As I wait for the next AoE Dinobots to come in, I'd like to go backwards and review a toy from the Transformers Prime Series. Thanks once again to my good friend for submitting this figure for a review.
Jet Mode
Dreadwing’s (fighter) jet mode is actually quite impressive, especially when seen in person. The aircraft is decently sized, bulky, and has some great detail. There isn’t that much gaps in this jet also. The set of fins on Dreadwing’s tail and sides are made out of a soft plastic material. They definitely feel like a throwback to the way some classic figures were made in the 80's/90's. The jet even comes with a landing gear that flips down.
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The only gripes with this jet mode are those robot hands sticking out of the tail. Also, the wings on this aircraft aren’t fully secured. Instead, they unfold then rest on the aircraft, but luckily they don’t flop that much.
Dreadwing’s color choices also match the Transformers Prime cartoon as much as possible. Dreadwing is navy blue with silver and gold painted wings, silver jet thrusters, and silver/black painted cockpit. The gold Decepticon symbol on both wings adds more appeal to it.
Robot Mode
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Despite the lack of yellow on Dreadwing’s legs, shoulders, and head, this toy does a great job in emulating the character. The details look great; while the robot’s build, colors, and expression is mostly spot on. The detail in Dreadwing’s face and head are really impressive, but would’ve looked even better with gold tipped horns, but that’s just a minor gripe. The figure is a little hollow, but the creators have certainly done their very best to fill them in the best they could. As is, Dreadwing looks fantastic.
There’s a fair amount of rubber pieces included in this figure, like a few fins and knee caps. The head is also molded out of a rubbery, softer plastic, which is quite a surprise. Hopefully the material won’t be prone to deterioration sometime in the future. Dreadwing’s hands look very weird in that fixed pose, but the purpose is to carry a pair weapons.
Do be careful of the tail fins attached above Dreadwing’s ankles, as they can be prone to breaking from roughhousing, accidents, or negligence.
One extra benefit of this mold is the ball-jointed rigging inside Dreadwing’s collar that allows his shoulder armor to conveniently contour around those shoulders.
Weapons
Dreadwing is equipped with a sword and gimmicky light-up gun. The sword is really cool, albeit a little small, but the gun is just an eyesore, especially when the gimmick isn’t activated. Dreadwing’s gun emits an orange glow, when the gun is unfolded. The problem though, is that gun can’t remain unfolded on it’s own without human interference. Both weapons look very unnatural when stored on Dreadwing’s jet mode.
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There are two weapon storage options to choose from in robot mode. One is to have the gun and the sword pegged on Dreadwing’s jetpack, but that leaves him very back heavy. Another is to peg only the sword on the jetpack. Either option positions Dreadwing’s sword as if that weapon is ready to be unsheathed at any moment.
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Figure Specs
Conclusion
Dreadwing is okay. He excels in his overall looks in both jet mode and robot mode, but there's been enough little things that took some joy away from this toy. The folding, light up gun isn't fun, and the sword comes up a little short in terms of enjoyment. If anyone can accept the positive and negative aspects from this figure, then this is for you.
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