General Information:
Release Date: February 2021
Price Point: $29.99 (depending on retailer)
Retailer: General Release (Amazon, BigBadToyStore, Entertainment Earth etc.)
Accessories: Blaster
Official images and text below in italics are from Amazon:
- DISCOVER KINGDOM: Worlds collide when the Maximals and Predacons join the fight, coming together with the Autobots and Decepticons in an epic battle that will alter their destiny forever
- BEASTIFY THE BATTLEFIELD: Unleash the primal power of the beasts with the ancient and highly advanced F.O.S.S.I.L. technology. Sentient Fossilizer bots, infused with primordial energy, break apart and weaponize their allies. Use Deluxe Fossilizer figures to beastify this Cyclonus figure with epic bone armor! (Each sold separately, subject to availability.)
- G1-INSPIRED ALT MODE: This G1-inspired toy converts into Cybertronian fighter craft mode in 34 steps
- CLASSIC G1 ACCESSORY: Comes with classic G1-inspired Oxidating Laser accessory
- GOLDEN DISK CARDS REVEAL POSSIBLE DESTINIES: Includes a Golden Disk card that reveals a possible destiny of a key character. Collect other Kingdom figures to reveal all 3 alternate destiny variants for each character!
Beastify the battlefield! Worlds collide when the Maximals and Predacons join the fight, coming together with the Autobots and Decepticons in an epic battle that will alter their destiny forever.With the ancient and highly advanced F.O.S.S.I.L. (Fossilized Osteo-Skeletal Shield Integration Loadout) technology, Fossilizer bots, infused with primordial energy, break apart to weaponize their allies. Use Deluxe Fossilizer figures to beastify the Cyclonus figure with bone armor! (Sold separately, subject to availability.) Cyclonus, a Herald of Unicron, first appears in the 1986 movie when Bombshell/Skywarp/both/neither was reformatted into the second-in-command of Galvatron. This G1-inspired toy converts into Cybertronian fighter craft mode in 34 steps and comes with Oxidating Laser accessory.Includes a Golden Disk card that reveals a possible destiny of a key character. C Collect other Kingdom figures to reveal all 3 alternate destiny variants for each character! (Each sold separately. Subject to availability.)
Packaging:
A new style of packaging was introduced with Kingdom. The shape is very similar to what has been seen with Siege and Earthrise, with a rectangular box that has an angled panel on the left. This time however the box does not have a window in front that shows off the entire figure. Instead, the window is much smaller and basically shows the figure from the mid-body up. This small window has plastic over it, but what this allows for is artwork featuring the character in both modes, something that is extremely uncommon for the Transformers line. Like previous Generations packaging the Transformers logo is set vertically on the right side with the Generations and Takara Tomy logos above it. On the lower part (under the window) is the Kingdom logo. On this box, Cyclonus is shown in a bit of an action scene with him in vehicle mode on the angled section and then crouched in robot mode in the front. It gives the appearance of the character transforming and landing and it looks great!
The back of the box shows Cyclonus in both modes calling out a thirty four step transformation. Above him is a modified Predacon symbol which appears to incorporate elements of the Decepticon symbol. In the corner is a nice, classic callback featuring the Transformers logo with the "More than Meets the Eye" tag line under it. Overall this packaging is beautiful and I think it really popped on store shelves.
Boxed figures such as Cyclonus include a card featuring characters in the line and their potential "destinies". There are 16 variants of these cards to collect and they come randomly packaged in the inserts. I also highly recommend being careful with the cardboard trays. Do not just toss them out. Look on the back and sides to be sure you have removed all the accessories and cards before you dispose of them.
Accessories:
Cyclonus includes a blaster based on the one he used in the G1 animated series. The blaster has a medium sized barrel with "fins" on the top and bottom of the barrel. The back section is a thicker section with two indentations in the front and two wing-like structures angling upward to the sides. The sculpt on this weapon is nice and intricate and features a lot of the details from the animation model.
Cyclonus' weapon has a 5mm peg for him to hold it. The end of the barrel has an attachment point for Blast Effects. While made up of lavender colored plastic, most of the weapon is painted silver.
