"Generations" War for Cybertron: Siege Springer Toy Review

02/24/22

General Information:
Release Date: July 2019
Price Point: $29.99 (depending on retailer)
Retailer: General (Amazon, BigBadToyStore, Entertainment Earth, Target, Wal-Mart etc.)
Accessories: W-10 Airslice Chopper Blades x 2, JF-10 Warp Blasters and C-10 EM Void Blast Capacitor

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: Autobot Springer figure comes equipped with 4 weapon accessories that can combine to form a larger weapon. Multiple weapon ports on figure and vehicle enable custom weapon accessories configurations.
Expandable weapon selection: fans can build bigger mission loadouts by compiling an arsenal of additional weapon accessories from other Siege figures. (Each sold separately. Subject to availability).
Inspired cybertronian Alt Mode: Voyager class wfc-s38 Autobot Springer toy features classic conversion from robot to vehicle to helicopter modes in 25 and 26 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 (each sold separately). 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 C.O.M.B.A.T. (Cybertronian omnifuctional modular battlefield assault Tech) system, the universe's most advanced modular weaponry -- including the wise-cracking Autobot army Sergeant and aerial defense, Springer.

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). The traditional Voyager Class of figures continues in "Siege". "Siege" deals with the war on Cybertron before the Transformers leave their home planet.

Introduced in the 1986 "Transformers: The Movie" animated film, Springer has been a fairly consistent presence in Transformers fiction and toy lines. His cool, confident demeanor made him a favorite among fans. Over the years, there were many "updated" figures made of Springer including:

While many of the previous versions echoed his G1 animation model, this is the first figure to fully embrance it.

Packaging:
Hasbro and Takara Tomy really stepped up their game for the "Siege" packaging. This window box is no longer the rectangular shape of previous Voyager Class figures. Instead, it is rectangular on one side and then the left side features an angled section that sweeps backward. The middle features a large window with the figure in robot mode. Set vertically over the figure is a chevron with his name, rank symbol and alpha numeric designation. Under that is the large "War for Cybertron: Siege" symbol which looks gritty and striking. The Transformers logo is set vertically on the right side with the "Generations" and Takara Tomy logos above it. The angled section on the box shows off Optimus Prime's package art while the other features what looks like a poster for "Siege" including the Ark blasting off into space.

The back of the box shows the figure in all three modes, indicating a twenty five step transformation. It also shows Springer using Battle Masters and their Fire Blast effects.

There is a fun, hidden feature on the side of the box. Shine a Black Light there and you will see Cybertronian glyphs. These glyphs can then be entered into Hasbro's "Teletraan-1" web site. Springer's glyphs translate into "TRIPLECHANGER". Entering "TRIPLECHANGER" into the site unlocks a file for Springer showing his name, function, last known location and location data. It also has a video with a demo of the figure and a beautiful wallpaper featuring his package art!

Accessories:
Springer includes five accessories. This includes two "W-10 Airslice Chopper Blades". As the name indicates, these two swords also double as Springer's blades in helicopter mode. This is a callback to G1 Springer's toy where the helicopter rotor blades would transform into his sword in robot mode. These swords have some nice, intricate designs running along the blade including several angled lines from the bottom to the middle and vertical lines running along the middle to the top. Both blades are identical. They feature a 5mm handle, allowing any figures with 5mm ports to hold them. There are small tabs on one side of the blade. You can attach the Blast Effect part included with Lionizer to make it look like the sword is "slashing" or the helicopter blades are spinning! There is also a vertical slot on each sword hilt that allows it to attach to one of the blaster weapons. These pieces are cast in a steel blue color with no paint applications.

The other two weapons included with Springer are two "JF-10 Warp Blasters". These blasters are roughly based on the design of Springer's G1 blaster complete with a medium sized barrel and a tab on top of the weapon. There is a second weapon that looks like a barrel extension for the base weapon. You just Push the barrel of one weapon into the open slot on the back of the other to make this larger weapon. The base weapon also has two small tabs on the sides that allow you to attach the swords via the slots on the sword hilts. Each blaster has a tip that allows you to attach a Blast Effect. These weapons are both steel blue in color with no paint applications.

The final accessory is the "C-10 EM Void Blast Capacitor". Instead of being a weapon, this is a connector piece. This allows you to attach the helicopter blades by pushing the handles into the slots on the sides. You would then attach this to the top of the helicopter mode and spin it around to pretend Springer is flying! There are also two 5mm pegs on the sides, allowing you to use this as a foundation for a super weapon. Just let your imagination roam as you attach different weapons from other figures! This piece is cast in grey and steel blue plastic with no paint applications.

