General Information
Release Date: March 2025
Price Point: $24.99 (depending on retailer)
Retailer: General Release (Amazon, BigBadToyStore, Entertainment Earth, Target, Walmart etc.). Using the preceding links helps to support Ben's World of Transformers.
Accessories: Blasters x 2
Official images and text in italics are from Amazon.com:
- AERIALBOT SLINGSHOT ACTION FIGURE: This 5.5-inch (14 cm) Slingshot action figure features deco and detail inspiration from the Transformers universe
- 2-IN-1 CONVERTING TRANSFORMERS TOY: Transformers action figure converts from robot toy to jet toy in 17 steps
- AWESOME ACCESSORIES: This Aerialbot Slingshot Transformers figure comes with 2 blaster accessories that attach in both modes
- ARTICULATED FOR PLAY AND DISPLAY: Transformers action figures feature articulated heads, arms, and legs for action poses
- PART OF TRANSFORMERS SUPERION: Transformers Slingshot action figure combines with other Aerialbot action figures to create the Superion figure (each sold separately, subject to availability)
- GIFT TRANSFORMERS COLLECTIBLES: This Aerialbot Slingshot action figure toy makes a great collectible figure gift for any Transformers fan
- AGE OF THE PRIMES: The Thirteen Primes are the very first bots in Transformers mythology, a pantheon of beings each with a unique ability and personality. Every battle, bot, and power in the Transformers universe can be traced back to them
Unite your favorite characters from across the world of Transformers robots into your collection with the Transformers Age of the Primes Deluxe Class action figure! This 5.5-inch Aerialbot Slingshot action figure converts between robot and jet modes in 17 steps. Combine the Slingshot figure with other Transformers Aerialbot action figures to create Superion action figure! (Each sold separately, subject to availability.) The Aerialbot Slingshot figure is inspired by the character from the Transformers universe and features articulated head, arms, and legs for awesome action poses. Transformers: Age of the Primes opens up the world of the Primes, the very first bots in Transformers mythology, a pantheon of Thirteen beings, each with a unique ability and personality. Every battle, every bot, and every power in the Transformers universe can be traced back to one of The Thirteen. Collect and combine different Transformers figures to create your ideal Age of the Primes lineup. TRANSFORMERS and HASBRO and all related trademarks and logos are trademarks of Hasbro, Inc.
Background:
Slingshot was introduced in 1985 as one of the Aerialbots: a team of Autobots who all transformed into aerial vehicles. This does not sound particularly interesting nowadays, but back then most Autobots transformed into ground based vehicles (and supposedly "could not fly" though that's debatable). An entire team of Autobots who became aerial vehicles was a big deal and I can still remember my intense excitement (and that of my friends)when they were first introduced. Add to that a team that could merge into a Combiner robot? I had to have'em. I remember the deep excitement I felt when I first got my Aerialbot giftset for my combined birthday and Christmas present. It is a moment I will never forget.
Fast forward to 2025 and I'm feeling that childhood excitement again as the first wave of Age of the Primes has begun to ship and hit stores. One of the first figures released in this line is Slingshot (no longer named Quickslinger for trademark purposes, yay!). Now hang on to your hats folks because as far out as it sounds, it has been about ten years since Slingshot made a significant appearance in the Transformers toy line. Combiner Wars Quickslinger was released in 2015 and the G2 redeco came out a year later. Like the Legacy Stunticons, this figure is a whole new sculpt intended to better replicate the look of the G1 cartoon and comic books.
Packaging:
Age of the Primes represents a dramatic shift in Generations packaging. Unlike previous years of the War for Cybertron trilogy or Legacy which went in dramatic directions with packaging shape and artwork, the designers have dialed back the look of the boxes a lot. The Age of the Primes packaging winds up looking a lot more like Studio Series packaging. The boxes are now rectangular. No weird angles or anything. The background is just plain black. The "Transformers" logo is no longer vertical (dropping a trend that began over ten years ago) and is now horizontal in the front of the packaging with the "Age of the Primes" name underneath it. Character art is featured to the right, but it's only partial art showing a bit of the character in robot mode with focus on the vehicle mode underneath. To the left are icons describing how many steps the character takes to convert from one mode to the other and the age recommendation (8+ in this case).
