JENNY GABS ON: Krang's Android Body (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Playmates, 1994)

One of the reasons I started this blog is not just to share my opinions of the latest and greatest, but also to archive the stuff in my collection that doesn't have a whole lot in the way of text and pictures online, and to share the stories that come with them. At my heart I'm an archivist, which I suppose is a nicer way of saying "packrat," but I kind of see us all as custodians of knowledge that the masses have deemed disposable. Toy collectors have known the value of physical media all our lives. And while it's great to throw YouTube on after a hard day at work, I've always preferred text, and writing is one of my strengths. The Internet keeps getting increasingly unusable and populated by bots and AI-generated text, but I'm going to gamely continue on making human-generated content until the robots drag me away.

Speaking of robots, Krang's Android Body! Playmates first made a giant version in 1991 to fit the original Krang figure, but the landscape of the kid world was wildly different three years later. TMNT's third movie failed to make the splash of the first two and color coded dinosaur themed karate teens filled the void in our little elementary school brains. Turtles was on the back burner for me as well, but when I saw this figure hanging on the pegs at Target I begged my mom to get him for me. I loved villains, I loved Krang, and I had missed out on the giant one. This was the last new Turtles figure I acquired during the original run--I had one of the Mini-Mutant playsets, and the Raph version of the Muta Force mech suit, but as far as regular 5" figures, Krang was the end of the line. Until Next Mutation, because there was a *girl Turtle*! (And it was bad, but that's a story for another day.)

Krang's Android Body stands right at 5" tall thanks to his antenna, which makes him taller than most other Turtles figures, but a lot of them are hunched over or squatting, so he tends to look a little undersized. He fits great with ReAction figures though! He's largely a downscaled version of his 11" counterpart, with the jagged mouth and more colorful palette Playmates cooked up for that figure. Personally I like this fiercer look better than the bored bald guy from the cartoon. Why do some people prefer "toy" looks? I think it's because we spent more time with our action figures than the animated characters, who were only on for a half hour a day. The child mind isn't focused on details but on vibes. All the little gaps and greeblies on the body are painted, which was kind of rare for Playmates. The android body has swivel wrists, shoulders, hips, and neck, and an opening door on the belly to remove the tiny Krang.

The little alien overlord is less than half the size of his 1989 figure, and is just one solid blob of pink-painted plastic. He's got a jagged smile on his face and his tentacles raised in triumph. The figure includes one accessory specifically for Krang, that being a downscaled version of the walker from his original figure cast in cerulean plastic. It's pretty simple--each side has a leg and an arm molded together and glued to the platform, no articulation, and no way to hold Krang in place, but it's still a nice inclusion. The legs on mine are kind of warped but he can remain standing. Due to the lack of articulation he's going to be stuck wildly gesticulating but that's pretty on brand for him. It also kind of looks like he's doing the Johnny Bravo dance. Whoa mama!

The other three accessories are all meant to represent the android body's ability to morph its hands into various tools and weapons. We've got a cool sci-fi blaster hand, a claw hand that looks a bit like the head of a Mouser, and what I always used as a communicator but may be some kind of remote control. On a modern figure these would probably be swappable hands (and not cerulean), but here they merely slip over the figure's hands. The claw is articulated for chompy action, but you'll have to pretend you can't see his hand peeking out. I'm astounded I managed not to lose any of these pieces over the years. But I always took fairly good care of my toys, especially an A-list villain like Krang. He's got some minor paint wear and scuffs on the belly window but he's not too bad.

As a late addition to the line the standard sized android body is kind of rare. Nowhere near the likes of Scratch or Shogun Shoate, of course, but expect to pay right around $100 for a loose and complete one. Playmates never reissued this figure, although in a bizarre turn the mini Krang was packed in with a 2009 reissue of the original Shredder, before that concept had been utterly run into the ground. Today there are a number of options for your Krang's Android Body needs--more cartoon accurate, more articulated, etc. You probably don't need this one. But for me, he'll always be special.

