My take on ol' Powerglide
UNIVERSE POWERGLIDE For more pics, click on the link above Robot Mode: As an Ultra-class robot, Powerglide is certainly big. Much, much bigger than his
G1 incarnation, who was a mere Minibot. Powerglide does retain some of the basic look of his predecessor, though, such as the wings flipping up to form the sides of his torso and the cone-like head. In other ways, though, he looks quite different from
G1 Powerglide. He's got the jet-mode turbines for a chest and the rear fins of the jet are on his back, not on his feet. And then there is, of course, the colour. Universe Powerglide is mostly a off-white/grey instead of red. Still, it's undeniably Powerglide. I've seldom seen a robot with more personality.
Posability is also quite good here and the detailing is extensive. Of course Powerglide's proportions are a bit strange. He has a very hefty upper body perched on top of a slim waist and long, spindly legs. Thankfully his legs are fully posable and have sufficient heel spurs to still make it easy to balance him, so no complaints on this part.
For a weapon Powerglide carries a combination minigun/missile launcher. Depending on which end you have pointing forward, you can either have him launch a black projectile or leave him with a sculpted minigun. Personally I like the minigun better, but that's a subjective matter. One fun little gimmick: He has a small antenna-like thing off-center on his head, just like his
G1 incarnation. In
G1, that was the cannon of his jet mode. It's here as well, even though the head doesn't become the nosecone of the jet and it's little more than decoration.
And what is possibly the most ridiculous
G1 homage of all time: Powerglide has a heart. Flip up the chest panel and you see a heart sculpted into his torso, much as we saw in the dreaded episode "The Girl Who Loved Powerglide". I didn't take a picture of that. It's too silly. Really. Best to forget I ever mentioned it. Moving on.
All in all Powerglide looks pretty spiffy in robot mode. The proportion thing did turn me off a bit at the start, but I've gotten used to it. And while Powerglide is certainly not a spectacular, outstanding robot, he's very good and solid. No complaints.
Alternate Mode: While I do like Powerglide's robot mode, it's really the jet mode that makes me adore this figure. Might have something to do with the fact that I really like this model. Powerglide transforms into an A-10 Thunderbolt fighter jet, just like he did back in the
G1 days. Not only does it resemble the Cobra Rattlors from the old GI Joe cartoon series quite a bit, it also gives Powerglide boasting rights of having had a cameo appearance in the 2007 Transformers Movie. Jets of this type were sent to aid Captain Lennox and his men against Scorponok in the desert battle scene.
The jet is just overflowing with details, right down to individual rivets. Not sure if any of the markings and numbers carry a deeper meaning, but they enhance the realism of this jet mode. His weapon goes underneath the cockpit and just like in robot mode you can either have the missile launcher or the minigun end point forward. Powerglide also carries several sound effects related to being a jet, but since sound effects merely bug me at the best of times (and make me homicidal at the worst), I'll not go into detail here. Suffice to say that Powerglide looks spectacular as a jet.
There are some problems, though. The front landing gear is a lot shorter than those on the wings, making Powerglide tip forward. In fact, if you fasten his minigun underneath the cockpit, the front wheel doesn't touch the ground at all and Powerglide rests on the gun instead. You can somewhat minimize that effect by flipping out the hip piece from his robot mode that is now underneath the jet for added stability, but it's a pretty obvious design flaw. Also, you can't really leave the missile in the minigun/launcher if you fasten it here. The missile knocks against kibble underneath the jet, preventing the gun from pointing straight ahead.
Despite these flaws, though, I really love Powerglide's jet mode a lot. It just looks so good, possibly the best jet mode I've ever seen in a Transformers figure. I'm not willing to bet on that, but it easily makes the top ten at least. Now if only they'd given him a better landing gear...
Remarks: In the second season of the
G1 cartoon series Powerglide was pretty much the only flying Autobot and regularly engaged Decepticon jets in the skies, always outnumbered. His flying skills kept him alive and he always liked to boast about them at length. He is most famous (or infamous, maybe) for being the only Autobot ever to fall in love with a human and vice versa, as depicted in the dreaded episode "The Girl Who Loved Powerglide".
For his Universe incarnation Powerglide grew a lot, added a hefty dose of realism to his jet mode, and just looks brilliant overall. The only thing keeping him from getting a straight A rating is that strange landing gear they gave him for his jet mode. Still, one of the best Universe figures so far and a brilliant combination of a beloved old-school character with today's standards in toy figures. Powerglide is a definite recommendation to all Transformers fans.
Rating: A-
