does someone can please upload a photo of here with extended torso?

 

You can leave her torso in "Falcon"-position, but she gets a pretty hollow midsection:



You can tilt her bird head a bit to fill it in though, and most joints are solid enough to not flop around, so I guess it's possible to leave her like that if you wish for a bit more height...

 

thanks

 

After a few weeks and through research i have found some interesting information about the figure. Consider this if you want to buy it:

1. Only the middle piece of each wing is prone to breakage due to the way it was packaged (piece forced backwards) so be careful. Once fixed, the constant articulation plus a little heat will loose the wings and reduce the chances of breakage. Patience and heat are the key.

2. Most stress marks in the wings are from factory, maybe during assembly, testing or pakaging the pieces were forced or stretched. Just look at the corners of the hinges of the wings. I bought a second figure and saw those small cuts/scratches without moving anything.

3. It's a toy, as collectors, enjoy it the way it makes you happy, nothing a little bit of tamiya glue can't fix. One of the Best beast deluxes in the line.

 

The problem with the wings is the way they're designed. There's only a single millimeter of plastic connecting the lower hinge from the rest of the wing, while the upper part of the hinge is a little thicker. If that wasn't bad, the hinge also has square corners, which break more easily than rounded corners. If the hinge was longer this wouldn't be a problem, with the only downside being it interfering with the sculpt of the feathers. Still, it probably won't break unless you manhandle the wings like a doofus, Don't bend them beyond their range, and if they do break, get some tamiya glue or plastic cement.

 

I was enjoying this figure until I came and read this thread.

I have the thin inner edge stress lines inside the corner on the wings, but as Jack above suggests, I reckon those might be from production assembly/packing rather than anything I did. Even before reading here about the problem I was fairly gentle bending those joints right out of the box as I simply don't trust the quality of TF figures these days. I felt that initial resistance trying to move the wing and checked if I needed to do it a different/better way. My stresses haven't gone outside the inner edge of those joint corners so I should hopefully be okay.

I doubt I'll be transforming her much anyway as the the pin hinges at her wrists and just above the ankles scare the treacle out of me with how thin those pieces are and how clicky the soft ratchets are.

It's a pity that once again I have to consider fragility when opening a figure and that feeling putting me off of it being fiddle fodder when I fancy.
Without that negatively colouring my view, it's actually a neat little figure and decent update from the original.

 

Got the stress marks also for the wings. It's a shame because I love Air Razor but I'm so scared to move the wings  

 

Just remember that they should never be bent back the way they were in the package after you carefully move the wrongly folded wings past the tabs the first time. If so they should be OK.

 

I've had none of the quality issues and consider this to be a great figure.

For me, it's the lack of recolours that was missing for the "Valkyries of Cybertron".

I've posted these in the Kingdom thread (and in customs), but might as well have them here.

Halite / Airazor / Sapphire




Then with the inner legs retouched:

 

My copy arrived today (via Zavvi).

Anyone that has read one of my other reviews will know that I don't really stick to the same format (though I try to go in the same order) because I don't always need to address the same topics (even simple topics like cons and pros) for each mold. This review will be even more unconventional due to the horrible engineering involved in the wings and the cardboard backing/insert:

What to do if the wings aren't assembled/oriented correctly:

Thank you. I easily had the tab in the notch (when it's at a 90° angle in the notch) but, I could feel the tension and thoguht for sure there was more tension than there was. Your final picture made me flip my copy over and, it was at that point that I realized the wasn't tension on the entire wing and that I just needed to give it a little more nudge and it went into the correct orientation. For clarity, I had everything in the correct position prior to seeing these images (I just severely overestimated what the tension felt like).


You're probably going to have stress marks no matter what:

I do have the very thin stress mark on the area in the top 90° corner of the wing where the hinge is (similar to this picture from the review thread):


I don't have stress marks anywhere else though and it doesn't extend out onto the top nor bottom face/surface of the wing. The stress mark is actually more noticeable on the left wing (which was assembled/oriented correctly out of the package). It's less noticeable on the right wing (which was the one I had to fix). These either happened during assembly, boxing, or unboxing. The when in this instance doesn't matter though because it is the direct result of poor engineering (both the toy and the cutout on the cardboard backer/insert).


Engineering flaws:

The tab shouldn't be on the toy nor should the tab's notch. There should have been friction bumps on the edges of the line breaks to serve as a "soft-lock" and would have completely removed the ability to fold the wing wrong because it would have folded in both directions. The section of plastic that connects to the hinge should have a substantially wider amount of plastic in the diagonal/catty-corner areas) because that's obviously where the breaks occur (based on pictures and even a basic cursory evaluation). I don't understand how anyone involved thought having such a a narrow section of plastic in those areas was fine. No one should have to worry about stopping one side of a hinge from moving while trying to get the other side of the hinge to move just to transform or pose.

