G1 Wingspan & Pounce

Prelude: Many thanks to fellow TF-fan BlackZarak, who loaned me Wingspan & Pounce for this review here.

Robot Modes: Much like their Autobot counterparts Cloudraker & Fastlane, Wingspan and Pounce are two identical-looking robots (at least when looking at them from the front) with two very different alternate modes. In fact I would call the two of them pretty perfect generic Decepticons, good for filling out crowd scenes and such, given their cold colors and lack of any recognizable alternate mode parts (again, when looking from the front). They both have the usual G1 rub signs, though they carry them on their crotches (hey, censors, you let figures that encourage kids to rub their crotches into stores?), as well as additional rub signs on their chests which reveal their alternate modes, just in case you find yourself unable to just turn them around to figure it out.

Articulation is typical for G1 figures from that time, meaning minimal. They can both move their arms at the shoulders and that’s pretty much it. Okay, they can bend their knees, but only both of them together and as part of their transformations, so that doesn’t really count. Each of them comes with two guns, though Pounce’s guns can also double as short swords or knives, if you want. So bottom line: two rather basic-looking Decepticon robots. Not bad at all, but not all that distinctive, either. Which is pretty much what the gimmick is all about, of course.

Beast Modes: Taking another page out of their Autobot counterparts’ book the two Decepticon clones have a ground-based and flying alternate mode between them, only in their cases we’re going with robotic beasts instead of vehicles. Unsurprisingly Wingspan becomes the flying one, supposedly a hawk. He basically just unfolds wings from his back and bird legs from his shins while switching out his robot head for a beaked one. The result looks okay, though the folded-up legs on his back drag him down a bit. Nice feature: both his weapons can be mounted in this mode as well, so less chance of losing them. Bottom line, an okay hawk mode, about as good as G1 managed back in the day.

Pounce on the other hand becomes a four-legged predator, supposedly a puma. He unfolds purple beast legs from his robot arms and legs, has a purple tail, and also switches out his robot head for a beastly one. He is not quite as obviously a robot trying to be a beast as Wingspan and looks pretty good. Slight downside is that you can still see a bit of his robot face if you look at the neck of the puma. Both his robot mode weapons can be mounted as well, giving the puma firepower. So all in all a slightly nicer beast mode than Wingspan in my opinion, decently done.

Remarks: Wingspan and Pounce had a short appearance in the first part of the Rebirth three-parter that was the finale of the G1 cartoon series, as well as several appearances in G1-based comic books. None of them ever really showed them as more than just another pair of Decepticons, though, the fact that they looked alike in robot mode was pretty much ignored. Their names were recently recycled for a pair of Botcon exclusives.

The Clone gimmick was an interesting idea, but I don’t think it really took off all that well, as it has never been revisited. Still, Wingspan and Pounce are two nice-looking G1 Decepticons and despite being defined by their gimmick, they still manage to be decent figures overall. Recommended to G1 fans and those interested in the lesser-known gimmicks of the time.

Rating: B