I hate Cyberverse toys. These cut down, miniature Transformers have never been something I’ve felt have been very well executed. Those and the Legends toys I have found to be terrible little plastic turds. Yet with the current Prime line, I’ve found myself picking these up with gay abandon. Partly because the first wave of these toys were discounted and then because I’ve found them to be very good on the whole. The detailing and execution have been impressive, arguably more so than for the Deluxe toys I’ve thus far purchased. Looking around the toy shelves, I wonder if Transformers are becoming part of a wider trend amongst action figures where the 3.5” size class is becoming king. Whilst economics no doubt has a part to play in that, the smaller size class lends itself more easily to interactivity with playsets and other toy lines. The smaller size also seems to benefit from more care and attention than is currently afforded to larger toys, perhaps because for the same cost of manufacturing a larger toy from one material, you can create a smaller one out of many. So it is that Cyberverse Commander Class Dreadwing is a fine example of a toy rendered in this scale.
In robot mode, Dreadwing is an excellent likeness for his onscreen character model. He has the power and bulk of his CGI model and the headsculpt is excellent. Articulation is limited to the arms and legs, which is fine given the scale. It would have been nice to have a head that could turn, but perhaps that’s asking a bit too much of a toy of this size. Dreadwing has a really nice shape to him. The sharp, brutal edges of his wings, torso and those bladed fingers are complimented by the sweep of his forearms and legs, which give him a very muscular feel. The excellent mix of blue, silver and yellow really bring the figure to life, and the transparent plastics add a bit of zing to the figure. His two weapons are good fun. My favourite is the sword as I find the cannon is just a tad too large – looks cool hanging off his back though.
For a toy of this scale, you wouldn’t expect the transformation to be terribly complex and, well, it’s not. It does all slide together nicely and isn’t the mess the stock photography shows on the packet. The jet mode, like the robot mode, mixes a sleek design with a powerful bulk. Despite having the usual problem of jet based Transformers of having most of the robot parts tucked up underneath the body of the jet, but here that jumble of robot parts has been remarkably well worked into the aircraft. Certainly the legs anyway. The arms are a little inconspicuous, but you plug his weapons under the wings and you don’t notice that so much.
Dreadwing is a very impressive figure. He’s not the most complicated, nor the most articulated, but he’s great fun and a superbly sculpted piece. I paid full whack for mine, so he should fall down on value for money, but honestly, he looks so good and so much fun to play with I’ve not actually put him down since I got him. He’s a fantastic figure and further evidence that for the Prime line at least, Hasbro have put some real effort into these tiny Transformers.
Dreadwing 01.JPGDreadwing 02.JPG
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