I would be amazed if the stress marks (as well as hidden internal damage) aren't caused by assembly given that such a fragile area are "pops" onto the hinge. There is absolutely no way I could pop mine off without breaking something which is absurd given that the entire point of a friction/pop connection is so that something pops off instead of breaking (e.g. balljoints, mushroom pegs that aren't fully enclosed, Kingdom Warpath's flap, etc.). Even if it got out of assembly fine, someone is shoving the wings/tail through a cutout on the cardboard backer/insert that is entirely too small and that's going to go horribly wrong if done haphazardly or while frustrated, or in a rush, or any of the other countless variables.

The head articulation (specifically looking up) in robot mode is restricted by the section of the helmet that juts out towards the back as well as the tiny backpack. That's a shame since Airazor's head has the traditional cutout for the balljoint's stem/column/pillar which allows a part to swing a full 90° (Airazor would be able to look straight up). I know that a lot of people won't care but, any aviation based robot should have that type of joint and ability even though the back of the head doesn't look as nice. Honestly, all of the heads should have that type of articulation (put the ball joint pointing down and have the up and down movement on a hinge connected to the ball joint stem/column/pillar similar to the current shoulder hinges).

Like the rest of the KBW deluxe toys I have, Airazor feels like it's going to break. Toys shouldn't feel like that. You shouldn't have to worry about where to pickup/touch/handle a mass release general retail deluxe class Transformer. I know part of it was to keep they toys slender and in scale (not BW scale as deluxes would need to be basic/core and basic/core would need to be Micromaster) but, it resulted in a lot of poor engineering/tolerances and in some cases egregiously thin plastic. A lot of it has a very sold as is too bad so sad if it breaks collector's only vibe to it. Nothing has advanced to the point of where anyone can get away with engineering/tolerances/thinness like this yet due to the properties of current materials. It's a really bad idea to push in that direction without having the right material (e.g. don't put the cart before the horse).


Aesthetic flaws:

The outermost wing section (the one that pops onto a circular clip on joint similar to pop on wheels) really needs a hinge in it. It also should have been hinged to the section of the wing it connects to because it being mounted lower just looks really bad. I know that it needed swing hinge/articulation but, surely there could have been something more refined looking. However, making plastic look and move like an actual wing is a bit much to ask (especially for a $22,99 MSRP deluxe class Transformer). My biggest complaint is that you can't fold the wings in front of Airazor to where they are parallel to the torso (like a cloak/shield or BM Megatron).

The legs don't compress/tuck tight enough in beast mode. However, that would have required panels on the thigh or the lower leg to box out robot mode or hollow AF thighs or lower legs.

There isn't really a good way to pivot the legs/ankles in beast mode for an attack but, the claws aren't articulated so I keep trying to tell myself that it doesn't really matter.

There is no wrist articulation but I really don't see how there could be given how slender the arms are combined with using a really unrefined Seeker/Conehead-esque tuck the hands into the body transformation. I don't think there is even enough room to use a port design similar to SS86 Kup's biceps/thighs and, they defiantly weren't going to try magnets. There is going to have to be a massive tech/engineering hop before everything is cable of wrist rotation as well as before any wrist hinge becomes more common. It could be worse though, they could start using rubbery plastic to do this (e.g. Marvel Legends" and I will take rigid plastic that doesn't move over that option.


What it did right

The sculpt details are amazing and the head sculpt is fantastic. This is probably one of the few toys that I will attempt a wash and paint on to make all the gorgeous feather details on the shoulder pauldrons/spaulders (as well as the tail and wings) have enough contrast/shadow to show off the sculpt work.

The robot mode is fantastic and, Airazror's codpiece lifts up so that the leg articulation isn't restricted like Blackarachnia's is. Blackarachnia's had the better idea of not needing to move but, it wasn't small enough to work that way. Airazor's had the better idea of being hinged but, unfortunately the entire piece is hinged and that shows the mushroom pegs even with only one leg raised. I think Hasbro/TakaraTomy will eventually figure out how to make it work on smaller/slender molds like these, there just haven't been enough development cycles yet to figure it out.

The missles/weapons pegging into the forearm is the right way to peg stuff into the arms. Combined with a rotational swivel above the port, it allows an arm to be in a lateral raise while pointing in any direction and having the weapon on top (like G1 Megatron's fusion cannon, the Seeker null rays, etc.). It drives me up the wall when a weapon mounts to the shoulder or bicep and there is no rotational swivel above it like several Megatron and Seeker toys have been made) because the weapon can only be aimed out to the side when the weapon is on top (unless there is an amazing butterfly joint). That articulation is far more important than where a 35 year old animation model (which didn't take anything into consideration because no one thought toys would ever be anything close to what they have been for the last 21 years) shows the mounting point.

