Generations Springer & Blitzwing

[Toph]

Okay, I already have a small bit of history with these two toys, and characters.

When they were first announced and shown off, we were still hot into FoC, which as I've made well known do not impress me in any shape or form. These, especially springer were advertised as FoC (Which we now know are not. Blitz is obviously G1, while Springer is supposedly IDW)

On top of that... Springer just looked... weird. Add to that that Springer is a nobody to me. Never cared for his character or design, and I think he's only popular because he's the only Autobot triplechanger to get any meaningful fiction. I already had the target exclusive "War Within" Springer that was a repaint of Cyb Evac, love that mold, and that was fine with me. And the "Classics" Botcon Springer that was a repaint of Cyb Defense Hotshot didn't look remotely like him, and was just stupid. So... another weird looking Springer was a pass for me.

We got closer and better pictures surfaced... and he didn't look quite so weird.
However... since Generations 1.0, Reveal the Shield, and DotM ended, hasbro's record for toys has been exactly shit, with only two or three toys that were actually worth their price. Only one that's come close to impressing me was Thundertron (I think?), and I only have the Lioconvoy repaint of that. The rest have usually made me regret buying them, the much beloved Shockwave included.
So, while I liked the looks of Blitzwing, and Springer was borderline growing on me, I figured these were still going to be flimsy, poorly engineered, full of copouts, and made of cheap plastic.
So even though I was looking forward to Blitzwing, I didn't have high hopes. They weren't going to compare to the top of Hasbro's game.

I was right... and I was wrong, on all accounts.

I will begin with robot modes, as that's how they are packaged.

Springer
First impressions upon freeing him from his package were low. Springer has a lot to over come. A great character or a great design can overcome a mediocre mold. Springer didn't have any of these going for him, as I always found him extremely boring in both character and his G1 design. But I played with him for a day.
Robot Mode-
Grew on me. A lot. It doesn't com e across well in hasbro official photos, but he is 100% Nick Roche inspired, if not flat out Nick's design. He has Nick's trademark proportions (Which is why it looked so odd at first, before I could see the Nick influences), and his headsculpt is definitely Nick's style.
His sword, made from his chopper blades is actually impressive, which is rare for TF swords. And he has a neat gun. Pressure firing missiles that are in a very spring missile-like gun. I normally do not like firing missiles, but I prefer the pressure styled, so this makes me happy.
Kibble is used creatively and placed with artistic purpose, and the color breakdown is very artistic. After sitting on this for a day, it's very obvious now that an artistic mind, who's used to designing transformers is behind this toy. That's very rare now-a-days.
The only yellow seen on him is exclusively on his chest and behind his shoulders. The rest of his upper body is contrasted with dark, flat, warm gray. Green is added in his hips, thighs, lower arms, and head. A very flat and unremarkable green, of a shade I can't quite identify. I would normally say it's ugly, but here the subtlety works really well. Very pale cool gray is added to his scheme in his upper shins/knees... the only place this color exists on the toy.And finished off with dark warm gray on his lower shins/feet. I would be proud of this colorscheme if it were mine.

Transformation to either mode is pleasantly complex, without being difficult. Unlike most of Hasbro's recent offerings which can be transformed in a few steps, Springer feels closer to the previous Generations in terms of complexity. But this is where the toy also show's it's flaws. The tab system is horrible. Pieces do not line up well, and tabs and matching slots are extremely shallow, and barely fold, if they hold at all.The only tab that holds well is the shoulder clips in robot mode.
Also the head and chest during transformation are dangerously close to occupying negative space. Everything has to line up absolutely flawlessly in order to get it through.

Helicopter Mode-
Like the original springer, it does not represent any real helicopter, though it bares a strong resemblance to most traditional attack choppers. It has a very heavy hardcore Sci-fi feel to it, and would not look out of place in a James Cameron movie, such as ALIENS or Avatar.
The colorscheme is kinda all over the place in this mode and is a bit messy here, but still really strong and stays fairly balanced. Yellow becomes more prominent on the front and sides, but still does not overwhelm.
As I said earlier, this is where the tab system fails completely. Fortunately there's only one tab in this mode that won't hold at all, and it's not really a "load baring" tab.
Rotor blades are cleverly designed. Missile launcher is tricky to connect in this mode, and instructions do not explain how to do it at all. Kind of a dumb design choice how it clips in.

