General Information
Release Date: February 2023
Price Point: $11.99 (depending on retailer)
Retailer: General Release (Amazon, BigBadToyStore, Entertainment Earth, Target, Walmart etc.)
Accessories: Blasters x 2
Official images and text in italics are from Amazon.com
- CELEBRATE THE LEGACY: Transformers Legacy Evolution celebrates the last 40 years of Transformers history. The Thundercracker action figure is inspired by The Transformers animated series
- 2 EPIC MODES: Transformers action figure converts from robot to jet mode in 17 steps
- AWESOME ACCESSORIES: This Thundercracker toy for 8 year old boys and girls comes with 2 Null Ray accessories that attach to the figure in both modes
- GREAT GIFTS FOR BOYS AND GIRLS: Transformers toys make great gifts for 8 year old boys and girls and up!
- REVEAL TECH SPECS: Scan the code on the instructions sheet to reveal character tech specs! Collect other Transformers figures to discover facts and abilities (each sold separately, subject to availability)
The battle is evolving with the Transformers Legacy Evolution Thundercracker action figure! Thundercracker believes anything that can’t fly is inferior, often targeting groundlings with Null Ray blasts for fun. Celebrate the last 40 years of Transformers history with Transformers Legacy action figures for boys and girls. Transformers Legacy opens the portal to a whole new universe of More Than Meets the Eye, bringing together every generation of Transformers like you’ve never seen before. Collect and combine different characters to create your ideal Legacy lineup.
Background:
The Decepticon trio of Seekers were among the first characters fans were introduced to way back in 1984. Over the years there have been many iterations of these characters. In recent years, fans have been able to get the figures in the (relatively) recent Core Class. First there was Kingdom Starscream followed by Legacy Skywarp. Now in Legacy Evolution we finally complete the trio with Thundercracker. This review will focus on the changes made to this base sculpt for this release.
Accessories:
Straying away from the weird "Warp Fork" that came with Skywarp, Thundercracker includes the same blaster weapons as Starscream. Each takes its design from the animated series, featuring a rectangular base with "fins" extending to the sides and top and a barrel that extends all the way down his arm. Both pieces are blue plastic and feature 3mm pegs to attach to the figure. The ends of each weapon are designed to accommodate Blast Effects from other lines including Siege.
Robot Mode:
Thundercracker is made up of black and blue plastic. Blue makes up most of the figure, and it is a particularly bright color which seems to take more inspiration from his G1 animated counterpart than his G1 action figure predecessor. Silver paint is used on his torso while yellow paint can be found on his cockpit cover. The forearms are black plastic, which helps line him up with this animated appearance. At first, I thought they were painted black because of how they reflect light, but the parts that connect to the ball joints do not seem to show any blue plastic. I'm happy to be proven wrong on this if someone finds otherwise. Sadly, his waist area and legs do not have an paint on them to match him up with the animation model. I really would have liked to see some silver on his waist and some black paint on his lower legs.
There are nine points of articulation on this figure. These are mostly ball joints (such as the elbows and knees) allowing for a good range of movement. You can also swing his wings back on central hinges, allowing for more poses. The ports on the sides of the arms and in his fists can accomodate his weapons. After two uses of this tooling for Starscream and Skywarp I am happy to report that the joints on my copy of this figure are every bit as tight as the previous versions.
Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
- Detach the weapon and set it aside for now.
- Straighten out the arms and legs.
- Swing the arms and the torso panels out.
- The head is attached to a hinged section. Swing that down.
- Swing the jet cockpit/nosecone section up.
- Rotate the section with the wings and arms on it around.
- Swing the section with the nosecone and cockpit back.
- Rotate the robot head around, then swing the piece it is attached to up to tuck it under the cockpit section.
- Push the lower legs together, then connect it to the section with the wings.
- Swing the sections with the torso panels back together.
- Rotate the forearms around so you can connect the tabs on them to the slots on the underside of each wing.
- Swing the rear stabilizer fins on the ankles up, then swing out the horizontal stabilizer fins.
- Attach the blasters to the robot arms under the wings.
Be careful with the part of the torso that swings out during transformation. One fan reported to me that on their copy of Starscream this piece broke off. However, I have yet to have this issue with any of my Core Class Seekers.
Vehicle Mode:
This mode really shows off a lot of blue plastic, with the only obvious black parts when looking at the jet mode from the top are the vertical stabilizer fins and the feet in the back. Like the cartoon model, the wings each have a red line going from the base of the wings along the edges to the other end. The actual cockpit also has orange paint on the cockpit window and the air intakes that flank the nosecone are painted silver. On my copy they went a bit too far and painted the edge where it was meant to just be blue, but I'm not too concerned about the error. Finally, his wings each have a Decepticon symbol in purple.
Final Thoughts:
It's great to finally have Thundercracker rounding out the trio of original Seekers from G1. I have liked this base sculpt design since its initial release and this is a perfect reuse of it. Also, thank goodness Thundercracker has his regular weapons instead of the "tuning fork" weapon that Skywarp came with! Recommended!
Pros:
- Excellent Core Class sculpt.
- Good articulation.
- Classic Seeker design.
- Features the blaster weapons included with Starscream instead of Skywarp's "tuning fork".
Cons:
- Some kibble in vehicle mode (but in my opinion that is to be expected).
