Bot Reviews: Transformers: Studio Series Voyager Blitzwing.

Remember when we first saw the trailer for the Bumblebee movie, and everyone thought this guy was Starscream? To be fair, Blitzwing doesn’t seem to have much of anything in common with the G1 triple changer, outside of both being loud and brutish (which, to be fair, is most Decepticons). Rather, he’s a generic seeker, with a familiar name tacked on.

Well, no matter who he was, I’m pretty sure that shot of his midair transformation sold a lot of people on the film. Outside of that, Blitzwing here really only had a small role, but it was a memorable one, including carrying out the all-important task of removing Bee’s voicebox (and memory).

No matter who he is, he’s got a great design, and is from a film I love, so I naturally wanted his Studio Series figure. He’s a slightly older Studio Series release that passed me by, basically never seen in Canada, until a local dealer hooked me up for a decent price. It’s better to have a late look than never

Robot Mode

Right out of the box, there’s one big design issue here that I need to get out of the way: The top half of Blitzwing’s upper torso doesn’t want to lock into place. Specifically, it swings downwards on a loose joint, and it really wants to come undone and swing up whenever you move his arms, thanks to his shoulder joints being really tight compared to it.

In theory, his wings are supposed to plug into it in two places in the back to keep it secure, but here’s the other problem: His wings are on a slight angle, and so the rectangular tabs on them don’t actually sit properly flush, and come undone very easily. I’ve fiddled with him a bunch, and there doesn’t seem to be a way to securely plug them in flat, he’s just like that.

It’s a disappointment out of the gate, because it means he comes apart when you move his arms. That being said, I’ve gotten used to it since getting him, and reflexively place my fingers on his torso and backpack when moving his arms, to keep everything in place. It’s still not great, but I’ve grown used to it. Plus, it’s stable enough that you can tip him upside down and shake him, and it’ll stay in place.

So, aesthetically, let me say that this is just an all-time great robot design, to me. Basically, they started with the familiar silhouette of a G1 seeker. He’s got the wings on his back, the cockpit-chest, the head with the distinctive side-vents, it’s all there, and very familiar. But it then takes the good aspects of the Bayverse design aesthetic, i.e. the more visibly mechanical, “real robot” look, full of gears and wires and such, and liberally sprinkles it throughout the design, making him a bit more complex, but not overly so. He feels a bit more “real,” and it’s something I really vibe with. There’s also bits of personality sprinkled into the design, like the way his posture is slightly hunched, and the way his slightly-deformed jet wings splay backwards a little bit. He just looks cool, massive and imposing.

His head looks very much like a G1 seeker, but greebled up, and with a flight mask over his mouth, parts of which are made up of odd little transparent bits, though beneath it, there’s a bit of fake vehicle-mode cockpit that clashes with the real cockpit beneath it, thanks to it being painted versus opaque, but that’s literally the only aesthetic issue I have. Blitzwing is also nicely movie-accurate, since this was a later-release Studio Series figure, and they presumably had a final design to work off of.

Y’know, while I can still see how he was mistaken for Starscream at first glance, I’ve got to say, after more than a glance, Blitzwing’s colors aren’t as Starscream-ish as you’d think. He’s got more of a light, beigey-grey as his base color, instead of Starscream’s straightforward greys. The rest of Blitzwing’s colors are a darker grey, with accents of a darker red, silver, and both opaque and clear orange. Generally, he looks more military-drab than the typically livelier Starscream, a look that suits this spin on the design. He also feels exceedingly well-painted, with only his feet feeling a bit plain (and even then, I had to compare him with his Threezero figure to confirm they’d usually have color, it’s a really “who care” thing.)

So, outside of that chest issue, which I already thoroughly groused about, Blitzwing’s otherwise very stable and solidly-built. He can balance on one foot, and even assume a running pose. Speaking of that, his articulation is mostly really good. He’s got a full assortment of ankle tilts, knees, thigh cuts, hips, a waist, shoulders, elbows, upper arm cuts, a ball-jointed neck, and even wrist swivels. Plus, he’s got wings that can tilt backwards. The only major thing he’s missing is his waist, which is present, but is blocked by altmode parts, and so can only rotate a little bit. Still, the dynamism of his sculpt is such that he lends himself well to really characterful poses. The jutting-out face, the arms, the wings, it’s got a lot of personality, and he easily manages to look tough and henchman-like, appropriate for the character.

As a nifty bonus, his right hand is actually jointed, with four fingers on a mitten-type joint, a rarity for any mainline figure (that isn’t Hot Rod). The reason is so he can hold Offroad Bumblebee (reviewed here) by the neck. Admittedly, it’s hard to get him to hold Bee up (I eventually settled for a grab under the armpit for photos), but if it gives him an unusual joint that adds even more personality, I’m not complaining.

