General Information: Images:
Among the new characters being introduced in "Dark of the Moon" are a team of Autobots known as "The Wreckers". Based on a Generation One team of the same name, these characters are warriors bristling with weaponry. In the case of Roadbuster, he is one of the Wreckers that actually takes his name from a previous member of the G1 Wreckers team. G1 Roadbuster was an armored military vehicle, but this time around he's a NASCAR based race car.
Robot Mode: There is a ton of sculpted detail on this figure, so much that it'll take you a couple minutes to absorb it. Among my favorite details are:
There's more than what I wrote above, but that gives you an idea of how intricate this small figure is. Very impressive! Roadbuster is cast in green, gunmetal and black plastic. The gunmetal plastic is the most prominent color, making up the arms, thighs and knees. His torso and lower legs are cast in green while the joints between the main body and the arms and the wheels are black Paint applications are done in green, white, silver, gunmetal and metallic blue. The green and white colors are used on many of the gunmetal parts to emulate the look of the car parts including the chest and the sides of the arms. One example is the chest where the split panels simulating the front of the car are painted green and white. A liberal amount of gunmetal is used on the torso to fill in a lot of the more detailed sections such as the head, neck, turbine and wires. The silver color is found on his right leg where an Autobot symbol is set below his knee. There is a bit of a fun color coincidence here, which is the dark green color used on this figure. Though it is based on the real life vehicle Roadbuster emulates, green was also one of the key colors on Generation One Roadbuster. There are six points of articulation on this figure, four of which are ball joints. Roadbuster's right hand is designed to be able to hold weapons from Commander Class figures. Aside from the aforementioned rockets on his shoulders, he also has another weapon in this mode. Cast in gunmetal and attached to the side of his left arm is a chainsaw! This swings forward (it's set on a ball joint) and adds an extra layer of danger to this already well armed character. I love this little touch as it is fun and quite rare among figures of this size. Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
Vehicle Mode: Like his fellow Wreckers, Roadbuster is heavily modified from the base vehicle. There appear to be extra armor pieces on the front, sides and back and he has a very distinctive, high spoiler. Many of the sculpted details on this vehicle come right from the vehicle/prop used in the movie including:
Overall, this sculpt is awesome. I really love how he is bristling with weaponry and has exposed engine parts. It looks like the alien technology within the vehicle form is just bursting to come out and manifests itself as exposed machinery and weaponry. While not a detail from the real life vehicle, the chainsaw winds up on the left side of the vehicle, which just looks like another weapon he can use against Decepticons in this mode! This form is mostly made up of green plastic with gunmetal parts on the sides. The wheels are cast in black. Paint decos are done in gunmetal, white and red. The white is used on the front, sides and top, offering a sharp contrast to the dark green color. White is also used to paint the Chevrolet logo on the front of the vehicle, right above the machine gun. The number 88 is also painted in red on the sides of the vehicle. Gunmetal is used to paint several parts including the windshield, engine and the machine gun on the front. In this form, the silver Autobot symbol from the robot mode's leg winds up being on top of the spoiler. The real life vehicle Roadbuster is based on has many company logos, like most NASCAR vehicles. In this case however, Roadbuster only has one: a Sprint logo on the sides, right near the doors. While it would be cool to see more logos on the vehicle it is nice to have at least one company represented that isn't fictional. Functionally speaking, Roadbuster has the distinction of having a melee weapon he can use in vehicle mode. Since his chainsaw is mounted on a ball joint, you can swing it out to the side or at angles to slice enemies up on the road! This is both unique and cool all at the same time.
Final Thoughts:
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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.