Slingshot sits inside the box attached to a cardboard tray. You can see the entire figure in robot mode thanks to the return of plastic windows! Fans will recall that for the last few years Transformers toys have had no plastic windows in an effort to (ostensibly) make more eco-friendly packaging. However, this led to damaged toys with heads being yanked off and sometimes figures being outright stolen. For many fans, the return of the plastic windows is a welcome one.
The back of the box shows the character in both modes calling out a 17 step transformation. Behind the character is a sky background with a wheel showing some of the Thirteen Prime symbols. While Slingshot's "limb mode" is not shown, it is called out in a text blurb describing him as "2 of 5" and the phrase "Collect to Combine" (catchy!). The right side of the box (if you're looking at the front) features the phrase "'Til All Are One" in multiple languages along with artwork of Primes including Solus Prime. The other side features a part of Superion's artwork.
I think the designers were going for a more "adult" and "premium" appearance to the packaging and to that end it works. It looks like something you'd see in a museum shop, but I do feel some of the fun and whimsy of the dramatic Legacy artwork and visual bombast has been lost and I'm a tad sad about that.
Accessories:
Slingshot includes two identical blasters. The design is based on his G1 animation/comic book model's weapon. This weapon is relatively flat, featuring a rectangular section from the back to the middle. The front half is made up of two weapon barrels. The rectangular section has layers of detailing and the barrels each have a front sight on them. Both weapons feature 5mm pegs at the bottom. These blasters are made out of black plastic with no paint applications. The weapons look great and match up brilliantly with what was seen in the G1 cartoon and comic books. Each barrel end has a tip that allows you to attach Blast Effects.
Robot Mode:
Given that Combiner Wars Quickslinger was the last significant release of this character, comparisons between that figure and this one are inevitable. Let's start with size and weight. For those worried about height, both figures (from head to toe, not counting the nosecone sticking up from the back) both figures are about 5.25 inches (about 13.3 cm) tall. If you weigh the figures Quickslinger weighs in at 2.5 ounces but Slingshot surprisingly is 2.9! Now I grant that if you threw in all the accessories that difference might not be as significant, but still, if you had any concerns about significant shrinkage from one version to another you can put those to rest.
When you compare the designs of Quickslinger and Slingshot, it's clear that Quickslinger was intended to be a more modern and stylized version of Slingshot. Age of the Primes Slingshot however is a straight forward interpretation of the comic book and cartoon model into toy form. Where Quickslinger has many angled and pointed looking sections, Slingshot is much more blocky looking. This is very noticeable when you compare parts like the torso and shoulder designs between the two figures.
The G1-centric design elements on this figure include:
- Head: Slingshot's head is round, looking almost like a bald human with visor glasses on. The head is sandwiched between to square panels. These panels go all the way back to the G1 toy where the head formed a square peg to attach to Silverbolt to form Superion.
- Torso:Slingshot's torso section features two large, rectangular sections set vertically on either side of his chest. This then leads to similar, but smaller sections at his waist area. A panel in the middle makes up the detail that would have been his landing gear on the G1 toy.
- Legs: The lower legs on this figure feature a series of horizontal lines sculpted in the middle. This borrows directly from the G1 animation model and toy.
- Back: The basic design of the four Aerialbot "limbs" involved the nosecone and parts of their airplane modes winding up on their backs. This was reflected in both the cartoon and comic books. Slingshot's cockpit section winds up on his back, sticking up behind his head. However, his wings are not attached to that section (as they were in the cartoon) but instead are attached to his legs. This makes the figure more like its G1 predecessor where the vehicle mode wings are attached to the back of the legs.
