For more pics, click on the image above Remarks: Like most RID bad guys, Destructicon Bludgeon is a repaint of an older toy, in this case G2 Combat Hero Megatron. Seeing as the original Bludgeon transformed into a tank, too (on the few occasions when he was not hanging out inside his Pretender shell), that does make a certain amount of sense. It also means I’m not doing a full review here, but rather just pointing out differences. No changes were made to the actual mold, meaning we still have what is basically Megatron’s signature bucket head here. The resemblance to the original Bludgeon is minimal at best, what with the green on the tank gun (Bludgeon’s inner robot mode was green) and the mostly yellow body (his Pretender shell, though that was more orange than yellow). Otherwise not much has changed on this figure. It’s still a good figure overall, very posable, but still really needs bigger feet to solve its stability problem. Little side note: On the back of the package the missile tips are red, while they’re grey on the actual figure. Not sure if there are any variants with red tips out there. The RID toyline was stretched out to include several store-exclusive toys that saw release as late as 2003, when the Armada series was already in full swing. Hence the very Armada-like packaging. Bludgeon, just like several other figures, was released exclusively in KB Toy stores. He never appeared in the actual RID cartoon or any of the accompanying media (not even in Japan), so he’ll probably be of little interest to most people. He was recently repurposed, though, to serve as the Shattered Glass version of Bludgeon, but only in a text story available exclusively to the members of the Transformers Collectors Club. I got Bludgeon for a very good price at the German TF convention CONS, so I bought him. Nothing more to it than that. He is a good alternative for people who can’t get a good Combat Hero Megatron at a decent budget or are huge Bludgeon fans. Rating: B-
RID DESTRUCTICON BLUDGEON (KB TOYS EXCLUSIVE) Destructicon Bludgeon (DB) is a deluxe class toy from 2003, released under Robots In Disguise (2000) branding but in Armada (2002) packaging. DB is one of two exclusive deluxe redecos created as store exclusives for KB Toys in the US, the other being Destructicon Scourge. DB is a repaint of a G2 mold, "Hero Megatron", a mold first released in 1993. After 10 years, this mold was already showing its age. Back in 2003, I used to write TF toy reviews for a website called 411mania.com, I think it still exists. It was a team of four people: myself, Charles, Mike and Lord Elohim, our "boss". While Mike and Charles are still around and kickin', Lord Elohim vanished shortly after toy reviewers moved over to Inside Pulse. Lord Elohim helped me buy the first figures from the US back when I was a complete newbie to ebay. I will always remember his ICQ warning about Destructicon Bludgeon and Destructicon Scourge: "do not buy these two, they are not good toys" He/she was very convincing - it took me a long time to bite the bullet and try them out for myself. Was Lord Elohim right? Packaging DB comes in Armada packaging, but with Robots In Disguise branding. It's quite awkward, and the same style would be replicated for the "Armada Dinobots" 2-packs in the same period. Despite the functional identity, this is not an Armada product, but a RID one. As a deluxe class toy, DB's height is on par with modern deluxe class releases, like Studio Series Perceptor. Instructions are quite interesting: they take the full width of the card, but they contain very limited information, using most of the real estate for multilingual translations. I am not sure who needed that multilingual text - I believe this toy was a US exclusive. Despite being a RID product, using Armada packaging ended up providing a slot for a collectible sticker. Spoiler Alt mode DB is a yellow and green tank. I am not sure why G1 Bludgeon's colors could not be used. I assume that KB Toys pushed back against orange and maroon, asking for something more eye-catching. In a glorious case of "be careful what you wish for", DB is as eye-catching as they come, with a strong and bright palette which will attract attention wherever you put it - unless it's the bin. The tank maintains the 1993 copyright molded in - no bonus points for effort. DB's gun and missiles can be stored in dedicated ports and holders. This tank is not the most exciting, independently from the color - the turret doesn't mode and the barrel doesn't lift, because of the gimmick. Gimmick: detach one of the missiles from the holding slots load the missile onto the barrell squish the air pump behind the turret destroy Autobots The air-powered gimmick works well after 29 years, shooting the missiles 20cm away. The rubber tip of the missiles, probably added for safety, bring an additional feature: 5. wait for the missile to bounce back to you A pineapple-inspired tank shooting boomerang missiles. Make Mojito, not war? Spoiler Robot mode Bludgeon transforms in very few steps into... Megatron. Despite its Alex Murphy eyes, this robot is indeed carrying Megatron's head. The robot mode itself is well proportioned, with 5mm ports