General Information:
Release Date: June 2015
Price Point: $24.99 (depending on retailer)
Retailer: General (Toys R Us, Target, Wal-Mart etc.)
Accessories: Rifle, Shield/wings
Official images with asterisks and text below in italics are from Amazon.com:
Cyclonus uses mind control to combine with any bot, siphoning the powers of whichever Autobots or Decepticons will serve his purpose of unleashing chaos across the universe. The Combiner Wars are heating up and your 2-in-1 Cyclonus figure is ready to take on either side. This hardcore mind-controller is a terrible powerhouse in robot mode, wielding his nightstick against any kind of enemy. But when the time comes for an airborne attack, he can convert to jet mode. He’s also got the power to combine with other bots (sold separately) to form a massive Galvatronus figure. Convert, combine and attack with your awesome Cyclonus figure. Transformers and all related characters are trademarks of Hasbro.
The theme for the "Generations" segment of the "Transformers" toy line in 2015 is "Combiner Wars". The focus will be on updated versions of Combiners from the past (with some new elements thrown in for good measure). The idea is to take lessons learned from the Bruticus released a couple years ago and create better Combiners featuring a Voyager Class central body piece with Deluxe sized limbs. To spice things up a bit, some of the Legends Class figures released for "Combiner Wars" will be able to serve as weaponry for the combined giants.
One of the unexpected releases in "Combiner Wars" is a Voyager Class Cyclonus figure! This figure is a redeco and retool of Silverbolt. This is a significant retool so this review will focus on the changes made to the figure for this release (of which there are many).
Packaging:
The packaging for "Combiner Wars" creates a very clear delineation between the main "Robots in Disguise" toy line for 2015 and the more collector oriented "Generations" segment. While the packaging uses the same basic "Transformers" logo as the "Robots in Disguise" line, it is set against a black background instead of white on the right side of the box. Above that is an Autobot symbol with the word "Generations" indicating the segment of the line. The figure itself is on display in robot mode through a window. On the lower left side is artwork of the figure with the words "Combiner Wars" below it and the name "Cyclonus" below that. The side of the packaging shows the artwork for Galvatronus.
The back of the box features the toy in both modes with a small write up in multiple languages. There are sadly no tech spec stats. The right side shows a schematic of Cyclonus in his "Galvatronus" torso form. The cosells are all figures that were available in stores at the same time, namely Skydive, Air Raid, Dragstrip and Breakdown. This reinforces the idea that Cyclonus is able to "mind control" others into combining with him.
The "Combiner Wars" figures all come with collector cards printed on thick cardboard. The artwork is based on this figure, complete with a "shield" formed from part of his rifle.
Accessories:
Cyclonus comes with the same rifle as Silverbolt. This time it is cast in silver plastic. The weapon splits into two parts. The back half becomes a shield like piece and the front basically becomes a long weapon barrel. Both sections have 5mm pegs so the figure can hold it.
Robot Mode:
For this particular redeco/retool the designers were not content to just give the figure a new head and call it a day. Instead they really went all in on this and retooled many parts (on the order of what was done to create Streetwise). Here are the changes made:
Head: The head sculpt is all new. It is inspired by both the G1 and IDW Publishing designs. The top of his head has a high crest in the center and two curved horns on the top. He has a long face with a pointed nose (which is more IDW than G1 in design). It's a cool head sculpt and looks great.
Torso: The two panels that make up the torso section have been changed. This includes the chest panel, which is now curved with some pointed details on it. The outside of the torso has details that look like straps going over the top of the chest.
Wings: The wings on the back of the figure are totally different than Silverbolt's. In this mode they sweep up and have extra points that sweep up behind the shoulders.
Leg Armor: The sides of the leg armor are all new pieces that become Galvatronus' torso armor.
Stabilizers: There are small stabilizer fins that attach to his forearms. These are inspired by similar details that go all the way back to the G1 Cyclonus design.
Cyclonus is cast in metallic purple, dark metallic purple and silver plastic. The metallic purple makes up most of the figure including the wings, the head, torso, forearms and lower legs. The dark metallic purple (a pleasant surprise color-wise) was used for the shoulders and feet. Silver is used on smaller parts like the upper arms, thighs and knee armor.
The main paint color used on this figure is silver. It's found on the head, chest, mid-body, fists and thighs. His eyes are painted red. Some black is used on the forearm. The finishing touch is a tampographed Decepticon symbol on the center of his chest. It's a very simple color scheme, but Cyclonus never really had a super complex color scheme to begin with. This color scheme works perfectly for the character and I really love the metallic purple colors in conjunction with the silver paint. The darker purple color also helps take attention away from some of the more "Silverbol-esque" details such as the shoulders and lower legs.
All nineteen points of articulation on this figure are nice and tight. The ratchet joints on his arms in particular are very solid clicking loudly into place as I move the joint. His weapon also holds nice and snug in his fists.
Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
- Detach the weapon/shield and stabilizers, then set them aside for now.
