The mainline deluxe version
of the Vehicon pulls off the Batmobile-ish vehicle mode quite well, particularly
when it comes to proportions-- everything is pretty darned spot-on compared
to the show model, including the spoiler, which is oversized on the other
versions of this design. There are also no robot mode extras to speak of
in this mode-- yes, you can see some stuff inside of his clear plastic
windows, but nothing that looks definitively like part of a robot. (Heck,
the way things are folded up, it actually looks a bit like he has small
seats right behind the windshield.) The overall color scheme in this mode
is pretty dull, however, with black making up by far most of the color.
There's a bit of silver on the wheels and behind the headlights that serves
as a nice contrast color, and some light metallic violet on the sides behind
the headlights and on the rear bumper. The latter looks particularly good
against the black, though I really wish it had been used a bit more often,
such as on the front bumpers (and a bit more silver wouldn't have hurt,
either). The mold detailing is minimal here, in keeping with the streamlined
look of the design, though a couple of angular bits like his front bumper
and spoiler stick out a bit. This Vehicon comes with a (non-firing) blaster
weapon that resembles how their arms look when they're converted into weapon
mode in the show. It can plug into a port on either side of this mode,
near the back, but it looks rather out-of-place in either port, given how
much it sticks out in an asymmetrical manner. It also could've used some
light metallic violet paint, though as an accessory it's still decent enough.
The transformation to
robot mode isn't complex, but it's a pretty amazing feat of engineering--
nearly ALL of the vehicle mode is stored in his lower legs. It all folds
over each other FOUR times to fit there, and it doesn't even look overly
bulky! The end result of this ingeniousness is a surprisingly show-accurate
robot mode, demonstrating the lithe look of the Vehicons on the show considerably
better than any other toy of them. The only real vehicle mode extras here
are his rear bumper behind his back (which doesn't get in the way of movement
at all), and the slightly more obnoxious sections of the front side parts
of the car hanging off his knees. The wheels on the shoulders are not only
show-accurate, but they give him a more unique, hunchbacked silouhette,
which I love. His arms are appropriately skinny-- almost 2-D-- though due
to the transformation the elbows are a little wonky. They actually fold
outwards before you get to the ball joint, which means it's quite difficult
to make the arms look like they're in a completely "natural" position.
Otherwise, this mold is just fantastic, with the usual angular Prime toy
detailing on the legs, arms, and the chest. It's particularly well-done
on the chest, with some purple and silver headlights looking quite sharp.
The headsculpt is also spot-on, with a nice red visor-- however, the plastic's
just a tad too dark and he's a tad too hunchbacked for the light piping
to work well, unfortunately. The Vehicon's color scheme is broken up substantially
more here, with a good deal of dark bluish purple visible here. I wish
it was a bit lighter of a shade to add a little more contrast against the
black, but it stil looks very nice, and in this mode there isn't too large
of an area that's dominated by any one color. For articulation, the Vehicon
can move at the neck, shoulders (at two points), elbows (at three points),
wrists, hips (at two points), back-and-forth at the knees, and a little
backwards at his elongated toes. The lack of waist articulation is a bit
of a disappointment considering that there's no reason he shouldn't have
one given his transformation, and his legs can't rotate at the knees. Other
than that, though, the Vehicon is quite poseable, and given his long toes
and arch-like foot structure, he's quite stable too. As expected, the Vehicon
can hold his blaster weapon snugly in either of his claw-hands in this
mode, though the weapon can still be stored on the vehicle mode pegs (now
on his shoulders), too.
The Prime deluxe Vehicon
is one of the molds from the 2012 "Robots in Disguise" section of the line
that is substantially better than its First
Edition toy. The vehicle mode is nigh-perfect (missing only a few paint
apps), and the show robot mode design is captured extremely well, pulling
off his lithe look with some amazing engineering and only a couple very
minor downsides. One of my most highly recommended purchases out of the
entire Prime line (and yes, this includes Beast Hunters).
Review by Beastbot