Today, September 29, was my mom's birthday. This is the first year I'm spending it without her. Mom was responsible for fostering my childhood understanding of geek stuff. I could see characters like Spider-Man or C-3PO on TV and she could give me at least a rough rundown of what their deal was. She was a spoiler, and she gifted me many toys over the years. Hell, as recently as last Christmas she gave me some Ninja Turtles figures. I remember where I was when I received most of my childhood collection--I guess it's just how I form memories, I connect them to some object, and that's usually a toy. She didn't even question that I needed Krang. Obviously I needed Krang--this was the woman who pounded the pavement and enlisted coworkers to help secure me a Technodrome for Christmas a few years before. She knew enough about the things I was into, and she knew that Krang was more essential than Beach Bum Michelangelo or some third-string X-Man. 

She wouldn't have classified herself as a collector, but her Barbies and 100+ nail powder dips, neatly arranged in acrylic drawers with swatch sticks hanging on the wall above them, would beg to differ. I'm so much like my mom, and I'm so grateful for the moments and memories she gave me. I look at this goofy bald guy in red shorts and I'm back in 1994 looking up at her smiling face, her surprise that they made a normal-sized Krang, and her genuine excitement to make her kid's day. That's what really makes these things special, the people and the moments they connect you to. I love you Mom.

JENNY GABS ON: Starscream Armor Scare Glow (Masters of the Universe X Transformers, Mattel, 2026)

It's interesting how different companies approach these collaborative projects. Hasbro has designated Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee, and Starscream as the main characters of Transformers, and indeed, it's those four in the crossover. If Mattel had that same attitude this would probably be Starscream Armor Beast Man, which wouldn't be a *bad* fit, but instead they did something much cooler. For half of his existence Scare Glow was barely a character at all, coming as he did at the very end of the vintage line, but he quickly became a cult fave once adult He-Fans started revisiting the franchise in the early 2000s and finally made his animated debut in MOTU Revelation. Scare Glow is a ghost--Starscream is sometimes a ghost. Starscream's ghost can possess other bots (including Waspinator in that one episode of Beast Wars!), so is he possessing Scare Glow, or is Scare Glow possessing a still-living Starscream? 

I'm just kidding, this is Scare Glow wearing *Starscream Armor*, because that's the conceit we're going with. The heroes of Eternia met the Turtles and the Thundercats, but there are no actual Transformers in this story, they're just wearing armor inspired by them. You can decide if he sounds like the late great Tony Todd or the late great Chris Latta.

Like Skeletor, Scare Glow's torso is entirely new. The red part is molded separately, creating a great layering effect and giving it some depth.  Actually, other than his hands and thighs all of Scare Glow's parts are brand new. His face, upper arms, and lower torso are molded in glow in the dark plastic, as is tradition. It's not as bright as the standard Scare Glow but you gotta appreciate the effort. Also he glows blue instead of the more common green--perhaps to better evoke Starscream's ghost.

Furthering the connections to The Transformers: The Movie, in which Starscream takes the first step toward becoming a ghost, Scare Glow's armor has the crown, shoulder pads, and cape from Starscream's coronation as Decepticon leader, moments before being wasted by Galvatron. The purple cape evokes Scare Glow's typical garb, which is probably the reason for its inclusion. If you want a more basic look, all of these pieces are removable. The crown is made out of soft plastic For Safety Reasons, so the points will warp if you don't store it properly.

Most of his accessory budget goes to the coronation gear, but Scare Glow is still armed with two null rays, which are surprisingly versatile. They can be plugged into his shoulders to complete the Starscream look, or he can hold them as a pair of twin axes, or he can hold them as guns (there's even a hollow space for his thumbs to go for a better grip), or they can plug together end to end to make a staff evocative of Scare Glow's signature halberd. This last one isn't mentioned in any of the marketing material for some reason, maybe because of how rigid the null rays are being a breakage concern, maybe because it looks kind of daft. But hey, I'd rather have the option than not. They can also plug into his back using the same ports as the cape, another undocumented feature, possibly accidental.

