It’s Transformers Thursday again and I’m spending it looking at the final figure from Wave 1 of the Combiner Wars Legends Classes. The Legends line has been a bright spot for me lately as I opted out of the Age of Extinction toys and now I’m doing the same with Robots in Disguise. So far, this Wave has been pretty solid with two excellent figures (Bombshell and Powerglide) and one that just squeaked by (Windcharger). Today’s figure is Thundercracker and it shouldn’t be surprising to anyone that he’s a repaint of the Generations Legends Class Starscream. I’m a sucker for Seekers and Thundercracker was one of the first Transformers I got as a kid, so he has a special place in my heart.

I’ve said my piece about this new packaging. I don’t love it, but at least its not bland and totally black like a lot of Hasbro’s other lines of late. It looks like the art department actually spent some time on the design and ‘Cracker’s character art on the card is pretty damn sweet. This new method of securing the figures, on the other hand, well this shit has got to go. They aren’t rubber bands, they aren’t twist-ties, they’re just these insufferable little plastic wires like the ones often used to attach tags on clothes. They’re a pain in the ass and I hate them. Anyway, Thundercracker comes packaged in his robot mode, albeit a bit mis-transformed, but let’s kick it off with his alt mode first.

What was a great jet mode for Starscream is still a great one for Thundercracker. If you turn the jet over you can still see the arms and hands pretty clearly, but they aren’t obvious from the top. You still get a flip down front landing gear and there’s still a peg hole on top of the jet if you want to plug one of the Targetmaster Mini-cons into him. Starscream’s gray and light blue plastic has been replaced with dark navy blue and black and some of the red paint with silver. The cockpit is still gold and the paint on the wings is more or less the same, just a little more metallic this time around. Thundercracker’s Decepticon insignia are slightly bigger and shifted a bit closer to the main body of the jet. All in all, good stuff.

Thundercracker has the same easy transformation as Starscream, but it makes for a fantastic robot mode. The proportions are great and little touches, like the way the tail fins fold back really help streamline the design. I love the detail sculpted into the intakes on his chest and the head, which appears to be the same as Starscream’s, features an equally impressive and sharp sculpt. If I had one complaint, it would be that I wish the wing piece pegged into the back, but even without a peg, it holds in place pretty well. The deco in robot mode is very close to what we saw in jet mode only with a little more silver paint showing.

Articulation includes ball joints in the shoulders, elbows, and hips, and hinges in the knees and ankles all of which add up to a fun figure. The guns on his arms are pegged in so they can be positioned facing up or down, used as hand held guns, or removed entirely.

Hasbro did a great job with this mold the first time around, so it’s no surprise that Thundercracker makes me a happy Transfan aswell. This figure represents everything that I love about the Legends Class figures these days. He’s simple and fun and I’m mighty tempted to just carry him around in my pocket all day for when I get some down time. It really feels like Hasbro is pouring that extra love into this line and I hope it continues, because lately these little guys represent my only outlet for new Transformers outside of Masterpiece and Third Party stuff. Now, Hasbro, bust out that paint and get us a Legends Skywarp!

I’m past the halfway point in checking out Hasbro’s first wave of Combiner Wars Legends Class figures. I’ve already looked at Bombshell and Powerglide, both superb figures, and today it’s Windcharger’s turn. This figure has an uphill battle to win the approval of a lot of collectors because his predecessor, Reveal the Shield Windcharger, was such a damn nice figure. I, however, don’t have that one in my collection, so maybe this guy will have a fighting chance with me. Let’s open him up and find out.

The new CW packaging still feels strange to me, but since I’ll be buying very few Hasbro releases in this line, I’m not going to bother to try to get used to it. Windcharger comes packaged in his robot mode and comes with a collectible art card. The character art has been pretty good so far, although I’m not digging ‘Chargers all that much. Why does his head look so much like Megatron? Is it just me? Is that some wacky and bizarre thing from the comics that I missed or is it just a coincidence? Also, my package has cello tape across the top of the bubble as if the factory was having more problems getting the bubbles to stick to the cards. Why does it feel like so much of Hasbro’s stuff is being made out of someone’s garage these days? Those new 3 3/4” Avengers figures look like they came out of a .25 cent gumball machine. Anyway, I digress… let’s kick it off with Windcharger’s alt mode.

‘Charger is a pretty bitchin’ low-profile sports car. He’s got a bit of modern Camero vibe to him and overall I like it a lot. You get some nice sculpted contours to the hood and sides, an integral spoiler, exhaust pipes sticking out the back, and there’s even a peg hole in the hood if you want to steal a Targetmaster Mini-Con from one of the Generations Legends and let him borrow it. The coloring is mostly red plastic, and while it does have some of that swirly nonsense going on, I don’t mind it so much in a toy this small. Some black paint on the windows and silver on the headlamps, grill and hood round out a simple but effective deco. All in all, this car is tight, holds together well, and rolls great.

If you pick up Windhcharger and turn him over you can see most of what’s going on with his engineering. Getting him into robot mode is as simple as unfolding him and straightening everything out. Getting him back into auto mode is mostly about packing the legs underneath and the arms at their sides. He’s mostly ball joints, so you don’t have to worry about anything pulling out that won’t go back in, although one of the rear tires keep popping off when I’m changing him. It makes the toy feel rather cheap, but it does go back on without a fuss.

Alright, so the biggest problem I have with this guy is his wonky proportions. The shoulders actually remind me of Armada Prime’s shoulders and that shouldn’t be a bad thing because I still adore that version of Prime, but they don’t work quite as well on ‘Charger here. The design seems confused over whether it was going for a bulky or lean robot and so we get the hulked out shoulders and spindly legs that don’t go well together. The car plates on his thighs help to balance things out a little, but not enough for it to really work for me. I think he can be made to look better in wide stances, but when you compare him to some of the other robot modes we’ve seen in the Legends Class lately, Windcharger feels like a stutter-step.

