General Information
Release Date: October 2024
Price Point: $24.99 (depending on retailer)
Retailer: Amazon Exclusive with limited quantities available on Hasbro Pulse
Accessories: Hammer, Mace, Blaster, Shield (Breakdown), Cleansweep and Ozone Targetmaster figures (Windsweeper)
Official images and text in italics are from Amazon.com:
- DOOM ‘N DESTRUCTION COLLECTION 2-PACK: The Mayhem Attack Squad set includes Prime Universe Breakdown action figure and Windsweeper action figure
- 2-IN-1 CONVERTING TRANSFORMERS TOYS: Prime Universe Breakdown 4.5 inch (11 cm) action figure converts between robot and truck mode. Windsweeper 6.5 inch (16.5 cm) action figure converts between robot and jet mode
- 2-IN-1 CONVERTING MICROMASTER TRANSFORMER TOYS: The pack includes Targetmaster Decepticon Ozone action figure and Targetmaster Decepticon Cleansweep action figure that convert between robot and blaster mode
- AWESOME ACCESSORIES: The Doom ‘n Destruction Collection Mayhem Attack Squad pack comes with a hammer, gatling gun and drill tip, mace and shield
- ARTICULATED FOR PLAY AND DISPLAY: Transformers figures feature articulated heads, arms, and legs for action poses
- CELEBRATE THE LEGACY: Transformers Legacy United honors 40 years of Transformers animated history! Collect other Legacy: United figures to unite your collection (each sold separately, subject to availability)
- GIFT TRANSFORMERS COLLECTIBLES: This action figure toy 2-pack makes a great collectible figure gift for any Transformers fan
Unite your favorite characters from across the world of Transformers robots into your collection with the Transformers Legacy United Doom ‘n Destruction Collection Mayhem Attack Squad! Prime Universe Breakdown action figure converts between robot and truck mode, Windsweeper action figure converts between robot and jet mode, and Targetmaster Decepticon Ozone figure and Targetmaster Decepticon Cleansweep figure convert between robot and blaster mode. Gear up with the included accessories. Prime Universe Breakdown figure and Windsweeper figure have articulated head, arms, and legs. Ozone and Cleansweep figures have articulated arms and legs. Celebrate the last 40 years of Transformers history with Transformers Legacy action figures. Transformers Legacy opens the portal to a whole new universe of -- More Than Meets the Eye -- bringing together every Transformers generation like you’ve never seen before. Collect and combine different characters to create your ideal Legacy lineup. TRANSFORMERS and HASBRO and all related trademarks and logos are trademarks of Hasbro, Inc. © 2024 Hasbro.
Background:
The Mayhem Attack Squad was originally introduced in the G1 Marvel Comics as a counterpoint to the Autobot Wreckers. Back in 2022 Amazon released an exclusive capsule featuring the Wreckers, now two years later they have released a series of figures as a new incarnation of the Mayhem Attack Squad in the guise of the title "Doom 'n Destruction"! One of the two packs released in this series featured a new version of Transformers Prime Breakdown and G1 Windsweeper (partnered with two Targetmasters Cleansweep and Ozone). These figures are retools and redecos of Legacy Bulkhead and Needlenose so you'll definitely want to check out those reviews before this review. This review will focus on the changes made to these figures for this release.
Packaging:
Breakdown and Windsweeper are packaged in a rectangular, closed box. The front features a space background with a dramatic purple and blue light pattern as a background. To the right is the vertical "Transformers" logo while the "Legacy United Doom 'n Destruction Collection" logo is on the lower left. On the upper left is a box saying the names of the characters: "Prime Universe Breakdown" and "Windsweeper". There are tentacles reaching out from the corners which unintentionally connect it to Mayhem Attack Squad member Octopunch and the Walmart exclusive Pirate collection (which includes figures like Filch). Artwork for both characters is featured in the middle (but the Targetmasters are excluded). The top of the box shows off the Mayhem Attack Squad logo which was introduced in the IDW Publishing "Treads and Circuits" series. The faction symbol is surrounded by the aforementioned tentacles. The back of the box shows off all the figures in the box including the Targetmasters. Breakdown's transformation is listed as 30 steps while Windsweeper's is 14. The back also calls out Cleansweep and Ozone's names (both with the "Decepticon" descriptor for trademark reasons).
Accessories:
Breakdown includes all the accessories that came with Bulkhead. Here's a rundown partly based on my Bulkhead review:
- Tarp Cover/Shield: This is a large piece that covers most of the vehicle mode's top half. In vehicle mode it is meant to be a fabric tarp over metal panels, complete with cloth-like details sculpted in. This piece can be detached to be used as a shield. There are hinged pieces on either side so you can play around a bit with its configuration. There is a green 5mm peg on one side and a black one on the other. There is also a 5mm port so you can place a weapon on top of it in vehicle mode. This piece is cast in dark blue plastic with orange Mayhem Attack Squad symbols on either side.
