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.
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