General Information:
Release Date: June 2014
Price Point: $46.50
Retailer: Transformers Collector's Club Exclusive
Accessories: Blaster
"Fisitron" is actually character known as Ironfist. He was originally introduced in the Generation One and Generation 2 toy lines as a "Lightformer", an Autobot with a cannon that had a dial allowing you to simulate "laser fire" when looking through a scope. The character later appeared in IDW Publishing's "Last Stand of the Wreckers" series, which was hugely popular. In that series it was revealed Ironfist used the alias "Fisitron" in his writing. Being part of the "Timelines" series, this figure could represent that character or some other incarnation, that I leave to you fans.
Fisitron is a redeco of the "Generations" Roadbuster sculpt, which in turn was a redeco/retool of Swindle. That Swindle was a redeco of the San Diego Comic-Con exclusive Swindle. Check out those reviews for a detailed look at the figure and its lineage up to this point. This review will focus on the changes made to the figure for this release.
For those wondering, Fisitron has been made into an action figure before as a Botcon exclusive. However that version was based on the "Animated" Cybertron Mode Ratchet figure.
Vehicle Mode:
Like G1/G2 Ironfist, Fisitron is a vehicle built for rough roads. In this case he's a Cybertronian jeep. The mode works for the character as it looks like he could go offroad and navigate irregular terrain, just like his predecessors. The fact that he has a weapon that attaches to the top of the vehicle also gives him another connection to Ironfist, who also had a weapon that attached to the top of the vehicle mode (though that weapon was significantly larger than this one).
Fisitron is mostly cast in beige, blue and grey plastic. The beige makes up most of the vehicle with blue making up smaller parts like the rear and front guards. The wheels are cast in grey. These colors match up nicely to the color layout on Ironfist. If you're familiar with the original character at all the color scheme will instantly jump out at you, which is always a good sign with a homage.
There are quite a few paint applications on this figure. Blue, green, orange, silver and pink all appear on the figure. The blue is used on everything from the exhaust pipes to the depression on the hood of the vehicle. The green is used for vent details on the sides, a call back to a similar detail on the sides of Ironfist. Orange is found near the engine. Silver gets a lot of use here. It's on the sides of the engine section in front, the exhaust pipes on the sides and the rims of each wheel. The pink may seem out of place, but it's actually a reference to the color of Ironfist's windows. Here you'll find the pink on the front for the headlights. Topping this all off is a large Autobot symbol tampographed on the hood of the jeep. The deco on this figure is simply fantastic. It has more deco apps than you generally see on a mass release figure and they all associate nicely with deco on the G1/G2 Ironfist figure.
The weapon attaches to the top of the figure and still fits nicely (and given this sculpt has gone through a few production runs that's a relief).
Trasformation to Robot Mode:
- Detach the weapon and set it aside for now.
- Pull out the parts on the sides with the exhaust pipes and swing them down.
- Pull the front part of the vehicle forward.
- Straighten out the rear portion of the vehicle to begin forming the robot legs.
- Swing out the black robot feet pieces.
- Split the rear section in the middle to complete the two legs.
- Rotate the upper body around.
- Swing the robot arms out to the sides.
- Swing up the robot head.
- Attach the tabs on the back of the claws to the slots near the waist pieces.
- Rotate the exhaust pipes on his forearms around.
- Place the weapon into either hand.
Robot Mode:
It may surprise some fans that the Collector's Club didn't create a whole new head sculpt for Fisitron, but Roadbuster's head actually works very well for the character. It has a rounded section in the middle, visor style eyes and a mouthplate with some raised lines. The rest of his body works nice with visual analogies to the G1/G2 version including the front of the vehicle forming his torso and the rear of the vehicle forming his legs.
The color layouts on this figure are similar to G1/G2 Ironfist, but not the same - and frankly it would be very difficult for them to be so. The top part is similar enough, with the torso and shoulders mostly beige while the arms and head are blue plastic. His thighs are blue, but unlike the original toy his lower legs are beige and blue (as opposed to a more brownish color with green feet).
The paint colors in this mode are the same as the vehicle, though we do get to see some metallic blue on the eyes and silver on the mouth plate. His shoulder armor has orange details as well. The rest of the deco all come from parts you could see in vehicle mode. The ones on his legs are particularly nice as they form a varied and detailed pattern. In particular I like the way orange is used on his knee armor to simulate a sticker detail from Ironfist. I also really dig how the large Autobot symbol winds up on his chest. It provides a visual punch that punctuates the rest of the deco on the figure.
All the joints on Fisitron are nice and tight and his fists still hold his weapon without a problem. I don't see any signs of flash on the plastic or any loss of details.
For those curious, the figure does have the "hand" pieces to allow him to form a limb for Ruination if you choose.
Final Thoughts:
Fisitron is not an "A list" well known character like Bumblebee or Optimus Prime, and unless you subscribed to the "Transformers Collector's Club Subscription Service" you're likely going to pay above his original price. I think the Club did a great job on the figure, but it's only going to appeal to a very specific segment of fandom.