I don't have any other "Ghost of Starscream" (or indeed, Coronation Starscream) figures in my collection, and I love both characters, so I'm tempted to say this is my favorite of the MOTU X Transformers crossovers. He just ticks so many boxes. It's real close between him and Optimus Prime Armor He-Man, but either way the second wave was much stronger than the first. Didn't stop it from going to clearance too! Crossovers are on pause for the rest of the year, but I'd love to maybe see one more wave with Beast Man/Soundwave (a stronger thematic pairing) and Teelita-1. We're also still supposed to get a Transformers X MOTU item from Hasbro, so my favorite special interests aren't done with the mashups yet.

 

JENNY GABS ON: General Mortífero (Operation: Recall, Locomotion Media Group, 2026)

The world sucks right now, but you've gotta look for the bright spots where you can find them. For example, we're living in an absolute Renaissance for 3.75" o-ring toy soldiers. There are the various Super7 lines, which have the benefit of recognizable licenses, but the indie toy space is full of exciting and creative original concepts. The hook for Operation: Recall is that they've got a bunch of former Hasbro GI Joe employees from the golden age on board to develop concepts, giving this line a built-in pedigree. It definitely feels more like a spiritual successor to ARAH than some of its fellow (also very good!) indie lines, owing to both its behind the scenes bona fides and its willingness to embrace over-the-top designs.

The villains of this world are Orthrus, led by this mysterious masked madman, General Mortífero. Every O:R figure comes with a swell little booklet showing the development of the figure from concept sketches to control art. Interestingly, the initial sketches for Mortífero look closer to Cobra Commander, hood and all, but the final design leans more in Destro's direction, particularly his Iron Grenadiers look--gold mask, black suit, red shoulder cape. It's similar in broad strokes, but with its own unique touches. The gold part of the mask is attached to a black hood, with grilles over the mouth and nose and horrifying bulging bloodshot eyes. We know those are part of his mask because there's an unmasked version coming at some point, and that one has his face painted up like a skull, with slicked back black hair and a splatter of blood. Both looks would be equally at home on a slasher flick killer as on the kingpin of a ruthless terrorist organization.

The General is dressed in a black moto-style jacket, black jodhpurs, and red accessories, with a gold belt buckle bearing the Orthrus logo, which is based on his fearsome visage. His buttons are picked out in gold, because you're getting your money's worth here. The decos on all of these figures are very intricate. All of his clothes are very shiny, giving them the appearance of patent leather. Kinky! Actually, the glossy finish is a feature common to O:R figures and a minor point of contention among collectors. You'll find just as many detractors of the flat, matte finishes on Super7 figures. I see what they were going for, because if you look at old ARAH figures they do have a shine to them, but that was, I believe, a property of the plastics used. General Mortífero almost feels like he's got a clear coat finish, and it seems like it's scratching off in areas with lots of friction, like the waist and shoulders. 

He's got the expected articulation for this format, with the addition of swivel wrists, which basically every o-ring line besides Super7's has, although the ones on O:R feel especially smooth. His shoulder articulation is a bit impeded by the design of his jacket and the pauldron, so he can't raise his arms above his head but he can still gesticulate menacingly. The pauldron is soft white plastic painted red, and it's fixed by a tab going into a slot on the torso. You can remove it if you want, but I would suggest undoing the back screw and not just yanking it to avoid stressing the tab. His cape has a wire in the bottom for posing, which will likely also be the case for wave 3's Shhhh and his more dynamic full cape.

In addition to his nifty Orthrus logo base, General Mortífero comes with a gold pistol, a gold dagger in a sheath that plugs into his belt, and his signature weapon, a gold spiked mace. I really like how the cape is the perfect length to conceal his pistol! And the gold mace combines a threatening aura and opulence in a way that seems suited to a South America-based dictator who, let's face it, is probably trafficking drugs to fund his war machine. Headman always had a distinct Bob the Goon aura so in my canon this is his new boss. Unfortunately, and maybe because of the possible clear coat, his hands are very stiff, and working his accessories into his hands was a struggle. They've basically stayed put since I opened him. The sheathed dagger is more of a costume piece than a true accessory.

