Cyclonus
w/ Nightstick (Universe 2.0)
Cyclonus' vehicle mode
is a futuristic spacecraft/jet, just like his original G1 form. In fact,
giving the "realism" line the Universe 2.0 line traditionally goes for,
he's surprisingly un-realistic, not having any real-life counterpart. (Not
that that's a strike against him, mind you-- just something worth pointing
out.) The overall proportions of the jet mode are quite accurate to his
G1 form, including the angled-forward wings and the long nosecone. The
colors are a bit darker this time, with the shade of purple being quite
dark while the light contrast color is a light, milky gray. The purple
is great, and the gray contrasts well with it, but it's a really milky
color that doesn't bring out the awesome mold detailing on the toy, such
as the various molded panels and vents. There's also a teritary tannish
greenish gray color which doesn't look so hot-- though again it isn't used
much, so it's not a big loss. The dull red and silver paint apps look fantastic,
though, and I love the shade of transparent red used for the cockpit--
it looks particularly sinister. There's also three fold-out landing gear
in this mode, which is always a nice feature. There is one BIG downside
to this mode, though, and that's that the body doesn't look or feel nearly
as "solid" as it should. It's made up of the two robot mode legs, with
the lower halves folded over the upper halves to make them shorter and
thicker. The problem, is, the shelves of the legs' lower halves don't lock
into anything, and the legs don't lock into each other, which means there
is no real "set" position for them in jet mode. The connectors that connect
each half of the body to its respective wing do help to stabilize it somewhat,
it's still quite annoying. Plus, looking at the jet mode from any view
that resembles a downward angle, you can clearly see the big gap in the
middle of the jet mode's body. The robot feet also just hang off the back
end, which is a tad unsightly. Cyclonus does come with a Targetmaster parter,
though-- Nightstick. Nightstick can form a futuristic gun which can be
mounted on top of the cockpit in this mode (it doesn't shoot any missiles,
though). Nightstick can be transformed to robot mode very easily, but unlike
the G1 Targetmaster partners' robot modes, this version of Nightstick can
move back-and-forth at the shoulders, elbows, and hips, which is pretty
good for the size. The mold detailing is also excellent, particularly on
the face, so he's a cool little extra.
Cyclonus' robot mode,
on the other hand, TOTALLY deserves all the praise it gets. It's nearly
perfect. The proportiosn are spot-on-- looking sleek, just fairly powerful--
and I love how the swept-back wings accent his lower arms and fold behind
his shoulders. The mold detailing on his robot parts is quite good-- I
particularly like the vent-like shapes on the knees and chest, as well
as the excellent head sculpt. I wish his face had been painted silver,
though, to accentuate the details-- they look really plain on that milky
gray plastic. His articulation is also great-- he can move at the neck,
shoulders (at two points), elbows (at two points), hips (at two points),
and knees. And given his lack of kibble, he can take quite a few good poses.
What I don't understand, though, is why only one of his fists has a hold
in it to hold Nightstick in gun mode. It makes no sense-- it's not like
it takes more plastic to drill a hole in the other hand, it actually takes
less. Cyclonus' hand scan fold in at the wrists and Nightstick can be mounted
on the front of the hand-stubs on either arm, though, which is pretty cool--
sorta like he's "direct-linking" to Cyclonus' energy.
Universe 2.0 Cyclonus
is an excellent mold with a nice color scheme, no doubt, but I don't think
it deserves quite the "toy of the year!" accolades it's gotten. The robot
mode is nearly flawless, granted, and Nightstick is a great little extra,
but the main body of his jet mode just isn't nearly solid enough (not to
mention things need to lock into place better back there). Still highly
recommended, though.
Review by Beastbot