Death's Head
15-08-11, 08:28 AM
RTS Windcharger has become something of a hot commodity on the secondary market at the moment. Perhaps not a massive surprise, given the popularity of these Classics – style updates, but let's be straight about Windcharger. He was originally a Mini-bot and therefore one of the least sophisticated original Transformers out there. He had an impressive bio, which credited him with cool magnetic powers - thus making him one of the more powerful and interesting Autobots - but he barely got chance to show them off in any media and was quickly swamped by the relentless onslaught of continual product launches. His most memorable appearance was battling Aunty, the warped personality of Teletraan 1 in the Marvel UK comic before turning up as a corpse during Transformers : The Movie. Hardly screams fan favourite, really, does he? And yet, because he has been singled out for the 'Classics' treatment, he's caused something of a scalper frenzy and goes for far more money than the toy is actually worth forking out for. If he'd been released as a movie themed figure, I doubt anyone would be that interested in him. Particularly as last years HFTD Hubcap does the Scout Class vehicle a whole lot better than Windcharger does.
Packaged in robot mode, Windcharger is a fairly odd looking toy. He has quite a small, boxy head (aping the old cartoon model sheet rather than the more interesting original toy sculpt) and relatively slender body parts that are bulked out by huge chunks of car hanging off him. The roof/windshield arrangement dangling off his back is almost cape-like and slightly swamps his diminutive frame, particularly as from the front, there isn't enough bulk to compensate for that. His lower legs, whilst slavishy following the original toy/ model sheet design, also suffer from looking a little too hefty - especially with those dainty feet poking out from underneath.
He has all the usual points of articulation so can strike some decent poses (including the amazingly camp one I've opted for here), and as a nice added bonus, his wrists rotate around to reveal...some, um...things for...whatever. I think they're supposed to be his magnetic doo-dahs or blasters or something. A nice little feature, even though I'm struggling to accurately describe what they are. Coils? Capacitors? Cobblers..?
Transforming Windcharger looks pretty straight forward. You can see the sequence they've gone for straight away. Except that they've incorporated a needless bit of complexity in the legs. When folding them up to join the roof and doors of the front half, you have to have them arranged just so to allow the feet to slide into place on the two gaps in the roof (these will also sag into the bodywork slightly once you get there as the feet are balljointed) and it's not a sequence achieved with ease, as you have to kind of gently shift the arms/doors out of the way and then together with the legs to get it all to click together properly. It's an unnecessary complication and the various 'snap' noises that are made getting everything into place are not comforting.
The resultant vehicle mode is a generic muscle car looselty modled on a Mustang or similar by the looks of things. It's okay, but has a very big, chunky rear end that tapers into a slim compact front end. It just looks weird. A bit like the similarly odd looking Generation 2 Turbofire, who also looks as odd as this.
Windcharger would normaly be just an average Scout figure. He's nothing out and out spectacular, with only the 'cache' of being re-envisoned from his original toy giving him any major props. His reception amongst a collecting fanbase hung up on the 'glory days' of the 1980s mean that like other average Classics toys such as Scourge, Grimlock and Thunderwing you'll be paying a high price if you pick him up second hand, and if that's your only option, I'd do without.
168169170
Packaged in robot mode, Windcharger is a fairly odd looking toy. He has quite a small, boxy head (aping the old cartoon model sheet rather than the more interesting original toy sculpt) and relatively slender body parts that are bulked out by huge chunks of car hanging off him. The roof/windshield arrangement dangling off his back is almost cape-like and slightly swamps his diminutive frame, particularly as from the front, there isn't enough bulk to compensate for that. His lower legs, whilst slavishy following the original toy/ model sheet design, also suffer from looking a little too hefty - especially with those dainty feet poking out from underneath.
He has all the usual points of articulation so can strike some decent poses (including the amazingly camp one I've opted for here), and as a nice added bonus, his wrists rotate around to reveal...some, um...things for...whatever. I think they're supposed to be his magnetic doo-dahs or blasters or something. A nice little feature, even though I'm struggling to accurately describe what they are. Coils? Capacitors? Cobblers..?
Transforming Windcharger looks pretty straight forward. You can see the sequence they've gone for straight away. Except that they've incorporated a needless bit of complexity in the legs. When folding them up to join the roof and doors of the front half, you have to have them arranged just so to allow the feet to slide into place on the two gaps in the roof (these will also sag into the bodywork slightly once you get there as the feet are balljointed) and it's not a sequence achieved with ease, as you have to kind of gently shift the arms/doors out of the way and then together with the legs to get it all to click together properly. It's an unnecessary complication and the various 'snap' noises that are made getting everything into place are not comforting.
The resultant vehicle mode is a generic muscle car looselty modled on a Mustang or similar by the looks of things. It's okay, but has a very big, chunky rear end that tapers into a slim compact front end. It just looks weird. A bit like the similarly odd looking Generation 2 Turbofire, who also looks as odd as this.
Windcharger would normaly be just an average Scout figure. He's nothing out and out spectacular, with only the 'cache' of being re-envisoned from his original toy giving him any major props. His reception amongst a collecting fanbase hung up on the 'glory days' of the 1980s mean that like other average Classics toys such as Scourge, Grimlock and Thunderwing you'll be paying a high price if you pick him up second hand, and if that's your only option, I'd do without.
168169170