General Information:
Release Year: December 2007
Retailer: General release (Wal-Mart, Target, Toys 'R' Us etc.)
Price: $9.99 (Depending on retailer)
Accessories: Missile
Skill Level: 2
Images:
*Images from the Hasbrotoyshop web site.
Tech Specs:
SMOKESCREEN is the AUTOBOT in charge of diversionary tactics. He’s fully loaded with sonic burst weapons, magnetic smoke bombs and oil slicks designed to scramble DECEPTICON sensors. If you need a DECEPTICON distracted, SMOKESCREEN is your main robot!
| Strength: 6 |
Intelligence: 7 |
Speed: 7 |
Endurance: 6 |
Rank: 7 |
Courage: 8 |
Firepower: 6 |
Skill: 9 |
Fast Action Battlers are the successors to the 1-2-3 Transformers and Playskool Transformers, they are larger figures developed for younger kids to play with. The Fast Action Battlers generally feature simplified transformations and action features are combined with sculpting similar to mainline figures.
Smokescreen is a redeco of Fast Action Battler Autobot Jazz. Like many other redecos in the movie line, he takes his name and inspiration from a G1 character, in this case G1 Smokescreen, the Autobot diversionary tactician. This review will focus on the changes made to the figure for this release.
Robot Mode:
I'll admit that while I do like how Jazz looked in the movie, his toy incarnations have been "good" but not spectacular in the color department. This really isn't the fault of the designers since Jazz was one of the characters in the movie to have a very uniform color scheme, being made up mostly of silver. There is a certain brightness that he lacks in the "eye grabbing" department, and by using G1 Smokescreen's color scheme in this redeco, the designers were definitely going for something bright that would capture your eye.
Unlike Jazz, Smokescreen's plastic is broken up into three primary colors instead of two: blue, red and light grey. Most of the car parts are red, including the front of the car, the top of the cabin and the sides of the rear. Blue plastic is found on the lower arms and the lower legs. The rest of the figure is made up of light grey plastic. The wheels are of course the black plastic parts. Even without paint applications this is already a bit more vibrant than the simple silver used on Jazz. These are also very classic Transformers colors that harken back to Optimus Prime himself. One additional plastic color appears in the form of Smokescreen's missile, cast in a translucent yellow color.
The paint decos are where the colors complete the feel of G1 Smokescreen. In this form the primary paint applications are done in blue, red, silver and yellow. The blue is used mostly on his chest to fill in the trim areas around the front grille and the "helmet" portion of his head. Yellow is used on the lights in the front along with his visor eyes and a really creative coloring of his "ears/horns" that harkens back to the yellow crest protrusions painted on G1 Smokescreen. Silver is used for the headlights and red can be found on small details such as the Pontiac symbol on his chest and the small Autobot symbol on his waist.
Smokescreen's joints are all tight, in fact his leg joints are actually a bit tighter than those on my Fast Action Battler Jazz. The missile firing mechanism works well as does his waist turning action feature.
Vehicle Mode:
While his robot mode definitely evokes G1 Smokescreen, this vehicle mode solidifies the connection between the two. The top part of the car is mostly red and the front and sides are mostly blue. The same color paint is used in this mode with the addition of black and metallic light blue. The black color can be found on the doors, where the number "38" is painted in black against a silver rectangle, a detail directly inspired by G1 Smokescreen. The metallic light blue color is used for each of the windows. Interestingly, while the front wheels have light grey wheel covers on the side, the rear wheels have the same parts painted silver. On the hood is an Autobot symbol in red with a silver outline, which goes very well with the rest of the figure.
Final Thoughts:
This is one of those rare instances where I think that a redeco is worth purchasing for everyone (not just completists) even if you already own the first sculpt it's based on. Smokescreen simply looks fantastic and the placement of some of the paint apps are creative. Since he's a different character it adds a dimension he would not have otherwise. Highly recommended.