- Straighten out all the limbs.
- Swing the chest panel forward, then swing the head back behind the chest panel and swing it back into place.
- Swing the plane's cockpit section up.
- On each leg, swing the panel on the back of out, then collpase the heel pieces into the feet and swing the feet into the opening. Swing the panels back.
- Rotate the lower legs inward, then swing them up, connecting them to form part of the vehicle's rear section.
- Rotate the robot arms inward, then bend them at the elbow. There is a notch on each forearm that connects to a corresponding tab on the underside of each wing.
- Swing the vertical stabilizer fin up.
- Reattach the stabilizers to the underside of each robot fist on the sides.
- The rifle can be attached to the underside of the cockpit section or to the holes on the forearms.
Vehicle Mode:
When this basic sculpt was first released as Silverbolt much of the vehicle mode relied on "jet parts on the back" and this version is no different. This mode shows off a ton of the new sculpting used on this figure. Most of it is focused on the middle section, the nosecone and wings. The wings are thin and sweep forward, a feature Cyclonus has had since Generation One. He has two small vertical stabilizers than can be positioned straight up or at angles. His nosecone is long and thins towards the front with the actual cockpit section set back a bit. Other cool details include vents in the front of the raised sections with the vertical stabilizers. This vehicle is instantly recognizable as Cyclonus and despite having significant "undercarriage junk", he looks great in this form.
Cyclonus mostly shows off the metallic purple plastic in this mode. Dark purple details are used to paint the vent area near the wings and part of the section in front of the cockpit windows. Silver is also used in the front section for the middle of the nosecone. Yellow paint is used to paint the windows. Once again there isn't a ton of deco on this figure, but he looks great. It could have used a tad more silver perhaps on the wings, but that's about it.
The weapon still attaches to the underside of the nosecone without a problem. The 5mm ports on his robot arms are visible on the bottom of the vehicle so you can attach weapons to those too if you'd like.
Transformation to Galvatronus/torso Mode (Starting in robot mode):
- Detach all accessories and set them aside for now.
- Swing the panels on the back of the lower legs out, then swing the robot feet and heels together and swing them into that slot.
- Swing the chest panel forward, swing the robot head back then push the panel back into place.
- Rotate each robot arm up, then swing the fists back.
- Swing the panel that forms the mid-body and waist out, revealing Galvatronus' head. Swing the head up.
- Swivel each lower robot leg in, then swing the lower against the central body. There is a tab on each of the lower legs that slides into a notch on the central part of the vehicle mode.
- Swing the knee armor panels on each lower leg down.
- Swing the panel that forms the center of the chest up.
- Push the two halves of Galvatronus' torso armor together.
- Swing the panels on each shoulder out and down.
- Attach the stabilizer fins to the sides of the thighs.
Galvatronus:
The retooling of this sculpt comes full circle with the Galvatronus torso mode. What's surprising is that a good chunk of this mode are all carry over parts from Silverbolt, yet the torso mode looks very different than Superion in this mode. The shoulder connection points, hips and thighs are all the same as Superion's, but the colors help differentiate them from Superion. There is heavy use of purple with silver paint details. Add to that the new waist area, torso plates and head and the torso looks very different than Superion's. The head sculpt is largely based on Galvatron's classic animation design.
The top of the head has a crown like design and the head has an angled cheek area with thin eyes and a pronounced chin. The chest looks like there is a thruster tube in the center flanked by landing gear and three rocket launchers on either side. The mid-body has a design with four squares and raised patterns in the middle of each that look like designs from Generation One Galvatron's animation model. Under that is a "belt buckle" style detail that is also a call back to G1 Galvatron. All these details work together beautifully to create a new Combiner torso.
Silver paint is used on the face along with red eyes. Red and silver are also used on the details from the chest, mid-body and "belt". A Decepticon symbol is tampographed onto the left side of the chest. Not only does the sculpt resemble G1 Galvatron, but these colors are also inspired by the character.
An interesting character note: many fans have wondered if Galvatronus is Galvatron reincarnated through Cyclonus or something similar. When I spoke to Hasbro at Botcon 2015 however they indicated Galvatronus is basically Cyclonus' mind in "Combiner" form, it is not a reincarnated Galvatron in any way.
All of the limb connection points are nice and tight on Cyclonus. The hip joints (the shoulder joints from the robot mode) are particularly tight so he can be posed and remain stable. There are no specific limbs "assigned" to Cyclonus such as the Aerialbots or Stunticons hence his tech specs mentioning he can mentally control other Transformers to become his limbs.
Final Thoughts:
Cyclonus is an unexpected figure. You typically wouldn't think a Silverbolt figure would work as the basis for a Cyclonus figure - but it totally works. I'm impressed at how many parts were replaced from Silverbolt to Cyclonus and the colors are beautiful and rich. Some folks won't want to bother with this figure, especially if you already own "Universe 2.0" Cyclonus. If you don't own any Cyclonus figures however I think this guy is more than worth a spot in your collection!
