Red
Alert (Generations)
(NOTE: Because this is a repaint, this is not a full-blown review. This mainly covers any changes made to the mold and the color scheme, and merely compares it to Universe 2.0 Sunstreaker. For a review on the mold itself, read the review of Universe 2.0 Sunstreaker here.)
Just like his G1
self, this version of Red Alert is a repaint (and slight remold) of
Sideswipe.
The color scheme is kept very much in line with his G1 toy, with the typical
emergency colors of red and white forming the bulk of his coloration, particularly
in vehicle mode. The amount of gray has been increased and there's less
black overall, but it's still pretty darned easily recognizable as G1 Red
Alert. (The gray is a bit of a darker shade than is used normally on Transformers
nowadays, so although it's still hardly my favorite color, I don't mind
it here.) The color scheme may not be the most original, but it definitely
works very well given the whole "Fire Rescue... sportscar" alt mode Red
Alert's had going on, and it definitely doesn't clash. I do wish that maybe
a couple minor extra bits of color-- perhaps a bit of blue?-- had been
added just to give Red Alert a little extra oomph, but that's a minor complaint
at best. He still has the nice "FIRE RESCUE" deco bits added on his doors
and front hood in vehicle mode-- which really help to individualize the
character and set the mold apart well-- and they're a bit more stylized
than the more straightforward lettering found on the G1 toy. I like the
new lettering (and badge on the hood)-- it definitely looks a bit modern.
His license plate reads "05 ALERT", a nod to his G1 toy's Japanese number
and name.
Red Alert has Sideswipe's
head mold, and in addition to that change, he has a new added angled light
bar in vehicle mode, to keep the whole "emergency" thing going. Although
the light bar LOOKS cool and is a nice shade of transparent cherry red,
it takes up some of the tabs that are usually used in robot mode to store
the mold's missile pod-launcher piece on the upper back-- this, Red Alert
really doesn't have any solid place to place that accessory in robot mode,
unfortunately.
Generations Red Alert
is a very nice update to the G1 character, and on a very nice mold to boot.
The stylized lettering helps to modernize the vehicle mode a bit, and though
his color scheme is straightforward, it's still pretty good. That said,
I rate him slightly below Universe 2.0 Sideswipe because of the fact that
his light bar gets in the way of where his missile pod accessory is supposed
to go.
Review by Beastbot