Autobot
Springer (RotF)
Springer here is a bit
of a unique case for a Legend-- apparently he was actually going to be
in the movie briefly in early scripts, but was cut in one of the later
stages. Not late enough for a Legends figure of him to already be far enough
in the process where Hasbro figured they might as well release him, though,
so here he is. Springer's vehicle mode, true to one of his G1 alt modes,
is a helicopter (an osprey helicopter, though, not a single-blade one),
and looks prety darn good, particularly for a Legends class figure. The
proportions are pretty spot-on (and yes, they can spin easily), with only
minor robot mode extras, like the robot feet under his tailfin and, on
a lesser note, the hands underneath the propellers. (As a side effect of
this, though the propellers CAN rotate upwards, but if they do the fists
stick out blatantly in the front.) He has a pretty good amount of mold
detailing, with little panels and whatnot molded in everywhere, though
the paint apps are a bit less impressive. The cockpit is painted nicely,
as is the rather clever "5PR1N63R" on the wings, but the tail end has pretty
much no paint, nor due the propellers. The overall color scheme of dark
green and greenish gray works fairly well together, being both realistic
but not too dull, and a nice G1 homage to boot-- no complaints there.
Springer also has a
surprisingly good robot mode for a Legends class toy. His shoulder bits
get in the way a bit, and the tail wings stick out rather blatantly from
his ankles, but otherwise his proportions are, again, pretty good, and
the way his propeller-wings convert into his arms remind me of a more simplified
version of the first Movie's Incinerator
toy-- only with actual hands this time around! I also like the propellers
on the back of the hands-- it's not hard to see them as some sort of wrist
mounted saw-like weapon. His pilot-like face sculpt is also pretty fitting
for a robot mode with an alt mode like his, and the paint detailing seems
a bit more apparent in robot mode, with some nice colors like orange and
dark gunmetal gray helping to break up the green and gray. Springer's big
weakness in robot mode, however, is definitely his articulation. He can
only move a thte hips, shoulders, elbows, and inward at the wrists. But
it's even more restricted than that-- Springer can't move forward or back
at the shoulders at all, and his front-to-back movement at the elbows is
quite limited as well, so he can't exactly pull off many cool poses.
RotF Springer is a pretty
good Legends figure overall, with a design that translates well to both
modes-- and one that looks movie-esque while still being a decent homage
to
his G1 version. His very limited articulation in robot mode is his only
Achilles' Heel-- if that doesn't bother you that much, then I'd definitely
recommend picking this little guy up. It's not like he has a bigger, more
articulated and detailed version available, after all.
Review by Beastbot