Reverb's vehicle mode
is a rather interesting-looking asymmetrical "hoverbike". The "core" of
the mode looks like a motorcycle, but instead of wheels the rear bit has
a vertical fan, and there's a large horizontal fan on the left side of
this mode as well. (All fans can rotate just like you'd think a fan could,
FYI.) The right side of this mode has a two-missile weapon piece on a C-clip--
it looks like you can attach it to what appear to be C-clip points
behind the drivers' seat, but alas, those points are a bit too small, so
this and a small C-clip area on the outside of the big fan are pretty much
the only areas where you can clip on the missile piece in this mode. There
isn't any landing gear or anything of the sort, just little bits of the
vehicle mode below the drivers' seat to allow Reverb to rest on a stable
surface. These bits are the only real parts that could be considered "robot
mode extras" in this mode, as it's not a solid platform for the vehicle
mode to rest on, but rather fragmented up a bit due to how the robot arms
fold up to create it. Still, that's a very minor extra at best. The mold
detailing is excellent where it needs to be on this mold, with the fans
looking very good, along with engine-like detailing near the back and headlight
detailing beneath the orangish-yellow transparent plastic used on the front
windshield. (I'm not sure what the two-pronged black piece in front of
the side fan is, though-- a stabilizer, perhaps? It can move up and down
in this mode.) Most of the rest of the mode is rather sleek, however, and
thus doesn't have much mold detailing. The overall color scheme of red
and gray is basic, but it works-- not to mention that the moderately light
gray has a bit of glitter in it to keep it from looking too dull. It's
certainly not nearly as good as, say, having all the gray plastic painted
silver, but it's a definite step up from the blah light gray plastic that's
all too common in movieverse TFs. The paint apps are decent, being mostly
on the front section, the drivers' seat, and the very rear section. The
charcoal black helps to give the mostly two-note color scheme a dark color,
and the light blue and bright orange work well as accent colors. There's
also some tiny "N.E.S.T. Global Alliance" logos on the toy, which is a
nice touch. Reverb's human partner is Sergeant Detour, and he's in your
standard "off-road ATV/motorcycle" gear (in fact, he's a redeco of Spike
Witwicky) and decked out in similar colors to Reverb so they go together
well. (That said, isn't Sergeant Detour already partnered up with another
Autobot?!) Sergeant Detour has all the points of articulation and poseability
that the other Human Alliance figurines have, so no surprises there. It
should be noted, however, that there's no peg on the back of the drivers'
seat to fit him on there-- only wrapping the hands arond Reverb's handlebars
will keep the human figurine attached on this toy.
Reverb's weapon mode
is-- as is the case with most Human Alliance deluxe toys-- his weakest
mode, but honestly compared to most other Human Alliance deluxe toys' weapon
modes it's decent. It's some kind of wind-tunnel/wind blaster, with the
rear fan split in two and then the large fan swung up underneath them with
the human figurine sitting backwards on the drivers' seat (this is what
those handlebars on the back side of the drivers' seat that were too skinny
to fit C-Clip weapons on them are for, to keep the figurine attached in
this mode as well). From a front or even partially side view, this mode
looks pretty decent, and I love how the missile launcher accessory attaches
at the bottom to give it a (tiny) stand. (It's quite difficult to stand
up by itself, though, and there's a handle peg near the back end for larger
TFs to hold Reverb in this mode.) The big downside to this mode is that
you've basically got the vehicle mode displayed as usual behind the fans,
though the bottom portion has been rotated sideways for the transformation.
That's a rather big, unsightly extra-- I wish they had found some way to
compress that portion of the vehicle in this mode.
Reverb's robot mode
has a bit of a lithe, sleek personality to it, which is certainly fitting
for a hoverbike. My main complaint with him in this mode is that his lower
legs are rather two-dimensional, looking really skinny from a strictly
frontal view while being VERY wide from a side view, due to the fan halves
that form his heels. His head and chest are also a bit forward from the
rest of the body, which can look a bit odd from a side view but otherwise
isn't that much of a bother. The front part of the hoverbike makes an excellent-looking
chest overall, and having the front windshield and handlebars come up and
form the forehead and "ears" of the robot head is nice touch, and certainly
gives him a unique look. His arms are hollow, but otherwise look pretty
decent (though I wish his hands were able to hold weapons-- as it is, they're
molded in a slightly "splayed" position, so he can't do something like
that. The only part of Reverb's robot mode that I'd consider "kibble" would
be the fan on his back, but although it doesn't lock into place anywhere,
it stays out of the way of movement and generally doesn't subtract from
this mode much at all (heck, it actually makes his main body look a bit
more substantial, which it needed a little). As for articulation, Reverb
can move at the neck (at two points), shoulders (at two points), wrists
(at two points), elbows, hips (at two points), and knees (at three points).
So he doesn't have any ankle or waist articulation, but other than that
he's pretty much covered in this department. The missile C-clip weapon
can be held on the side of his right lower arm, but not his left due to
how differently they're each molded.
DotM Reverb has a pretty
decent and original look in all of his modes-- his vehicle mode is definitely
his strongest, but his robot mode looks pretty darned cool as well, a few
proportional issues aside. His weapon mode is weak, but at least it looks
good from ONE major angle, which is more than can be said for most of the
other weapon modes in this subline. Mildly recommended.
Review by Beastbot