Review – Takara Transformers Legends “Kickback”

Takara’s Transformers Legends series (find at Amazon.com*) brings us better versions of various Hasbro Transformers designs, offering up more detailed paint applications and extra little somethings in many of the toy packages. The Legends Kickback* reviewed here is physically the same as Hasbro’s Titans Return Kickback* toy, and owning one pretty much means you can safely skip the other.

Packaging

The first dramatic departure from Hasbro’s Titans Return Kickback* is the box; the Hasbro toy is carded and also missing the added Head Master toy that’s included with the Takara toy. Surprisingly, the box lists the Head Master as “Double-Dealer” when other info points to the Head Master as Clouder (see the TFWiki), leaving us to decide on our own what to call the little guy. The Head Master addition is awesome, even if Kickback can’t use the toy as a head.

Insect Mode

When I first opened Hasbro’s Titans Return Kickback* toy I was disappointed in the toy’s transformation design and insect mode, and Takara’s version of the design suffers from the same troubles: The arms folding up to the rear of the insect to form the rear of the bug mode just doesn’t look good. I’m not a fan of how the legs don’t connect to the arms; the entire toy feels a little too floppy and loose in insect mode for my taste.

Robot Mode

Fortunately, the Legends Kickback* comes into his own once transformed into his robot mode. The toy looks like a great update to the 1985 Kickback toy design (which I reviewed in 2009) and other than the lack of a weapon — which is a shame — the toy is super-awesome-fun and makes me very happy.

Part of what sets the Takara version apart from Hasbro’s Titans Return Kickback* toy — beyond the paint app differences — are those awesome insect wings. The Hasbro toy includes clear yellow wings (see the photo, below), while Takara’s Legends Kickback* has clear wings with silver paint details. I kinda wish the wings were completely silver, like the original toy, but what we get looks fabulous and I’m satisfied with the decision.

Articulation

Regardless of whether you have the Legends Kickback* or Titans Return Kickback* toys, with both coming from the same tooling, the designs share identical articulation.

• Head – Ball-jointed neck.
  
• Torso – No articulation.
  
• Arms – Ball-jointed shoulders and elbows.
  
• Legs – Ball-jointed hips and hinged knees.

As you can see, the articulation is minimal, but it works well for such a small and inexpensive Transformers design. (Well, the Legends Kickback* isn’t exactly inexpensive, but a lot of what we’re paying for is the import costs, extra robot, and paint apps.)

Closing Thoughts

Whether you decide on the Legends Kickback* or Hasbro’s Titans Return Kickback*, the insect mode of the toy is weak and not nearly as fun as the robot mode. The robot mode more than makes up for bug mode, and Insecticon fans shouldn’t hesitate to add this toy to their collections. And as a bonus, the toy makes a great companion to the Bombshell from a few years ago (reviewed here) and I’m not left wishing I had the Shrapnel toy opened and ready to join the group. I think I know what toy gets opened and photographed next . . .