Cyberverse Dreadwing

I think I picked this up almost three months ago now. I’ve been focused so much on my new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figures  that I never got around to actually setting down my thoughts on this figure. It was one of the toys that came out during one of the distribution events, but it was overshadowed by the release of the Fall of Cybertron figures: Shockwave, Jazz, and Optimus Prime.

Due to the popularity of those figures, the Cyberverse Commander figures made it to the shelves of many other toy stores around Metro Manila. If I’m not mistaken, I picked these up at Toys ‘R’ Us in Eastwood. Still pretty lucky since both Ironhide and Dreadwing were shortpacked in the cases distributed here. Most branches only got one of each. I’d actually passed on them a couple of times since they are expensive (nearly the price of a Deluxe Class figure) and small.

However, what they lack in size, they make up for with playability. These things are damned fun toys!

 

The Transformers: Prime toy line gets its own Cyberverse package treatment, different from the ones that were used for the movie line. Unlike Cyberverse Powerglide, the predominant color is white, with a change to the style of the elements. I like the little piece of artwork in the back showing the cast facing off. That's an excellent way to sell the rest of the line!

The front of the card tells you that the Decepticon inside is a "Demolitions Expert" and that his "Weapons Combine!" The bubble is adequate and you can see most of the toy inside the pack. The back of the card also includes the necessary write up about the character, small print, and images of the toy in both its robot form and vehicle mode. I love the tag, "Command Your World!" It gives you a great picture about what this subset of the Transformer line is all about: world building.

I love Dreadwing's robot mode.

It looks very clean, despite being so small. The sculpting of the body is quite nice and it looks great in both static and action poses. However, it bothers me that his hands are sculpted in a slightly open position: he's meant to hold his weapons anyway. What is wrong with fists these days?

Articulation is nice, despite him only having about 10 points of articulation. Ball-joints are the joint of choice at many of the primary connections, which makes for a good range of movement. There isn't any head, wrist, or foot action, but as he's so small, it's not really missed.

There isn't much in the way of paint here. There's some yellow on his face, and some stripes along his wings. There are tampographed decals on his wings as well, and all the applications are in the right place, if not particularly detailed. For the most part, he's cast in color, gray, blue, and that semi-clear yellow.

He comes with two accessories, both cast in translucent yellow: a large rifle and a nice looking sword.

The sword is pretty delicate looking, and the blaster feels much too large in my opinion, but both fit fantastically in his hands. They're light enough that his fine joints have no problem handling their weight. The tiny Cyberverse posts on the weapons fit into both his fists and small holes on the backs of his forearms. There's also a post on the top of his fuselage in airplane mode, which is conveniently located on his back in robot form.

You can also do the "Weapons Combine!" thing, but I can't say they make the best pairing. Neither implement really looks like they fit together. You'd think the sword would make a kind of bayonet, but no. It sticks the bottom (or is it the side?) of the gun and doesn't look as if it could be of much use in combat.

He can convert into something that looks similar to the gerwalk mode that the Veritech fighters in Macross/Robotech sometimes changed into. It's a geek out moment for me, an 80's baby. It's a whole lot of fun flying this thing around, especially because he carries the gun.

From here, it's a pretty easy step to the full on jet mode. All you need to do is pin his feet to the back of the fuselage, and his arms underneath the wings. The limbs kind of just hang there underneath, huge chunks of kibble. It's forgivable since again, this guy is only about 3" or 4" tall.

 

The toy is just as big as the older movie line's Cyberverse Powerglide, though far less complicated. I guess it's because they don't need to stay true to the Bayverse's aesthetic. The style of the cartoon is far simpler, with fewer parts and smoother lines. I kind of wish that they'd given him missiles like Powerglide, though, instead of the rifle. They would have gone a long way to hiding his arms.

As it is, the weapons can either fit underneath on holes in the arms, or on top on a post that sticks out of the transluscent yellow area in the middle of the plane's body. The clear plastic allows light through so the cockpit is lit for photos, which is a nice touch.

Overall, this figure is a great buy, if you're willing to shell out the cash it takes to pick him up. Like I said earlier, the thing is almost as expensive as one of the Deluxe Class figures from the same line, which stand about 6" tall. The size is a serious thing to consider when trying to prioritize your potential buys.

It doesn't help that there's a Voyager Class version of this same character, with a similar, somewhat more complicated transformation scheme available as well. It's more expensive, more than 200% the cost, but it's about that much bigger as well. I've been waffling back and forth on whether or not to pick up that one as well, since this one is so much fun, and he's already got a brother Seeker, Skyquake, that just came out.

It's really up to you to decide, but if you're into world building and the Cyberverse Playsets, this is a great buy.