Evac just flew in from BBTS yesterday, and he is indeed awesome. Vehicle Mode: Evac's alt mode is some kind of Navy or Coast Guard rescue helicopter, but it's hands down the best helicopter Transformer ever. There's a hook on the right side that can extend and then retract at the touch of a button. A button on the left side makes the rotors spin. The retractable landing gear is a definite plus. Evac comes with the Earth planet force key thingy, and it unlocks 2 missle launchers near the top of the vehicle mode that swing around and face forward. Transformation to robot mode isn't that complex, but it's fun to do. I guess I'd relate it to Mudflap's transformation. Not that hard, but a lot of fun and easy enough you won't get frustrated(like some Alternators). Robot Mode: As if the vehicle mode wasn't awesome enough, the robot mode trumps it. The cockpit area become his legs and feet, the arms each carry a weapon(his right arm as the hook and his left has the rotor blades), the missile launchers become a backpack, and the tail splits in half and then folds flat against the body. Another neat feature is that you can leave the tail halves out like big massive shoulder pads, or they can be folded down so they're out of the way. They used blue translucent plastic for Evac's eyes and they are light piped, which gives off an awesome effect when you shine a light behind him. All features from vehicle mode work in robot mode. This includes the hook/winch on his right arm, the spinning rotor blades on his left, and the missile launchers that become his backpack. One word of caution: if you're going to fold the tail halves down like it shows in the instructions, be careful. It takes a little force, but it works. Took me a little bit to figure that out because a) I saw the pictures and knew it could be done, and b) they rotate kinda hard, so I thought I was going to break them, but I didn't. One last thing I have to mention: There were no electronics whatsoever. And you know what? As much as I hated it on Mudflap, I'm starting to dig that they've left them out(or never had any, whichever). Since there's no electronics, there's no need for a sound box, therefore the toy doesn't have to compensate it's design to include said sound box. What you get is an awesome figure that has loads of articulation, neat features, and is still damn fun to play with. If Evac and Mudflap are a sign of things to come, then I couldn't be happier. I know Crumplezone and Vector Prime came with electronics and they were alright, but Mudflap and Evac are way better than either of them. So hopefully from now on they can leave out the electronics and give us awesome figures that are on this level. Obviously, I couldn't recommend Evac any more. He's truly a fun toy, amazing vehicle mode, awesome robot mode, and very cool features. Pick this one up if you see him. PS: I already had an idea for a repaint. Does anyone remember the GIJoe RAH Medic from the '86 line named Lifeline? Wouldn't it be cool to repaint Evac that blaze orange and give him white detailing and call him Lifeline? Just a thought I had.
This is one of the figures I've been most looking forward to. Thanks for the great review, now I'm even more excited about getting him! Hopefully they get him in at a Target here, because I have a gift card.
I'm glad they're foregoing the electronics. Lights are only OK and sounds are a negative in my book. And light-piping frequently works as well as actual electronic lighting. And as you noted, the Cyb megas without electronics are FAR superior toys to the ones with electronics. Good review on what appears to be an amazing toy. Haskara has done a complete 180 from Armada, just in time to do the G1-neo line and movie lines right. Of course, they need to ditch the cyber-key thing and any other line-wide gimmicks they might have in mind. They almost always add nothing and frequently are a negative. edit: Oh, and if you're going to repaint it, might I suggest Baywatch orange? Hassellhoff in the hizzie!
Great review! I got mine a few days ago (from Toywiz.com for $20.99 + shipping) and I couldn't agree more! One of the best TF's ever IMO.
can anyone do a comparison to live convoy, i broke down and got him a few months ago, and i gotta agree with all in this review. he is a flexible, intimidating as allhell, and just looks cool. The lack of sounds and lights is immeterial compared to the magnitude of right in this sculpt. The one place one can sort of whine is in the rotor blades, in that sometimes they hit the top of the chopper while spinning, but other than that, He is well and truly nifty. so, a comparison, cause i cant swing another 20 bucks if i got the gf version
From what I can tell, the missing apps are a bit of the bluish-gray color, a small bit on the side of his right forearm and on the front of the mount for his helicopter blades in bot mode. Nothing major.
I'm really glad they went with this ORIGINAL name as opposed to "Overcast" as originally reported. "Evac" sounds SO much better...
I wasn't sure about him. But if you can fold the copter tail section down, I'm sold. I dunno why, but the wings hanging off the back didn't really apeal to me.
Make sure you've got the rotor section peggged down to his arm hinges. It doesn't fix it 100%, but it does help that a great deal.
I like him, but I'm not as impressed with copter mode. Too many gaps (on the top around the arms) and too much crotch showing through. Also the missile launchers don't seem to deploy that well in robot mode. I don't mean the chip gimmick, but how they fold out. I forget how they sit in the toon, but it seems like they should sit on his shoulders a lot better than they do. Also I think the face could have been a tiny bit better. Just the way the lower lip is so close to the chin, it throws it off for me. Still, he's a pretty solid figure and easily one of the best chopper-bots I've seen. (Though Bulkhead/Quickstrike has the advantage with all the weaponry.)
I picked up two of them from BBTS last week. Had problems with both of them, resulting in both breaking within a 3 day period(in the same spots-the knobs on the tail section snapped off the first time I rotated the tail section down, and the waist clips). Just today, on my son's evac, I noticed severe white stressing of the clips that hold the shoulders in for bot mode. Seems no one else is having the same problem I had so it's entirely possible I got two bad ones.
Hooray for no electronics! Can't wait to get Evac, it's one of my highest anticipated TFs in the Cybertron line and it doesn't sound like I'll be let down!
I had NO intention of getting this guy after seeing pics of him. But I decided to pick him up anyways seeing him at Target today. And I absolutely love him. Both modes are great. One of the best Cybertron modes. I agree the missile springing out from back is a bit weak but not really a big deal as it does spring out.
Oh man, this figure is sweet! The copter mode is nice, the bot mode is even better. I thought the blades were stuck on but you can remove them. I'm a sucker for waist articulation and light piping so this figure rocks so much for me. I really like the head mold too. He looks like a grizzled veteran that has taken down more than a few Decepticons. If you can nab him at TRU while he's $15, that's another plus.
I just picked him up at W-M and I am in love. Evac is one ruttin' awesome figure! He has great articulation, beautiful modes, both alt and bot and he over all, in bot mode, looks hardcore. Like Sonscreen said, just look at the expression on his face. He is one bot I wold not want to tussle with.
any number I can use to show to the TRU people to let them see if they have it in stock hiding in the back?? their freakin' shelves are ALL wave 1 and 2s of every size, with the exception of that screamer-VP two-pack : Andy
