General Information: Images:
Tech Specs: The Demolition Team is one of the second wave of Mini-Cons released in the Classics line. This set is composed of entirely new sculpts, but some may wonder how two construction vehicles and a tank of all things wound up in the same set.
Images:
Tech Spec Stats:
Vehicle Mode: Broadside is cast mostly in olive green plastic. There are light green angled designs painted on the top of the tank. Along the sides are two stripes also set at an angle. Thick, orange lines painted the front end of the vehicle. The treads are painted black and there is a Decepticon symbol tampographed on the top of the turret. The tank turret can turn in a circle, and the barrel of the cannon itself can move up and down. The tank rolls on four small wheels on the underside of the treads. His Powerlinx point is right in the middle of the tank's underside, a perfect position for him to connect to larger Transformers and give some added firepower. Tank modes are generally simple affairs, but they can sometimes be frustrating because of the transformation scheme hampering simple things like the turret turning. In this case the designers avoided that, something I am grateful for. Transformation to Robot Mode:
Robot Mode: The newly revealed robot parts are mainly the head and arms. The head is a fairly standard Transformers head, with a top that comes to a point leading to visor eyes and a "chinguard" chin that protrudes out from the face. His arms show a bit of line and raised details. The lower arms are asymmetrical, with his right arm wielding a gatling gun and his left arm having an actual fist. I like this added bit of firepower to the robot mode since without it, he'd pretty much loook defenseless in this mode (unless he tucked his head down and fired his cannon, which, come to think of it would look kind of comical). The robot legs are just the sides of the vehicle mode, but now you can see how the small protrusion on the back become his feet. Broadside has six points of articulation in this form. The only thing that is tough is balancing him. On a regular, flat desk I really had to play with his arms and legs a lot to get him balanced just right so he would stand without falling over. This is largely because his legs really have no heel pieces to lean back on, and while they do have sections in front for the feet, there is a slight bump on the bottom of the feet (a detail carried over from the tank mode) that makes it difficult for his feet to stand flat on any surface. He can stand upright, it just takes more effort than the average Transformer would require.
Images:
Vehicle Mode: For a backhoe, Sledge has an interesting color layout. He is cast in yellow and black plastic. Most of the vehicle is black, with the yellow used for the arms of the shovels. Red paint apps are used for small details such as the teeth on the front shovel as well as the area surrounding the rear tires. Blue paint is used for the windows on the driver area and a Decepticon symbol is tampographed on the top of the vehicle. Sledge has six points of articulation in vehicle mode thanks to both shovel arms being able to move. The rear arm moves at its base from side to side as well as up and down, which is a nice touch I didn't expect. The front shovel raises up on a hing joint and the shovel itself is on a ball joint. The Powerlinx point is located on the center of the vehicle on the underside, which to me is the ideal place for the point since the figure will be centered on whatever part you attach it to. Transformation to Robot Mode:
Robot Mode: I really like the head design on this figure. It has a curved "helmet" section with two raised sections in the center, resembling a hardhat worn on a construction site. During the late 90's, Takara released several Micromasters whose head designs alluded to their vehicle modes, and this seems to have been sculpted in that spirit. The legs are nice too. Unlike Broadside, the feet are long and the legs thick so he stands quite easily. Sledge has eleven points of articulation in this form, which is quite a bit for a Mini-Con. He owes much of this to his arms, which cumulatively have seven points of articulation. The only bad bit of design are his lower legs. Each lower leg is connected to the upper leg by a peg. However, there is no mechanism to actually lock those legs to the upper ones, so they slide off fairly easily with a gentle tug. I'm surprised the figure was designed like this as you would imagine parts would get lost fairly quickly. No new colors appear in this form, just more yellow (on the robot chest) and red (on the robot head). You do get a better look at the red on the lower legs and the spray pattern leading from the knees to the lower leg sections. It's a good looking color scheme, if not somewhat unconventional.
Images:
Vehicle Mode: Wideload is cast in green and black plastic. Silver paint is used on the front grille and for a Decepticon symbol on the top. Light blue paint is used for his driver window and the sides are painted purple with lavender lines running through in angled patterns. It's really the purple that makes the vehicle since the green plastic would be rather overwhelming otherwise. The dumping mechanism in the back can tilt back to add a level of "real play" to the figure. Oddly, his Powerlinx point is on the left side, top of the vehicle. It's a rather awkward place for the point. Definitely not the first place I would have chosen, but given the limitations of the transformation I'm not sure where else I would have put it. Transformation to Robot Mode:
Robot Mode: The rest of the body is a pretty neat design with the rear wheels forming his chest and a piston like detail in the center. His waist and thighs are thin leading to large/wide lower legs. A lot more black shows in this form courtesy of the torso and thighs. However, no new paint applications are introduced here which is really disappointing. The head sculpt is nice, but without any paint applications the figure just looks unfinished. The only saving grace is some sculpted detail found on his back in the form of circles and irregularly shaped plates. Wideload has eleven points of articulation. Several of these such as his shoulders and legs are on ball joints, so he has a really good range of motion for a Mini-Con.
Final Thoughts:
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