[TAO's Note: I'm always excited to post a Transformers review, especially ones like this, which feature a cool toy that's a cross-line tribute. Clark is here to tell you how Lockdown (of the Revenge of the Fallen variety, not the Animated variety) turned out!]
Name: Lockdown
Line: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Deluxe Class
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Released: 2010
Price: Retail: $11.99
Accessories: None
As we all know, if you need an instantly cool character, give him the job title of “bounty hunter.” Lockdown is a former autobot turned bounty hunter, although his allegiance does not lie with either side he tends to work for the Decepticons because they pay well. One thing he loves to do is collect trophies from his victims, upgrading himself with modifications of those he captures or kills.
In case you don’t know, this figure is a tribute to the a character from the Transformers: Animated cartoon series. Lockdown’s sculpt may not be perfect, but it is a really cool looking vehicle and one mean looking robot. The most recognizable attributes carried over from the animated version are his thick neck and large feet. He also keeps an assymetrical look to his arms, this helps sell the idea that he just adds pieces to himself, but it feels a little forced here. I love the face they gave this toy, it is just mean looking. He has a big chunk of kibble hanging on his left arm, but it really doesn’t bother me that much. One complaint that I think a lot of people will have is about his knees, which are skinny, and have a double bend to them like the hind legs of a tiger, or a puppy dog. The knees don’t actually bother me too much, but I think he would pose better if he just had single pin knees with 90 degree bend, but whatever.
His car mode does not look like any real car, more like a custom muscle car. I actually really like it, although it does not fit in with the “real world” look that most of the ROTF figures go for, this is still fun and a great update from the first figure. Although you may find some problems with the look of this figure, I just really love him. He looks dangerous and mean.
Sculpt Score: 9 / 10
This figure actually has quite a few paint details for a transformer. He is molded in dark brown and black plastic, and has silver, lime green and drab green details painted on. I wasn’t sure what I would think about the figure having brown as a base color (instead of black as the original had), but I think it works great. The only complaint that I have is a part of the rear brake light was left unpainted, you can see on his left shoulder that there is a light on the front that is supposed to be painted red. This is not a big problem, and you’ll only notice it when looking at the back of his car mode, but nevertheless it still brings the score down. The other thing is that he has paint rubbed off of his forehead leaving a brown smudge in the middle of the green paint.
All of the other paint applications are clean and well done. I like the colors chosen for the guy, including the orange/red headlights and windows. Oh, and the piping in the eyes works well, and gives the impression of bright glowing orange eyes.
Paint Score: 7 / 10
I’m not really sure how I should grade him here. I’ll start off with the joints that aren’t present. He is missing a swivel waist, a swivel wrist, and the right arm cannot bend past 45 degrees. Other than that all of the joints are there, but posing can be a problem. This mostly has to do with those funky knees. If you want to bend them a full 90 degrees, then you’re going to have a very long lower leg and short thigh. This is just the way it works when you have that funky high heel joint that this figure displays (maybe because The Fallen had these in the movie?). Although he has huge feet these knees just keep him from pulling off really dynamic poses that he can hold. He has a good range of motion in the hips (if you don’t push his pelvis all the way back) and he shoulders are mostly free to move around. I really love the way his neck works, and there are three separate pieces connected by ball joints from the base of the neck (which has a swivel of its own) to the head. This allows for a lot of expression with his head. I don’t have too much to complain about with his articulation, because I’ve had a lot of fun playing with him, but posing those legs could be a problem.
Articulation Score: 7 / 10
I don’t know why, but I haven’t been able to put this guy down for the last couple of days. This surely has a lot to do with the character and design as I really liked Lockdown from the cartoon. I have transformed him many times, had him in a few high speed chases, beat up a couple of robots, and he is still fun. The transformation is pretty fun, and completely different from the animated figure. There are so many moving parts that I might have to fiddle with it for a little bit when putting him back in car mode, otherwise the back wheels may not roll freely. Kudos to Hasbro for putting forth the effort to make a completely new toy, instead of just taking all of the ideas from the animated figure and slapping them in this new body.
Fun Score: 8 / 10
If you find this guy in the stores you’ll probably end up paying $12 for him, which is what deluxe transformers go for these days, but you might be able to find a small sale and get him for $10.
Value Score: 7 / 10
9 / 10 - Great ROTF translation of an animated character, and just a fun design.
7 / 10 - Mostly good paint applications, and cool colors.
7 / 10 - All the joints are there, they may just not work together that well.
9 / 10 - I’ve had plenty of fun with this bad guy, I hope you do too.
7 / 10 - Pretty much what I would expect to pay for a deluxe figure.
78 / 100 - This is a Good Toy
I really like this figure, and have had a lot of fun with him. If you’re a fan of Lockdown, then I think you’ll enjoy this updated figure. Hopefully this guy will be successful enough to leave room for other TF: Animated figures to receive the ROTF treatment, I would love to see what Oil Slick would look like with a little more realism.
This could be the figure given away in this month's Review Commentator Contest. Join the discussion by leaving a comment on this review for a chance to win!
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