Car mode-
To be honest, my favorite mode, but the most structurally flawed.
The over all design is still extremely sci-fi, and still feels like it's fresh off the set of a Cameron movie. Again, it'd be right at home in ALIENS or Avatar.
I love a great fantasy vehicle that feels like it could work and be driven/flown in real life, and this one really hits home in a way the original Springer never did. The colorscheme is the most solid and well balanced in this mode over all others. Yellow is found exclusively on the grill and hood, while green is on the roof, and rims. dark gray makes up the rest. It sounds like a very ugly colorscheme but it works so well. Which is surprising because the yellow hood was one of the biggest turnoffs in early images. There is also absolutely no sign of there ever being a helicopter mode in this (or robot) form.
Unfortunately, this is the mode that the engineering fails the hardest. No tab at all connects and holds together in this mode, except the two that lock the shoulder joints in place to the pectoral pieces. Fortunately, the robot mode joints are pretty much solid enough to keep it almost completely stable. The only parts that really suffer from floppiness and instability are the tailfins.
Also, the way the sword/props stow under the car is dodgy at best, but still manages to be stable (at least on mine)

Fun thing to do- Connect the helicopter prop to the top of the car. It's hella funny.

Final Thoughts-
I came into Springer with extremely low expectations. And while he failed to impress me at first, over the course of constantly fiddling with him, my initial opinion has changed dramatically, and grown a lot. The mold is extremely enjoyable, despite it's sizable flaws (Engineering/tab issues, being Springer).
Something to note though... besides the head, it really does not scream "Springer." As an example, Generations Kup does not really look a whole lot like G1 Kup. Different alt mode, lots of different robot mode design elements, but it still screams "Kup" to me. Springer, for better or worse does not. Put a different head and colors, and never mention the helicopter mode (You wouldn't realize it exists without being told it does), and there's nothing about it at all that's remotely Springer-ish. Take that as you will. I've never been a Springer fan, so likeness is a non-issue for me, really.
But, I've come to love this toy. It's not as good as Generations 1.0, or RtS... plastic quality is modern Prime/FoC era, and his engineering is flawed (But at least attempted! Complex pieces are way too rare now!), but it reminds me strongly of some of Hasbro's best.
Highly Recommended.

Blitzwing's review to come in a bit (Tomorrow maybe). Took me a few hours to write this one.

EDIT:
Also... I would do *anything* to have this toy repainted, with a new head, and released as pre-beast Dinobot. It could not be more perfect.

[Bogatan]

Nice review, hopefully I'll find a Springer and Blitzwing in a little over 3 weeks.

They are pretty much all I'm looking for (for myself, Nick sent me his shopping list, oh my!) but thats more about whats going to be out with in the next months than a lack of interest in Hasbros latest offerings.

Oh and Beast Shockwave I guess. And Skyquake if the prices arent mad.

I cant picture a dinobot repaint but then I haven't spent too much time studying the pics, but the idea has me interested.

[Toph]

Okay, for dinobot... I never would have thought about it before I actually had the toy. (Was actually thinking Sandstorm for Beast Megs, due to the VTOL mode)

But, if this will help. Dinobot head... change the yellow and dark gray to tan, and the green to blue. And he'd basically be really close to the almost impossible breakdowns for the animation model.
Plus, he has the huge sword, aside from the missile launcher, he doesn't look extremely militeristic (Which to me is important given the political dynamics. These predacons would have been seen as, and trying to blend in with civilians. Can't see them drving around with giant missiles on their backs, or tank alt modes)

And the more I thought about it, the more a helicopter alt mode makes sense for Dinobot, given his spinny tail, and his spinny sword. Plus, Rattrap always calling him Chopperface.
And even if it still doesn't make sense... ignore the helicopter mode and just use the car.

As for BH Shockwave... he pretty disappointing. If we were going to be able to meet up, I'd try to snag one for you before hand at Walmart (I still can and add it to your stash), because he is definately *not* worth the kind of markups you'd find on the botcon salesfloor.
His plastic is some of the worst, the rubbery tank tread that's used for his "hose" on mine was stressed and looked like it'd break off straight from the package without even being touched. His altmode (Dispite being very simple and cool in the show) is basically non-existant, and just looks terrible. I don't find him to be worth the $22 for Voyagers ($15 maybe). If you can find him for cheap enough, close enough to retail go ahead (since I don't think he'll be available over there?). But anything over $30, I'd suggest walking away. He will *not* be worth it.

