Well the Cybertron Repaints have begun....

And if Swerve is anything to go by They have started really well.


For a basic Swerve's mold is really awesome: superbly articulated and with excelent detailing in both car and Robot modes.

Skids/Clocker was by far my favourette of the Galaxy force Line's Basics, while not everyone agreed with me, the main complain others raised was about his Pastel colour scheme: Now personally I didn't find it Hideous, but Swerve Fixes any complaints you could have on the colour front.

The Colour scheme is awesome two tone Crimoson/Deep Red dominates with white, silver and Bronze detailing: like a couple of Universe releases he has one of those HUUUGE faction symbols on his hood, but unlike say Universe prowl, on Swerve it looks good, maybe because its in silver maybe because if flows well with the air vent detailing its on top of, it just feels right here where it seemed wrong before.

His Bio is interesting too: a racer who was banned from Mainstream speedian racers for unsportmanlike conduct who now takes part in unregulated no-holds barred underground races: this is the sort of Bio normally given to Decepticons.. an interesting twist that makes me think that however such a character ended up on the Autobot side: it must have been an interesting story

Obviously Swerve is a repaint and a non-show character so many people want to skip it, and thats a shame: of the two versions of this mold Swerve is by far the superior, and this mold is IMO easily the Best Basic since Energon Sky Shadow/Terradive... well worth a purchase even if you have Clocker already.

 

Tiny note
Swerve (at least mine) does not have light pipe eyes like Clocker. They are painted over solid yellow/gold. The blue cube for the light piping does remain in the back of his skull though. Strange, but looks great.

Swerve is a good figure. He has nice articulation and is well sculpted with little details that his color scheme really helps bring all together really well.

In my opinion, the closest thing he has to a downside is his weapon.

 

I really like Swerve. He looks cooler than Clocker, other than the giant autobot symbol. That's quite tacky, but eh, it's no big deal. The deep crimson red and silver/white/black highlights work marvelously.

 

Finally got one today after passing it a few times already. Take a color scheme otherwise usually reserved for Decepticons like Dirge or Thrust and put it on a fast little Autobot With an attitude and WoW, that works really good!
A worthy addition and current cruising buddy with Armorhide. Still sort of looks like a go-kart next to some of the other bots though.

 

Clocker was cool. Had a great vehicle mode with a little M.A.S.K. like key function.
The bot mode is also great with nice poseability and nice form. No abnormalities like Crumplezones big arms. (which are also cool)
Only thing that bothered me really was the head would'nt stay connected with the chest piece very good and always fall forward even if you look at it wrong.
So I would've gave it an 8/10.

Swerve is the same thing , except the paint is way better. More Autobot'ish and that big Autobot Symbol on the hood rules! Still has the same neck problems though. Not sure if it's a flaw with quality or design, but 9/10

Myo

 

Picked him up today. The paint apps are much better than Clocker's sloppy white, and the toy feels a little sturdier to me. Different plastics maybe, or is it my imagination? Joints are definately tighter on mine.

Red and black may be the second most overused repaint scheme (first being black and red), but there is a good reason for that. This redeco works, and the final product is markedly better than the original.

 

I picked up Swerve on Sunday. The only place I've ever seen him locally is Target, and since they were down to one, I thought I'd bite the bullet and buy him. Never got Clocker, but I like the mold after buying it.

- The auto has a bit of a G1 Hot Rod look to it, mainly due to the color, silver exhaust pipes, angular front end and the hint of a spoiler with the 'wings' that protrude from the weapon on the rear of the car. Since Hot Rod has always been one of my favorites, this resemblance sits well with me.  

- I like the big silver Autobot symbol on the front. Oversized symbols don't always work, but this one does.

- Nice transformation. I like the panels on the legs that unfold, and then snap back. This is the first time I've seen that on anything except Alternators. The high end line is influencing the mainline perhaps.

- decent articulation, and the bags under the eyes suit the rough and ready character.

- the key gimmick is not terribly impressive, but then I guess there's only so much you can do at this size, and with a spring loaded gimmick. It's decent, and I suppose you could envision the pop up sections as weapons or thrusters, or both for some vehicle mode fighting.

Overall - a nice little transformer. I've been very impressed with most of the basics this year. Swerve is really good. A

 

For more pics, click on the image above

Remarks: Swerve is a repaint of Cybertron Clocker, whom I have previously reviewed. It’s been over 5 years, though, so we can give this mold another go, I think.

Robot Mode: Swerve is a Scout-class figure and about as articulated an detailed as you can expect at this size. He can easily pull off a number of poses, can turn his head, and manages to incorporate not just one but two different gimmicks into his rather small frame without the figure itself suffering for it. He has nice detailing and the mainly red and white paintjob suits him fine as well.

Like all Cybertron figures he has a Cyberkey gimmick. Entering the Cyberkey into his weapon causes the sides of the weapon module to snap up, turning a rather flat square-shaped weapon into a somewhat more brick-shaped weapon. The actual weapon barrels can flip out in either configuration, so it doesn’t really make that much sense, but it doesn’t hurt the figure, either. Additionally Swerve can swing the big triple exhaust pipes on his arms forward, where you can imagine them as either additional firearms or big honking claws.

Not much else I can say here. Swerve is definitely one of the better robots in this size class, though he lacks that certain something to be truly excellent. Still, thumbs up for the robot mode.

Alternate Mode: Swerve transforms into an open-top futuristic race car. The big triple exhaust pipes from the robot mode's arms are now on either side and they can swing forward for a kind of weapon-mode here, too. The Cyberkey gimmick works as well, of course, though in this case you actually do need to activate it, otherwise you can't flip out the weapon barrels. The car also features a bit of cockpit interior, a very nicely done Autobot logo across the entire hood, and nice detailing overall. So bottom line: a very nice car mode. 'Nuff said.

Remarks: Swerve might be better known as the eternal red repaint. Whenever a car Transformer is to be repainted and no one can think of anything better, you paint it red and call it Swerve. It happened in Generation 1, Revenge of the Fallen, Universe, Alternators, and Cybertron, too, of course. Swerve seems forever stuck being the repaint-guy (not counting the infamous Chevy Aveo Swerve).

The Clocker mold has been reused several times, both in the Movie line and for Botcon exclusives. Personally I can only compare him to the original Clocker and I like Swerve’s paint job much better, though that is purely subjective, of course. So overall: still one of the best figures in this size class and well worth getting at least one version of.

Rating: B+