That’s not to say it’s all bad. The head sculpt is on par with the excellent portraits we’ve been seeing in this line. There’s a lot of detail and neat paintwork packed into that tiny noggin. I also like how the front plates on his legs are faked out to look like the shuttered back of the original G1 Windcharger’s car mode. The coloring here is also quite good. You get a lot of the same red plastic from the car mode with some dark and light grey thrown in on the torso and limbs. It’s also worth noting that the side panels on his thighs can be displayed with the wheels front or back. The difference doesn’t really help the proportions, but I prefer them with the wheels facing front and that seems to be the official transformation.

Windcharger does sport some good articulation. The shoulders are mounted on ball joints and attached to hinged arms and the elbows are also ball jointed. The legs are ball jointed at the hips and knees, and the ankles are hinged as part of the transformation. Also, despite his bulky top and demure lower half, he’s a fairly well balanced figure. As with most of these Legends figures, he’s a lot of fun to throw in my pocket and play around with during the day, especially when trying to get through those boring meetings at work. Just don’t let anyone catch you. Seriously, it’s embarrassing.

Where to come down on Windcharger? I love his car mode, but I’ve got mixed feelings about the robot mode. The consensus among collectors seems to weigh heavily against this guy, but I can’t summon up any hatred for him. It’s not the best robot mode, but I’ve certainly seen a lot worse and in toys bigger and more complex than this guy. Hell, I’ve mailed about a dozen Transformers to my nephew in the last month or so that wished they looked this good. He’s a far cry from the sexiness that was the Reveal the Shield version, but taken on his own I don’t think he’s all bad and he scales really nicely next to the Generations Legend Bumblebee. Maybe this is a case of me being more forgiving of the Legends Class figures, but I’ve been far more disappointed with some Deluxe Class figures than I could ever be with this little guy. Indeed, I’d say that if this is the worst that Legends Class has given us lately, it’s a sub-line that’s doing pretty damn great.

On the last Transformers Thursday I made a much deserved detour to take a look at MP-22 Ultra Magnus, but now I’m back on track to checking out the first Wave of Legends Class Combiner Wars figures. The line had a strong start with Bombshell and today I’m opening what is actually my most anticipated figure in this assortment: Powerglide. And away we go!

Here’s the new Legends Class packaging. I can’t say I love it, but I don’t hate it. It’s just different. You do get some very nice character art, which is also included inside as a trading card. Hasbro has taken a few stabs at doing Powerglide in recent years, but never quite with lasting results. The Universe Ultra Class release was an interesting figure with a good sculpt, but the size was all wrong and it always baffled me as to why Hasbro decided to color it white. Back in 2011 we got a Cyberverse version, which at the time I was rather smitten with, but I can’t say as that figure has aged all that well. So, here we go again, but there’s something about just looking at the packaged toy that tells me that Hasbro might have done it right this time. Powerglide is packaged in his robot mode, but we’re going to start with his alt mode.

Ah, the A-10 Warthog! It’s design inspired both the Cobra Rattler and the alt mode of good old Powerglide here. This version hits all the right points, but it does suffer from a few issues. The profile is there and the deep red plastic drives the G1 homage home. On the other hand, there is a lot of ugly jointing on the top and the gray plastic in the middle of the body looks rather out of place. The hinged rear stabilizers don’t lock in so they have a habit of getting knocked out of alignment, and you can clearly see his hands peeking out under the fronts of the wings. Jets with hands seems like a recurring theme in the Combiner Wars. I realize I just nitpicked a lot of stuff on this little jet, but this is a Legends Class figure, so I’m willing to cut it a lot more slack than I would a Deluxe or Voyager. Especially when the robot mode looks like…

THIS! Awww, yeah! Slap a dress on me and call me the girl who loved Powerglide, because this is one awesome homage! The transformation is quick and easy, and yet if still features some clever moves and the robot mode’s proportions are fantastic. He’s got a nice broad, barrel chest and I really dig how well the wings peg into his shoulders so securely. The arms look really close to the Sunbow animated design as does the magnificent head sculpt. There’s not a lot of paint work on this figure, and that usually bugs me, but in this case the red and gray plastic is really all it needs, plus the blue eyes and the little bit of black here and there. Also, that huge Autobot emblem on his chest is gorgeous. I have to imagine that this is about as close as we’re going to get to the Sunbow design in action figure form, unless Hasbro actually learns how to do mass-shifting and get rid of those big engines on his legs.

Speaking of the engines, the official robot mode has the engine pods shifted upward so the stabilizers can swing back behind his feet. I like it, but I think I like leaving them down even better. It adds a little more bulk to his lower legs and a cleaner profile above the knee.

Even the articulation on this guy makes for a really fun action figure. You get ball joints in the shoulders, hips, and knees, and hinges in the elbows and ankles. The head can also turn as part of the transformation.

It sounds crazy to say it, but this little Powerglide figure is possibly one of the best G1 updates Hasbro has done in a long time. Yes, the jet mode lacks some of the polish that the robot mode has, but when the robot mode looks this good, I would have it no other way. The only stumbling point here is that he doesn’t scale all that well with other lines. As one of the original Mini-bots, I can make Powerglide with some of my Classics figures, but not so much with the other G1 Mini-bots, like Bumblebee or Warpath, that got proper Deluxe Class upgrades. It’s a tad frustrating, since I think this figure could have been up-scaled to work as a Deluxe with very little tweaking. Nonetheless, as a stand-alone figure, this little guy simply can’t be beat and Hasbro seems to be channeling some of their best work into this Legends Class sub-line. Had I featured him last year, he probably would have found his way onto my Favorites of 2014 list.