Bot Reviews: Transformers: Legacy Deluxe Devcon

Legacy Devcon’s another case of a formerly-rare figure becoming available to me, and me snapping it up on general principle. In fact, Devcon’s from the same mysteriously barely-released wave of Legacy figures as the rare Beachcomber I previously reviewed. Devcon was arguably more in-demand than Beachcomber was, though, because it’s the first time the character’s ever gotten a proper mass-release figure.

So, Devcon. He was one of the first non-toy Transformers, created strictly to fill a role in the second-season original animated series episode, “The Gambler.” Apparently, no one told the episode’s writer, Michael Charles Hill, that he was supposed to be shilling toys, so he wrote in an original character when he needed someone to fill the role of a bounty hunter. As portrayed in the episode, Devcon’s a grimly-determined Cool Guy, pursuing Decepticons across space to “bring them to justice,” someone the ‘cons actively fear. He was in it for the good of it, rather than specifically for the money, and helped the episode’s actual toy-having lead character, Smokescreen, out of a jam involving gambling debts, and alien crime lords. It was all very Star Wars. For someone without a toy, they sure did work to shill him.

Despite being a bit of a darkhorse favorite, Devcon hasn’t had many appearances since then, mostly in turn-of-the-millenium BotCon convention comics, where they decided he was a surly edgelord, as was the style at the time, instead of a straightforward hero.

And on the merchandise side of things, Devcon’s only had one previous Transformers figure, a retool of Generations Scourge that was a limited-run BotCon exclusive, and therefore hella expensive on the aftermarket. 

That meant that his brand-new mass-released Legacy figure was always going to be in demand, before the rarity of the wave he was in. Apparently, he’s since been re-run, but I managed to snatch a loose copy at TFCon for a song, strictly because of that rarity. I don’t even have a Smokescreen to pair him with! This version of Devcon’s also apparently an extensive retooling of Studio Series 86 Blurr, but I don’t own that figure, and it’s one of those retools where he’s nearly all new anyway, so I’ll treat this as a new guy.

Robot Mode

Standing about as tall as a standard Deluxe, Devcon manages to be fairly cartoon-accurate. Many of the greebles even match the ones on his Sunbow character model, though a lot of his detailing’s still a bit more ornate. But, honestly, Devcon was a bit of a generic design, so I don’t mind them detailing him up.

He’s got cartoon-accurate stuff like the grill on his abs, and his tubular-looking arms. I’d say his feet are the most visibly different from his cartoon design, only because he had strange ridged clownshoes on the show that they didn’t bother with here.

Probably his most interesting bit of visual design is the Scourge-like gun on top of his head, a year or so before Scourge even existed.

By the way, that head-gun’s got a good headsculpt underneath it, a kind of determined-looking Sunbow Robot Face. 

That said, Devcon’s proportions feel off, and it’s definitely because he’s a retool of Blurr.

Blurr’s a skinny robot, Devcon’s a little bit bulkier. It looks like, in the process of retooling him, they bulked Devcon’s upper torso and limbs up, but his waist and upper legs are still skinny like Blurr, making him kind of hourglass-shaped in a way that looks a bit off. But, them’s the breaks when a figure’s a retool, and Devcon is definitely not “gets his own tooling”-tier. 

Another weak point on him is his huge altmode backpack, which is topped with a singular folded panel that doesn’t even clip in. That detail wasn’t on his show model, and neither was the winglets on his forearms. But hey, he’s got to transform somehow. 

For colors, Devcon’s is mostly a pleasant medium blue, with metallic gray plastic, and silver and red highlights. His fists being blue instead of the character model’s silver is a real eyesore, but he’s otherwise got all the color he had on the show, enough to make him visually interesting, if a bit basic. 

Unfortunately, Devcon’s build quality’s a bit odd. He’s got knees and thigh swivels that are looser than I’d like, making him a bit backheavy, prone to tipping over. He’s also got visibly hollow lower legs that don’t feel great either. Generally, his materials and construction feel a bit cheaper and lighter than I’d like, but we’re not in Prime Wars Trilogy territory. Still, it’s a bit disconcerting that my Legends (Titans Return) Blurr feels about the same as him. 

