black. There are designs on it that look like sparks or perhaps embers from flames On the angled side is the character's package art. His art shows him posed aggressively while holding his weapons as one unit. hTo the left is a chevron with the character name. Below that is the "War for Cybertron: Siege" logo.
The back of the box features Barricade in both modes indicating a 14 step transformation. He is also shown holding Caliburst with the Blast Effect attached. His cosells are Caliburst and Aimless.
In a fun extra, shining a black light on the packaging will reveal Cybertronian glyphs. Input them on Hasbro's "Teletraan-1" web site and you get a translation. In Prowl's cast it is "BADCOP", a reference to him being a Decepticon while having a law enforcement alt-mode. Enter that into the Teletraan-1 site and it reveals a video featuring the Barricade toy and a desktop wallpaper featuring Barricade's package art.
Accessories:
Barricade comes with two blasters that came with Bluestreak but not the rifle that came with Prowl. However, instead of the silver color used for Bluestreak's weapons these are a metallic lavender color. This color is beautiful and really eye catching. Both of these weapons can be held individually or connected together to form one blaster. They can also be attached to Barricade on either side of his head. In vehicle mode these can be attached to his hood.
The other accessory is a light bar. This piece is cast in clear purple plastic with red paint applications underneath and gunmetal grey in the middle on top. Since Barricade does not include the rifle accessory there is nothing to really attach the light bar to, but it still has a 5mm port if you felt like attaching to his hands or arms for some reason.
Robot Mode:
Barricade features a different head sculpt from Prowl and Bluestreak. This head is wider but still has the familiar "crest" across the top of the head. Keen eyed fans will note that this is actually the head sculpt for the Autobot Smokescreen! Smokescreen was released as a Selects figure around the same time Barricade shipped from online retailers. I think instead of trying to say one is a redeco of the other, it is safest to say that Barricade and Smokescreen share a head sculpt. I speculate the head was designed for Smokescreen first but the designers decided to use it for Barricade long before the factories were ever fired up to produce the figures.
The rest of the body is the same sculpt as Prowl, Bluestreak and Smokescreen. The figure is made up of black, metallic lavender and translucent purple plastic. The color combination is beautiful and it fits a Decepticon character perfectly. Gunmetal grey is used in the middle going from the area behind the head to the front of the chest. Overlapping that is a Decepticon symbol. The headlights on his chest are painted silver. The crest on the head is purple and his face is gold (inspired by the live action Barricade). His eyes are red. There is some gunmetal grey on his feet as well. It would be easy to dismiss the character as a simple redeco (and I mean, he kind of is) but he's a made up of some gorgeous colors.
All the joints on my copy of Barricade are nice and tight. The weapons attach to all his ports without a problem. From a quality control standpoint I have no issues with this figure.
Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
- Detach the accessories and set them aside for now.
- Straighten out the arms and legs.
- Push the heels on each foot up.
- Push the lower legs together.
- Point the feet down.
- Swing the chest and arms section up.
- Swing the middle panel of the hood piece up.
- Swing the mid-body panel under the hood.
- Rotate the lower body around.
- Swing the lower legs up over the thighs.
- Swing the section with the robot head and legs up under the hood.
- Swing the arms out to the sides.
- Swing the arms in, then swing them down under the car.
- Attach the light bar to the top of the vehicle. You can also attach the small blasters to the hood.
Vehicle Mode:
The vehicle mode mostly features the black and translucent purple plastic. I love some of the smaller touches with this deco including the red paint on the bottom of the light bar and the translucent purple wheels which give the vehicle a futuristic "scifi" appearance. The doors are painted white with Cybertronian symbols on them that spell out "POLICE", another callback to the live action movie Barrcade. The gunmetal grey stripe from the chest also features nicely in this mode. Overall I really dig the deco in this form.
As mentioned above, you can attach the weapons to the slots on the hood. You can also use the port on top of the light bar to attach additional weapons.
Final Thoughts:
Barricade is a really nice redeco. Transformers fans really liked Guido Guidi's G1 Barricade fan art when it was first put online and it is awesome that fans can now actually own a figure based on that art! I also love the deco. Recommended!
Pros:
- Fun example of a piece of fan art come to life as a real figure.
- Really nice deco.
- Easy and intuitive transformation.
Cons:
- Does not include the rifle accessory.