in its fists and one more on the right shoulder. The missiles can be stored in fold-out holders on the forearms. Articulation is well above G1 standards - it is one of the most articulated G2 design, after all: - head: 360 - shoulders: 360, up to the side - biceps: 360 - elbows: yes - wrists: no - waist: yes - hips: 360 (sort of), up to the side - knees: 180 (transformation) - ankles: no On paper, DB looks like a very articulated figure. In practice, the lack of any real toes or heels badly hurt the robot mode's potential for posing, severely limiting this mold's playability. Spoiler Gimmick The air-powered gimmick can be accessed in this mode as well:detach the "pump block" from the back of the cannon, leave it hanging lead one of the two missiles onto the cannon's barrel lift the cannon barrel (it's only articulated in this mode) lift DB back up, it probably fell or toppled itself... with DB standing still, push the pump destroy Autobots This gimmick was first designed around 1991-1992 and released in 1993 for the first time. After three decades, it's amazing to see such an old gimmick still being able to add value to an old toy. My copy of DB was more-or-less brand new, and the rubber parts - pumb and tube - were intact. However, you will find many specimens where time has taken its toll on the materials, leading to a non-functional gimmick. Other versions This mold is the penultimate usage of the Hero Megatron mold, including: G2 Hero Megatron, 1993 G2 Archforce, 1994 (EU exclusive) RID Destructicon Scourge (KB Toys exclusive) (this TF) Robotmasters Reverse Convoy / Rebirth Megatron, 2005 Personally, I find the Robotmasters version to be the most interesting, because of the secret identify concept. If you are interested in the mold, I would go for that Japanese exclusive, independently from the price. The bottom line Robots In Disguise Destructicon Scourge is a fun interpretation of a dated, flawed mold. Despite its limitations, Bludgeon might have made a kid happy at the time of its release, even in 2003. The gimmicks are still fun after 29 years, and that's something to give credit for - credit, not cash. Its color scheme might be an acquired taste, or repulsive, for most people. Especially Lord Elohim. All things considered, I give Destructicon Bludgeon a 6/10.
The original of this is probably my favorite Megatron. Takes the brick like green G2 tank, shrinks it down, adds more articulation * and colours it purple. The articulation was a massive improvement and top of the line for the time (1994) and I think it still holds up well today. I'm not sure yellow is the best look this mould ever had - I can see what they're going for with Bludgeon Pretender shell here but without the skull head it doesn't really work as Bludgeon. It amazes me that this has never been done in G2 camo green or even silver. I'd pay money for that! * It also amazes me that the BIG G2 toy has never had a remould that chucks out the solid grey brick at the center replacing it with an enlarged version of the body & upper legs used here!
Ooookay, a few observations here. Thankfully, the second review was only posted this year, so it's not like I'm responding to something from a decade ago. Not quite. This is basically what RID packaging looked like during the later portion of the line, when it consisted solely of store exclusives. Since Armada was the main line at this point, the stragglers released under the RID branding used the Armada packaging template. The Dreadwing/Smokejumper two-pack, Jhiaxus, Megabolt, the "urban camo" redeco of Ruination and the yellow redeco of Landfill were also released that way. Aaaaaaaand this is where things get really interesting. This is European packaging! Compare your version to that from Philister's review: Note the lack of "trademark" ™ and "registered trademark" ® claims on your version, the language-neutral age label ("5+") being in a black circle instead of a multilingual "Age Edad: 5+", and the presence of six languages (English, French, Dutch, German, Spanish and Italian) compared to just three (English, French and Spanish) on the American packaging version. This was after Armada had added Spanish and Italian back on European packaging, whereas most other RID releases only featured English, French, Dutch and German. The only other RID-branded figures I've found in European packaging sporting six languages are the Tiny Tins versions of the Spy Changers. Where did you buy your version?
Thanks for the insights. I got my Bludgeon from a UK seller, I would not be surprised if he got it from The Entertainer.
From memory the Destructicons, and the Stealth Bomber, were TRU Exclusives in the UK We didn't get Bruticus, Jhiaxus, Megabolt or the Dinobots of the other toys in this packaging style
Really wish Hasbro would give us a new accurate G2 Megatron mold so we could eventually get a new KayBee Bludgeon deco out of it.
I did find this old TFormers news post: Update: Also this Toy News International forum post from two days later: And here's the confirmation for Scourge and Bludgeon, also from TFormers:
More Scourge and Bludgeon in European packaging: Aaaand Dreadwind/Smokejumper in European packaging confirmed.
