General Information:
Release Date: Released over the course of 2016
Price Point: $297 (for the Transformers Subscription Service 4.0 with a total of seven figures)
Retailer: Limited Release (Toys R Us, Target, Amazon, Walmart etc.)
Accessories: Reference individual figure releases (linked below)
In the Generation One Marvel Comic book series there was a multi-part story called "The Matrix Quest" where a group of Decepticons led by Thunderwing sought out the corrupted Matrix of Leadership. The Transformers Collector's Club 4.0 used this series as inspiration by creating a new iteration of the "Mayhem Attack Squad" who could all combine to form the Combiner Thunder Mayhem - a giant based on Thunderwing himself. The set even had a Matrix accessory included with Windsweeper!
Thunder Mayhem is the combined form of five figures:
Check out the reviews linked above for a look at the individual characters who made up this Combiner. Bludgeon's review in particular has my thoughts on the torso mode.
This torso form features a new head sculpt based on Thunderwing's comic book appearance. This includes a curved helmet section with raised lines on the sides, a curved horn/crest section on the top and an organic looking face with a pointed chin. If you're wondering why a robot had an organic looking face, Thunderwing was a Pretender, a robot who lived inside a "shell" that was partly organic. This head sculpt represents the comic book interpretation of the character very well.
If you are looking for a uniform color scheme, Thunder Mayhem is not your 'bot. Instead, every section of this Combiner seems to be doing its own thing visually. The green in the center does a nice job of reflecting both Bludgeon's base color and the "Matrix energy" color used in the G1 Marvel Comic Book. The grey on the torso and head call back to G1 Thunderwing and the black colors on the torso and thighs do a great job of breaking up the brighter colors. I also love the use of yellow on the face and black outline on the eyes. This calls directly back to the character's G1 comic book appearance. The large Decepticon symbol on the torso boldly declares just whose side this guy is on.
The rest of Thunder Mayhem very much keeps with the color aesthetic of the late 80's and even though there are few colors binding them together, this team looks like they belong together. This is partly thanks to the hand/foot/weapon pieces where two are blue and two are grey. These colors call back to Thunderwing himself so they act as a uniting visual factor. It also helps that most of the figures have some type of light grey on them, which is a key Thunderwing color.
The other colors on this figure all come from the various team members. The most striking (to me at least) are the purple and pink on Spinister followed by Grabuge's beige and purple colors. Needlenose's light grey and lavender balance out these brighter colors well and Windsweeper's colors serve as a nice middle point color-wise.
In terms of functionality all the joints on this figure are nice and tight partly because so many of them are ratchet joints. The elbow joints are fine on all four limbs though I would not expect them to be able to hold up Legends Class figures in weapon form.
There is one issue I had with this figure that is not unexpected. The way the hip joints are assembled the figure tends to lean forward a bit if you try to stand the figure up straight. Instead what you need to do is lean the figure back one notch on the hip joints. He'll look like he's puffing his chest out a bit, but it looks good and he does not droop over (and possibly fall over).
Thanks to the huge assortment of accessories included with the various team members you have a lot of options for Thunder Mayhem's weaponry. There are of course the huge swords that he can hold in one or both hands. He can also use the rifles or the Targetmaster weapons. You can also use the port on the back of the figure for weapon storage. If you angle them right, you can store the swords on the back as well.
Final Thoughts:
Thunder Mayhem is a fantastic culmination of an impressive set of Transformers Collector's Club subscription figures. This is one of my absolute favorite pieces from the club. I love the way it looks, the play value and how it pays homage to the G1 Marvel comic books. This is a fantastic piece for anyone's collection. However after market prices will be high given the initial cost of the set so this is really best for hardcore collectors.
