General Information:
Release Date: January 2020 (planned, but some limited may release might occur in December 2019)
Price Point: $5.99 (depending on retailer)
Retailer: General (Toys R Us, Target, Wal-Mart etc.)
Accessories: Fire Blast accessories (green) x 2
Note: I received this figure during Hasbro's 2019 unboxing event. Unfortunately the packaging was tossed out and official photos are not on any major retail sites associated with BWTF yet so I will post those images once they are available.
In 2018 the "Power of the Primes" line finished off the "Prime Wars Trilogy" which had begun with "Combiner Wars". To kick off a whole new G1 inspired series of "Generations" figures, a new line known as "War for Cybertron: Siege" started in late 2018 (with a planned wide release in 2019). This line introduced new Classes of Transformers figures into the mix seen the last three years. In place of the "Master" price point at $5.99 USD MSRP, Titan Masters and Prime Masters have been replaced with Battle Masters. G1 fans will remember these as "Targetmasters", figures that transform from a robot mode into a weapon! Each Battle Master also includes a soft plastic "Fire Blast" effect that can attach to the weapon modes, bringing the figures to life in a new way in "Generations".
Singe is based on one of G1 Spinister's Targetmaster partners. Between this figure and Shrute from the "Phantomstrike Squadron" set you can have both of Spinister's Targetmasters in modern forms! This figure is a redeco of Firedrive with no tooling changes.
Packaging:
Similar to the Titan Masters and Prime Masters, Singe is packaged on a small bubble card. However, Hasbro has stepped up the artwork to deliver a stronger visual punch. The card itself has artwork for the individual characters against a Cybertronian backdrop. Singe's art features him firing him a weapon at some unseen enemy on the battlefield. The name "Singe" and his rank symbol appear in a vertical chevron on the left. The figure is packaged in robot mode. His "Fire Blast" effects are on the right side. Under him is the package insert featuring the word "Siege" in giant letters and the "War for Cybertron Trilogy" logo under it. The "Transformers" logo is on top in a much smaller font. Under all that is the term "Battle Masters" next to the age recommendation and Hasbro logo. On the right is a black strip with the vertical "Transformers" logo seen on most "Generations" packaging, the "Generations" logo above it and the Takara Tomy log above that.
The back of the card features the figure in both modes indicating a 5 step transformation. It also calls out his Fire Blast Effects. Interestingly there are no cosells (even though he ships with Rung) but there is a ton of legal information in several languages (more than before). This may be a sign of things to come with Transformers packaging.
Robot Mode:
Singe is a straight up redeco of Firedrive, with a color scheme inspired by (but not a copy of) his G1 counterpart. Singe is cast in two colors: black and gunmetal grey. The original Singe was black plastic, so these colors totally work for the character. Silver paint is used on his chest and waist area. Like G1 Singe, the face is painted teal, but this appears to be a more metallic version of that color. This is a nice callback and personally I would have loved to see that teal paint on his legs to call back to the G1 version of the character.
All the joints on my copy of this figure are nice and tight. You can still detach the weapon barrels on the back and attach them to the sides of the forearms as a weapon. Singe includes green versions of the same Blast Effects that were included with Aimless. They attach without a problem and the green color contrasts beautifully with the darker gunmetal grey and black colors on the figure.
Transformation to Weapon Mode:
- Detach the Fire Blast accessories if attached.
- Swing the weapon barrels up over the head.
- Push the legs together.
- Swing the waist section up.
- Connect the tabs on the feet to the corresponding slots at the base of the weapon barrels.
- Swing the arms back and attach the small tabs on the insides of the forearms to the corresponding slots on the hips.
Weapon Mode:
There has been no tooling change made to this figure, so this mode looks like Firedrive's weapon mode in different colors. This mode mostly shows off the gunmetal grey colors with a bit of black peeking out here and there. This gives the weapon a particulary industrial look and I dig that a lot.
Final Thoughts:
Singe is not exactly the most exciting figure in the Siege line, but I love the way this sculpt is used to bolster the release of the Deluxe Spinister in the same wave of figures. Along with Shrute (as mentioned above) you can "complete" your modern day Spinister and I think that is brilliant. Recommended!
Pros:
- Good sculpt (even if it is not G1 "accurate").
- Beautiful colors.
- Joints are still nice and tight.
Cons:
- I personally would have liked a bit more teal on the figure.
- Some new sculpted detail would have been cool.