I love that you don't have to peg the wings into the backpack like the official transformation. They don't tab in anywhere else but, it allows you to shrink the size of the backpack since the wing placement is what determines the bulk. The tradeoff is of course that the underside of the wings might not be exactly where you want them (e.g. the official location). Options like this are nice though, I wish they were more common.

While other birbs/aviary say tooki tooki ka-caw ka-caw, Airazor bellows SKREEEEEE and knocks them out of the sky.


Closing thoughts (purchase):

I don't regret this purchase because, like Airazor far more than I thought I would. It's clearly the best Airazor toy that's been released in general retail and it will probably remain that way for quite a while. I'm flabbergasted that Airazor isn't top heavy. Yes, you can obviously knock Airazor over or tilt the ankle joint too far back but, it's not a situation where everything has to be in a single perfect position or the toy can't stand up at all scenario. It's also a moot point if you don't have the wings tabbed into the backpack because, their weight is transferred/displaced elsewhere. I had serious doubts about Airazor because of Rhinox but, Airazor is overall something I will have fun tinkering with (when I'm not worried about the awful wing hinge design that forces me to obsess over which way which hinge is moving or if I need to keep one hinge from moving at all) . . .

 

A quick update about the head articulation. It turns out that the restriction of looking up is due to only the headsculpt.

I received my BAT Earthrise Sideswipe and Maximal Skywarp (KBW Airazor redeco/remold) 2 pack yesterday:

The robot head on Maximal Skywarp can flip at a full 90° which means that it can look straight up into the sky while standing and straight ahead while flying. There is a slight collision with the backpack but all you need to do is slightly fold the backpack down, finish the head articulation, then fold the backpack back. That means it's 100% the headsculpt for Airazor that prevents that toy from having the same range of motion on the head.

 

They could've probably just about gotten away with packaging Airazor with the wings in the normal configuration rather than bending them that wrong way. There's just enough clearance either side and within the depth of the box:

 

I think that's why my Air Razor has stress marks. I don't even know how they got her into the box to begin with like that

 

What is going on with the colors on the back of the box?

 

1st of all, special thanks to nearly everyone who posted on this thread for completely clearing up the issue of how Airazor's wings were packed & how they should be moved in order to avoid accidental breakage.
2nd of all, those who can't stand Airazor in toy-accurate colors that look nothing like the show model's peregrine falcon-accurate colors is probably not going to like this figure.
Finally, I've joined the missing paint apps club; mine's missing the left wingtip's grey spray. With the wings behind the cardboard insert, as per the new package design starting in kingdom, the paint on them is impossible to check.
With that said, this figure's a uniquely awesome beastformer!
Airazor looks magnificent in any pose with wings outspread, in robot or beast mode!(Dang, I could use a flight stand.)Soaring or flapping with wings outspread, & standing up, looking straight ahead are about the only falcon poses possible.

But she can do poses more fitting of other birds too, mainly with those unusually long legs. You'll need an extremely thin, sturdy tool to pry open her beak by the corner of her mouth. I used a metal toothpick.


& some poses that are not avian.

Airazor, maximize!
Apparently the only reference chosen for Airazor's face was in her twilight-set debut episode appearance; it's metallic purple instead of silver. It's very purple in person, but the way it reflects light makes it look a little less noticeable. All joint & peg/hole tolerances are nice & sturdy, the hips almost a little too tight for the rest. Hips, knees & ankles are above average range & the feet lend more stability than you'd think.



Spread those wings!


Wing shield!
Robot mode size comparison with Earthrise Optimus, SS86 Blurr, Kingdom Road Ranger & Rattrap, & Armada Airazor. Alternate mode size comparison with Armada Airazor, Siege 35th ann. Megatron, Cyberverse Ramjet, & Selects Exhaust. Overall a very enjoyable figure &, for one of my 1st figures of the year, it's a great start!

 

Can someone upload a size comparison pic of Kingdom Airazor with the Beast Wars 1996 Tigatron/Cheetor mold? I don't want Kingdom Tigatron because of the lack of concealed gut gun storage in beast mode, so I would like to know how Kingdom Airazor scales with OG Tigatron's mold, seeing how that BW Tigatron reissue is coming soon.

 

nice pics, didnt you forgot to rotate her feet for bot mode?

 

Scrap. You're right. She's just as poseable with either foot orientation.

 

I did a small 'screwdriver only' mod on Airazor, swapping the orange pieces on the sides of the chest with those from the 2-pack Skywarp. I think she looks better with the more subtle coloring around the upper torso. I was thinking of swapping some other parts too, but I didn't enjoy those attempts as much. Tried swapping the feet, but the ones from Skywarp were too similar in color, and blended in to the legs, so I went back.

 

Her face is purple in the thumbnail in the YouTube link you posted.

I don't believe it's a reflection of anything.