Downshift, although not in the Cybertron TV show, is a new version of the Energon Downshift character, who WAS in the Energon TV show. Even though it's a continuation of that mis-named Wheeljack character, it's nice to see Hasbro showing us what's happened to older characters in this TF Universe that aren't in the show anymore. They also labored to make Downshift a bit more different from G1 Wheeljack this time around, seeing as how... y'know, he isn't named Wheeljack anymore, so I guess they figured to just go with it and differentiate him from Wheeljack a bit more. His vehicle mode is a now a funky looking '60s, '70s-era muscle car. Green and black are odd colors for a car, sure, but that was obviously the intention, both to differentiate Downshift a bit more from being "just another Autobot car" and because a few muscle cars actually ARE in those colors. However, that doesn't keep the colors form being a bit ugly on a car, in my opinion. However, it at least works to this figure's advantage in one respect-- although I would have found the transparent orange windows rather gaudy on most other Transformers, it fits right in with this already-gaudy Autobot. As for the overall proportions and look of this mode, they're spot-on, nearly Alternator-quality. No robot extras whatsoever, seats molded inside the windows, and a roof molded to look like leather to boot! Unfortunately, because of the realism of this mode, there's also rather little mold detailing, though that's a pretty small quibble. Downshift does have a good amount of paint detailing to help break up all the undetailed plastic, however-- the gray-and-black lines on the sides of the car look especially good, as does the exposed silver engine. One of the great things about this mode, thoguh, is that if you want to soup up Downshift to look less realistic and more "ruff 'n tuff", you can-- Downshift's rather large missile launchers peg into the sides of this mode, and each missile launcher has a Minicon port on the top of it, so you can add even more bulk to Downshift's frame. In addition, Downshift's Cyber Key feature is pretty cool. Fold up a small panel on the rear window of the vehicle and then insert the Key, and sharp-looking "jaws" pop open from the front bumper, complete with what looks like a grinder in the center of them-- now Downshift can do some serious melee damage even in his car mode! This is a pretty cool gimmick, given that the actual place where you insert the key is so far (relatively speaking) from where the gimmick actually pops out, and that this gimmick is still able to be activated after the transformation as well.
    Although Downshift's vehicle mode is the better of his two modes, his robot mode is still fairly good. I think his arms a tad on the puny side, and his chest is definitely too big and long, but otherwise his prportions are good enough. His articulation is also pretty good-- he can move at the waist, hips, knees, shoulders (at two places), and knees. His head can't move at all, though, which is a bit of a bummer. The headsculpt itself is great, though, with more defined, less cartoony features than Energon Downshift had. The car windows and hood on his back are the only real extras in this mode, and they stay out of the way well enough not to get in the way of articulation or stick out too obviously, so I don't mind it. Downshift's guns can be held in his hands, or, if you want his hands to be free, you can hook them on his shoulders instead-- a nifty feature. I guess my big problem with this mode is that this same transformation of "car front as chest, rear as legs, doors and shoulders and arms" has just been done so many times already, it's gotten rather boring, especially since the "straight-out car front-as-chest" doesn't look all that great. Still, overall, it's a pretty good robot mode, even if it has a "been there, done that" look to it.
    Cybertron Downshift is a decent mold with some great versatility in its features and weapons, but its boring, overdone transformation and robot mode look, coupled with its somewhat ugly color scheme, keep it from being a must-buy. It's still a pretty good deluxe mold, however. Mildly recommended.

Review by Beastbot

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