Autobot
Tailgate (Power of the Primes)
(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 Power of the Primes Windcharger. For a review on the mold itself, read the review of PotP Windcharger here.)
As is pretty predicatble,
Windcharger has been redecoed into Tailgate. As opposed to Tailgate's earlier
"Thrilling
30th" version, this version sticks to Tailgate's traditional G1 aesthetic
much more than his IDW comic self, modernized little beyond some proportions
and articulation. His vehicle mode color scheme is pretty straightforward--
beyond the Autobot symbol in the middle of his hood, he's just about all
white and black. Some of the "black" isn't actually black, though-- the
front and side windows may look black, but they're actually a tinted clear
plastic, and in robot mode you can see through them easier. There's some
silver paint on the front headlights and grill, but otherwise it's a pretty
simple scheme. In robot mode his color scheme is varied up a bit more,
mostly by the addition of a dark, very dull greenish blue on his main body
and waist. Silver paint is also used on his upper legs and chest, and there's
some tampo-like black vent details on his chest. I wish his arms had a
bit more paint on them, both otherwise the color scheme in this mode--
though not amazing-- definitely looks more interesting.
PotP Tailgate has a
new head mold, and like the rest of the toy, it's influenced more by his
G1 toy design than his IDW comics design. He's got two separate eyes instead
of a visor this time around, with a fairly square head with a slight angle
down from the sides of his head towards the center of his forehead. His
faceplate is rather large, with a little "chin" bit coming out at the bottom.
His faceplate is painted silver, and his eyes a light blue. Surprisingly,
Hasbro even added a fake greenish-blue bit behind his head to make it look
more like his G1 toy head, though I don't like this latter detail-- really,
you can get rid of the fake extras, they don't add anything and in fact
subtract a bit from the look of the head.
PotP Tailgate is a pretty
decent mold overall, though it's a pretty by-the-numbers redeco with no
real originality added to it beyond simply updating the G1 toy. His alt
mode is rather boring behind just white and black, but the addition of
more silver and dark green-blue in robot mode makes him edge out Windcharger
in terms of color scheme for me. If you want a modernized Tailgate bot
more strictly G1-looking compared to the "Thrilling 30th" version, well,
here ya go.
Review by Beastbot