Stormcloud's vehicle mode is a helicopter. Unfortunately, it's not a very good helicopter. For one, the robot legs are clamped onto the sides of this mode, actually extending quite a bit back from the main body of the helicopter. So it's pretty darned obvious that they are, in fact, the robot legs. But I think what's even worse than that, though, is that the robot arms are VERY clearly on the underside of this mode, painted oversized fists and all. It's below the main body of the vehicle, so it doesn't mesh with the overall structure of the mode, either. And the wings coming off the sides of the arms to try to "disguise" them by making them an essential part of the vehicle mode are pathetically small, not to mention far too low on the helicopter main body. Two other, less major, downsides to this mode are the fact that there is no landing gear for the helicopter-- it just stands on top of the Energon weapon-- and the fact that, because the main rotor folds in half for robot mode, the two rotor halves aren't quite level with each other, with one being slightly lower than the other. And the orange used for most of Stormcloud is REALLY not fitting for a helicopter... I mean, it's not bright, but it's an orange used better for construction vehicles and the like. Using it on a military helicopter just makes it look a little Playskoolish. I do like the brown, blue, and metallic copper used on Stormcloud's other parts, however- they manage to go together rather nicely, and are actually FITTING of a military vehicle. Another positive is that Stormcloud has a lot of paint detailing, even if the solid orange plastic obscures some of it-- there's little armor plating, hinge details, and the like. There's also two little seats and a control panel inside the see-through cockpit, which is pretty cool on such a small toy.
    Stormcloud's robot mode is a bit better than his vehicle mode, though it does suffer from a few problems. For one, the head is too small, and the chest sticks out too much, with a large hollow hole in between the front of the head and the front of the chest. The fists are also too large in proportion to the arms. And the helicopter main rotor, tail, and tail rotor also hang off his back rather unceremoniously. The blades also don't really lock into any set position in robot mode, either, so their constant swinging around when you move Stormcloud can get a little annoying. But Stormcloud does have some definite plus; for one, his articulation is awesome-- he can move any point you can reasonably expect on a basic toy. And his feet, without being too big, are large enough to keep him stable, so you can get him into a good number of poses. His head sculpt is also pretty cool, as it looks like he has a pilot's helmet on-- again, fitting in with the whole "all business" Combaticon team look while still being appropriate for the vehicle mode. His Energon weapon is also pretty cool-- it's a gun with FIVE barrels. Now, if that ain't packin' a lot of firepower for a basic, I don't know what is. Stormcloud's Decepticon spark crystal is on his upper back in this mode, and his blue Powerlinx symbol is on the right side of his helicopter tail.
    Stormcloud has some good points about his robot mode, even if it is pretty unoriginal and a tad on the boring side. But his vehicle mode is just plain poor, and his color scheme is rather ugly. Easily my least favorite of the Energon combiner limbs.

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Review by Beastbot

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