Last Thursday I was in the middle of a whole G.I. Joe thang and Transformers Thursday got pre-empted. I had hoped I could come back to it this week and look at some Energon figures or maybe something from Armada, but no, the Bayformer Hostage Crisis continues. I think this is Week #7 but I may have passed out and lost count somewhere along the way. Either way, I’m looking at another movie toy. And so, I dug my mitts into the Bayformer Tote and pulled out… this guy.

I have no idea who this is. I’m guessing he’s another one of those Expanded Universe figures from the 2007 Movie. Hang on, while I hit the googles… OK, it’s… Dropkick? Really?? Part of the reason I’m starting to thin out my Transformers collection is because of figures like Dropkick here. I’m being totally honest when I say that I had no idea who he was when I pulled him from the tote, and yet at some point I walked into a store, pulled him off the peg and bought him. If I can’t even remember his name and I have no meaningful connection to the character, than I have to ask myself, why do I own him? Maybe he’s just a really bitchin’ toy? If he was, I’d probably know his name, but let’s press on and find out.

As we’ve already seen Dropkick is a pick-up truck. The sculpt isn’t bad, but maybe a little plain. He does have a really suspicious sliding knob on the cap in his truck bed. What’s that all about? Well, as you can see above, it’s a giant pincer claw that comes out of the tailgate. That doesn’t seem terribly practical. Don’t tailgate Dropkick or he’ll deploy his pincer and scratch your front quarter panels! Still, if you don’t like it you can take the whole thing out, giving Dropkick just a regular empty bed. Let me also point out here that Dropkick’s truck mode does not stay together well. I think a lot of it has to do with his spring loaded head and hood parts. He wants to pop apart at the slightest inclination and it’s almost impossible for me to get the roof or the passenger side door to stay tabbed into place all the way.

The deco here is kind of ugly. First off, he has a giant Decepticon insignia that takes up the entire hood and roof of the vehicle. Hey, Dropkick, ever hear the expression, “robots in disguise?” Why don’t you just paint a giant target on yourself? Optimus Prime ain’t no touchy-feely robot of peace in these movies. When he finds you, he’s probably going to rip off your face and blow a hole in the back of your head. But it isn’t the garish faction symbol that I find so ugly here, it’s the bare grey plastic that looks like all the paint has been stripped off and we’re look at a truck’s primer. It makes the toy look unfinished. The front bumper also looks like it’s screaming for some additional paint apps. Blah. Let’s transform him and see if the robot mode is any better.

Dropkick has some cool stuff going for him. I like the way his windows angle to form his chest. It’s a lot like the movie Optimus Prime design only executed better than it was on the 2007 Prime figure. There’s also a ton of intricate sculpting to seen behind those shields. I also dig the dual blasters that fold out under each hand. And while it took me a while to warm up to them, I’ve grown to like the “chicken-leg” aesthetic that came out of the movie designs.

On the downside, look at all that truck kibble up around the shoulders. It might not be so bad if those giant chunks of truck with the front wheels didn’t flop all over. Also, those doors are inexplicably spring-loaded so they automatically stick out like that. The ability to tuck those back would have cleaned up Dropkick’s profile a lot, but they just spring right back into position. I’ll also note here that Dropkick is yet another Transformer who’s shoulders will not stay pegged in for love or money. Before every single shot, I had to repeg those suckers back into place. Lastly, the torso mode could have used some more paint apps. All that sculpted detail looks so bland in that bare grey plastic. Hasbro put some wonderful paintwork into the Revenge of the Fallen toys, but they sure skimped a lot on these 2007 Movie figures.

I do like the head sculpt on Dropkick. It’s very simple and very un-movie-like. Instead of looking like some kind of rabid space bug, he just looks more like a proper 80’s Transformer with a mouth plate and a visor. The antenna on the sides of his head are cool and I like those droopy ear things on his “helmet” it makes him look like a sad Decepticon. Awww… It’ll be Ok, Dropkick! Here, have an energon cookie.

Dropkick is by no means a terrible figure. He’s got some personality to his design that makes it impossible for me to totally hate on him. Unfortunately, he’s also got plenty of issues that hold him back from being anything better than average at best. And that’s even after I’ve bumped him up a few points for being a Decepticon truck, because I usually love Decepticon trucks. I had to consider this one carefully. Do I keep him or pack him into a box bound for my nephew in New Jersey? It was a tough call. Especially with him looking up at me with that sad face. But in the end, I decided I didn’t really need him in my collection anymore. Sorry, Dropkick, you’re headed to the Garden State. It’s been nice knowing ya!