Blitzwing comes with two accessories: First is a weapon that fits over either one of his forearms, and into his hands, to make it look like his arm morphed into a rifle. Again, it’s got an aesthetic I love, all complicated and mechanical.

It’s beige and painted silver, and works really well, though he doesn’t really hide either hand beneath it too well. Admittedly, it’s a bit of a challenge to get out of his arm after pegging it in, and you’ll need to be sure to lift it from the back. On the other hand, I especially like that it’s an ambidextrous accessory, and almost wish he came with two of them.

His other accessory is a bit morbid. Blitzwing’s got a second left hand, and you can easily pop his standard hand out at the wrist, to install it. It’s sculpted to look like he’s deployed the small spike that he used in the film to spear Bee’s voicebox out of his throat. It’s kind of a dark accessory. It also looks a bit like he’s making a rude gesture.

To my surprise, you can easily remove Blitzwing’s other, articulated hand the same way, though the hand accessory isn’t ambidextrous. When he’s not impaling people, you can stash the spiked hand on a specific port the middle of his back, though there’s nowhere specific to stash his non-spiked hands. However, he’s got one War for Cybertron-compatible weapons port on the back of each wing, and you can fit each spare hand there. In fact, it’s undocumented, but you can also stash his arm weapon there.

And, it turns out that his empty wrist-holes are also War for Cybertron-accessory compatible, meaning you can swap his hands out for any weapons that look good plugged into his wrists, another nice bonus.

Transformation

While Blitzwing’s got the broad strokes of a seeker transformation (lay on his chest, move his cockpit up and his wings down), it surprisingly has more going on than that. There’s a lot of unfolding panels, and little things to click together, and his legs in particular do a Big Unfurling. Still, it’s straightforward enough that I got it on my own after one instruction-dive. There’s also a small amount of partsforming, in which you remove the missile pods from his wings, and place them in a new spot in jet mode (they can’t go just anywhere, they have uniquely-shaped pegs).

I will say that for most of the transformation, it feels like the back of the jet isn’t going to clip together, until it does right at the very end. Meanwhile, going back to robot mode, the order of operations is a bit of a pain when it comes to getting his torso over his head.

Jet Mode

Apparently, this jet mode’s unlicensed, so it’s a bit different from the one glimpsed onscreen. However, it’s only onscreen for a few seconds, anyway, and the broad strokes are correct. The funniest thing about its unlicensed nature, though,  is he has those big red intakes on either side of his robot torso, which are meant to also be located on the sides of his jet cockpit, but for the sake of that license dodging, they’re totally different-looking in this mode.

So, yes, he changes into a fighter jet, with extremely triangular wings, with a sculpt that’s decent from above. That being said, this is definitely the weaker form of the two. His wings are really panelly, with quite a few holes and screws in them, his wing-mounted missile pods have their gappy bits visible, and the back of the jet is a bit messy, with chunks of his feet just hanging out, an odd double-tailfin that doesn’t really snap together. And that’s not to mention how it’s all folded-up robot from the bottom. Still, it all holds together nicely, and he feels solid and swooshable in hand. Really, after his amazing-looking robot mode, anything’s a downgrade.

In terms of colors, some of the red we prominently see at his front in the film is missing, and instead he has a huge grey burn-mark gradient that covers most of his cockpit, and extends backwards into his body, before fading out. He’s also got a nice clear cockpit, even if it just shows his hiding face.

He’s also got a bit of red on his wings, but overall, is colored pretty drably, though this does work, considering he’s aiming to be a realistic military plane. That being said, I do wish they’d sculpted in some of the missiles on his wings and underside that he really prominently used in the film.

For features, Blitzwing has a flip-out front landing gear beneath his cockpit, and two more sculpted in the back, which I appreciate, since even the Earthrise Seekers couldn’t manage it. Meanwhile, you can stash his extra spikey hand under his tailfins.

You can also attach his arm gun to the bottom of the jet, for an extra weapon.

Unfortunately, there aren’t really any useable War for Cybertron ports in this form, though I always consider those an optional bonus.

Overall

So, Blitzwing has that big torso design flaw in robot mode that can’t be ignored, though I admit once I get used to it (and hold his torso when I move his arms) it starts to fade into the background. Still, it’s a disappointing design issue. Outside of that, though, he’s an excellent, poseable, cool looking robot, from a film I love.

He’s got a good transformation, and jet mode’s a mixed bag, but gets the job done. In spite of that one issue, he’s got enough personality and playability that I really enjoy him, and he sparks joy (so long as you’re not Bumblebee). He’s fun, and I recommend him, if you can find him for a fair price. I wound up paying a little bit of aftermarket markup, and I still think he was worth it.

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