General Information:
Release Date: June 2011
Price Point: Give away figure with purchase of boxed set
Retailer: Botcon 2011 Exclusive Sounvenir (Limited to 1500 production run)
Accessories: Fist attachments x 2
The story for Botcon 2011's boxed set took place in the "Animated" universe, where several Transformers characters from previous generations are represented in new forms based on Derrick Wyatt's updated designs. This set took inspiration from a myriad of sources, mirroring the television show, which was really one gigantic homage to past generations of Transformers. In the case of the give away figure for Botcon 2011, they took their inspiration from the character of "Fisitron" (aka Ironfist) last seen in the "Last Stand of the Wreckers" comic book series. This character's roots actually go much further back to the latter days of Generation One, where Ironfist was one of the "Lightformers", Transformers who came with a cannon that you could look through while "firing" at enemies. I always liked Ironfist from G1/G2 (depending on where you got him the packaging was different) and was happy to see him pop up in "Wreckers". Now having a "Wreckers" inspired toy form really makes me happy!
Fisitron is a redeco/retool of a sculpt that I've covered a couple times already in the following review:
The Cybertron Mode Ratchet review is the most detailed look at the figure, but through the reviews you can see the evolution the base sculpt has undergone. For the purposes of this Botcon release, the Autotrooper sculpt was repurposed for Fisitron/Ironfist including Autotrooper's new head sculpt. This review will focus on the changes made to the figure for this specific release.
Vehicle Mode:
In his previous incarnation, Fisitron (who I'll just keep referring to as that and not Ironfist) was a Humvee like vehicle with a big cannon on top. The "Cybertronian van" mode he has now actually works out quite well in terms of being a bulky looking vehicle. I can easily imagine G1 Ironfist having had this type of form on Cybertron before adopting a new form on Earth.
The latter days of G1 and parts of G2 were well known for their propensity towards more pastel and brighter color schemes. Ironfist had tan colors with some brighter colors added in including blue, green and pink (no, seriously). Following that trend, Fisitron also has many of these colors, making him instantly recognizable as a homage to that character. His primary plastic colors are tan, green and translucent pink. The tan is darker in shade than the original G1 character, as is the green (primarily found here on his four "treads"). The pink is also toned down a bit so he's not as bright as the toy he is based on, giving the figure a more modern sensibility while also matching up with the "matte" finish look of many "Animated" figures.
Many of the plastic colors are carried over into the paint colors with the addition of black. For instance, the green color is found on the light rack on the top of the vehicle. The pink is carried over as metallic pink details on the sides (above the rear treads). A bit more pink metallic paint can also be found on the row of lights along the top of the vehicle. The black colors go from a flat black on his treads to a metallic flake black on the sections with the pink metallic paint. On either side of the vehicle is a large tampographed Autobot symbol in the center. Overall it's a nice color scheme and pays proper homage to the "source" character. I was appreciative of the way the tones were darkened to make it fit in more with the look of the Animated figures.
There's not much functionality to speak of in this form, though he does roll well on his four tiny wheels. I can say that the joints that connect the treads to the main body of the vehicle are still nice and tight, keeping the vehicle from "flopping" onto its belly.
Transformation to Robot Mode:
- Detach the hand attachments if they are clipped onto the fists.
- Rotate the panels on his arms so they point downward.
- Straighten the robot arms down the sides.
- Swing the robot arms back.
- Swing the robot head back.
- Lift the back panel up over the robot head.
- Swing each arm under the back panel and then tuck in the arms so the forearms are pointing downward.
- Attach the side panels from the arms to the pegs on the back panel.
- Tuck the forearms under the back panel.
- Swing up the chest plate with the headlights on them.
- Pull the curved pieces that were covered by the chest plate out to the sides.
- Swing the feet up into the back of the lower legs.
- Swing the lower leg section back, then move the legs out to the sides.
- Rotate the upper legs on the waist ball joints, then swing the lower legs in.
- Attach the lower leg sections to the pegs on the side of the vehicle.
- Attach the shock paddles to the two angled clips on the top of the vehicle so they form the back.
Robot Mode:
Fisitron uses the Autotrooper head sculpt in this mode, but it is a great example of how a properly done deco can create a head that looks almost completely different than the previous use. Here, the head sculpt is super detailed. The base color of the "helmet" section is painted green while the goggles that hang on top of the head are tan colored. Black details make up small outlines at the edge of the helmet as well as vent lines on the mouthplate, making him look more lik his G1 namesake who had similar details on his head. The visor eyes are painted black with small blue eyes painted on top, giving Fisitron a very different look than the Autotroopers. Bravo on a fantastic use of the head sculpt and showing what well thought out paint decos can do!
The rest of Fisitron's body features some of the color balance seen on the G1 figure. His upper body is mostly tan in color, with some green and grey on parts like his forearms and elbows respectively. His legs also use these colors, going from tan to grey to green with black providing some additional detailing. The grey is a notable color since that is another one found on the G1 Ironfist figure. What is absent however is the use of any blue, which was a very prominant color on the G1 figure. I have to say however that the toy doesn't suffer from it. Having one more color may have made the figure seem a bit too "busy", so this works out quite nicely. One of the final, and more bold details is a tampographed Autobot symbol on his chest. it's big and shows his obvious pride in being an Autobot!
All of Fisitron's joints are tight in this form and the "shock paddles" attach to his fists without a problem. I did notice however that if you take the paddles on and off his fists a lot, there may be some scraping caused, making the paint come off and revealing the tan plastic underneath.
Final Thoughts:
For a "freebie" figure, Fisitron is really cool. He pays proper homage to a character who has only recently seen a revival in popularity. The issue with the paint chipping off the hands is a bit of a turn off, but not a deal breaker. Fans may not be up to spending tons of cash on him, but if you can get it at a respectable price, it's definitely worth having as part of your "Animated" collection!
