Putting on the Blitz; Legacy Blitzwing Review

 The Triple Changers, the most evil of the Decepticons and Megatron's latest most powerful weapon in the battle against the Autobots, in 1985 anyway. From the grouchy Astrotrain to the underhanded Octane the Decepticon Triple Changers have been one of my favourite groups of characters, mostly because of their awesome alt modes and they're role in the fantastic "Triple Takeover" episode of the original G1 cartoon, which shone the spotlight on Astrotrain and Blitzwing, who fight it out for leadership of the Decepticons. Speaking of Blitzwing, today we look at his latest toy outing in the Legacy toyline.

As the first Leader Class toy I have bought from the Legacy line, Blitzwing's packaging is a bit different to that of the smaller class sizes in that the box is windowless with this fantastic neon-esque art piece of Blitzwing ready for a fight with his other alt modes around him and a Cyberpunk Cybertron in the background. I have to say that Legacy has given us some absolute fantastic artwork.

Out of the box, Blitzwing comes in his tank mode, very heavily inspired by his appearance in the G1 episode "Triple Takeover", meaning he has the cockpit protruding at the front. This design choice got a lot of flak when the toy was first revealed but I like it, It differentiates Blitzwing from the many other Tank based Transformers out there. While being in tan and purple, the colour scheme does feel like something you would almost see in real life, and like any good vehicle mode, Blitzwing has rolling wheels on the underside. Blitzwing also not only has a rotating turret but it can also rise to hit airborne targets and reach a further target.

In a couple of steps, Blitwing can transform from tank to plane, as is to be expected with Triplechangers. The process is somewhat similar to War For Cybertron Astrotrain, he's flipped over and the wings unfold from what will be the legs and the treads fold out and clip to the underside of the plane.

The plane has to be Blitzwing's weakest mode, not that I think it is bad looking, but definitely suffers the most from the compromises made to make the toy a Triplechanger. The tank treads are very clearly visible from all angles and add a real bulkiness to the jet that doesn't really fit the fighter jet design. Having said that it suits, the bulk doesn't really seem to break the illusion to me that this should be a flight capable jet, and the jet is still swooshable through the air.

When transformed into robot mode, you can see this was the design priority, Blitzwing looks like he leapt out of the telly. The colours are undeniably Blitzwing, and the detailing on the toy is exquisite. There are so many fine details like the red triangles on the chest and the panel detailing that has been a main stay since War for Cybertron.

Articulation is top notch, with ankle tilt and fantastic knee and elbow bends. The one major hindrance in articulation is similar to the Velocitron Scourge, the shoulders of the toy are covered and so are hindered in their movement. Like Scourge, there are flaps to allow the arms to move up to a horizontal stance, but he cant raise his arms up over his head. It isn't the end of the world but it is disappointing at a Leader Class price point.

Similar to his War for Cybertron Triple Changer colleague, Astrotrain, Blitzwing is around the height of a voyager, but it is the array of accessories that help contribute to his increase in class size. Blitzwing comes with 2 purple blasters that are blast effect compatible and have 5mm pegs on the  side to combine with other Legacy/War for Cybertron weapons. Blitzwing also comes with a really nice looking sword as a nod to his original toy and Marvel Comics appearances.

The most interesting inclusion has to be the "Energon Gauntlets". In Blitzwings robot mode, they peg into his hands and cover the forearms to form these giant fists that honestly just make me think of Uncle Jack from ALways Sunny in Philadelphia. They are 5mm compatible, so the guns can be pegged into the sides of the gauntlets. Due to the other uses of the gauntlets the fists can be removed, using this, I like to peg the sword in to look like a blade hand.

The gauntlets have unique uses for each of Blitzwing's vehicle mode, In tank mode, the fists are slotted inside the gauntlets to form missile launchers.

In jet mode, the gauntlets are pegged into the rear thruster's to form boosters.

Overall this is a great toy, but I don't know if I could justify the full price tag on him. I got him discounted at £33 from Game which is reasonable I feel and if you can find him at that price tag or less I would highly recommend.

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You can also get your own Blitzwing here (Amazon Affiliate link)