General Information:
Release Date: March 2011
Price Point: $12.99 (depending on retailer)
Retailer: General (Toys R Us, Target, Wal-Mart etc.)
Accessories: Missile
*Images and text below from The official Transformers web site:
Wherever the fight is, that's where WARPATH wants to be. His super heavy armor and powerful weapons mean he doesn't have to worry about things like orders or tactics. He just heads straight for wherever the fighting is heaviest, pouring fire into the enemy, and hoping there's someone left standing to give him a good fight when he gets there.
You can't help but prevail in any battle with WARPATH on your side! His weapons make him a fierce fighter in robot mode, and he's so heavily armored, it's no wonder his vehicle mode is a tank. When it's time for a chase or an escape, convert him to tank mode where he has a launching missile ready to fire! Armored action figure converts to tank mode and back again! Ages 5 and up.
During the era of Generation One, many characters were given distinct mannerisms or speech patterns that helped distinguish them from each other. This built upon the profiles included with every Transformer figure and really added a huge element of fun. One of the most memorable of these characters was Warpath. Warpath transformed into a tank, and his entire boistrous personality seemed based around being loud and happy. He often couched words like "Blam!" and "Pow!" into his sentences for no apparent reason, yet it was fun to watch and hear, especially as a kid.
Two years ago, Hasbro released a new version of Warpath as a Legends Class figure. Similar in size to his original G1 Mini-Bot toy, this was a fantastic update to the character. Still, the recent trend seems to be to take smaller characters from G1 and make them larger, such as Powerglide who went from a Mini-Bot in G1 to an Ultra scale figure in Transformers Universe 2.0 line. Now it's Warpath's turn as he is upgraded to a Deluxe Class figure!
Vehicle Mode:
A popular style of tank in toy lines nowadays is the "H" tank configuration, so named because the base of the vehicle has four distinct sections and treads attached to a center piece instead of just being a large rectangular shape with two treads. When Warpath was redone two years ago, that was the form he took on, and this time the designers decided to remain consistent and keep him an "H" style tank. Fear not however, this is not just a sized up version of the Legends Class figure from 2009, this figure is very much its own entity.
While G1 Warpath was relatively blocky in design, Generations Warpath has some very sleek design elements for a tank. The front portions of the vehicle have armor that angles downward, and the middle section has two pointed sections that slope down. Right under the turret is a section that angles to a triangular point in the middle and on the top of the vehicle the turret itself has some nice, sleek looking angles on the sides. Balancing these angles parts out are some bulkier parts such as the rear tread sections and two wicked looking weapons mounted onto the sides of the turret. On the left is a quad-barreled launcher and on the right is a rectangular missile launcher. While he is more modern looking, Warpath still looks rough and tough!
There are lots of fine details sculpted into this figure. The top of the turret has everything from a hatch cover (that lifts up to reveal vents underneath) to small circles, lines and panels covering the surface. Each of his tread sections have raised lines, door panels, hatches and even round circles indicating areas where panels are bolted to each other. Overall, Warpath has a very industrial look that works perfectly with the vehicle form.
Warpath's color scheme is heavily based on his Generation One colors. His primary colors are silver and dark red, with some gunmetal mixed in for good measure. Most of the actual tank armor is red, with smaller parts cast in either silver or gunmetal. Paint applications are done in black and silver. The silver is used to paint his treads and some smaller details on the front and middle sections of the vehicle. Black paint is found on the turret and the sides of the vehicle. Each of the rear, side sections has a black Autobot symbol on it, but it is the what you'll find on the front tread sections that is most amusing. On the left side, you'll find the alpha numeric code "Z0W-333" which is another way of writing "Zoweee", a phrase Warpath would be apt to say. On the other side, there is another code that says "K4-90W", in other words "KA-POW", another Warpath phrase! I love this bit of homage to the character's unique verbal style and it definitely made me smile big time when I took the figure out.
Warpath's turret can turn in a complete circle, which is so refreshing since many Transformers tanks in recent years have sacrificed this ability in favor of transformation or gimmicks. Even better? His cannon can move up and down as well. The treads actually have four small wheels on the bottom. Each of the aforementioned weapons attached to the turret is on a double hinge, so you can move them up and down. What surprised me in terms of functionality were four "C" clip rods built into the figure, one on each of the tread sections. Warpath does not actually include any C clip weapons, so I used the ones from Darkmount and they fit like a glove and gave Warpath even more "Blam!" for the buck. The missile on the right side launcher can be fired by pressing the red trigger. Mine is very sensitive, but your mileage may vary.