I want to be very clear about something--it sounds like I have a lot of criticisms of this figure, but every one of them has been addressed in the Wave 2 figures that I have. This is a by-fans, for-fans effort, and I think taking one series to iron out imperfections is a perfectly acceptable learning curve. Since the only media for Operation: Recall is the file cards, these basically live and die on the strength of their design, and General Mortífero is a solid one, even if the execution isn't quite as solid. This is a figure you buy because it looks awesome, but maybe check out one of the A.T.L.A.S. heroes first if you want a general impression of the line.

 

JENNY GABS ON: Kane (Masters of the WWE Universe, Mattel, 2021)

Masters of the WWE Universe is back! Kind of. If your Walmarts are anything like mine, they're in a constant state of being picked clean of any and all wrestling figures that are interesting in the slightest. I can't imagine they would bring it back for just one series, though. Mark my words, there's definitely going to be a Danhausen dressed as Skeletor in the near future. In the meantime, the original run has a robust selection of sword and sorcery sports entertainers to build out your roster.

Kane debuted at Badd Blood: In Your House in the fall of 1997, interfering in the inaugural Hell in a Cell match between his estranged brother the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels. In the following years the Devil’s Favorite Demon had his story modified and retconned so many times WWE once published a fiction novel in an attempt to tie it all together. But initially the story was that Kane was badly burned in the funeral home fire that killed their parents and had been kept locked away by Paul Bearer as a secret weapon should he and Taker ever be at odds. Silent, sadistic, and with the ability to summon fire, Kane was a masked monster that instantly captured my young imagination.

…eventually he would roll a wheelchair-bound Zack Ryder off the Raw stage and electrocute Shane McMahon’s testicles with a car battery, but this was way before that.

MOTWWEU splits the difference between “wrestler in a MOTU setting” and “wrestler mashed up with a MOTU character,” and Kane is the latter, taking his cues from Roboto. Because Kane’s nickname was The Big Red Machine. This is also why he beat up Pete Rose at three consecutive Manias! His stark red and black color scheme looks great on a MOTU body. His limbs are robotic, and like Roboto, he has interchangeable weapons for his right hand. He doesn’t include Roboto’s axe hand, but he can accept any of the weapons from Roboto or Metal-Boto, but not Trap-Jaw, so no “See No Evil” hook. He additionally includes an effects piece that plugs onto the end of his blaster, turning it into a flamethrower! His hair fades into translucent fiery orange, another reminder of the fire that killed his parents and scarred him. Psychologically. 

Kane didn't often sport the two-sleeved look. Most memorably, it was when the Undertaker was posing as Kane, and thus needed both sleeves to cover up his tats. The modularity of MOTU Origins is a big help here, because you can just plug in any bare arm with a black wristband and have a more standard looking Kane. He's still got robot parts and orange eyes, though. Because of this figure, the Superstars release came in his reversed colors/primarily black suit. So I guess if you want a truly basic Kane in MOTU style, you're out of luck. You'll just have to settle for one of the hundred other Kane figures from the last thirty years.

Kane’s rookie figure was released toward the end of 1998, and it was the one wrestling figure above any other I really wanted for Christmas that year. I did, in fact, score him (and a bunch of others) courtesy of my awesome mom, and it was the best Christmas ever. So maybe that’s why I feel such a strong nostalgic pull to this guy, despite not fitting with the era I’m focused on for this line, and despite Glenn Jacobs becoming something of a villain IRL. Although his character has still done worse things, like sexually assaulting a dead cheerleader, or an alive Lita. Glenn would probably agree with forcing a rape victim to incubate a demon baby, though. What are the odds of getting a Gene Snitsky figure? About the same as Nailz?

