Cannonball
(Cybertron)
(NOTE: Because this is a repaint, this is not a full-blown review. This mainly covers any changes made to the mold and the color scheme, and merely compares it to the original Cybertron Red Alert. For a review on the mold itself, read the review of the original Cybertron Red Alert here.)
Baring no resemblance
to the X-Man (of course), Cannonball is the
first pirrrate repaint to be released in the U.S. And, let me tell ya,
this is definitely a love-it or hate-it deco job, given how un-realistic
it is. Personally, I LOVE it! We've been needing a pirate Transformer for
a long time now, and even though the Red Alert mold may not be the best
choice, the people at Hasbro certainly did put some effort into making
the toy as pirate-y as possible. The black and goldish-tan (essentially
the "gold" color that's used for solid plastic) definitely scream "evil
pirate", though perhaps a solid black as opposed to a charcoal black would
have worked slightly better. The silver used also makes a very nice contrasting
color to all the black, and the transparent purple windows, while not really
contrasting much with the surrounding colors, is a very Decepticon-y shade
and perfect on an evil Transformer. Sure, it's not realistic, but it's
an admittedly goofy (yet awesome) repaint anyways, and I'm sure that's
what the designers were aiming for in the first place. The main draw Cannonball
has, however, comes from four paint apps in particular that make him far
more pirate-y. The three most obvious ones are the AWESOME skull-graffiti
paint apps on his rear roof and car doors. On the car dors, there's renderings
of stylized skeletons, looking like they're being dragged along with the
vehicle. On the top is a large skull with flame-like trails behind it--
all three deco patterns look very evil indeed, and are obviously fitting
for a pirate. Also, half of Cannonball's face is painted black to give
him a bit of an "eyepatch" look-- I would've preferred a slight remold
to remove half of his visor in addition, but still, it's a pretty neat
placement of a paint app.
No major mold changes
have been to Cybertron Cannonball. However, the problem Red Alert had with
his legs clipping together properly has been completely solved on Cannonball,
so no worries there.
Cannonball is defintiely
the most creative, intriguing repaint of the Cybertron line, and really
stands out. Mildly recommended, even if you have the original Cybertron
Red Alert.
Review by Beastbot