Thunderhead
w/ Major Tungsten
Thunderhead's vehicle
mode is some... four-legged... treaded... thing. It looks kinda like a
bulkier version of Cybertron Scrapmetal, that's about all I've got. Anyways,
it DOES look pretty cool and unique, even if it's pretty obvious where
the robot limbs come from on a four-treaded vehicle like this, heh. Given
that there's not much of a real-life equivalent here, it's hard to say
whether this mode is properly proportioned or not, but it LOOKS like it
would be. The only robot mode extra is the head, which is tucked behind
the main gun. As long as said gun on top of the mode is kept in place,
it's pretty easy to ignore the head-- but take off the gun, and it's fairly
obvious. The mold detailing on Thunderhead is quite intricate and well-done,
with treads, pipes, and and all sorts of details everywhere. His color
scheme of gray, black, and orange doesn't do much for me and is rather
boring, but again, it does help him fit in more with the realistic tones
of the Movie toys. At least the orange provides SOME color, along with
the gold accent paint. There's not an area too large of any one color,
at least. As for his weaponry, in addition to his large removable gun on
top, he has two double-barreled C-clip weapons, which can be taken off
of the sides of the front and clipped onto any figure with the same attachment
points, or on the lower "forearms" or frontal bars as far as Thunderhead's
own C-clip points go. On an extended seat on the back end rides Major Tungsten,
Thunderhead's human partner. It's a pretty standard Human Alliance human
figurine, in terms of movement and looks-- just a regular soldier guy,
it appears. There's a solid peg on the back of the chair for Major Tungsten
(or another Human Alliance human figurine) to plug into, but if you want
there is an additional point of connection in terms of handlebars on the
back of Thunderhead's head piece, where Major Tungsten can place his hands
around.
Thunderhead's "weapon"
mode is actually the only weapon mode out of the DotM Human Alliance deluxe
line that isn't meant for larger figures to hold. Rather, it's a "mech
suit" for Major Tungsten, with the front grill-piece coming into place
over the upper half of the Major's body. In addition, Thunderhead's main
body bends a little and provides for a two-legged stance in this mode with
hands folding out of the arms, though all the artillery on top is still
there. It's sort of a "halfway" mode in between vehicle and robot modes,
sure, but it's my favorite of all the Human Alliance deluxe "weapon" modes
simply because it does what Human Alliance figures should do best-- intergrate
well with their human figurines, as opposed to the whole figure being held
oddly by one of the few toys large enough in the line to hold them up with
one arm. That said, because of the transformation the arms of the mech
are too far back there, so they can't reach forward much beyond the front
of the protective "grill".
Thunderhead's full-on
robot mode isn't quite as good as it at first appears. The proportions
are certainly there, as Thunderhead looks like a well-proportioned, bulky-but-not-too-much-so
robot. He's also got some really nice mold and paint detailing on his chest
and mask-like face which helps to drive the eye there, and his removable
main gun can be held snugly in either of his fist holes. However, the top
portion of the other two modes-- such as the top guns, chair, and front
protective grill-- simply hang behind his back unceremoniously, with some
of those pieces quite low and a bit of an eyesore (though at least he's
still stable). In addition, the knees and elbows have rather restricted
articulation in this mode due to the design of the toy, with plastic pieces
blocking some areas of movement unnecessarily. The total list of articulation
for Thunderhead looks fairly decent-- he can move at the neck, shoulders
(at two places), elbows (at two points), a little at the wrists, and at
the hips, knees (at two points), and ankles. But with all that blockage
at the elbows and knees, he has considerably less movement than you'd think.
(This list of articulation points also applies to his other modes, minus
the head and/or wrists, of course; however, the shoulder and elbow points
can move a bit more freely there.)
Thunderhead has a pretty
interesting and well-done vehicle mode and "weapon" mech mode, but his
color scheme is a bit dull and his robot mode a bit disappointing, what
with its backpack of parts and somewhat restrictive articulation. Still,
he has the best "weapon" mode of the line for sure, and a good number of
weapons for this size of a toy. Mildly recommended.
Review by Beastbot