Robot Mode:
In the 1986 Transformers: The Movie film, Springer was introduced to fans as a bulky, powerful looking Autobot with bravado to spare. Many of the details from that design are carried over into this figure. These include:

The head sculpt is rather unique to Springer. It includes a high, thin crest and a helmet sectiont hat curves upward. His face is flanked by two rectangular shapes and right under the crest is a tiny little triangle.
Each shoulder has a piece of shoulder armor over it that extends out to the front and angles downward. On the animation model these were flipped to the side.
The chest has the front of the helicopter mode on it, including a distinct air intake section at the bottom of the torso.
The mid-section of the figure features what looks like a belt, complete with a trapezoid shaped "belt buckle".
The lower legs feature rectangular shapes reminiscent of some of G1 Springer's leg design.
The sides of the lower legs show off wheels from the car mode, and while G1 Springer did not show off the wheels, there was a distinct round section in that area clealry intended to show where the vehicle mode wheel would be.

While most of his design is heavily G1 based, Springer features a lot of extra detailing that was not found on the G1 animation model. This includes many more layers of armor paneling on the shoulder armor and legs. The forearms also have a relatively complex set of shapes and details when compared to the very rectangular animation model. That said, the designers did not go too far with the addition of greebles (as some feel they did with "Siege" Starscream). I think this figure represents a good balance between the G1 and "Siege" aesthetics.

Springer is cast in green, steel blue and grey plastic. These base colors match up nicely with the animation model from G1. However, to add more detailing there is heavy use of yellow, silver, dark green and light green paint. The yellow is focused on the shoulder armor and torso. The light green is used on the face and thighs. The dark green is used on the sides of the "helmet" section and the forearms. Silver is used to brush on "damage" wear on the shoulder armor, torso and lower legs. These colors are fairly consistent with the details on the G1 animation model, and the silver "wear" adds a level of realism to the figure. I appreciate the way the "wear" detail was added to several parts both on the upper and lower parts of the body. This makes it look a bit more realistic and I appreciate the grittiness it adds to the figure. At the same time, enough is left "clean" that the "wear" does not overwhelm the figure.

There are twenty two points of articulation on this figure, which is fantastic. This includes five on each arm and leg. "Siege" appears to have stepped articulation up a bit, so these points of articulation include a bicep swivel and even wrist articulation!

Springer has seven 5mm ports, allowing you to attach extra weaponry to him. Two are on the shoulders, each forearm has one and there is one on the side of each lower leg. There is also one on the back. Springer also has six small pegs that are designed for Blast Effects to make it look like he is being struck by weapons fire. Two are on the chest, two are on the shoulder armor pieces and two are on the lower legs. On top of all this, there are two tabs on the back piece, allowing you to store his swords on his back. In a really interesting bit of functionality, Springer has three small ports on the back (one on the hip area, one on each thigh) that can fit into Bandai stands, allowing for multiple "flying" poses. Overall, this mode has a lot going for it. It looks awesome and there is a ton of play value!

Transformation to Car Mode:

Detach all accesories and set them aside for now.
Straighten out the arms and legs.
Pull the arm sections out to the sides, including hinged parts they are attached to.
Swing the chest panel forward.
Swing the chest section up over the robot head, swing the panel back in place. As you do this, you will need to "tuck" this chest section under the cockpit section partially (the Blast Effect pegs should be hidden when you are done).
Swing the green panels on the sides of the chest piece out.
On the back of each shoulder armor piece, swing out the rear panel and extend it.
Swing the elbow/forearm sections back and push the peg on the panel into the back of each fist.
On each of the lower legs, swing out the side panels and swing out the pointed fin, then swing the panel back into place.
Swing the lower legs back and up, flattening the feet out.
Push the lower legs together.
Push the arms in.
Swing the back panel down.
Attach weapons as you see fit.

Car Mode:
Springer's car mode was his lesser used form in the Generation One cartoon. Its most notable appearance was in Transformers: The Movie when he took this form briefly during his battle with Wreck-Gar. In all honestly, the original design and this one both look like a helicopter with its tail and rotor blades cut off, becuase for the most part that's exactly what it is, so this cannot be helped. Given that, this mode looks great! The front features a lot of the details from the G1 version of the character including the front grille in the center, the shoulder armor angling downward on the sides and the cockpit section in the middle. Look towards the back and he has pointed fins on the sides. In some ways, this vehicle winds up looking like an 80's idea of what a car in the far future (of 2005) would look like, giving it a somewhat cool and goofy appearance all at the same time.