- Mace: Bulkhead's main weapon was his mace, which would appear at his wrist but since it is part of the tooling Hasbro threw it in for Breakdown. This accessory is black plastic with silver painted on the outside. Flip the top of it open and you'll find the 5mm peg inside that can side into any character's hand for combat! In keeping with the play pattern of the line, the mace has three 5mm ports to attach other weapons or Blast Effects.
- Blaster: Breakdown's blaster is a Cybertronian gatling gun, with multiple weapon barrels on a larger cylinder in front and more angled, bulky sections towards the middle and back. This piece is made up of translucent grey plastic with silver and purple paint. The middle section has a 5mm port on either side to attach other weapons. The back has a smaller peg on either side used to attach to the figure in robot mode.
- Hammer: In Transformers: Prime Breakdown's melee weapon was a hammer, a counter to Bulkhead's mace. This set includes the hammer designed to look like the one he had in the show. One end is flat while the other is angled. This piece has a short handle so he can hold it in his hand which is close enough to almost look like it is replacing his hand. This piece has a 5mm peg on the side of the handle and 5mm ports on either side in the middle. This piece is made of grey plastic with silver paint.
Robot Mode:
When Legacy Bulkhead was released many fans found the design of his body kind of confusing. Instead of the round, well...bulky figure that fans were used to his body was more boxy looking. This was explained away as a change in his form when he entered the "Legacy Universe" but now that we see this figure as Breakdown we can see how this figure was always meant to be an interpretation of this character. Don't get me wrong, this is not a representation of Breakdown as he appeared in Transformers Prime. Instead, like Bulkhead, it feels like this is an interpretation of the character through a more G1 oriented lens. Instead of having curved lines and sharp points everywhere, this body is much more blocky with a lot of rectangles and squares. However, if you look at the body there are definite parallels to the Transformers Prime design. The front of the vehicle forming the chest calls back to Prime bulkhead's wide chest. The wheels on his back are placed where Prime Bulkhead had a wheel on his back. The legs feature knee armor designs that could be extrapolated from Prime Bulkhead's knee armor and he has wide feet just like the Prime version but they are flat in front instead of being pointed. Overall, I'd argue this body works much better as Breakdown than Bulkhead.
This figure features a new head sculpt based on the Prime Breakdown's design. This is the most "Prime"-looking feature of the figure. The head is roughly a "Y" shape with a "Y" shaped face that has a helmet tightly wrapped around it. The helmet extends down, covering his nose. He has thin eyes that come right up against the upper edge of the helmet section. It is a very distinct head sculpt that has a very alien feel to it (as many head sculpts in Prime did). The head looks fantastic and I am really glad they did not try to make it "more G1".
Breakdown is made up of blue, grey and translucent grey plastic. The color swaps between Bulkhead and Breakdown are pretty simple. Blue on Breakdown largely replaces green on Bulkhead. The grey on Breakdown replaces the silver on Bulkhead. The translucent grey replaces Bulkhead's translucent blue parts. The black is mostly used on the wheels and remains the same. Paint colors include blue, silver, gunmetal grey, gold and orange. The orange and gold are really nice because they are metallic colors and really pop against the darker plastic colors. My only criticism is that the blue paint used on the chest piece is lighter than the blue plastic used on the figure. In this mode it doesn't really matter, but in vehicle mode the difference between the two blue colors becomes very apparent.
All the joints on my copy of this figure feel fine and all the weapons attach without an issue.
Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
- Detach all the accessories and set them aside for now. Technically you can leave the shield attached to the back during transform but I prefer having it out of the way.
- Straighten out the arms and legs.
- Separate each arm (via the shoulder area) from the torso section, then swing each one down.
- Swing the torso section up.
- Swing the top half of the body back on the central hinge.
- Swing the black piece in the waist area up.
- Swing the enter upper half of the body on the hinge in front of the middle section. This will "snap" a bit when you move it so don't freak out (I totally did).
- Push the head into the torso cavity.
- Push the panel inside the torso cavity up to fill in the hole where the head was.
- Swing both arms down and in, connecting the shoulder sections together in the middle using the tabs and corresponding slots.
- Swing the forearms into the bottom of the torso piece.
- On the torso piece there are two "fake" wheels that were behind the head. Swing these down and out to the sides.
- Swing the back panel on each lower leg out to the side. Then swing out the fuel tank pieces out and rotate them around, then swing the green panels back in place.
- Swing each lower leg back at the knees, then clip the tabs on the insides of the fuel tanks into the corresponding slots on the sides of the thighs.
- Swing the panels behind the lower robot legs back down.
- Push the lower legs together.
- Swing the heel pieces into the underside of the feet.
- Swing the robot feet up.
- Swing the black waist piece up.
- Swing the lower body forward, compressing it against the front section. The two connect using the tabs in the front of the fuel tanks attaching to slots on the front cab section.
- Both the mace and blaster accessories can be stored using the 5mm ports on the back of the robot legs.
- Reattach the shield on top and fold the sides down, then tab it into place.
