Review – BadCube Sunsurge and Blaze

Third-party Transformers toymaker BadCube (find at Amazon.com*) has released a handful of toy designs over the last few years, but after spending time with both Sunsurge and Blaze I think I can safely say that this is so far my favorite of their designs. A Masterpiece-style take on Sunstreaker — as well as the Diaclone coloring of that classic transforming robot toy design — Sunsurge and Blaze stand out as durable, fun robot toys. My only complaint? Transformation design . . . but we’ll get to that.

Vehicle Mode

Gorgeous! The Sunsurge vehicle design follows the original Sunstreaker Lamborghini Countach perfectly, right down to that over-the-top rear engine that most sets the car mode apart from Sideswipe’s vehicle design.

One thing I’ve noticed about Masterpiece-style toys is that the car modes are fabulous toy cars, and BadCube’s Sunsurge carries that tradition forward with rolling wheels complete with rubber tires and a satisfying feel as you push the toy across the table. Unlike a lot of modern Transformers toys you find in stores, these Masterpiece-style toys haven’t forgotten that the car mode is just as important — and fun! — as robot mode.

If you place any value on the vehicle modes of your transforming robot toys then this one’s a winner. Early designs from BadCube (find at Amazon.com*) have also had nice vehicle modes, but something about the Sunsurge design feels to me like BadCube has taken an evolutionary step forward in their design skills. The design is just a lot of fun in car mode.

Transformation Design

Switching Sunsurge from car to robot is a bit of a messy event. I transformed both toys while following along to video reviews, and about ten minutes into the transformation sequence I was thankful I had videos to watch and wasn’t forced to depend on the instructions. There are stages between the two modes where the toy is a floppy mess of bits, but ultimately everything tabs together and locks down to leave us with a great robot.

If you buy Sunsurge or Blaze I suggest finding a video review before you start transforming the toy. It’s not that the transformation design is overly complicated, but there are some intricate steps where being able to watch a video really helps with understanding how the parts twist, turn, and fold. Without a video I think I’d still be trying to get both of these toys turned into robots.

Robot Mode

Once transformed, though, Sunsurge is a remarkable robot toy packed with great poseability and a nice weight. The joints are strong enough to support the toy’s weight, and at about 6.25-inches tall Sunsurge really does fit in perfectly with other Masterpiece-like Transformers and third-party toys.

One of the nice touches is the ability to plug missiles into the wrists in place of hands, meaning that Sunsurge is a perfect modern update to the original Sunstreaker toy. The below photo shows Blaze — the red Diaclone-inspired repaint of the Sunsurge toy — with the rifle in one hand and missile in place of the other hand. I can remember having Sunstreaker as a kid and it may be the missile hand more than anything that triggers memories of the original toy. Thanks, BadCube, for keeping this little detail in mind!

Closing Thoughts

Third-party Transformers toymaker BadCube (find at Amazon.com*) has outdone their earlier works with this design, and Sunsurge has proven so popular that the after-market price is a bit ridiculous these days; I’ve seen this listed for double the original price! Fortunately, a re-release is in the works so if you like what you see I suggest waiting; no need to pay $200 or $250 when BBTS is taking pre-orders at $100.

The Sunsurge/Blaze design isn’t the best third-party toy ever, but it’s a fantastic work of transforming robot toy design and recommended if you’re at all a fan of the character. And Diaclone fans will want the Blaze version; honestly, I think I like the red better than the yellow anyway. I know Sunstreaker is yellow, but this robot in red looks too damned awesome to resist.