Exactly two weeks later and Blitzwing has arrived! Having just snapped him together I feel like he's better and worse than Bumblebee in some ways. Better in that he's more detailed, has more paint apps, and more colour. Worse in that the construction is a bit less satisfying. The hips are universal joints, not ball joints, and there's a bit too much collision of parts. The elbows only bend 90 degrees and the shoulder armour is a little odd. It can slide in for a more clean look and slide out for more range but it's not like it looks that bad slid out.

Best part though is the ankles. They assemble much like Bumblebee's but the design of Blitzwing's feet means the joint isn't needlessly stressed. Either by accident or design the corner of the bend in the bar where the ball is attached pushes against the inside of the ankle as you push the joint down, guiding it into the socket without putting stress on the post. It's hard to describe but you'll notice it when assembling, though you can further reduce tension by softening the sole of the foot in hot water so the socket flexes even more to allow the joint in.

Otherwise it's a good kit. I'll try and snap some pics later but first impressions are positive. Also he has extra parts, likely for future Cybertronian seekers, despite the runners all having Blitzwing's name.

 

Articulation test with unpainted Blitzwing


Unpainted Blitzwing beside Simba for scale


Pre-painted kits


Weathered Bumblebee


Might have gone overboard on the weathering for Blitzwing

 

Wow, they're both filthy.

 

DID YOU THINK YOU COULD BATHE?

 

Very much prefer blackwash to stock.

 

I’m all for weathering figures but the above examples seem like overkill.

 

Yeah me too just personally feel that’s overkill. Looks like they’ve been oil wrestling.

 

I guess I was going for ThreeZero's paintjob with zero weathering skills.
Looks realistic enough for me considering that this is a 10-minute job using liquid Kiwi.
I would not display stock Trumpeter beside my DLXs.

I actually bought 2 waves of DLX Bees and Primes on separate occasions. What I observed was the 1st batch was more weathered, and less weathering for the 2nd batch.
Shots taken below from my 1st wave of DLX. Cheers.

 

Is this the bigger version?

 

i don't believe so

 

Got this guy and added some panel lining and he's pretty cute may consider getting bliztwing

 

I'm surprised no one reported about this. Trumpeter Cliffjumper, Arcee can also be seen in one of the pictures.
Source

 

@Black Convoy

 

Thanks for the heads up!

 

I wish this and the Studio Series figure had the handheld gun he used instead of Bumblebee's arm cannon. Also, I noticed that for some reason the pictures of Dropkick both have his cybertronian mode lower legs rather than his Earth mode legs with the car's tail lights.

 

Good thing SS Arcee comes with 2 then.

 

Surprised we're getting this before Cybertronian Bumblebee, though obviously he's coming.

Looks pretty good! They pulled the face off better than the Deluxe toy.

 

And in the movie she only uses 1. So it works even more

 

looks like they toned down Arcee's cinnamon rolls