Vehicle Mode:
In Transformers Prime Breakdown's vehicle mode was a blocky looking armored truck that had a very blocky look, so this vehicle mode fits the character perfectly. There have been no (obvious) tooling changes in this mode. The front of the vehicle is mostly translucent grey plastic painted blue with tampographed Decepticon symbols on the doors. Meanwhile the back half of the vehicle is mostly darker blue plastic along with silver and black plastic. The Mayhem Attack Squad symbol appears on the sides of the rear half of the vehicle in orange.
The weapons can be stored under the tarp (but not all at once, at least one needs to be left out) or you can attach them to the 5mm ports on the tarp.
Accessories:
The original G1 Windsweeper was a Triggercon. Press a button on the figure and two silver weapons would swing out under his wings or on his arms in robot mode. This version of the character uses Needlenose as its foundation so instead of somehow trying to replicate the Triggercon gimmick Needlenose's Targetmasters have been repainted almost entirely with silver paint to call back to G1 Windsweeper's vacuum metallized weapons. The faces of each Targetmaster are painted gunmetal grey, which I appreciate because they would have looked unfinished otherwise. The 5mm pegs on the figures are left unpainted revealing they are cast in light brown plastic. Both figures still retain their Targetmaster features. Each has weapon barrels that swing out so they can form individual weapons or you can connect them together using 5mm ports on their backs. For the record Cleansweep is a redeco of Sunbeam and Ozone is a redeco of Zigzag. Both of these Targetmaster names are callbacks to two of the G.I. Joe Eco-Warriors from 1991.
Robot Mode:
Windsweeper features a brand new head sculpt based on his G1 counterpart. This includes two crests at the top of the helmet, angled "horns" that stick up at the top of the helmet and ridges on the sides of the "helmet" section. The head sculpt looks great and fits right in on this body. Sure the body mostly has Needlenose's details, but G1 Windsweeper did not exactly have a very distinct design (and the Combiner Wars version was just a redeco of Skydive) so really, having a body that clearly transforms into a jet complete with wings behind the arms works perfectly as a modern day interpretation of the character.
Windsweeper is mostly made up of light brown and red-brown plastic. Paint colors for the robot mode include orange, yellow, silver and purple (for a Decepticon symbol on the chest). The silver is mostly used on the chest and knee armor. The orange and yellow are used for the face. This color layout is fairly close to the original toy and it looks great. These are not colors we often see on Transformers toys so I really like the way they look together. Add in the silver Targetmasters and it is a really nice visual callback to the original figure.
The joints on my copy of this figure all feel similar to the ones on Needlenose so I'm not worried about mold degradation. His weapons also attach without any problems.
Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
- Detach all accessories and set them aside for now.
- Straighten out the arms and legs.
- Swing the chest panel forward.
- Swing the robot head down.
- Swing the arms up so the shoulders wind up in the chest cavity.
- Swing the chest panel back up.
- Rotate the arms around at the elbows, then swing the forearms up and over onto the shoulders.
- Turn each lower leg inward, then swing the legs up over the arms.
- Connect the two feet together.
- If you have the rear section of the jet down, detach the vertical stabilizer fin and swing it up before putting the fin back in place.
- Holding the back section by the wings, lift it up and swing it back. Connect it to the tabs on the feet.
- Push the wings down.
- Swing the cockpit section forward.
- The Targetmasters can connect to the pegs underneath each wing.
Vehicle Mode:
G1 Windsweeper transformed into a version of the Rockwell B-1 Lancer. However, with this figure using Needlenose as its base, his vehicle mode is now based on the F-16XL. This gives him a very sleek look with a thin nosecone section and a "V" shaped body with the wings angling back and getting wider towards the back. Even though the vehicle mode change is significant, it is still an aerial fighter so it works for me.
Like the robot mode this form shows off the red-brown and light brown plastic colors. The red-brown mostly runs down the middle of the vehicle while the wings are light brown. The cockpit is painted yellow and red-brown, inspired by G1 Windsweeper. To me, the most impressive details are the tampographs on the wings. These tampos feature silver, metallic purple, red-brown and yellow designs that are inspired by the designs of the stickers on G1 Windsweeper's wings. On each wing is the Mayhem Attack Squad symbol in black, replacing the Decepticon symbols from G1 Windsweeper's wings. Overall the deco on this figure looks fantastic.
All the attachment points for the Targetmasters and the Blast Effects work just fine in this mode.
Final Thoughts:
This two pack is fantastic. Breakdown is cool (but hardly the biggest surprise). To me the star of this set is Windsweeper. This was a really creative way to call back to his G1 Triggercon counterpart while using the Needlenose sculpt in a creative way. That said, the price may be a bit high for some fans and I wouldn't blame you for waiting for a sale. Recommended!
Pros:
- Great new head sculpts for both characters.
- Breakdown's hammer is a welcome accessory addition.
- The use of the Targetmasters to call back to G1 Windsweeper's weapons was a really fun touch.
- Nice deco on both figures (with Windsweeper having the stronger deco).
Cons:
- The biggest issue some fans may have is the price but if you can get it at a significant discount I'd say go for it.
