General Information: Images:
*Images and text in italics from The Official Transformers Web Site: Spring into action with this vehicle-to-robot villain! Switch your sneaky CROWBAR figure from police car mode to battle-ready robot mode. Convert him back to vehicle mode so he can chase down his enemies. As the battle rages on, keep converting him back and forth, so he’s ready to face whatever his enemies throw at him! Ages 5 and up.
"Dark of the Moon" introduces several new characters into the movie universe. One of the new Decepticons is Crowbar, though it is unknown at this time how prominent he will be, he is represented in the Legion Class line of figures. The name Crowbar is quite appropriate for a Decepticon as it refers to a tool, but also on sometimes used for violence, giving it a negative connotation.
Robot Mode: The head design on Crowbar seems to follow some of the same design aspects of Crankcase. He has four very demonic looking eyes and a scary looking mouth that is set in an open positioin, as if he is screaming. The helmet portion resembles design aspcts of the Decepticon symbol, with a double tipped crest and angles on the sides, all of which curve back, much like feathers on a bird's head. Other cool details include a series of pointed ridges running down his torso (partly underneath the chest armor) and ridges on his back with a central column, giving him a skeletal appearance. I'm also very fond of details that look like overlapping wires on either side of his head (on the car/chest piece). Like Crankcase, he looks a lot like some type of demon creature instead of a robot in disguise! Crowbar is cast entirely in black plastic. Silver, gold and red paint colors are used for his detailing. The silver is found on several parts including the head, chest and a Decepticon symbol on his left arm. Gold is most prominent on the torso section, but you'll find it on his head and arms as well. The red is used for tiny details, most notably his eyes. It's not a very complex paint job, but it's an effective one. I really like the way the red practically glows contrasting against the black, and the gold and silver give him a more mechanical look than the sculpt would have otherwise. There are nine points of articulation on this figure, including waist articulation which is quite unusual for this size class. The arms and hips are on ball joints and thanks to his transformation scheme his feet can move as well. Because of the ball joints on his hips, you may have to play with the legs a bit to get him to stand properly, and the hinged feet really come in handy in that situation. My biggest concern with this figure is the left leg. An odd statement I know, but for some reason the left leg on my Crowbar pops out very easily. The funny part is, when the leg is attached, the joint isn't loose as you'd expect it to be. However, if I manipulate the figure enough, the leg just pops off without much strength being used at all. It's very odd as it has only happened with the left leg, so I am chalking this up to some type of flaw particular to my figure for now. Part of the Legion Class figure functionality is the ability to hold weapons from Commander Class figures, and Crowbar is no exception. His left fist is able to hold a weapon from figures like Megatron and if balanced properly, he can stand just fine even with the extra weight. Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
Vehicle Mode: Silver, red and blue are the feature colors in this mode. The silver is used on the front end to paint the lights and the grille. Red is used on the rear lights as well as the front of the left side sideview mirror. The other sideview mirror has blue on the front. This red and blue is pretty much the only indicator that he is a police vehicle at all, making him appear to be more of an undercover vehicle. Crowbar rolls on all four wheels without a problem. All his robot parts hold together well in this form, but I did find I had to give the two robot arms an extra squeeze to keep them together after the initial transformation. Afterwards they were fine.
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As part of the "Dark of the Moon toy line release, several price points have been rearranged and renamed. One of them was the line that fans have known for years as the "Legends" class. This line of smaller sized Transformers figures spread across many segments of the Transformers over the years including the movie line, Animated and Classics. Now the class has been renamed as the "Legion" class, with Ratchet being one of the early "Dark of the Moon" releases in this line. Instead of serving as a standalone class of figures, these toys are being placed in a new context, as part of the "Cyberverse", a line of Transformers focused on creating a small world/universe of play at a lower price point than deluxe and ultra sized figures. Included in this line will be "Commander" Class figures, slightly larger figures with weapons that interact with the smaller figures as well as transformable bases, echoing the Micromaster bases from Generation One.