JENNY GABS ON: Time Traveler (yellow), Micronauts Reaction+, Super7, 2026

Genealogy lesson--Hasbro licensed GI Joe to Takara to make Combat Joe. Combat Joe evolved into Henshin Cyborg, which got shrunk down during the 70s oil crisis to Microman, which innovated O-ring construction for small scale figures. Mego imported those back to the US as Micronauts. Microman kept going in Japan and eventually added transforming robots, some of which formed the nucleus of Transformers. MEANWHILE, GI Joe was revamped as A Real American Hero using the basic O-ring construction from Microman and improving upon it. Many years later, Hasbro ends up owning the Micronauts brand, so they sublicense it to Super7 who are working on their own revival of figures in the ARAH format. So these new Micronauts are in the style of GI Joe, which were inspired by the old Micronauts, which were descended from GI Joe, and also they're cousins with Soundwave and Bumblebee.

...so anyway, the Time Traveler was the most basic Microman/Micronauts figure. It's easiest to see the evolution from Henshin Cyborg because the basic design is the same--a translucent plastic body with a fully chromed head and some vac metal embellishments. I use the word "charming" a lot when describing Reactions and other vintage or neo-retro toys, and boy is it apt here. This is just the purest distillation of 70s Japanese sci-fi cheese, and it hits several categories of Japanese toy "fetishes" (to borrow a term from ToyboxDX). It's got clear parts! It's got chrome! It's kind of a robot! In a past life I almost exclusively collected Japanese toys, vintage and otherwise, and this is the sort of thing that you either "get" or you don't. And lemme tell you, I get it. This takes me back to browsing Yahoo Japan Auctions between classes and not having constant lower back pain.

Of course, this is an American toy, and being in the Reaction+ format means he's a little bit different from the figures Mego imported in the Carter era. He's a little bit stockier, as we tend to be, but he's also got swivel arm battle grip and a ball-jointed neck (innovations that Micronauts and other pre-ARAH o-ring figures lacked, including the early ARAHs). The neck on mine is a little loose--I'm going to guess the whole head piece was vac metal at one point in development, then revised due to scraping, and the loss of that fraction of a millimeter was enough to leave the head a mite rattly. That or it's just a quirk of mine. A quick loosening and re-tightening of his back screw seems to have done the trick. Sometimes these things need a little love to be at their best. Honestly, same.

Translucent plastic always makes me a little nervous as a Transformers collector who's had her share of snapped-off windshields to deal with (Earthrise Smokescreen, we hardly knew ye). All the clear parts seem thick and sturdy, the joints move smoothly, and other than the post for the O-ring none of the parts are under tension. I guess time will tell. The hands and feet are separately molded in white and glued into place.  The bronze armor on his lower torso is attached via a round post and removing it reveals additional cybernetic details underneath. If you have other Reaction+ Time Travelers, you can mix and match this piece to create more unique looks (as they are technically army builders and not unique characters). True to the originals, there's not a speck of paint on the Time Traveler. 

Micronauts was well before my time, but they were always held in high esteem by the older Gen X tastemakers of the early online toy fandom. Basically any Reaction that dips under $15 on Amazon is on sight for me, so it's nice to finally check out the brand at its most basic level. And yeah, this isn't *exactly* the same, but it's close, and this translucent plastic isn't already fifty years old. Can't lie, I might yet pick up the blue and orange Time Travelers too (actually, between the time I started writing this and publication, I have gotten the blue one as well!). The fourth vintage color is clear, which is...pretty boring. Make them in red and green and I'm there. Give me an opportunity to make a Super Sentai team and I will seize it!

 

JENNY GABS ON: Shockwave (Transformers War for Cybertron: Siege, Hasbro, 2018)

Shockwave is one of the core Decepticons, but for whatever reason it took Hasbro until late 2018 to make a worthwhile Generations figure for him (FoC Shockwave was too small and too weird). He began the era of smaller but more detail-packed Leader-class figures we’re still currently enjoying. This was not without controversy, as many decried him as just a Voyager with extra parts. Which he is…but he has a good reason for that.

