Reverb w/ Sergeant Detour
Vehicle ModeWeapon ModeRobot Mode
Allegiance: Autobot
Size: Human Alliance Deluxe
Difficulty of Transformation to Weapon Mode: Easy
Difficulty of Transformation to Robot Mode: Medium
Color Scheme: Moderately light glittery gray, moderately light bluish gray, red, charcoal black, and some transparent yellowish orange, light blue, bright safety orange, and off-white
Rating: 8.7

    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.



Reverb Bio:
Reverb and his human partner engage in recon operations and direct action against fortified Decepticon positions. Hovering silently past enemy lines and taking out guards and artillery is their specialty. Fast and dangerous, Reverb and Sergeant Detour are critical members of the Autobot team.
Strength: 6.0
Intelligence: 6.0
Speed: 7.0
Endurance: 4.0
Rank: 5.0
Courage: 8.0
Fireblast: 7.0
Skill: 9.0

Review by Beastbot

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