Review – Transformers Generations Thunderwing
Line: Transformers * Manufacturer: Hasbro * Year: 2010
Thunderwing, a 1989 Transformers Pretender toy that went on to be so much more than any of us could have ever imagined, is one of the latest releases in the continually-spectacular Transformers Generations series. The Hasbro designers deserve our thanks for putting out this toy series, because this brings all of us Generation One-style fans an awesome line that washes away some of the bad taste of the movie-style toys and concepts. And even though I initially thought I would pass on Thunderwing, a recent rereading of Transformers: Stormbringer* led me to give the toy a chance. And I’m glad that I did.
Thunderwing?
Yeah, Thunderwing. Even though the original toy was released long after the eighties animated series had left US airwaves the character went on to play an important role in the original eighties comic series. And then he came back this century when Simon Furman decided to turn Thunderwing into some apocalyptic Transformer that almost completely destroyed Cybertron. The TFWiki has the summary, and I think it shows just how confusing IDW’s approach to the line has been. I hate that I cannot simply read the trades in order; the various “Spotlight” comics really screwed up easy reading. But this isn’t about my complaints with IDW’s handling of the Transformers comics so let’s take a look at the toy.
Stealth Jet
Thunderwing’s vehicle mode is a sleek, streamlined jet fighter that is kinda similar in appearance to his eighties toy design but clearly inspired by his appearance in Transformers: Stormbringer*. It’s a great vehicle mode that scared me for a second when I first opened the package; Thunderwing is packed in jet mode with the robot face revealed but swinging the chest plate up conceals the face in jet mode. The arms are still a little more visible than I would like, but it’s not a huge issue since I’m going to display Thunderwing in robot mode and not jet mode. For a look at the underside see this photo review at Toy Randomness.
Robot Mode
This is where Thunderwing comes into his own. As an action figure he’s a tad short in comparison to the other “Deluxe” releases, but the look is excellent and straight out of the IDW comics. His articulation is just decent — hinged elbows and knees, ball-jointed shoulders and hips, swivels at the head, wrists, elbow, and biceps — but not as good as we’ve seen in recent releases in the series. The lack of any waist articulation is the biggest crime against the toy, but even that I can forgive since he’s fairly bulky and I’m sure a lot of his cost is in the plastic and sheer heft of the toy.
Paint
This guy’s got minimal paint apps, with most of his colors coming from the cast plastic. The green, black, gold, and blue are painted on and all of the paint is pretty clean. The eyes use the lightpipe feature but they don’t glow quite as well as some other Transformers. The paint is nothing special but what we get is decent.
So What Makes Thunderwing Cool?
I know everything that I’ve written so far doesn’t scream “must buy Transformers toy,” but I have to say that Thunderwing is a must-snag if you’re a a Generation One fan because the robot mode looks great in person. The toy looks so much like his IDW appearance that it’s one of the more impressive toys in the series. Not quite as nice as the Cybertronian Soundwave (review here), but still pretty damned nice.
So far I’ve only spotted Thunderwing at Target, but the $9 price at Target is better than we could hope for with a toy of this size and sheer coolness. It’s an excellent addition to the Transformers Generations line, and as with any great new toy release Thunderwing makes me want more toys from the series.
Definitely recommended. Not quite as much as Cybertronian Soundwave, but if you’ve been collecting Transformers Universe and Transformers Generations toys then you do not want to miss out on Thunderwing. I suspect he’s destined to be one of those toys that demands high prices in a few years.
Philip Reed should review something other than a Transformers toy next. Maybe a 12-inch scale action figure.
It should also be noted that the original Thunderwing toy was a Pretender whose outer shell could also transform. Both the shell and inner robot could combine their vehicle modes into a larger jet. This version of Thunderwing has a small jet drone that can detach as an homage to that original play feature. The Hasbro design team stated that they also tried to make the drone transformable, but that it ended up being just too small.
My main problem is that it’s just so very white and loses a lot of detail in the process. If I got it, I would want to do an inkwash over the whole thing to bring out all the grooves.
Thanks for the review, kinda frustrating though, as the Generations line continues to be very difficult for me to locate in the wild.
@powettoys – Yeah, I guess saying “Pretender” doesn’t tell the whole story. Hopefully the wiki link helps anyone who wants to know more about the original.
@John Maddening – An inkwash would be cool as hell. I’ve resisted the urge to customize Transformers; I’m just too chicken I think.
@Seth L – You really won’t like hearing that I just saw 5 Thunderwings at the TRU here in Austin. Good luck with the hunting!
Thanks for the detailed review, Phil. Sounds like this guy’s gonna be a lot like Straxus… er, Darkmount… in that the TF Comics fans are going to be happy with him, even if he has some issues.
Now if they’d just release a damn Classics ThunderCRACKER so I could complete my seekers!
PK
Love Thunderwing. He is dead on to the comics. I would have liked one a little larger – and some Pretender action as well – but I’m satisfied with him.
@DoctorKent – A Generations Pretender would be fantastic. How do we make it happen?
@PK – Can you believe I still haven’t opened my Straxus? That just feels wrong.
Phil, open Straxus! He’s so awesome and deserves the attention!
@Fintal – I’m getting to him. I just need to get this living room project finished before I get much time to do anything really fun.
@Phil – I bother the designers for a new Groundbreaker at every SDCC, but to no avail.
@DoctorKent – Will you be at NYTF in February?
Wooo! Found one! He’ll go in my “Save for Later Pile”
@ Phil – discussing that with the relevant parties right now. There are some BOOLEY developments that are making me keep an open schedule. But I hope so!