Sea Spray's alternate mode (and general color scheme) are a throwback to his G1 self-- he's a hovercraft, though this version of him is a bit more massive of a version, a kind of military transport hovercraft. As such, he can store most Scout class TFs in vehicle mode-- and even a few Deluxe class ones, if you stretch it-- in his rear bay in this mode, which is a pretty cool little feature. As for the toy itself, it does a great job of representing the target vehicle-- the proportions are more or less spot-on. Obviously a hovercraft doesn't have side-mounted harpoon cannons, but hey, it's a toy. They're cool little features besides, and both are spring-loaded missile launchers with very nicely-detailed projectiles. The front cockpit area has also been "teched-up" a bit, with a really nice window design. Having the rear fans also able to turn in any direction is a nice additional touch, and the fans CAN spin, though it's a bit hard to get them to do so unless you have small fingers. The overall color scheme is pretty good-- and appropriate for a nautical vehicle-- with dark blue and white being the main colors. Both contrast against each other well. There's also a fair bit of light gray, but it's so close to the white it doesn't really add anything to the color scheme. Instead of Sea Spray's G1 yellow, this version has a more subdued golden brown, which fits in with the generally more realistic color schemes seen in this line. It still fits in quite well with the other colors, however. The transparent aquamarine is probably my favorite color on this toy, as it's just a really nice shade of plastic that both looks very "watery" and blends in well with the overall scheme. The silver and black serve as decent complementary colors, to boot, so no color complaints here. Sea Spray actually doesn't have the many paint apps visible in this mode, but there's enough colors where you don't really notice it easily. I do think the "SEA-S.P. RAY" logos on the sides and top of the vehicle are bit too obvious of nods and honestly stretching it a bit, though, and are the only paint apps I dislike-- everything else contrasts against the other colors well. As one last feature, Sea Spray has six 3 mm clips-- three on each side, to the rear of his cocpkit-- that you can attach the appropriate weapons from other figures onto for some added firepower. Sea Spray has no obvious robot extras in this mode, though if you do look at him from a rear view you can see the top of the robot head poking out from underneath the front half of the vehicle. That's minor, though.
    Sea Spray's robot mode is also quite excellently designed, with a unique transformation and practically no vehicle mode extras. The propellers look great above his shoulders and help to complement the mode-- everything else folds away nicely, though his hands are admittedly merely molded on the underside of small chunks of his vehicle mode. Sea Spray departs a bit more from his G1 self in this mode, with a buffer look to his proportions and feet that bend backwards slightly at the knee, edging him more towards a "Movie" look as opposed to a "Classics" look. His headsculpt is also a pretty big departure from his G1 version, but that's not a bad thing in this case-- the "scuba diver mask" look to his head is an ingenious not and really well-done. (The light piping for his transparnet blue visor also works very well.) Another design decision I'm quite fond of is how the front of the vehicle becomes his chest, but with a waist piece connecting in the middle of it to make it blend in with his general proportions better. His long, hollow heels, while a slight eyesore, give him great stability, and as another cool little feature, little fins can flip out of the front of his feet! His two harpoon launchers can also either be held in his hands in this mode or simply stored on pegs elsewhere on his lower arms. However, the elbows on Sea Spray are really wonky, and really his only major design flaw. They're really skinny-- in direct contrast to his beefy shoulders and lower arms-- and don't allow any rotational movement in the lower arms, which is a bit unnecessarily restrictive, given the transformation. As for Sea Spray's overall articulation, he can move at the neck (at two joints-- yes, he can look almost directly upwards), the shoulders (at four points), elbows, rotational movement at the wrists, and movement at the hips (at three points), the knees, and the ankles (at three points).
    Autobot Alliance Sea Spray is a wonderful mold, hearkening back to the G1 character without going so far as to be a bonafide "Classics update". He's got great proportions in both modes, a nice color scheme, some great features like the flip-out fins, good articulation, and a fairly innovative transformation which leaves him with practically no extra bits in either mode. Beyond the wonky elbows and the blah light gray, it's hard to come up with any real complaints against him. A highly recommended purchase.

Review by Beastbot

Back to Transformers: Autobot Alliance Index