Robot Mode:
A lot of modern day Generations action figures aim to offer up a more "show accurate" version of various characters, but to be fair Cyclonus already had a pretty spectacular action figure back in 2008 with a Deluxe Class figure. However, this time out the designers aimed to create a Voyager Class figure that would use the animation model as its foundation and in my view they have done a spectacular job. Cyclonus has a very distinct design and a lot of the key design elements from the animation model appear here including:
- The head features the distinct cone shape seen in the cartoon along with the "bunny ears" sticking up from the sides. His face has a very prominent chin piece.
- Each arm has a distinct shoulder section with an indentation on the front. Wings are mounted on the back. Meanwhile, each forearm is tube shaped with fins sticking out the sides.
- The chest is relatively sleek and thin looking with a six sided panel in the abdominal area. A small trapezoid shape is set above that at the bottom of the chest.
- The knee armor is a six sided shape (similar to the design on the abdominal area).
- Part of the cockpit is on his back, though in the cartoon it was sometims drawn facing the other way with the windows facing upward.
Coloring of characters in G1 was not always consistent from episode to episode, but the designers seemed to have looked at several images of the character from the G1 cartoon and gone with what struck them the most. To that end, Cyclonus is mostly lavender and silver platic. The reflect the darker colors on Cyclonus, there are metallic lavender and purple paint applications on the head, wings, knees and feet. The face is painted silver and his eye are translucent orange plastic, complete with light piping in the back of the head! This same orange plastic is found on the chest and abdominal area. Overall, Cyclonus' sculpt and deco make for one beautiful figure and a fantastic representation of the character's animated counterpart!
There are twenty two points of articulation on this figure including five in each arm and leg. He can hold his weapon in either fist or you can attach it to the 5mm ports on his shoulders, forearms or legs. He also has three ports on the back. On top of all that are ports on the bottom of his feet. Of course, all these ports then allow you to give him additional weapons via Weaponizers, Modulators, Micromasters etc. What I appreciate is that these extra ports add play value without diminishing the aesthetics significantly. In an appreciated nod to the Siege toy line, Cyclonus features pegs on his chest, waist and right leg that allow you to attach Blast Effects to make it look like he is being hit with weapons fire. This is one of my favorite details in the War for Cybertron trilogy toys.
Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
- Detach all the accessories and set them aside for now.
- Straighten out the arms and legs.
- On the back of each lower leg, swing out the rear panel. Push the thighs into the lower legs. Swing up the feet, then swing out the end of the panel and push it down into place.
- On each forearm, swing up the top panel, then rotate the fist around, then push the panel back down.
- Swing the arms/shoulders and the panels they are attached to back.
- Swing the back panel and chest panels out.
- Swing the section with the robot head back and the nosecone section forward.
- The piece that is attached to the robot head extends out twice to create the front of the vehicle. Just open the panels at the bottom, swing the pieces out and extend the parts inside forward, then close up the panels.
- Close the back and chest panels.
- Push the lower legs together, then swing them down slightly.
- Rotate the cockpit section on the back of the robot (with the arms attached) around.
- Swing each arm panel down and rotate the arms back.
- Rotate the forearms around, and attach them to the sides of the lower legs.
- Swing the wings up on each shoulder and connect them to the sides of the arms.
- The weapon can fit on top of the cockpit.
Vehicle Mode:
Cyclonus is not just a distinct looking character in robot mode. His vehicle mode is also something to behold. The original action figure was thin and sleek looking with forward swept wings and a long nosecone section. The animation model took this base design and ran with it, rounding off parts on the sides and making the front end more pointy while still keeping the super sleek aspects of the design. This design reflects that beautifully. What I also love is the way most of the robot mode parts are hidden away here. There is no robot head peeking out from underneath the figure nor are there any hands or feet sticking out. Everything has been tucked away nicely and the vehicle looks fantastic.
This mode also consists mainly of lavender plastic with some silver bits sticking out especially at the very front. Silver and purple paint make up a lot of detailing along the length of the vehicle and the wings. The translucent orange plastic shows up again in the from of the windows on the cockpit area.
This mode exposes three 5mm ports to attach additional accessories: one on top and two on the sides.
Final Thoughts:
Kingdom Cyclonus absolutely rocks. While I have a lot of love for Universe Cyclonus, this figure is the Cyclonus fans have waited years for! Highly recommended.
Pros:
- Excellent sculpt.
- Good cartoon-based deco.
- Fun play value with several attachment points for 5mm peg accessories and Blast Effects.
- Intuitive and impressive transformation.
Cons:
- The robot mode could have used a slight bit more deco on bits like the forearms, but I'm really reaching here.
