I got this set in from my buddy. I was incredibly excited for Ruckus here, but in hand he has some issues and some (IMO) bizzare design choices.

Ruckus is a VERY heavy retool of Legacy Evolution Deluxe Beachcomber, with very little parts sharing (shoulders, upper arms, waist/hips, upper legs). Ruckus practically looks like a brand new figure.

ALT MODE:

Ruckus transforms into a compact little dunebuggy-esque "futuristic" vehicle. The transformation is super basic with no major surprises, but the parts seem to fight themselves on my copy. The arms practically refuse to peg into the torso, and while I can get everything lined up and seated correctly with lots of parts massaging, it doesn't necessarily feel great and seems like it's straining against itself. He does have the rubberized wheels carried over from Legacy Evolution Beachcomber, so buyer beware: if you have issues with those wheels melting the plastic on Beachcomber, you'll probably run into the same issues with Ruckus.



Cannons can be deployed in alt mode.





BOT MODE:

Bot mode is nice, but again the parts fight themselves and prevent articulation. Homeboy is all legs and they do go ALL the way up.

• His knees are in the right place but look odd because they are hidden behind kibble.

• The ankle tilt is placed super high and can look odd in certain poses.

• The arms are well articulated but the backward motion is blocked by kibble (similar to Legacy Evolution Armada Megatron). This is pretty disappointing on a modern figure.

He does have most of the expected articulation points:

• 360° head rotation, the head IS on a ball joint but the head sculpt prevents a lot of the motion so it's really basically a swivel with a tiny bit of wobble
• Universal shoulder joint, but backward motion is blocked
• Elbow bend, just over 90°
• Wrist rotation
• Waist rotation
• Universal hip joints
• 90° knee bend
• Ankle tilt, about 75-80° (possibly further but I didn't want to push it)

Ruckus has some hollow bits, boy does he have some hollow bits... If that bothers you, well, be prepared to be bothered I guess. The entire backpack area behind his head is hollow, there are two hollow spots on his backpack near the waist, his forearms are hollow and the dunebuggy canopy/heels, as well. The 3rd party gap filler makers will have a field day with this guy.

Also, yes, he DOES have the waist deco incorrectly applied to the arms based on this image where someone applied the G1 stickers incorrectly:



But those stickers on his arms are actually meant to go on his waist:



So whoever did the deco on this version kinda, sorta dropped the ball, but I'm sure they just blamed Kevin the Intern. Because fuck Kevin the Intern.


The cannons deploy manually over his shoulders. Nice to see Hasbro FINALLY include the gimmick on the figures that are known for those gimmicks. The cannons are also removable and can be handheld. Ruckus also includes Beachcomber's gun, but I just leave it plugged into Ruckus' back.







COMPARISON WITH BEACHCOMBER:




TRIGGERCONS:

 

Wow, that's one heck of a retool.

 

Seriously. Looks like the shared parts are shoulders and upper arms, and upper legs, as well as some transformation innards.

 

I want Ruckus here but not a fan of the Bludgeon retool from Tarn.

 

God, this team is like the opposite of the Insecticons.

Crankcase is an alright retool, Windsweeper was beyond phoned in, and now this guy is almost entirely a new mold. Really wish Windsweeper got more love.

 

Don't have my copy yet, but really impressed by how this guy looks. As others have said, this is a significant retool. If I wasn't seeing the two directly side by side, I'd probably assume it was just a new mold with shared engineering.

I'm also particularly impressed (and possibly slightly annoyed) that he's actually got his Triggercon guns. Ruckus had tiny ones and Windsweeper had borrowed Targetmasters, necessitating the Nonnef sets. But this guy? He's already as kitted out as can be.

 

Fuckin’ Kevin… every damn time.

 

Just got mine today. Don't have any thoughts yet except dang, he's a big boy for a deluxe.

Mine came with a pair of beige guns installed on the figure as well as a set tied onto the cardboard insert next to the figure... is that normal or did I get a bonus set of guns?

 

  Bonus guns! Or at least mine only came with the set tied to the insert.

 

That is a truly excellent review, well done.

 

I am genuinely shocked how much I like this figure. I have no real attachment to the character or the original toy (and yes I was around then), but opening this up it genuinely felt like an upscaled KO of a G1 figure. It just captures that aesthetic perfectly, even if Kevin got the stickers wrong. I was expecting to be bothered by the feet, but nope, in person they work just fine. And his vehicle mode is just so much better than the terribly plain and cartoonish Beachcomber. Don't get me wrong - this isn't figure of the year. Heck, if you haven't gotten a Tarn or Bludgeon yet, he's probably not the best figure in the box, but he is a very pleasant surprise. If only more remolds were given this level of attention.

 

Neat figure. Transformation is kinda ass, though. There's barely any clearance for the arms. But it's worth the annoyance because the alt mode is cool.

 

Yeah, the biggest issue with this figure is that there are so many clashing parts. The arms are a pain to get into alt mode because there's barely any room to get them simultaneously locked into the legs and torso. Otherwise I like it and it's one of my favorite releases this year next to Sandstorm. I think I have a thing for TFs that turn into buggies.

 

Got mine yesterday and he's about what you'd expect for a modern update of a classic G1 toy. Along with Fangry and Needlenose, this is one of the few latter-day G1 characters I give a stuff about. I have the G1 toy too, so it's fun to put the together and see what we take for granted now - just so many more joints and posing options. I'll fill the gaps eventually with some third party fillers, so he's gonna end up being an expensive get, but at least he was only in a 2 pack...

 

Is there any way that the backpack can be removed? Are the back cannon slots molded into the back with no way to modify them? The lack of backwards arm rotation is a bigger fun killer than even Hot Rod shoulders, and if there is nothing that can be done with them I will probably just buy Bludgeon separately.

 

Ruckus is okay. It's a great representation of the character, but I have a lot of nitpicks. He's pretty hollow and simple, so he barely feels worth deluxe price. (Knowing that Beachcomber was even smaller/less plastic makes that figure sound like a genuine scam.) I also don't like how his knees lock in place for no reason. I also noticed it on Flame. I think they missed the mark on the headsculpt as well. But still, they put a lot of effort into this one and I appreciate that.

 

I don't see any way to remove the back cannons from the backpack, and the backpack is all one part with the torso. I can't see any simple and easy way to modify the backpack to give him the backward arm articulation.