Transformation to Robot Mode:
- Launch the missile and set it aside for now (mainly so it doesn't go shooting you in the face as you transform the figure).
- On the rear tread sections, swing out the panels with the Autobot symbols on them.
- Swing the treads on the rear sections out to begin forming the robot arms.
- Extend the fists out and swing the panels on the forearms back in.
- Push the cannon in and Warpath's head will pop up from the middle of the turret.
- Swing the turret and the section it rests on up.
- Fold the silver piece that comes to a point in the middle down. This will swing down the red waist area on its hinge as well.
- Swing down the top portion of the body, connecting the red tab to the hole on the hip section.
- Pull the treads on the legs out to the sides a bit and then swing them up.
- Swing the feet on the vertical hinge to the sides.
- Rotate the legs so the feet point forward.
- Swing the weapons on the turret up so they are on either side of his head.
- Reattach the missile.
Robot Mode: When I was about nine years old and got my first Warpath toy, I really loved the idea that he was essentially a rolling weapons platform. The G1 figure formed the robot feet from the front of the tank, but the feet didn't split at all, so it looked like a robot sitting on top of a tank with a big turret sticking out of its chest. The animated model was much more practical, with Warpath getting distinctive feet and proportions that made a bit more sense. The 2009 Legends figure followed suit and now the Deluxe figure has done the same.
He may have started as a Mini-Bot, but Warpath has definitely gone through one heck of an upgrade! Each section of this character looks bulked up and ready for a fight! his shoulders have very industrial looking tube details on them, his forearms are thick and meaty looking and his feet follow the design of the G1 animated model with treads on the bottom. I can imagine him rolling across the battlefield as he knocks enemies down with his fists and firepower. True to the character's origins, his chest is made up of the tank turret, with the cannon sticking out in the center. Kudos to the designers for finding a way to make the cannon telescope in and left the head up. It's cool to get some "auto transforming" action now and then! While this basic form is great, having Warpath now more heavily armed with additional weaponry on either side of his head is pure awesome. Another design attribute carried over form his Generation One design is the head sculpt, which is round and has thin eyes with a mouthplate that has lines on the sides. On the Animated programs these would light up as he spoke, so it is a very distinct feature of the character and I'm glad it's included here.
The colors from the vehicle mode all carry over here, but now you get to see more of the silver and gunmetal plastic. The gunmetal is used on smaller parts such as his fists, upper arms and thighs. The silver is found on the sides of the chest and his hip area. The alternating colors work out very well and keeps the figure from looking monotonous. Black, silver and gold are the colors used for the paint applications. Silver is found on his mouth plate, shoulders and lower legs. Black is found on the robot head, chest and knees. In a key color decision, his eyes are painted black, which is a carry over color application from the G1 figure, which also had black eyes. The gold is used for smaller details such as rectangles on his hip area and rows of horizontal lines on his shoulder armor.
Warpath has fourteen points of articulation in robot mode. This includes three points on each arm (not counting the fist) and three on each leg. The articulation is pretty basic, but honestly you don't need much more for this figure to be fun to play with. He's plenty posable thanks to some hinges being swivel hinges while others are ball joints. All the joints on my Warpath figure are nice and tight as well.
Warpath has some interesting functionality in the arms. At first, I tried to attach Mech Tech and regular Energon weapons to his fists, and while they don't fit that well, they did fit. The reason they don't fit well are the panels on the top of the forearms. However, it turns out this may all be by design. Each of the top panels on his forearms have C clip rods on them, meaning if you swing them out to the sides, and then attach weapons to the fists, you can quadruple Warpath's firepower in one shot! This is seriously cool and fits perfectly with the character. In addition, the other two C clip rods from the vehicle mode wind up on his lower legs, meaning you can attach even more weaponry to him. It's really quite fun and you can just imagine Warpath exclaiming "Blam!" and "Zowie!" with joy as he fires off that many weapons at one time!
Final Thoughts:
Every now and then, a figure gets released where I almost feel like writing a one line review that reads something like "Just go buy it, you'll thank me." and this is one of those times. My only warning is that most retailers did not get a lot of Warpath. He's appeared here and there, but he's nowhere near as plentiful as other figures such as Dirge or Darkmount. You may be hunting a bit to get him, but he's so worth it. Highly recommended!
