Duststorm's vehicle mode is a crane. This mode is generally alright, but it does suffer from some noticeable problems, For one thing-- and this is probably the most annoying of Duststorm's downsides-- is that his robot head is pretty clearly visible in this mode, directly under his rear windows. The designers try to cover it up by turning the head towards the main body of the crane, but the shape doesn't quite mesh with the crane body, and it's a different color, so it really doesn't work at all. It's just... right there. Also, Duststorm's upper robot legs are obviously connecting the two halves of his vehicle mode, and again, they don't mesh with the square look of the crane-- they're round and skinny. Hasbro should have engineered it so the legs slided into the upper or lower half of the crane body and out of the way-- given Duststorm's transformation, it really wouldn't have been very hard. My other complaints are more minor, and involve Duststorm's color scheme-- the powder-blue and blue-black color scheme isn't bad by itself, but it really isn't very fitting for a rough-and-tumble crane, especially one named Duststorm. Oh, and the bright red painted windows are kind of gaudy, too. That's not to say that Duststorm doesn't have some definite pluses, though-- I do love the extendable crane arm on a toy as small as a basic, and the energon claw weapon is pretty darn cool. The overall proportions are also very close to perfect as well, and he has a great deal of mold detailing.
    Duststorm's robot mode is a bit better than his vehicle mode. For one thing, his articulation is great- he can move at the head, shoulders (at two points), elbows, waist, hips, and knees. So pretty much anywhere, really. He also doesn't have any useless kibble hanging off him, though his right lower arm is just molded on the bottom of a vehicle mode piece, so it's not a "hand" in the literal sense. Also, as you've no doubt noticed, Duststorm's left arm is his crane arm. And it's ridiculously long when compared to the rest of the body-- even when it's retracted, it's nearly two times as long as the rest of Duststorm's body. The Energon claw helps a little, but it still looks rather odd. Oh, and his hip joints are rather loose, though this could just be mine. Another plus in this mode helps balance all this out, though-- compared to, say, many of the Energon Autobots, Duststorm has pretty good proportions (excluding his crane-arm). They're spot-on, man. Get rid of the crane arm and put it on his shoulder or something, and this mode would get an A, really. That crane arm is the only major thing dragging down this mode. Duststorm's Decepticon spark crystal is on the part of his crane arm slightly below the shoulder, and he has one Powerlinx port, on the end of said crane arm.
    According to his instructions, Duststorm forms Constructicon Maximus' left arm, though if you use the "foot" transformation given in his mold-mate Wideload's instructions, you can make him any appendage on the gestalt that you want.
    Duststorm's crane arm hampers his robot mode some, and he does have some visible robot extras in vehicle mode. His color scheme is also a bit iffy. But pretty much all his other aspects I have no complaints on. So I consider Duststorm a step above "so-so", but a step below "great". My least recommended of the Energon gestalt limbs, but practically all of the gestalt limbs are great molds, so there you go.

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Review by Beastbot

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