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Transformers Toy Review Archive (older series, 1984 to date)
Robot Mode:
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Box Art:

Sir Auros' review of: Swerve

Name: Swerve
Allegiance: Autobot
Function: Metallurgist
Sub-Group: NA

Every now and then, Hasbro does something strange. Not Satoru Iwata Nintendo Revolution will not support high definition strange, but strange nonetheless. In this instance, they've released three versions of what I believe is the weakest mold in the Alternators line. Two releases we've become accustomed to, but three is a new thing in this line. Why not another Wrangler, or Mustang, or RX8? Corvettes are undeniably beautiful cars, but the Tracks/Ravage/Swerve mold is about as far from perfection as the Alternators line goes and this particular release is far and away the worst incarnation of an already mediocre mold. This was the first Alternators figure that I was completely resolute about not buying; however, my undying love for this line saw me at a register at Toys R Us purchasing this when I found a Cybertron Starscream. I'm now considering selling this thing to Clay, since he clearly has no taste. ;)

Another odd thing about this figure (and also worth mentioning) is that it's Alternator number 15 and Decepticharge is Alternator number 14. It seems that 15 has been released before 14 in the USA and the only reliable Decepticharge sightings as of writing this review (and right after purchasing Swerve) have been in Hong Kong and not in retail stores in the Western Hemisphere.

Vehicle Mode:
Swerve has one cool thing going for him in this mode and that's the inclusion of the decal released with the Japanese Binaltech blue version of Tracks. It's a newer version of the hood decal G1 Tracks sported back in the 80s and actually looks pretty decent on this figure. This is really the only thing Swerve has up on either Tracks or Battle Ravage, and the figure unfortunately has two strikes against itself in vehicle mode. It's another red sports car. We already have Sideswipe and Windcharger, couldn't we have gone with something new for the line like orange or purple or something a little more exotic? This is only a minor thing though, and absolutely pales in comparison to the single biggest problem I have with this toy.

I'm going to start this paragraph by saying, "In your faces you f******* fanboy morons!" That goes out to all the whiney morons across several Transformers messageboards who complained about Tracks initially being yellow and actually thought their complaints made a difference. Swerve totally vindicates Hasbro's story that the yellow plastic just didn't work with the black plastic used in the interior of the mold. They apparently had a similar problem with Swerve because there are very few parts of this car that you can look at and see the same shade of red. The doors bleed black, the red around the back (where the arms are) is darker than the red on the roof, and the whole thing looks like a mess...up close anyway. Oh, but you fanboy morons might be wondering why Swerve didn't have a change in color scheme whereas Tracks did? It's my personal theory, based on both comments by a Target toy department manager and rumors on the internet, that Hasbro did in fact produce some Tracks figures, ship them to stores, and then recall them at the last minute. This leads me to imagine that rather than recall again and lose more money, they had to let this one slide. I don't know the truth, but I do know Swerve's red plastic does not match.

Robot Mode:
I still have the same problems with this figure's robot mode as I did for both Tracks and Battle Ravage. Namely that the hood of the car interferes with the articulation in the legs and the doors kind of get in the way. I've come to a reasonable solution to the door problem (see the picture or the Battle Ravage review), but I'm afraid there will never be a good solution to the hood-calves. The head is sculpted well and has a decent range of motion and I've always appreciated just how well-armed this figure is. I'm not a big fan of the color scheme since red and gold clash in my eyes, but the figure has some elements that make it not so visually pleasing even without taking that into consideration. There just seems to be an extreme lack of detail or innovation with this figure. Too much is left in just those same two colors and the missiles are just a solid gold color from tail to tip. This is, without a doubt, the robot mode I find to be the weakest out of all the Alternators, even the previous versions of this same mold.

Transformation: 7 - I'm not sure what it is, but one of the legs on mine is painfully difficult to transform. Bear in mind that I've dealt with this mold twice before now.
Durability: 9 - Doesn't have loose missile syndrome like my Tracks does.
Fun: 7 - Not so much fun in my eyes since I already have two better versions of this toy and the character looks ridiculous.
Price: 9 - I suppose if you missed out on the seemingly scarce Tracks, this might be worth your while...if you have to have at least two versions of each mold. I think it was a waste of my money though.
Summary: 6 - I really hate this figure. I can't believe another version of the Tracks mold was released instead of some of the stronger, better articulated molds, much less a version as aesthetically awful as this one.

 
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