General Information:
Release Date: March 2019
Price Point: $9.99 (depending on retailer)
Retailer: General (Amazon, Target, Wal-Mart etc.)
Accessories: None
Official images and text below in italics are from Amazon.com:
- Build the ultimate battlefield - the generations War for Cyber Tron trilogy introduces an expansive ecosystem of collectible figures and weapon accessories. (Each sold separately. Subject to availability).
- Features classic G1 characters – adult fans nostalgic for the original Transformers animation and kids discovering classic characters for the first time can share and experience exciting play patterns across Generations.
- Awesome conversion - this 2-pack includes red heat and stakeout robot toys. Convert red heat into firetruck mode and stakeout into police car mode in 9 and 4 Easy steps. Simple conversion for kids and adults 8 and up!
- Classic Micro master combination - fans will remember the iconic character combos of micro master toys. Combine these 2 Autobot rescue Patrol figures to form a weapon mode.
- Compatible weapon mode works with all other Siege figures – Siege figures have multiple weapon ports that enable fans to attach the weapon mode of Autobot rescue Patrol.
Build the ultimate battlefield with Transformers war for Cybertron: siege collectible figures, featuring classic G1 characters. (Each sold separately. Subject to availability). siege plunges fans into the epic fight to survive on the final day of the Autobus and deception battle to control Cybertron. The Deception resistance army and the Autobus counter-resistance fighters gear up with the universe's most advanced modular weaponry, including the weapon modes of combined micro master figures -- sentient Bots that combine to form weapons.
Wfc-s19 Autobot rescue Patrol figures red heat and stakeout convert in 9 and 4 Easy steps from robot mode to rescue Vehicle modes. Vehicle modes combine to form the binerboost Salvage blaster weapon accessory. Use the weapon mode to equip other siege figures (each sold separately) with larger mission loadouts.
In 2018 the "Power of the Primes" line finished off the "Prime Wars Trilogy" which had begun with "Combiner Wars". To kick off a whole new G1 inspired series of "Generations" figures, a new line known as "War for Cybertron: Siege" started in late 2018 (with a planned wide release in 2019).
In the past few years, the "Generations" line has been paying homage to Generation One toys and characters in a kind of chronological order. First they went all out with Combiners in "Combiner Wars", then leading to Headmaster homages galore in "Titans Return" and last year's "Power of the Primes" focused on paying homage to Pretenders, and to a lesser degree, Powermasters. Following this pattern, "Siege" brings us homages to Micromasters. These small Transformers had varying origins in G1, but origins aside, these characters were represented as tiny Transformers who transformed into an assortment of vehicles. Whereas they were once packaged in four member "Patrols" (or six member "Squads"), "Siege"uses the Micromasters to fill in the price point previously occupied by the "Legends" class figures, featuring two Micromaster figures in one package.
Packaging:
The "Siege" Micromasters are packaged in a bubble attached to small card. The card features the same dramatic artwork style as larger boxes in the line. This includes a black background fading into a honeycomb pattern behind the figures. The right side features the "Transformers", "Generations" and Takara Tomy logos. The left side features a vertical chyron with an Autobot symbol, the alpha numeric code "WFC-S19" and the names Red Heat and Stakeout printed on it. The package art features the two Micromasters in vehicle mode since the figures are packaged in robot mode. The insert inside the bubble has the large "War for Cybertron: Siege" logo on it. It is dramatic and eye catching and I love how it looks on toy store shelves.
Robot Mode:
Red Heat was known as "Red Hot" in G1. Most likely, the name was changed due to trademark reasons. This figure is a retool and redeco of Topshot from the "Siege" Battle Patrol. I have to say this was an unexpected way to recycle the tooling and it caught me by surprise. Almost all of Topshot's parts were recycled for this figure. The only new parts in this mode appear to be the robot head and the thighs. This sounds bad at first, but amazingly it really works! G1 Red Hot had a very similar body structure to Topshot, including having arms formed from the sides of the vehicle and lower legs/feet formed from the front. The front even has the angled shape of G1 Red Hot's vehicle mode. The head design is based on G1 Red Hot's head complete with a crest in the middle and flat panels sticking out the sides on the top of the "helmet" section. Sure some details like the chest and waist are not "G1 accurate", but he looks good to me.
Red Heat is cast in red, white and black plastic. Red makes up most of the figure with white used on smaller parts like his thighs and heels. The torso is painted white and the hip area is painted blue. Blue and white paint are used on the head. Meanwhile, some blue detailing carries over from the vehicle mode to the feet. For a Micromaster, this is a good amount of deco.
There are seven points of articulation on this figure. Interestingly, there is waist articulation but it is partly hampered unless you move the ladder on his back out of the way. The hip ball joints are more loose than I would prefer. The figure can stand and pose fine, but shake the figure and they flop around pretty easily (at least, on my copy). The back of the ladder has a 5mm port in it, and here it faces up behind the head. This allows you to attach a weapon or another Micromaster from "Siege" as a weapon.
Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
- Straighten out the arms and legs.