The base robot is really nice. Yes he’s Voyager-scaled, but he has none of the hollowness or "waffling" that we sometimes see as a cost cutting measure. His articulation is leaps and bounds ahead of any other mainline Shockwave available at the time (though again, that was a very short list) although I do wish he had front to back movement in his ankles. His hips and knees are equipped with sturdy ratchet joints. He can do The Pose from the iconic cover of Marvel's Transformers #5 just fine. His light piped optic is very bright and menacing. His lavender blaster hand? Not so much.

Like Megatron, Shockwave’s G1 alt mode was a gun.  A purple sci-fi laser gun, but still, we can't have that. So this Soundwave turns into a starship reminiscent of Space Battleship Yamato and similar vessels from ancient sci-fi anime, with a command tower sporting the same light-piped optic as Shockwave’s face so you know it’s him. By pure coincidence I’m sure, you can flip this spaceship upside down and it looks more or less like his G1 gun mode. The grip would be a little small for my preschooler niece but it’s the thought that counts. (There’s a third party upgrade kit to give it a real grip.)

The core figure has been reissued by itself several times, and it's even the basis for his Studio Series 86 figure, with lots of remolding to get rid of that icky surface detail. For a lot of people, that one will be the one to get. But to really get everything out of it you need the Siege release, especially if you like the play pattern Siege introduced. Which I do! I’m also one of the rare weirdos that likes the battle damage on Siege figures, which the rest of the fandom hates. To each their own. Y'all are wrong, but that's okay. 

 Shockwave comes with a ton of extra pieces which function similarly to the Weaponizers introduced in Siege. In fact, in its original context this figure seems designed to introduce and sell you on the play pattern and ideally send you out to the store to pick up Brunt or Cog or whoever. In robot mode, he gains two extra blaster arms, giant shoulder pads, some lifts for his feet, and a backpack with two...tentacles? hanging down the sides. It really befits his mad scientist tendencies. 

In gun starship mode, the backpack piece bulks up the fuselage, adding more forward guns and making it look even more like a space battleship, while the arm and feet pieces plug into the back end to give him some wingalings. You can (and I often do) orient the foot pieces vertically for a slimmer profile, but this is the way it's "supposed" to look. Undocumented in the instructions, the extra pieces can partsform together to form a hoverboard or drone. You can also flip it upside down to make a little battle sled for a Scout or Core-class figure!

All these years removed, I think Shockwave is the best of the Siege Leader molds in terms of functionality. Magnus’s trailer/armor and Astrotrain’s launchpad/caboose/backpack have more limited applications. Plus the whole idea of experimenting on himself suits his character. Shockwave was a major shelf warmer but once he was gone from stores, aftermarket demand started ticking up. I’m not sure if that's still the case given that there are somewhat more cartoon-accurate versions available now, but until HasTak actually builds a new-from-the-ground-up Shockwave (not the whale, a G1 version, ya silly), those are quite literally missing something.

 

JENNY GABS ON: Powerglide (Transformers Age of the Primes, Hasbro, 2026)

Was it all a dream?

I came back to Transformers during a transitional (in more than one sense) period of my life. For some reason the prospect of all-new Headmasters spoke to me. When Siege came out I dove in all the way. The War for Cybertron and Legacy trilogies were all killer and minimal filler. But now that's over...and it feels like we're kind of directionless. The Age of the Primes is focused on the Thirteen Primes, most of whom are very obscure characters (Liege Maximo, for one, is based on a single comic panel). But then there are also G1 characters who, in keeping with the new design initiatives, are as smooth and accurate to the G1 cartoon as possible. Studio Series is mostly also filled with the same. The packaging for both lines looks almost identical, further blurring the distinction. Prices are climbing out of control, with deluxes going from $17 to $28 or more in the last ten years. Characters fans have been requesting for years are shoved into multipacks with slight improvements on figures we already have. *Starscream* is an impossible to find retailer exclusive. We're doing made-to-order stuff, which is one step up from a damn Kickstarter (hi Playmates). 

