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*Images and text from transformers.com: Power up for the ultimate robot battles! Your HUFFER figure is already a virtually unstoppable opponent in his vehicle and robot modes. But his strength gets doubled when you factor in your CALIBURST figure and his four modes! Convert this MINI-CON ally figure to weapon accessories for him when he’s in truck vehicle mode or Commander mode. Then, convert your CALIBURST figure into an armor accessory for your HUFFER figure’s Power Up Mode! And the action doesn’t stop there. With this Power Core interchangeable robot combination system, MINI-CONS and drone vehicles (sold separately) can attach to power up any Commander figure. Collect more packs and you can create tons of unique and fierce robot battler figure combinations! Exciting two-pack of robot figures includes HUFFER robot-to-vehicle figure and MINI-CON figure with four modes! CALIBURST figure converts from robot to weapon accessory for HUFFER figure vehicle mode, weapon accessory for HUFFER figure robot mode and armor accessory for HUFFER figure Power-Up mode. Ages 5 and up.
Huffer is a name that many Transformers fans will know as the whining, orange and blue truck from Generation One. Originally part of G1 Optimus Prime's crew on The Ark, the character disappeared from Transformers lore for many years, but with the introduction of a Botcon exclusive figure a couple years back and now this figure, Huffer is stepping up into the limelight again. It is interesting to note that this is the only "legacy" character in the Power Core Combiner assortments (thus far). Whether or not he is "War for Cybertron" Huffer or not is up in the air, but there's certainly nothing to say he isn't. Caliburst is another name taken from G1, but a bit later during the Targetmaster era. The original Caliburst was a Nebulan Targetmaster partner to the Decepticon Slugslinger. Like his G1 namesake, this Caliburst has a robot/humanoid form and a gun mode to go with his other two forms.
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Robot Mode: Caliburst shares a basic color scheme with his G1 namesake. His primary plastic colors are translucent blue and grey (G1 Caliburst was solid blue and grey). I love this color combination and the blue is a fantastic color. His "gear" sections and his face are painted silver, bringing some extra brightness to the figure. There are nine points of articulation on this figure. I'm being generous by counting the ability for his arms to swivel out and in on their transformation joint, but with such a small figure every little bit counts! The cannon is attached to his arm by a ball joint, so you can move it around in all sorts of directions. I like to have it pointing "back" to simulate a "standby" mode and then forward for a "battle mode". I should note that in the next session, each transformation assumes you are starting with Caliburst in robot mode, the mode he is packaged in. Transformation to Vehicle Weapon Mode:
Vehicle Weapon Mode: Transformation to Robot Weapon Mode:
Robot Weapon Mode: Interestingly, at Toy Fair 2010 I was told that the Mini-Cons from this line would not function with the Powerlinx pegs of past Transformers. However, when I attached Caliburst to Vector Prime, he fit tightly, but he did fit. While I know pegs varied a bit from figure to figure with the Mini-Cons, it looks like there is some level of compatability with the Unicron Trilogy era figures. That said, when I tried to attach Caliburst to my Universe 2.0 Hot Shot figure the fit was very loose, so I guess your mileage will vary when it comes to cross-compatability with other lines. Transformation to Power-Up Armor Mode:
Power-Up Armor Mode: Secondly, this armor actually looks like it could protect Huffer. With the gears splayed out, it covers most of his chest and the translucent plastic gives it the feel of energy protecting Huffer, not just armor plating. The gear designs also give an extra bit of mechanical "feel" to any Transformer you attach Caliburst to. I also like the way you can still swivel the cannon forward to give Huffer an extra weapon in this form.
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Robot Mode (aka Commander Mode): Huffer's head design does pay a slight bit of homage (though it may not have been intentional) to G1 Huffer in its eye design. On top of a rather normal looking head design (thin helmet with protrustions on the sides and a nose/mouth) are large visor eyes. G1 Huffer's toy had visor eyes as well, albeit more angled ones. These are straight on top and only come up to a point where the nose is. The mouth design has some extra design flourishes on either side, giving him a more movie-Transformer like appearance. The body has another design element that seems to pay homage to G1 Huffer. The design of his upper arms are cylinder in shape, very similar to those on G1 Huffer's original toy and cartoon model design. That's pretty much it for the overt design elements from G1 Huffer, but that's already a lot. I like to see small elements brought in with an original design (and otherwise I'd just want this guy in the current "Generations" line as a deluxe figure). I could almost argue that his chest design alludes to some of the elements of the G1 figure, but they're different enough that I think they're original. If his iconic name doesn't remind you Huffer is a truck in his alternate form, the wheels you find on his chest and legs will. I dig this design. Sure it "reveals" his alternate mode, but it also harkens back to some G1 designs that did have some vehicle mode kibble on the robot mode. These are unobtrusive and in the case of the wheels on his chest they actually add something nice to the design on a visual level. I like a lot of the angled design elements on this figure. Very few parts on his torso and waist are simple right angles. Instead a lot of the designs curve and angle into other designs such as the chest designs angling into the waist. His legs are curved a bit with rectangular designs near the knees. Small details like wires in his forearms, tubes leading to his feet and two cylinders sticking out in the front of each leg look great and really show the care that is given to the sculpts of this line. Huffer is cast in light blue, black, silver and mustard yellow