General Information:
Release Date: August 2019
Price Point: $9.99 (depending on retailer)
Retailer: General (Amazon, Entertainment Earth, Target, Wal-Mart etc.)
Accessories: None
Official images and text below in italics are from Amazon.com:
Build the ultimate battlefield with Transformers War for Cybertron: Siege collectible figures, featuring classic G1 characters. (Each sold separately. Subject to availability). Siege plunges fans into the epic fight to survive on the final day of the Autobot and Decepticon battle to control Cybertron. The Decepticon resistance army and the Autobot counter-resistance fighters gear up with the universe's most advanced modular weaponry, including the weapon modes of combined Micromaster figures -- sentient bots that combine to form weapons.
WFC-S33 Autobot Off-Road Patrol figures Autobot Powertrain and Highjump both convert in 6 easy steps from robot mode to vehicle modes. Vehicle modes combine to form the Confounder Cannon weapon accessory. Use the weapon mode to equip other Siege figures (each sold separately) with larger mission loadouts. Transformers and all related characters are trademarks of Hasbro.
In the past few years, the "Generations" line has been paying homage to Generation One toys and characters in a kind of chronological order. First they went all out with Combiners in "Combiner Wars", then leading to Headmaster homages galore in "Titans Return" and last year's "Power of the Primes" focused on paying homage to Pretenders, and to a lesser degree, Powermasters. Following this pattern, "Siege" brings us homages to Micromasters. These small Transformers had varying origins in G1, but origins aside, these characters were represented as tiny Transformers who transformed into an assortment of vehicles. Whereas they were once packaged in four member "Patrols" (or six member "Squads"), "Siege"uses the Micromasters to fill in the price point previously occupied by the "Legends" class figures, featuring two Micromaster figures in one package.
Both figures included in this Off Road Patrol set are redecos and retools of Micromasters included in the Target exclusive Siege Micromaster 10-Pack released in 2019. Highjump is a redeco and retool of Ricon while Powertrain is a redeco and retool of Irontread. You'll want to check out those reviews as these will focus on the changes made to the figure for this release. That said, I am fairly convinced that both versions of each figure were pretty much developed simultaneously, so I am mostly using release dates for reference.
Packaging:
The "Siege" Micromasters are packaged in a bubble attached to small card. The card features the same dramatic artwork style as larger boxes in the line. This includes a black background fading into a honeycomb pattern behind the figures. The right side features the "Transformers", "Generations" and Takara Tomy logos. The left side features a vertical chyron with an Autobot symbol, the alpha numeric code "WFC-S33" and the names Powertrain & Highjump printed on it. The package art features the two Micromasters in vehicle mode since the figures are packaged in robot mode. The insert inside the bubble has the large "War for Cybertron: Siege" logo on it. It is dramatic and eye catching and I love how it looks on toy store shelves.
The back of the card shows both Micromasters in their robot, vehicle and weapon forms. Each is listed as having a six step transformation. Red Alert is shown holding the two figures in their combined weapon form.
Robot Mode:
Highjump's general design takes cues from his G1 counterpart. This includes the head, which has a "V" shaped crest in the middle and segmented panels on either side of the face. Interestingly, his chest sculpt is different from Ricon, but it is not based on G1 Highjump's chest. I speculate this is partly because G1 Highjump's torso design was basically just a box with very little sculpted detail in front. This design, featuring several horizontal lines worked into the sculpt is much more visually interesting.
The rest of the figure remains the same as Ricon and the joints are all just as tight.
Highjump is made up of grey and black plastic. Red, light grey and silver paint are used to fill in details. The red and grey colors are directly inspired by his G1 counterpart.
Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
- Straighten out the arms and legs.
- Push the legs together.
- Swing the front of the vehicle mode up over the back of the head.
- Rotate the lower body around.
- Swing the legs up to form the rear of the vehicle.
Vehicle Mode:
Highjump's alt mode is a boxy, off-road vehicle that really does not look Cybertronian at all. To me, it looks a lot like it was inspired by an older model of Land Rover. Perhaps the most "Earth-like" details is the license plate panel in the front, something I doubt Cybertronians care much about!
The same paint colors from the robot mode carry over here, but this time out you see a lot more silver on the front and top. I was happy to see the spare fuel container on the back and the rear windows are both painted (red and light grey respectively). The colors work very well in paying homage to G1 Highjump. From a deco standpoint, I have no complaints.
Robot Mode:
In the G1 toy line, both Powertrain and Ironworks shared the same sculpt. However, as noted in my Irontread review, the designers decided to use a different head and chest sculpt for that character. This figure utilizes the sam ehead and chest design that G1 Powertrain and Ironworks shared. This features a distinctive head sculpt with panels sticking out the sides of the helmet and a chest design with a series of horizontal lines running across it. Along with the rest of the sculpt, this does indeed look like a modern day interpretation of G1 Powertrain.
Powertrain is made up of orange and black plastic. Blue and silver paint are used to fill in details. These colors match up nicely with G1 Powertrain.
All of the articulation points are nice and tight. Unlike some other Micromasters in the line, the ball joints on the hips are secure enough that the legs don't go popping off too easily when you pose them out.
Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
- Straighten out the arms and legs.
- Rotate the back piece around.
- Push the lower legs together.
- Push the arms in.
- Push the front of the vehicle down.
*Note: The tabs on the inside of the forearms should fit into the corresponding slots on the hips. However, on one copy I have of Powertrain the left side does not attach securely. However on another copy I own it works just fine, so your mileage may vary.
Vehicle Mode:
Powertrain's vehicle mode is very true to his G1 counterpart. It is a long nose style truck with one smokestack sticking up in the back. Despite its samll size, this truck looks tough thanks in part to the boxy designs of the front and back ends.
This mode mostly shows off orange and black plastic. Some blue paint is found on the back and the windows are painted black. The grille and smokestack are painted silver. These colors do a good job of paying homage to the original G1 toy and this color combination is not used a lot in the Transformers toy line so it's a nice bright spot in the line.
Take Highjump and extend out the back of the vehicle to reveal his weapon barrels. Swing the peg out from under Highjump's hood. Now separate Powertrain's legs and swing out the weapon barrels, then push the legs back together. Swing the peg out from under the front of Powertrain's vehicle form. Connect Powertrain's peg to the port on Highjump's chest. Larger figures can use Highjump's peg to hold the combined weapon. Powertrain's weapon barrels have pegs to attach Blast Effects.
I really love the idea of the Micromasters in Siege having weapon modes and these two are no exception. Both remind me of some of the Mini-Cons from the Unicron Trilogy who can turn into weapons. To me, these two look better as weapons when they are separated. When combined it kind of looks like two vehicles had an accident and smashed into each other. Either way, I think this is a fun feature that adds play value to this set.
Final Thoughts:
G1 Powertrain and Highjump were among the first Micromasters I owned in my younger days so I have a special place in my heart for them. These two are nice updates of the originals and I love their play value. Recommended!
Pros:
- Some nice sculpting (though overall the body designs could be better).
- Nice bright deco on Powertrain.
- Fun play value.
Cons:
- The general body designs are a bit chunky and restrict movement a bit.
- The combined weapon mode isn't my favorite Micromaster weapon, but separated they are cool.