- Swing the heel pieces out.
- Connect the two lower legs.
- Swing the lower legs back to form the front of the vehicle.
- Swing the arms back, pushing them in to the sides of the vehicle.
- The ladder can be extended by swinging out the front end of the ladder.
Vehicle Mode:
As a kid I always loved G1 Red Hot's vehicle mode. He looked like a futuristic fire engine and I thought that was super cool. This vehicle mode manages to do the same, largely because the front end has several angled sections instead of the usual "boxy" look of a real life fire engine. It is amazing just how much changing one major piece on a vehicle mode can change the look of the vehicle. The entire base of this mode is the same as Topshot's, but the turret has been replaced with a ladder, and that changes the appearance enough to make this look like a new interpretation of G1 Red Hot.
This mode has all the same colors as the robot mode with the white ladder really standing out against the red plastic beneath it. The front section has several windows painted blue, but sections behind the windows are also painted blue to represent light bars. If I were to call out one bit of "missing" deco, it would be on the sides towards the back. This vehicle only has four functional wheels, but there are fake wheels sculpted into the sides. These are left unpainted. Personally, I would have preferred these be painted black.
The ladder can move in three ways in this form. It can spin around, the ladder can swing up and down and the end can be extended out. The base of the ladder has a 5mm peg sticking up on top and a 5mm port on the back. These can be used to attach him to Stakeout as a weapon (more on that below) or they can be used to connect Red Heat to weapons and other figures.
Robot Mode:
Unlike Red Heat, Stakeout is a new sculpt based on his G1 counterpart. The figure is a pure modern day update of G1 Stakeout, borrowing many of the design features from that figure. These include the head design, the vents on the chest, the shape of the details on the thighs and even the design of the arms. While G1 Stakeout was very tall and lean, this interpretations of the character gives him less thin and beefier looking proportions that look more like the character's appearance in the IDW Publishing comic books. From a sculpting perspective I think Stakeout looks fantastic.
Black and white plastic are both found on this figure with black being the main color. Blue paint is used on the head and torso for some added detailing. The face is painted silver. The sides of his arms have white paint on them with several Cybertronian glyphs that spell out "Police". These colors differ a bit from his G1 counterpart, but they are close enough that anyone familiar with G1 Stakeout will recognize this version.
Stakeout has seven points of articulation. This includes ball joints on the arms, knees and hips as well as head articulation, a rarity for figures of this size.
Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
- Straighten out the arms and legs.
- Push the lower legs together.
- Swing the lower legs over the thighs.
- Push the arms in on the sides.
- Swing the front of the vehicle over the head.
Vehicle Mode:
The G1 version of Stakeout transformed into a vehicle based on a Ford Taurus, which was a very popular vehicle at the time. This time out, he is a bit more sleek looking and appears to be a two door style vehicle with a light bar on top. Of course, this is technically supposed to be a Cybertronian vehicle but it would not look out of place on Earth. Perhaps the most "Earth-like" detail is a license plate in the front of the vehicle, which was a bit of a surprise. Overall the sculpt looks great and rather sleek for a police car.
This mode mostly shows off black plastic with white deco. The light bar on top is painted blue and red. I was very happy to see that all the windows were painted. In recent years it has become normal for the back windows or even side windows to be left unpainted and I always think that looks terrible. This figure benefits from the designers going an extra step in the right direction.
Start with both figures in vehicle mode. Swing out Stakeout's lower legs and swing down the front of the vehicle. Then swing out the peg under the hood. Attach the peg on Stakeout to the 5mm port at the base of Red Heat's ladder. Line up the tabs at the top of Red Heat's shoulders to the corresponding indentations on Stakeout's hood piece. Rotate Red Heat's lower body around. Larger figures can hold this weapon using the peg on Red Heat's ladder.
One of the weaknesses of the "Siege" Micromaster weapon modes is that they do not always hold together very well. In this case however, using the 5mm peg and port system did the trick and these two hold together as a weapon just fine. The other issue with these weapons is well, they look kind of goofy. In this case, look at the top of the weapon and you can see both Stakeout and Red Heat's faces looking up like "Don't mind us, we're just here in weapon mode chilling." I wish there had been a way to cover them up or flip the weapon over and have a peg on the other side for larger robots to hold.
All that said, this does add a bit of play factor to the figures, and that's not a bad thing. These are just not my preferred modes for these two figures.
Final Thoughts:
I have always loved the Rescue Patrol. In a toy line that is full of warriors, beasts, war machines and flying death machines, teams revolving around a rescue theme are rare. For years the original Rescue Patrol was my go to group for rescues and repairs. These two figures are great and my only regret is that we don't have Seawatch and Fixit to go with them (hopefully in the future...maybe?). Recommended!
Pros:
- Sculpts and deco both pay homage to their G1 counterparts very well.
- Good decos in both modes.
- Good articulation and parts don't go popping off easily.
Cons:
- Some fans may not like Topshot being retooled and given new colors as Red Heat (I have no issue with it).
- The weapon mode looks goofy.