[Toph]

Part Two:

Blitzwing
As I said earlier, Blitzy was the one of the two I was looking forward to the most. He had some things Springer didn't have. Like I said, a good character, or a fun looking design could overcome a mediocre mold. And while G1 Blitzwing may have been a nobody character, much like Springer... he at least had an awesome design, and pulled off all three modes exceptionally well. And when Animated came about, that version of Blitz got one of the most awesome characters in the franchise. So even if Blitz turned out to be mediocre, he had two out of three over Springer.
First impressions once having him were that he felt and looked a little awkward. But he still had all the hallmarks of G1 Blitzwing.

Robot Mode-
He is a complete "Classics" update of G1 Blitz. Kibble is placed where it should go. It's been years since I had my G1 toy, so I can only guess off memory, but he's pretty accurate. Though I think he's probably akin to Universe Prowl accurate to G1 Prowl, as opposed to G1 Jazz and RtS Jazz (Which I consider a pretty exact update)
Now, onto what everyone is most interested in: Head. He has a very similar tripleface feature to Animated Blitz. Yellow G1 helmet, and G1 face is preset in package. With your fingernail, you can "scroll" the chin up to reveal the Animated "Crazyface." Pretty exact version. Scroll one more time to reveal a "G1-ish" version of the "cold" face. And back to G1 face.
Personally... as much as I loved Animated Blitz, the feature doesn't really work for me being retconned onto a G1 version of the character. I would have thought I'd love it... but... I dunno. When I heard about it it didn't appeal to me, and seeing the other faces in hand, it really doesn't. Great for everyone who loves it, and it's really well hidden, so it's not distracting. It can be ignored for those who don't like it.
The other Animated call out, comes in his legs, which are the tank treads. In G1 his legs were made with the jet engines, similar to Starscream, while the tank treads were hidden by folding yo into his arms.
His weapons are pretty exact updates of G1's, which is neat. But compared to Springer, his sword is really underwhelming. Great design, great sculpting, though. His pistol is also a bit undersized, but interestingly designed. I like TF guns that are not missile launchers.
He also has one missile launcher in his cannon. Push the cannon barrel in and it launches the spring missile. Interesting also.And designed in a way you can't accidentally shoot yourself in the forehead as I've done so very many times.
His colors are pretty accurate to G1... purple chest, purple nosecone, yellow head, khaki all over. Lot of purple on the legs. Only where Springer feels like a work of art, even though accurate... Blitz just feels... messy. Not really sure why

Now... flaws. And this is where the figure falls apart. Just like Springer, he has a very poorly engineered tab system. Only what is the fatal flaw is in the shoulder assembly. The tabs do not hold at all. At all. Anytime you touch his arms, it all comes flying apart. The last time I encountered critical tabs designed so poorly was in the torso bot for Energon Superion Maximus (Storm Jet was his name? Can't remember). It's that level of bad.
Also... the amount of paint on him is mind boggling. And this is a terrible thing, despite what you'd think.
Most "critical" areas are painted, instead of molded in that color.The pieces on his legs that are tan, inside and out are completely painted tan. The gray pieces that are part of his knees are painted gray. His bicep pieces are painted gray, his helmet is only painted yellow His nosecone is made of cheap rubber, and painted purple..
Most of the paint used on him is for essential colors, instead of an intelligent mold layout. And worse yet, it's extremely cheap paint. I've barely touched him and paint is chipped off all over the place.

Transformation: Surprisingly complex for modern Hasbro. There are no cheats here. Every part has a purpose.
However, the tab system absolutely kills it. There is almost no stability at all. Everything has to line up perfectly, but almost nothing does. And nothing really wants to stay in place.

Jet Mode-
Has a fairly Macross feel to it, honestly. Don't really have much to say, as it feels like a hot mess. Full of gaps and unallignable bits, and tabs that won't connect.
Both G1 and Animated had much better jets. This is his weakest mode by far.

Tank Mode-
This mode is a lot stronger. The colorsceme feels sloppy, but works mostly. The turret is fairly cleverly designed from his arms, and the treads are somewhat clever. It's a passable tank.
Not really much else to say. It's not overly impressive.

Final Thoughts:
This was a huge letdown. The vehicle modes themselves are not so bad they cannot be overlooked or enjoyed, the engineering and bad paint/poor mold breakdown absolutely kills this toy. With the worst part being the shoulder assembly.
I find the shoulders to be so bad that if Hasbro or Takara do not reengineer and remold them for the repaints, I think the mold should never be used again.