plastic. The yellow is the primary color, making up most of the torso, the lower legs and the parts that the arms are attached to. Black breaks up the monotony by making up smaller parts on his arms and the ehad. Silver is kind of hidden in this form since it's meant more for the Combiner mode, but you'll see it on the insides of his legs and his knee joints. The light blue may seem like an odd color to throw into the mix, but it is more of a standard color used across the Power Core Combiners line, used for the joints that the drone vehicles from the larger five pack Combiner sets attach to. Here, the light blue is most prominant on his heel pieces. Paint applications are done in various colors including silver, red, dark blue and orange The silver is the blue is the most prominant, used on all the raised sections of his torso and waist. The silver is distributed throughout the robot mode, found on his head, forearms and legs. Yellow is used for tinier details such as lines on his chest and what appear to be headlights on his waist. A red Autobot symbol is painted on the left side of his chest right on top of the blue section. In what I found to be a possible nod to his G1 self, a big patch of orange paint is found on his back on a black panel. Huffer has eleven points of articulation in this form. This includes ball joints on his shoulders and elbows as well as swivel joints on his hips. His upper body is one solid piece so there's no waist articulation, but he's still quite posable without it. As mentioned in Caliburst's reviews, you can attach the Mini-Con to Huffer at various points. In this mode that includes his chest and arm. I love how large of a weapon Caliburst appears to be on Huffer's arm. Out of curiosity, I took Safeguard and also attached him to the peg on Huffer's arm and he fit fine. Just for kicks I also attached Thunderwing from the Classics Clear Skies Team and he fit fine as well. I was kind of relieved by this as I feared Safeguard may have been an abberation. I still caution that compatability may vary from Mini-Con to Mini-Con, but these are at least two I know will work! Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
Vehicle Mode: In this form the same mix of colors from the robot mode shows, with the mustard yellow playing the most prominant role. Aside from the wheels, the front end and parts of the back are cast in black. The blue "Combiner posts" stick out the back and are perhaps the most visually intrusive element of the vehicle mode. Orange, yellow, silver and dark blue colors are used in this form as well with some black added in. The orange panel from the robot mode now reveals itself to be the front hood. Silver is found on the grille and smokestacks while blue is used for the windows. The headlights in the front are yellow. Black is used for small details such as the lights and horns on the top of the truck as well as two Autobot symbols, one on each door. Overall it's a scheme that is consistant with the robot mode but with an added splash of brightness (namely the orange) that connects the toy to its G1 counterpart while looking cool. Connecting Caliburst to the back of the vehicle gives Huffer some firepower in vehicle mode. I love the idea of having a truck smashing through enemy lines with a big ol' gun on the back. Huffer looks great with or without the weapon, but having it definitely adds a lot. Of course, other Mini-Cons can fit as well since the peg used here is the same as the one from his arm in robot mode. Transformation to Combiner Mode (starting in robot mode):
Combiner Mode: Images:
The Combiner Mode is really a variation on the robot mode. Now you get to see two parts that were not revealed before. First is the head, which to Generation One fans should look very familiar. With its angled front end, horns sticking out the top and vent like sections on the sides, this is actually a head sculpt for none other than Menasor, the Stunticon giant from Generation One. So why is this head on an Autobot?! Well, it was reveled at Botcon that one of the upcoming redecos will feature Huffer given a new deco as a Decepticon with a team of cars, alluding to the G1 Stunticons. Here however the head sculpt just looks intimidating, with the horns and lots of small details on the face including a toothy smile and a chin that protrudes out quite a bit. It's a great modern take on the Menasor head sculpt and I dig it a lot. The other newly revealed parts are the inside mechanisms of his legs which include two tubes leading to angled pieces. I like the visual implication of greater machinery hidden inside Huffer's legs. They look great and like they wer designed to support the extra weight of having limbs attached. Very nice! the head piece is cast in black with a silver face, yellow on the horns and translucent blue light piped eyes. the leg pieces are a combination of black and silver. These colors keep color consistancy with the rest of the figure while giving these pieces a nice look as well. Any of the vehicles that come with the five packs are meant to connect here. At the time I'm writing this review I only had the Aerialbots to test out and they all connected without a problem. What's even cooler is how incredibly solid this guy felt. No parts felt like they were going to flop around or fly off, a complaint sometimes mentioned by fans when it came to G1 or even the more recent Energon combiners. I also like the use of the forearms forming panels on the sides of his chest. it gives him a formidable appearance while giving added width to the combined robot.
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The year 2010 brings back a Transformers concept from the year 2003, namely the combination of a Transformer with a Mini-Con. The term "Mini-con" has begun to gain wider use in Transformers lore. With the introduction of the "War for Cybertron" unified continuity, Mini-Cons (or Minicons as they are spelled in the book "Exodus") are basically seen as any smaller Transformer that works in conjunction with a larger one. With the Power Core Combiners, the idea of combining technology and Mini-Cons are fused into one in a series of two packs and five packs. The two packs include a Scout Class figure along with a Mini-Con that has four modes as opposed to the previous Mini-Cons which generally topped out at three modes.