Some of these aren't new problems, some aren't major problems, some aren't even necessarily Hasbro's fault. They didn't decide to start a trade war, and they clearly expected Transformers One to be a bigger hit when they chose the Thirteen as the focal point for the next two years. But taken all at once, under the "leadership" of a CEO who insists the toy company he heads isn't a toy company, it's starting to feel like a lot; a franchise adrift, trying to rally around what worked before at a 50% markup. Something has got to give.

Anyway, here's Powerglide.

Powerglide is, by my reckoning, the last of the updated G1 Minibots I need for my collection. (I don't care for the new Windcharger/Tailgate mold, and I guess I still need Bumper, but does anyone *need* Bumper?) Historically Minibots--a fan term, not their official name--were an entry level product, small vehicles with simple transformations sold on a card for pocket money, and as such many Transfans of the G1 and G2 era likely counted one among their first acquisitions. Updates tend to usually also be on the small side, but since Earthrise Cliffjumper they've been small Deluxes, usually with more complex engineering or extra accessories. 

As expected, Powerglide is all smooth burgundy plastic with a cone-shaped head that does nothing to discourage the jokes about his name. His big blue eyes give him a cute appearance despite his best efforts at looking tough. He poses well, although his wing-shoulders can come detached with little effort, and his head by its nature can't look up and down. His chest panel opens up to reveal his inner workings, including a series of pink dots in a heart shape. This is a reference to the last shot in the G1 cartoon episode "The Girl Who Loved Powerglide," and it's not the first time a Powerglide figure has included a hidden heart. See, he's a softie!

A softie that converts into a weapon of war, that is! Powerglide's traditional alt mode is an A-10 Thunderbolt II ground assault plane, nicknamed "Warthog" because apparently it's really ugly. His conversion process has some frustrating steps, largely centered around the back engines. Firstly, they're too low. They should be oriented above the wings and tail fins, as on a real life Warthog as well as previous versions of Powerglide. The hinges are so tight that the pieces will pop off before sliding forward as intended. Also they don't really lock in in either position and constantly seem like you're doing something wrong. His wings don't really lock in securely either. There's a panel on the top of the tail that suggests a rubsign sticker. That's a detail from his G1 toy, not his animation model. Perhaps a version of this toy will be coming to Walmart with tan instead of silver limbs.

He comes with two accessories. One is a fairly generic silver blaster, nothing special but gets the job done. The other is another reference to a specific G1 cartoon episode, "Hoist Goes Hollywood," in which the Autobot tow truck gets a part in a movie and the biggest attention whores on the Ark (Sunstreaker, Tracks, and Powerglide) insist on being included, so they get cast as aliens with goofy googly-eyed masks. It's a great piece, pure cheese, but it's just going to get tossed in a baggie. To attach it you have to lift up the nose cannon on top of his head and flip his face around so the mask can tab into place. This means, of course, you can't also use it on your Sunstreaker or Tracks figures. Seems like a lot of resources devoted to referencing a one off appearance that maybe could have been used for a more accurate plane mode.

If you're collecting the Minibots, Powerglide is a must have. But he's just sort of fine, and illustrative of a troubling trend. I was at a con this weekend, and at two separate booths I stopped myself from getting an SS86 Megatron because, as great a job as they did on his robot mode, his tank mode is just perfunctory. Transformers as a brand is enjoyable to me because of the tactile interactive element, and I switch them between modes frequently. When the vehicle mode is clearly an afterthought, it kind of doesn't matter how good the robot is to me, I'm still going to feel a little shortchanged. And when prices are closer to $30 than $20 for the entry level (which Deluxes are now), I'm not sure "shortchanged" is the feeling you want to evoke.

New directions for Generations and Studio Series were announced at San Diego Comic-Con. If this figure came out next year, he would likely be sold under the Studio Series banner, which will be focused on media accuracy from across the franchise. Generations will be the "sandbox" line, where designers are free to experiment with new ideas and hopefully linewide gimmicks and storytelling like the Prime Wars and War for Cybertron trilogies had. We'll see if there will be more distinction between the lines once these changes set in. That doesn't do anything to address pricing, distribution, frustrating business practices, etc, but it's something.