If I were grading it, it'd end up at a C-, to D. And mostly only for acknowledging the ambitious concepts behind it, and an attempt to do a level of toy they used to do really well.
But cheap plastic, cheap paint, poor decisions, and terrible engineering. 3Ps do better than this.
Unlike some bad toys recently though, I don't regret buying it.
Mildly recommended, and only if you're a Blitzwing fan, or if you feel your classics display will never be complete without him.

[Bogatan]

After playing with Springer and Sandstorm and Blitzwing on the whole I agree with Jetty.

Springer -
I went in with much higher hopes as a fan of IDW Springer of which this is obviously based but also the Earthforce/survivor stories. And I wasnt disappointed. I would say though that the tabs in my case are not nearly as bad as Jetty experienced, but they do take quite a bit of force or at least manipulating to get them all aligned, but once they are all modes are rock solid.

Sandstorm -
Given how positive I am about Springer and how clearly the design was Springer inspired (and how much I like green transformers) its slightly surprising that Sandstorm if anything works even better. Firstly the crazy amount of remoulding pays huge dividend the robot modes look different enough that they dont look like the same mould.

The helicopter mode benefits from the vtols, they create a more real helicopter form than Springer. Springer works fine but almost in the way of a really (really really) good fan mode rather than an intentionally designed effort. Then the vtols as massive rear wheels makes for an even more extreme war machine of a car mode and the way the tail fin folds back over the top of the car adds to the armoured look while also helping align all the parts.

Blitzwing -
Again Overall I agree with Jetty, but again I found the tabs to be better at least in plane and tank modes. On holiday Tony got Springe and Blitzwing and mentioned issues aligning all the tabs on the arms in jet mode and they do tend to pop as you try to put in the next one. However if you pin the tabs in place as the next one goes in they will all fit and as with Springer once the tabs are secure it becomes rock solid and for me makes a really decent plane. Pretty much the same as a tank, if you can get it all to align its solid.

Robot mode is hopeless due to the shoulders, but there is a seemingly straight forward fix involving sanding down the two halves of the torso where they join. I havent tried it yet, but if it works then the only major issue I have with the toy goes away.

[Bogatan]

The plastic on all of these or at least parts of each of these is the softer feeling stuff used on some of the FOC figures most notably in my experience Bruticus, but as I said about Bruticus, the softer plastic seems to some how give them a more cartoony feel so I dont mind it and in the long term I suspect the softer parts will prevent breakages that would almost certainly occur with more brittle plastics.

Paints are a bit iffy in places though I Haven't really noticed the Blitzwing problems. For me it was a few little bits on Springer, nothing major though.

[Shockprowl]

Very interesting there, chaps, much appreciated.

[Shockprowl]

Decided to get a Blitzwing, mainly based on the views of my beautiful Cyber-Chumbs! He's on his way!!!!!

[Shockprowl]

I have Blitzwing. I am generally pleased with him. He looks great when posed in robot mode. But... that's about it!!! Plastic is cheap, shoulders are unbelievably bad (Hasbro, really, come on now.). Tank mode is, ok, Plane mode is, ok... but either hardly blow my pants off like Astrotrain did, what, five years ago? But... but but, in robot mode, when one doesn't touch him, he looks FANTASTIC! He is very large. Yikes. I'm used to Blitzwing being smaller than a Strike Plane. But, the character suites being a large figure, so it works well. Head/face sculpt is excellent (the three faces thing doesn't do anything for me, but it's better than a kick in the bollocks). He just, I dunno, feels loose, in all modes, he doesn't fit together well. Which is a step back in toy design, I feel. Still... Blitzwing now stands amount my 'Classics' Decepticons. And the 'Classic' Autobots are all the more vulnerable for it. I'd have love a 3P Warbot version of him. Warbot Destroyer or something.

[The Doctor]

Springer has grown on me, despite the shoulders not locking properly. The alt modes are ok but the robot is marvellous fun to play with. Quite like it.

Blitzwing looks nice but is not fun to play with alas.

-Ralph

[Shockprowl]

I would go as far to say that Blitzwing is unplaywithable! Certainly in robot mode. Come on, Hasbro, what are you trying to push on us?

Still looks great on display though.

I spotted a very interesting 3P upgrade kit for Blitzwing, that had a shoulder/chest improvement piece. Darned if I can find it now.