General Information:
Release Date: October 2018
Price Point: $14.99 (Varies by retailer)
Retailer: General Release (Target, Walmart, Amazon etc.)
Accessories: None
*Images and text below from Amazon.com:
"Picture This: Me, on Earth, still cooler than everyone this side of Optimus Prime, but I've got zero memories. Now I'm on a mission to recover My memories and discover all of My awesome powers. I’ll have to battle Decepticons, outrun an explosion or two, and be heroic- basically, I’m in for one epic ride across the cybernetic."
The menacing Acid Storm aids the evil Deceptions seeker jets by showering enemies with toxic rain. Convert and attack with Transformers cyberverse action attackers! Change figure from vehicle to robot mode in 7 steps. The last step of conversion automatically activates Acid Storm figure’s signature toxic slice action attack move! Once converted, attack move can be repeated through easy reactivation steps. Look for other action attackers figures, each sold separately, to discover the signature attack moves of favorite cyberverse characters!
Transformers and all related characters are trademarks of Hasbro.
- Warrior class acid Storm figure inspired by the Cyberverse animated series
- Each action attackers figure performs a signature character attack move
- Convert acid Storm to activate toxic slice action attack move
- Once converted, attack move can be repeated through easy reactivation steps
- Changes from robot to jet mode in 7 steps
In late 2017 it was revealed that a new Transformers cartoon would be replacing "Robots in Disguise". The series focuses on Bumblebee with partial amnesia attempting to regain his memories. A blend of G1 and modern characters combined with a more kid-friendly animation style results in a show that leans more towards a younger audience than even "Robots in Disguise", something which is reflected in the toy line. The toy line was released in countries outside the United States such as Australia around late June 2018. A few weeks later it would be released in North America.
In October of 2018, the second wave of Warrior Class "Cyberverse" figures hit shelves in the United States. Included in this wave was the Decepticon, Acid Storm. Acid Storm has the distinction of being one of the few "female" Seekers that are shown on the "Cyberverse" TV show. While the early Hasbro bio calls Acid Storm a "he", when the character finally appeared in the cartoon the character's voice was provided by actor Jamie Lamchick. This figure is a redeco of Warrior Class Starscream, so check out that review beforehand for a more detailed look at the sculpt.
Packaging:
Warrior Class "Cyberverse" figures are packaged on bubble cards. The cards have a new design which takes cues from more recent Transformers packaging. There is still a vertical "Transformers" logo on the right side, above it is a symbol (Autobot or Decepticon based on the character) and the character art is at the top of the packaging with the "Cyberverse" logo under it. Perhaps the most distinctive part of the packaging design are the colors, which utilize yellow and light blue helping them stand out against the black and red colors used for "Generations" packaging on shelves. The back of the packaging features the figure with its action feature called out. In Acid Storm's case he has a "Toxic Slice" feature. The packaging also calls out his cosells (Optimus Prime, Windblade and Megatron) and his transformation is listed as having 7 steps.
The insert on the packaging notes a recommended age of "6+" which is important to keep in mind with this Class of figure. Contrast that with a "Generations" Deluxe (such as Jazz or Sunstreaker) which have recommended ages of 8+. This age recommendation is more along the lines of "Robots in Disguise" Legion Class figures such as Bisk.
Robot Mode:
Acid Storm is a straight up redeco of Starscream without any tooling changes. From a cost perspective, it makes sense as to why the designers chose to do it this way. Traditionally, the Seekers in Transformers shows and toy lines share the same basic body type with some variations allowed for characters like the "Coneheads" (ex: Dirge or Thrust). However, in the "Cyberverse" show the animation models do vary between different Seekers. Starscream has a pair of wide shoulder armor pieces and his weapons are mounted onto his forearms. He also has a tear dropped "faux cockpit" on his torso. On the other hand, Acid Storm's animation model has more square/boxy shoulder armor pieces and the weapons are mounted on the shoulders versus the forearms. On top of that, Acid Storm's animation model has a more angled cockpit section instead of a round one.
Acid Storm is mostly cast in green and metallic lavender plastic. The green really dominates the figure with the lavender parts making up smaller bits like the elbows. Lavender paint is used on the torso and thighs. The face is painted silver and the eyes are red. The cockpit on his chest is painted yellow with a small Decepticon symbol on top. The inside of the panels that swing out from the ends of the wings are painted in a very "Energon" pink. This differs quite a bit from the animation model. There, the helmet section of the head is black and there is no lavender on the model. Also, the animation model has red lines along the top of the wings. These colors appear to be more based on the early Hasbro bio which had more green on the head and purple coloring on the chest and thighs. Regardless of animation accuracy, like Starscream there is enough left unpainted on this figure that it looks kind of unfinished, especially on the lower legs.
Acid Storm has the same ten points of articulation as Starscream, but only the arms and head are particularly meaningful. He also has the same waist/spring feature as Starscream but again the action happens so quickly the naked eye cannot really see the ends of the wings "slice" (if you film it and slow it down you can see it clearly). One feature I missed when writing Starscream's review involves locking the lower body in place. If you want to keep the upper body facing forward, there is a notch in the landing gear on the back that can attach to the peg behind the waist area to keep the waist section locked in one position.
Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
- Straighten out the arms and legs.
- Push the robot legs together.
- Rotate the upper body around to the left.
- Swing the legs and waist section back.
- Swing the cockpit section forward.
- Swing the robot arms in, tabbing them into the sides of the vehicle.
Vehicle Mode:
As mentioned above, the original artwork for Acid Storm differs from the final animation model, but this mode reinforces the idea that this figure was based on the original artwork. This mode is almost all green with the landing gear cast in lavender. The cockpit windows and parts of the wings are painted yellow and there are Decepticon symbols on the wings and...that's it. Sadly all the green kind of washes out the sculpted detail in this form so it winds up looking rather plain.
Final Thoughts:
I wish I could say my second go around with this sculpt makes me recommend it more somehow but it doesn't. The lack of articulation on the legs still bugs me quite a bit. Even if you accept its design flaws, there needs to be more deco on this figure. In both modes many sculpted details get drowned out in a sea of green. Not recommended.
Pros:
- Nice character design.
- The metallic lavender color is a nice one.
- Technically this adds another female Decepticon to the roster, something that is still relatively uncommon in the Transformers toy lines.
Cons:
- Extremely limited articulation including legs that do not bend at the knees.
- Action feature goes by so quick you basically need to slow it down on film to see it.
- Could use more paint applications.
- Vehicle mode looks awkward.