Slingshot is made up of red, black and white plastic. The featured paint colors in this mode include two shades of orange and black. Black is used to fill in details like the fists and parts of the torso. Interestingly, the robot head features two shades of orange, one for the head and another for the visor eyes (which is a slightly lighter shade of the color). Sadly the designers missed (or chose not to use) one detail from the cartoon. In the show Slingshot had an Autobot symbol on his left shoulder. Here, no such symbol exists. It is likely the designers were concerned about such a symbol potentially scraping off due to how this piece moves during transformation. That aside, the deco is rather simple and "clean" looking since it uses the G1 series as reference and that's fine by me.
There are twenty two points of articulation on this figure. That includes four in each arm and six in each leg. His weapons can be held in his fists or attached to 5mm ports on the sides of the forearms. What's odd is that on my copy at least, the left fist port is much tighter than the right, so I had to really (carefully) squish his blaster into that hand. I don't plan on doing that a lot as it could lead to breakage in the future. No telling if this is a common problem or not but I felt a responsibility to mention it. None of the other ports have this issue.
Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
- Detach the accessories and set them aside for now.
- Straighten out the arms and legs.
- Turn the head around.
- Rotate the arms around at the joint right below the shoulder.
- Swing the forearms up against the biceps.
- Swing the arms up and push them in so they are flanking the head.
- Swing the cockpit section back, then forward to cover the robot head.
- Point each foot down.
- Swing the heel pieces back against the feet.
- Swing the rear stabilizer fin up.
- Swing the front of each lower leg forward.
- Push the lower legs together.
- Move the lower legs forward (along with the wings etc.) over the thighs.
- Swing the lower leg front panels back up.
- The blasters can attach to the ports on the underside of each wing.
Vehicle Mode:
The original Slingshot transformed into an (unlicensed) approximation a Harrier Jump jet. That original toy design was reinterpreted for the cartoon, and this figure is based on that model. Some of the Harrier design elements still show here (albeit, in a modified fashion). These include:
- Cockpit Section: The cockpit section is not long and pointed like some jet fighters. Instead if it is kind of short and much wider with a large cockpit cover.
- Air intakes: The real life Harrier Jump Jet has large, half circle air intakes flanking the base of the cockpit section. This figure has air intakes in the same place but they are significantly shrunken down compared to those on the real life vehicle.
- Rear Stabilizers: The stabilizer fins at the rear of the vehicle include two horizontal fins and one vertical fin. This "T" pattern is similar to what is seen on the real life Harrier Jet.
This mode mostly shows off white plastic. Black and orange paint are used for details like the nosecone and cockpit cover respectively. In a fun nod to the G1 toy, you'll see black stripes behind the cockpit and in the middle of the vehicle. Both of these call back to parts of the original G1 Slingshot toy that acted as a hinge during its transformation! The wings have red and blue stripes tampos on them based on the G1 toy and cartoon. The wings also have red Autobot symbols on them right next to them.
The underside of each wing has a 5mm port on it allowing you to attach the weapons. The back of Slingshot's head has his landing gear which you swing down manually. This was a kind of funny and surprising touch.
Final Thoughts:
One of the biggest reservations some fans may have had about this figure is how different it is from the Combiner Wars release and I am happy to say while the Quickslinger and Slingshot toys represent the same character, they do so in very different ways. If you've been waiting for a figure that represents G1 Slingshot's animation model, this is it. Could it be better? Sure. I would have liked wrist articulation and an Autobot symbol on the left shoulder, but overall it is still recommended.
Pros:
- Excellent sculpt that calls back to the G1 cartoon and comic book beautifully.
- Fun and intuitive transformation.
- I appreciate the figure having two weapons instead of just one.
Cons:
- Could have used a tad more articulation.
- I would have liked the Autobot symbol on the left shoulder.
