Siege Barricade

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Skyquake87
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Siege Barricade

Post by Skyquake87 »

Name: Barricade
Allegiance: Decepticon
Size Class: Deluxe
Accessories: Left and right HF Siren Blast Punisher Cannons, light bar


In the vein of Animated's Bulkhead and Lockdown, Barricade is another cross-pollination from another iteration of Transformers, in this case the live action movies. Yes, 2007s brutal Decepticon police car is now a legit 'G1' character. Sorry, Micromaster Barricade. I like this. Pretty much all the Decepticons from the first live action film are memorable to me for getting something to do, other than growl and get shot to bits by Autobots, so it's good to see some recognition for the films in the 'proper' Transformers line. I'm also quite keen on car mode Decepticons, as it adds some further variety to their plethora of alt-modes. Jets, tanks, animals and devices are cool and all, but it's just nice to be able to have a car chase, y'know?


Robot Mode: A reuse of the existing Siege Prowl mould, Barricade is just evil Prowl. It's fine and the mould itself is nice. It's not as heavy on the detail drizzle as the other Siege toys, mainly because the car parts are really, really smooth. He's limited to techno gubbins on his forearms and midrift and that's it. The colours are quite nice, but I find the grey used for his torso, arms and legs is a bit much. The package CGI renders show him having black forearms and torso, which would have been much nicer. Instead, he's just got this black posing pouch to cover his modesty, which is just weird. I like his miserable looking gold face, all seriousness and stoicism, as well as his angry looking red eyes. The feet are a bit odd, being these sort of sloped hooves. He stands well enough on them and can pose like a boss but they're just quite strange to look at. He comes with a couple of blasters, which he can dual wield or combine together to form a double-barrelled shooty thing. My favourite is to just peg them in on his shoulders, which I think looks cool.

Vehicle Mode: A sort of Tron-like space police car, this was the thing that put me off the mould when looking at pictures online. It's really flat looking and barely has any shape to it. In hand, its not quite as bad as that, but the passenger compartment is so recessed for the sake of being aerodynamic that it's a good job no-one has to fit in there. The bonnet is really long and has these odd looking headlights, which are housed in some slight undulation around the front. It looks like someone squishing their face up, which is about right, given the placement of the Siege battle damage. The wheels are a nice translucent purple – subtle enough to look cool when you notice it and not looking as naff as those wheels Chromedome and Breakaway got in Titans Return. The white on the doors is nice and breaks up the mould nicely. Despite my misgivings, it is actually quite nice in hand and I rather like it.

Marks out of ten for the following:

Transformation Design: Basically a smart update of the old Diaclone Datsun mould transformation sequence. There's some nice touches with the way the central hood panel slides into the torso, and how the front panel of his robot chest tucks away under the hood. It's good and feels like you've got involved. It's fun and does what it needs to do and banishes memories of that awful Classics Prowl figure. 8/10

Articulation: Barricade has a decent range of movement, perhaps a bit limited by today's standards, but enough to get him in some cool poses. It's enough for a Transformer, anyway. 7/10

Durability: Barricade is nice and solid, with only his accessories to worry about losing. 9/10

Fun: A cool looking robot and swish speedy vehicle mode for all the Police, Camera, Action! type traffic offences you could possibly care to recreate in the comfort of your own home. 9/10

Price: £16.99 at retail, so standard Deluxe prices. As a bit of a nobody, compared to some of the big names in the Siege line, I dare say he'll be one of the cheaper Siege characters to pick up on the aftermarket. 8/10

Overall: An unassuming toy, Barricade is one of those that isn't exactly screaming at you to buy him, just being sort of there. In hand, he's a fun little figure, and when I'm rummaging through the toy box, I do find I'm drawn to the little guy because he's actually a great figure. I just wish he had less grey. 8/10
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