POWERGLIDEAllegiance: Autobots
Series: Universe - Classics Series
Subline: Ultra
Year: 2008 |  |
Not as fast or powerful as the Decepticon flyers, Powerglide relies instead on his raw skill as a combat pilot. Where his enemies rely on afterburners and advanced weapon systems, he executes loops, flat spins, and other aerial maneuvers that make even the craziest and most foolhardy Decepticons backfire out of fear. In a sky full of bad guys, you can always easily spot Powerglide twisting and diving through enemy fire, dodging missiles, and generally outclassing even the best among the Decepticon air warriors.
Mein Review:
Robot Mode: As an Ultra-class robot, Powerglide is certainly big. Much, much bigger than his
G1 incarnation, who was a mere Minibot. Powerglide does retain some of the basic look of his predecessor, though, such as the wings flipping up to form the sides of his torso and the cone-like head. In other ways, though, he looks quite different from G1 Powerglide. He's got the jet-mode turbines for a chest and the rear fins of the jet are on his back, not on his feet. And then there is, of course, the colour. Universe Powerglide is mostly a off-white/grey instead of red. Still, it's undeniably Powerglide. I've seldom seen a robot with more personality.
Posability is also quite good here and the detailing is extensive. Of course Powerglide's proportions are a bit strange. He has a very hefty upper body perched on top of a slim waist and long, spindly legs. Thankfully his legs are fully posable and have sufficient heel spurs to still make it easy to balance him, so no complaints on this part.
For a weapon Powerglide carries a combination minigun/missile launcher. Depending on which end you have pointing forward, you can either have him launch a black projectile or leave him with a sculpted minigun. Personally I like the minigun better, but that's a subjective matter. One fun little gimmick: He has a small antenna-like thing off-center on his head, just like his G1 incarnation. In G1, that was the cannon of his jet mode. It's here as well, even though the head doesn't become the nosecone of the jet and it's little more than decoration.
And what is possibly the most ridiculous G1 homage of all time: Powerglide has a heart. Flip up the chest panel and you see a heart sculpted into his torso, much as we saw in the dreaded episode "The Girl Who Loved Powerglide". I didn't take a picture of that. It's too silly. Really. Best to forget I ever mentioned it. Moving on.
All in all Powerglide looks pretty spiffy in robot mode. The proportion thing did turn me off a bit at the start, but I've gotten used to it. And while Powerglide is certainly not a spectacular, outstanding robot, he's very good and solid. No complaints.
Alternate Mode: While I do like Powerglide's robot mode, it's really the jet mode that makes me adore this figure. Might have something to do with the fact that I really like this model. Powerglide transforms into an A-10 Thunderbolt fighter jet, just like he did back in the G1 days. Not only does it resemble the Cobra Rattlors from the old GI Joe cartoon series quite a bit, it also gives Powerglide boasting rights of having had a cameo appearance in the 2007 Transformers Movie. Jets of this type were sent to aid Captain Lennox and his men against
Scorponok in the desert battle scene.
The jet is just overflowing with details, right down to individual rivets. Not sure if any of the markings and numbers carry a deeper meaning, but they enhance the realism of this jet mode. His weapon goes underneath the cockpit and just like in robot mode you can either have the missile launcher or the minigun end point forward. Powerglide also carries several sound effects related to being a jet, but since sound effects merely bug me at the best of times (and make me homicidal at the worst), I'll not go into detail here. Suffice to say that Powerglide looks spectacular as a jet.
There are some problems, though. The front landing gear is a lot shorter than those on the wings, making Powerglide tip forward. In fact, if you fasten his minigun underneath the cockpit, the front wheel doesn't touch the ground at all and Powerglide rests on the gun instead. You can somewhat minimize that effect by flipping out the hip piece from his robot mode that is now underneath the jet for added stability, but it's a pretty obvious design flaw. Also, you can't really leave the missile in the minigun/launcher if you fasten it here. The missile knocks against kibble underneath the jet, preventing the gun from pointing straight ahead.
Despite these flaws, though, I really love Powerglide's jet mode a lot. It just looks so good, possibly the best jet mode I've ever seen in a Transformers figure. I'm not willing to bet on that, but it easily makes the top ten at least. Now if only they'd given him a better landing gear...
Remarks: In the second season of the G1 cartoon series Powerglide was pretty much the only flying Autobot and regularly engaged Decepticon jets in the skies, always outnumbered. His flying skills kept him alive and he always liked to boast about them at length. He is most famous (or infamous, maybe) for being the only Autobot ever to fall in love with a human and vice versa, as depicted in the dreaded episode "The Girl Who Loved Powerglide".
For his Universe incarnation Powerglide grew a lot, added a hefty dose of realism to his jet mode, and just looks brilliant overall. The only thing keeping him from getting a straight A rating is that strange landing gear they gave him for his jet mode. Still, one of the best Universe figures so far and a brilliant combination of a beloved old-school character with today's standards in toy figures. Powerglide is a definite recommendation to all Transformers fans.
Rating: A-
And for a second opinion, the review by Ironhide77:
Prelude: I've had Universe Powerglide at home for some time now and he is, that much should be said right at the start, one of my favorite figures.
Jet Mode: Powerglide transforms into a subsonic Fairchild A-10 Thunderbolt fighter jet, nicknamed the "warthog". This fighter is used for fighting tanks and other ground-based targets. So much for the background. And how does he look? Great! Just great! The color fits, the detailing is superb, the entire thing might as well hail from a Revell model kit. Looking at the jet, there is little to betray the fact that a robot is hidden inside. This alternate mode is just pure joy.
In terms of armament he has a seven-barreled 30 milimeter Gatling cannon under the cockpit, just like the real thing. Sadly it's not in the middle, that just wasn't possible. Powerglide's legs are formed from the underbelly of his front section. But that's just a very minor flaw. The landing gear is a bit strange, too, but that's pretty much it in terms of criticism. Not even Powerglide's arms and shoulders, which are beneath the wings, disturb the picture, as you can easily imagine them to be missile launchers and targeting gear, which the jet usually has. So a very hearty thumbs up for the alternate mode.
Robot Mode: Here, too, Powerglide excels. He looks great and even manages a close resemblance to G1 Powerglide. Der upper body looks powerful and the legs almost athletic. No room for complaints regarding the posability, either. He can pose with the best of them. What I also like is that his transformation is rather simple. Finally, this figure proves that Hasbro is still capable of putting love for detail into their figures, as Powerglide has a heart hidden under his chest panel. A homage to a rather stupid G1 cartoon episode, but whatever.
The stability and design also leaves nothing to complain about. Everything fits together well and I've found no coloring irregularities, either. Oh, and I almost forgot. Powerglide features light and sound effects (turbine sound, machine gun fire, and the transformation sound). Just one minor point of criticism here: If they'd foregone the sound effects and the transparent organe plastic for the turbines, Powerglide would look even better than he already does.
Bottom line: This is a great figure, a true collector's item, which every Transformers fan should own, because he is worth his money. Only some minor points deduction for the landing gear, the fact that the cannon is not centered, and the look of the turbines. Which leaves us with...
Rating: A-