That said, Devcon’s articulation is good! He’s got ankle tilts, knee and thigh swivels, universal hips, a waist swivel, a balljointed head, universal shoulders and elbows. Wrist swivels are the only thing he doesn’t have. That slight looseness in his knees, combined with his big backpack are a bit of an issue posing him, though.

For accessories, firstly, Devcon comes with a silver sci-fi laser gun, meant to peg onto his forearm, as he wore it on the show.

It can be held normally, too, though.

Devcon’s other accessories are two red rocket-pods, which you can stash on his lower legs, or turn into a jetpack, though if you keep them on his lower legs, they help make him more stable.

You can also use them for Legacy’s patented “Evo-Fusion” gimmick, by pegging the pods onto 5-millimeter ports on the sides of Devcon’s gun, for a three-barelled weapon.

Speaking of that, not counting the two ports on his gun, and the two ports on the ends of the rocket pods, Devcon’s got an additional 10 ports across his body, giving him pretty solid weaponizer potential. 

Plus, for an undocumented feature, you can detransform his fists, turning them into additional blast-effect-compatible rocket pods. 

Transformation

It’s funny. I didn’t go in on Studio Series 86 Blurr, because, not only did I already have the Takara Legends one, but I understood the Studio figure to be more or less the same design, just not a Headmaster. I guess that was true, because despite looking way different, Devcon transforms in an extremely similar way to Legends/Titans Return Blurr, with some of the same steps repeated verbatim. He’s got the same leg compression, and the same flipping of the backpack over the head.

His arms work pretty differently, though. It results in a fairly fast, straightforward transformation, overall. It’s the kind of transformation where I’m extremely appreciative of little tabs and slots to remind me where everything goes, otherwise the arms would just kind of free-float. 

Vehicle Mode

Devcon changes into a nondescript sci-fi spaceship, and funny thing is that he’s a lot sleeker than the kind of lumpy, awkward spaceship he changed into on the show. The same details are here, the triangular front with a gun (two, technically), the arms hanging down the sides, the rocket boosters on the back, it’s just more tapered, thanks to it having the silhouette of Blurr’s altmode.

In this case, I don’t mind the sleekness, though. I kind of wish his arms were better-hidden, they’re just kind of hanging off the sides, but that’s what he looked like on the show. 

Either way, it sure is a Space Thing! I don’t usually knock these modes, especially when it’s source-material-accurate, though. It feels practical, not flashy, especially if he’s meant for space.

If he’s a bounty hunter, it kind of works as a cludged-together bounty hunting ship.

The fake abdomen details on his hood, directly above the real ones are funny though.

For colors, Devcon’s spaceship mode is mostly the same, maybe a bit more blue. 

For build quality, he feels a lot more stable with his loose joints locked down, and everything tabs in nicely, even if he does still feel a bit light in a way I dislike. One little trick they employ that I like is the way his folded-up robot feet let him balance nicely on the ground. 

For features, you can peg the gun under the front of the craft, beneath the sculpted-in front gun. Technically, you can remove the rocket boosters on the back of him, too. Devcon’s got seven visible 5-millimeter ports on him in this mode, meaning you can turn him into a real gunboat. 

Overall

I’m not sure what to think of this one! Decon’s alright, but he’s got some problems.

In robot mode, Devcon looks a bit off, thanks to his strangely snatched waist, but he’s mostly correct to his animation appearance. That said, it turns out that Devcon’s design is a bit generic when rendered in the plastic, especially his really basic alternate mode. Plus he feels kind of iffy in terms of construction and joint strength, lesser than his wavemate, Beachcomber. That said, I complained last time about how Age of the Primes Quickstrike didn’t have enough going on, and Devcon’s three accessories and large amount of Weaponizer ports feel like more of an effort was made here.

Still, Devcon’s not a home-run, and I wouldn’t call him essential, but he’s alright for what he is. I’m glad he’s common now, at least, as I wouldn’t overpay for one on the aftermarket. Plus it’s the only Devcon we’re probably going to get for a while, and it happens to be a retool that works really well, especially considering, again, Devcon’s not the type to get his own tooling, so if you want one, this is your first, and only stop.