Review – Warbotron Sly Strike

Last year I reviewed two of the Warbotron unofficial Combaticons — Air Burst review here, Heavy Noisy review here — and now that all five of the team members have reached me it’s time I share the rest of the team. Happily, I snapped photos of Sly Strike last year, making today’s review one of the easiest I’ve written in a long time. When there are more than six months between taking the pics and writing the review it almost feels like the pics were a found item. Hurrah for saving photos for months!

Vehicle Mode

Warbotron’s unofficial Transformers Swindle is as impressive in vehicle mode as any of his companions, with the colors an excellent fit for the character’s Generation One design. The wheels don’t roll as well as I would have liked, but that’s the only strike against Sly Strike; I’ll have to agree with the Starscream Rants review of the toy which states:

“This mold holds together great, and is pretty much flawless.”

The image below shows more of the toy’s vehicle mode, and in the pics you can almost see where the panels didn’t quite snap together perfectly. The tabs and slots that hold those arm and roof panels in place can honestly be a bit fiddly, but I can overlook a small touch of fiddliness for a toy with as clean a design — and as clean a transformation design! — as Warbotron’s Sly Strike. Overall this team has definitely impressed me.

Robot Mode

Carrying the Swindle character design is that face sculpt, complete with grin! “Hey, trust me,” you can almost hear the toy saying as he grins slyly at us. It’s rare that we see a Transformers toy with a touch of personality infused into the sculpt, but not so with Sly Strike! Warbotron clearly wanted all of us to see just how charming — and sleazy! — this robot can be. Excellent work on the head!

Paint Apps

I kinda skipped the paint apps on my earlier reviews of the team (Air Burst review here, Heavy Noisy review here). Sorry about that. Well, I can say that (so far) the entire not-Combaticons team from Warbotron has had tight, excellent paintwork that brings out the details with only the tiniest of little splotches here or there. And any slight errors are only noticeable when I’m zoomed in at 300% and editing the photos. When you spend roughly $100 per member you expect quality, and with this team Warbotron has earned my respect; everything about these toys has been fantastic!

Articulation

Were you worried that it’s possible Sly Strike wasn’t as lovingly crafted as the two earlier toys I already reviewed? Well, nothing to fear; Warbotron must have known that they had to make the entire team as incredible as the first two releases (Air Burst review here, Heavy Noisy review here) because I am quite happy with this toy’s articulation. A quick articulation run through to illustrate why I think this toy stands up nicely with his companions:

• Head – Ball-jointed neck.
  
• Arms – Swivel shoulder, swivel bicep, outward-hinge at shoulder, hinged elbow, swivel wrists.
  
• Legs – Swivel hips, outward hinge at upper thighs, swivel thighs, hinged knees, ball-jointed ankles.
  
• Torso – Swivel waist.

Closing Thoughts

An excellent third piece to the Warbotron unofficial Combaticons — see my earlier reviews: Air Burst review here, Heavy Noisy review here — Sly Strike is my second favorite in the team so far. (Airburst remains my favorite of the three team members I’ve opened to date.) Excellent sculpt, strong plastic, great design, and fun to play with all come together to make me wonder just where the designers got their experience with designing Transformers toys. If this is really the first attempt at transforming robot toys then I am shocked; this feels like the work of experienceed hands.

The remaining two members of Warbotron’s not-Combaticons team are waiting for me; both boxes are sitting there just teasing me and making me want to call the office and say something like: “Can’t work. Toys. Be in tomorrow.” Unfortunately, I’m far too responsible to skip a day in the office just to stay home and play with toys.

Still, once I do get around to opening the last two members then I’ll have the entire team ready to go. This means that my next book — following Transforming Collections* and Transforming Expectations* — will showcase all five of the toys and the combined mode. Sweet! I will definitely get back to Transforming Conversations just as soon as I get some other commitments completed.