Combiner Wars (Gen) Blades

Discussion in 'Transformers Feedback & Reviews' started by Starscream Gaga, Apr 23, 2015.

  1. WinstoBot

    WinstoBot Well-Known Member

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    ^good eye.
     
  2. Jetbolt

    Jetbolt Maximal Air Commander

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  3. Eurobeatking

    Eurobeatking Well-Known Member

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    Got him with my other 3 Protectobots a few weeks ago. Now I love his face,I just would of like to have seen more white paint to break the up the red. I also agree on more retooling,hes just AB with a different head and paint job and I do like AB but missiles on a rescue chopper dont really work. Heck even a different gun would of been nice. Also like AB I would preferred another joint to flip up his blades/rotor a bit higher. 4 down,1 more to go and I can make Defensor.
     
  4. jestermon

    jestermon Well-Known Member

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    No
     
  5. Philister

    Philister Teutonicons Rising!

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    Robot Mode: Let us start once again by comparing Blades to his G1 predecessor. Overall the likeness is very good, given the differences in size and complexity. Combiner Wars Blades doesn’t have the helicopter skids on his arms and the rear rotor on his back instead of on his calves, but otherwise the two look very much alike, both in body design and color, despite the fact that they transform in different ways (G1 Blades has the helicopter cockpit on his back, CW Blades as his feet). So clearly, this is Blades here, no complaints.

    Articulation and detailing are average for the Combiner Wars figures, meaning good, but short of spectacular. In terms of weapons, Blades comes heavily armed. He has a big black gun as his main weapon, plus the obligatory hand-foot-gun that comes with all Combiner Wars Deluxe figures. Additionally he has three sculpted missiles on each arm for additional firepower. Just like the G1 figure Blades doesn’t really come with the option of using his helicopter blades in robot mode, no matter what his profile says (well, you can remove them and put them in his hands, but he can’t really hold them well), but even without them, he is quite sufficiently armed, I think.

    Overall Blades is an average figure when compared to the other current Generations figures. Not bad, but not in any way outstanding, either. A satisfying robot mode that nicely resembles the character it is meant to, but no more than that.

    Alternate Mode: Blades transforms into a white and red rescue helicopter, a model somewhat resembling an Aerospatiale Dauphin. Everything folds together nicely into a slim, aerodynamic shape. Okay, the robot arms are still visible, lying snug against the sides, but with the missiles hiding the fists they don’t look like arms. It is possible to mount Blades’ weapons here, either in the peg holes below the rotor blades or into the robot fists, but neither option looks particularly good. He has the missiles in this mode, that’s enough firepower, I think. Anyway, overall a good helicopter mode. No complaints.

    Combiner Mode: Blades can become an arm or a leg for any of the Combiner Wars combiners, but is of course intended to become part of Defensor with his fellow Protectobots. I'll do a separate review for Defensor once I'm done with the team members.

    Remarks: While Blades got about as much character depth in the cartoon as any other Protectobot not called First Aid (meaning: none), he did score a few appearances in the Marvel comic books, most significantly the Marvel UK story “Ancient Relics”, a crossover with Action Force (the European name for GI Joe). Blades and a number of Action Force members met underground, following a Cybertronian signal, , had the obligatory mistaken identity fight and eventually unearthed Megatron (or possibly Straxus posing as Megatron, I’m not sure anymore), leading to an epic smackdown involving Grimlock, Centurion, and lots of tanks and jets. Blades struck up a fast friendship with Action Force member Wild Bill in the process, but I think that was his last significant solo appearance.

    As for the toy, Blades is actually the second use of this mold, the first being the replacement Aerialbot Alpha Bravo. It will also be used for the Combaticon Vortex and two members of the all-female combiner Victorion. Overall it’s an okay figure for Blades and probably Vortex, too, but like quite a few Combiner Wars figures he’s in danger of being overused (what are the odds we’ll see a Springer, Spinister, and Sandstorm version, too?). It’s not a bad figure, mind you, but not a particularly spectacular one, either, and to me Blades is the worst of the Protectobots. So yeah, get him to complete Defensor, but I’ll happily skip the other versions of the mold.

    Rating: C+

    Source: Transformers-Universe.com!
     
  6. BattleUpSaber

    BattleUpSaber Result.

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    ^ we are getting this mold as Spinister, courtesy of TFCC.
     
  7. bignick1693

    bignick1693 Maximal

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    Well I really like alpha bravo so I like this guy too. The only issue is the plastic feels a bit more flimsy and brittle than a.b. I plugged a gun in the 5mm port under the rotor and it left a huge stress mark.
     
  8. artiepants

    artiepants Transformers '84!!!

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    Really wish Blades got the new forearms seen on the Victorion twins...
     
  9. Sarrow

    Sarrow Well-Known Member

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    Does anyone else think his face/head is just too big/wide? If you look at him against first aid, his head seems too big for the shoulders. The outer shell piece seems about the same (first aid's is more narrow since it cuts in on the bottom half), but blades' face just looks bloated or something. I'd like to see a third party re-do of this head.....I can't tell if the head is too big or if it's just the wide/pudgy face section.
     
  10. TheAmazingBrave

    TheAmazingBrave 吾輩は猫である!!!

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    Anyone else having issues with Blades' leg popping off? The right leg on mine is really tight and likes to come off at the slightest twist. This only happens in robot mode thankfully.
     
  11. Starscream 91

    Starscream 91 Mech With A Mouth

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    This guy is honestly one of the best in the wave, at least he's better than Groove & Hot Spot. I don't see how just a repaint and new head is a problem with the line.
     
  12. Chaos Muffin

    Chaos Muffin Misadventure Veteran

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    Yep, then swapped him for a new Blades and it does the same thing. Strike two.

    Just lift the leg up slightly and it falls right off. Ah well he'll be in combined mode mostly anyway.
     
  13. Snake_eyes1975

    Snake_eyes1975 Well-Known Member

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    not mine. Blades is actually just as good as my AB. Mabye different tool ..how we get that 50/50 complaints about some molds being bad.
     
  14. Starscream 91

    Starscream 91 Mech With A Mouth

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    Yeah no problem heres just a little too tight, like AB
     
  15. Astoriacrew

    Astoriacrew Well-Known Member

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    Picked up Blades today, his leg kept popping off as well. I still like Blades in all 3 modes though. Would Future or clear nail polish rectify the leg problem?
     
  16. TheAmazingBrave

    TheAmazingBrave 吾輩は猫である!!!

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    Alright, I've tried everything from floor polish to Super glue, and while it made his leg tighter, it still pops off just by moving the ball joint. Whatever is wrong it's somehow forcing the leg out of the socket whenever the joint is twisted. Might have to get a new Blades if I can't fix the problem and hope that one isn't defective as well.

    Edit: Alright, tried the superglue balljoint trick one last time, and as far as I can tell I fixed Blades. The leg is actually tighter than the other three limbs on him. When twisting his waist around to test the joint security, the other leg (the good one) actually came off instead. The ball joint looks like an unholy mess with bits of dried glue particles acting as extra grip, but it's not like I'll be staring between Blades's legs on a regular basis. Bit of a relief since I couldn't get any help from Hasbro Toy Shop. Emailed them asking if I could order a replacement part, and they reset the password to my account for some reason.

    Just be sure to keep twisting the joint until the glue dries, and keep twisting for good measure. Any glue can be scraped off with an x-acto knife if you have one handy.
     
  17. Eurobeatking

    Eurobeatking Well-Known Member

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    My Blades was good and tight,but my 1st Alpha Bravo had this same leg issue. 2 ABs later same issue. Anyway to fix this?