All the robot mode colors carry overhere, but now we get to see a bit more of the detailing on the back panels. The cockpit panel is translucent blue plastic with green paint on it. The back panel is painted dark green with silver "battle damage" on it. Along with the "battle damage" on the front and back of the vehicle this offers a nice, even distribution of the damage in this mode. This also shows off more yellow paint applications on the thruster portions of the back panel. From a color perspective, this mode really pops nicely.

This mode has seven attachment points for 5mm peg weapons. Two are on the shoulder armor pieces, three on top of the back armor piece and two on the sides behind the rear wheel wells. The tabs to store the swords are on the sides of the back panel. On top of all that there are six attachment points for Blast Effects. Two are in front of each forward wheel well. Two more are on the back of the vehicle (the lower leg sections) and two others are at the very back. The ones at the back of the vehicle are my favorites because if you attach Blast Effects there it looks like Springer is using small rockets to move really fast!

Transformation to Helicopter Mode (Starting in Car Mode):

Swing the back panel up.
Pull the robot arms/shoulder armor sections out to the sides to get them out of the way for now.
On each forearm, lift the panels connected to the fists and swing the green panels out.
Pull the dark green sections on the forearms outward, then rotate this piece around.
Swing the fist section back up and push the peg from back of the shoulder armor into the corresponding slots.
Separate the legs.
Swing the lower legs out.
Swing the inner and outer panels of the lower legs out.
Pull the sides of each hip section down, bringing the lower legs closer to each other.
Swing the robot feet in and then flatten them out.
Push the two legs together.
Swing the arms in and snap them into place. The tabs on the sides of the leg panels should fit into the slots on the inside of the forearms.
Attach the swords to the "C-10 EM Void Blast Capacitor" and attach that to the top of the helicopter.
The other accessories can be attached to any of the 5mm ports on the vehicle.

Note: the transformation is a tad bit tricky and involves a lot of realigning panels and bits as you try to push them together. If you have a lot of issues, go back a few steps, spreading the various parts out and try to line things up slowly. I would be remiss if I did not note that during transformation, I had a tiny bit of green plastic snap off one of the tabs near the chest section. It does not affect the appearance or functionality of the figure, but it was disheartening to see given how cool this figure is and how well it has been received by fans so far.

Helicopter Mode:
Springer's helicopter mode is his more well known form. He used it often in the Generation One cartoon and this figure comes the closest to replicating that mode in plastic. This largely resembles the car mode with the rear section extended out to form the tail of the helicopter. There are now skis out on the sides and the middle section of the car mode extends out in front. Sure there are some features from the G1 model that are missing here (including horizontal stabilizer fins in the back) but overall the sculpt looks fantastic.

The deco in this mode offers no real surprises since almost everything here was visible in the car mode. Perhaps the biggest "new" details are the skis on the sides which are cast in green plastic.

This mode has nine 5mm ports (not counting the one that gets taken up by the rotor blade). That gives you a lot of freedom to attach additional weaponry. There six Blast Effect attachment points. Two are on the shoulder armor in front, two are on top of the tail and two are at the back. The ones at the back are the most useful, making it look like Springer has a rocket booster in the back. There is also one on the bottom of the vehicle (right under the robot head)! As mentioned above, you can also attach Lionizer's Blast Effect to the rotor blades so when you push them to spin them it gives it a very animated appearance. Overall there is a lot of play value attached to this figure.

Final Thoughts:
Despite a small piece breaking off (which could have just been me applying too much force), I absolutely love this figure. While many attempts have been made at creating Springer figures, this is the closest we have gotten to the classic G1 appearance of the character in the Transformers toy line. The only thing keeping me from the "highly recommended" category is the bit that came off and how sometimes you need to start transformations over to get everything lined up just right. Just be very careful with the transformation and I think you'll love this figure too!

Pros:

Fantastic sculpt in all three modes.
Packed with G1 design elements.
"Wear"/Battle damage deco is nicely distributed in all three modes.
Cool accessories.
Excellent articulation.

Cons:

A piece snapped off during transformation. It was tiny, but this is not ideal.
Transformation can be a bit confusing and you may need to start over at times.
There is not much flex or forgiving room for each mode, so be careful.

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