Transformers DOTM: Cyberverse Powerglide

Bio:

Human pilots have traveled thousands of miles just to study the moves Powerglide executes in midair.  His acrobatic aerial accomplishments impress all who see them - friend and enemy alike.  His skill is the only thing that has kept him alive, since his light armr makes him a soft target for his Decepticon foes.

Strength:  5  Intelligence:  6  Speed:  9  Endurance: 4

Rank:  5  Courage:  10  Fireblast:  3  Skill: 10

Going into this year I said I wasn't going to buy many Dark of the Moon (DOTM) toys since I've learned my lesson with the movie toys from the first two live action Transformers movies. However when I saw early pictures of Powerglide surface in China I knew that was one figure I wanted. Does this new version of Powerglide warrant a purchase? Could he fit into your Classics/Generations collection? Read on.

Powerglide is part of the new Cyberverse subline of DOTM toys and is part of the Commander class. Cyberverse has basically taken over the Legends scale with a few additions. Commander class figures are larger than the basic Cyberverse figure. They also feature a great deal more detail and a more involved transformation versus the basic toys. I'd say the Commander figures are just shy of sharing the same size as the basic/scout class toys.  

One of the first things you may notice is the dark burgundy plastic. It fits the toy really well as it gives the figure a darker more serious look. You should also be able to see right off the bat all of the mechanical detail. To be honest I didn't expect these figures to have the level of detail as such.

I'm happy to report that at least with Powerglide the Commander class figures do have a bit of articulation. The removable weapons are the icing on the cake...at least for me. I was also bummed the minibots from G1 didn't come with weapons of any sort (Outback excluded). The shoulders are ball and socket joints and they provide a full 360 range of motion. They will pop off if too much pressure is exerted on the joints, but they easily pop right back on. The hips and knees are the same type of ball and socket joint. The weapon that Powerglide is holding is actually two separate pieces that snap together to form a hand gun of sorts. Nice touch Hasbro!

After freeing Powerglide from his cardboard and plastic prison and seeing all of the various armaments I was surprised to see his technical ratings for Firepower (sorry, I refuse to refer to this category as Fireblast as the packaging now reads) at only a 3. There are a total of 7 missiles under the wings to compliment the gatling gun underneath the nose of the plane. What kind of weaponry do you have to equip to get a higher Firepower ranking Hasbro?! Granted the ranking is more in line with his Generation 1 levels, it just doesn't measure up for me.

There aren't a lot of paint applications on the toy as most of the parts are either molded in burgundy or a silver gray plastic, but as you can see there is a little silver paint applied to the edges of the wings. The same silver is used for the Autobot emblems on the wings as well as a silver pin stripe down the sides of the turbines and tail wings. Here in his A-10 Thunderbolt mode you can see the level of detail by the likes of the various metal panels and even rivets.

Flip the jet over and you can see Hasbro did a great job at concealing the robot bits. Just about all of the robotic parts are hidden in one way or another. The missile attachments attach to the wing by the way of a small rectangular peg hole. Each missile pod also features a side peg that you can peg into a hole on the side of the forearm piece. There is retractable landing gear with was surprise and welcomed feature.

Comparison time! The new Cyberverse Powerglide stands just a bit taller than his G1 self. His arms aren't as ape like either. If you look closely at the face you can see they retained the mouth plate...something I'm glad they did.

I can't say enough good things about this toy. It's a near perfect upgrade for a classic G1 minibot. The only gripe that I can come up with is that when in vehicle mode the jet is top heavy in the rear. Even with the landing gear deployed the back of the jet is so heavy that it drags the nose up into the air ever so slightly. It's not a huge drawback, but I do wish there was some way to remedy this. If someone knows please comment and pass along your pointer.

In closing this is a solid toy. At first glance you may wonder if a glorified legends toy is work eight bucks when for 2 bucks more you can buy a full on deluxe size figure, but don't let the diminutive size fool you. The toy as a lot to offer. From the level of detail to the articulation this is a fun toy. The transformation is very clever, but not as frustrating as some of the Revenge of the Fallen toys were. I'm starting to see now why so many other collectors are praising the Cyberverse toys. I may have to reconsider my stance on some of these DOTM toys and at least give another Cyberverse figure a try. In my opinion this toy is a must buy. If you're not into the whole movie scene Powerglide will still fit into your Classics/Generations collection just fine. At least he is in scale more with the other Autobots than the earlier released Ultra class toy.