TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

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HotShot81's Review: Titans Return Rewind

Name: Autobot Rewind
Allegiance: Autobot
Function: Archivist
Class Size: Legend
Accessories: Blaster
Quote: "Too Much Information is never enough"
First Appearance US Comics: None
First Appearance UK Comics: Space Pirates
First Appearance US Cartoon: Transformers The Movie

While is official name is Autobot Rewind, I will refer to him as Rewind during this review. When you think about it, it is a funny name for a robot that originally turned into a tape, but tape decks went the way of the Dodo when portable CD players, MP3 players, and Smartphones came around. It surprised me that Hasbro decided to keep this form, and name despite how archaic it is in a sense.

The Autobots and the Decepticons have always had a bit of an arms race, if one faction develops something the other side either copies or develops a counter to it. It surprises me it took so long for them to develop Rewind & Steeljaw to counter all of Soundwave's cassettes, it speaks highly of them that there is two of them to . . . six Decepitcon cassettes who made appearances in the cartoon series in the US.

Unlike the countless and brainless minions of Soundwave, Rewind actually had a personality and some intelligence . . . alright he was on par with Preceptor & Computron when it came to intelligence. After seeing him briefly fighting in Transformers: The Movie, he was a semi-regular character in the series during season 3. Where he helped fill in the information gap. Old Quinteson writings need translating? He's your bot! Need someone to tell you how far back in time you've gone? He's your bot! Need someone to kick Sharkticon butt? Yup he's your man! He's the kind of bot who can hang with Preceptor & Brawn and both will love him.

His official Hasbro box bio reads as follows, "Mini-tank rolls out with Autobot Blaster." I swear these bios get any smaller they'll fit on the back of a postage stamp.

Robot Mode

Alright Rewind comes out of the box in robot mode, which is normal for modern figures. He has two sets of ball joints in his legs which mean he can assume a load of poses. Can't hold them due to balancing issues, but give him credit for being able to move his legs. I'll admit his feet are cheap/small, but how many of us really decided to buy/not buy a figure based on his feet?

Chest is well done, loads of details, nice paint jobs. I admit the arms feel off balance. He has these huge arms and hands, which I'll note have excellent articulation and are solidly built, but they connect straight to the shoulders. It's a weird joint to put there, but it works, so why complain.

Like countless figures he has a standard 5 MM port in his hand, so countless weapons can fill his hands. As a bit of a strength test I look a recently purchased Headmaster toy with weapon to see how it'd hold up. Well as odd as the arm looks, it holds up the one I tried like a pro. As a quick note here, the weapon was almost as long as Rewind is tall.

Like all Transformers with a humanoid form, Rewind has a head, and as with all Legend class sized figures they can't be replaced. I like the detail on the head, but I feel the paint job is a bit flat. What I don't like is the fact that it moves so much and easily. Don't get me wrong, he can spin 360 which is great, but the up down motion is what I don't like. A few extra milimeters of plastic would've reduced this extra motion.

Cassette Mode

Let's remove the weapons he has at various parts, flip the chest forward so you can then flip is head down into it, we then return the chest piece to where it was. Bring the shoulders up together, should be a 90 degree movement arch here. Flip the feet down, and turn the legs so they face away from each other. You will now want to rotate them so the feet close up near his arm pits, good thing those don't those parts don't stink in robots or the other Autobots might want to avoid him. You'll want to form a T with the arms, leaving the shoulders in place. Now bring the arms down to his sides, and keep on going down to complete the process.

In tape mode, he's hard to play with. On one side he had some stickers, and on the other he lacks them. On the sticker side, he has a nice Autobot logo in the upper right hand corner. We work our way down, I see a poorly done sticker job at factory here of a tape cassette, if there was ever a call for a redo, and I see it here, before we hit the bottom. Now, in theory, you should be able to store his weapon in a hole in the bottom left hand corner. I couldn't with mine, and none of the other 5mm weapons I had worked either.

One of the advantages of his tape cassette mode he is can be stored in Blaster's chest. I found him great in this mode. He pops in and out of Blaster's chest with relative ease. Top marks here.

Tank Mode

Now Rewind has the honor of being one of the first triple changers for any Legend class sized toy. This is a simple transformation. Just flip the arms onto themselves, then have them meet together on the sticker side of him; place the gun in the space between the arms to finish this off.

This is one of those times where I have mixed feelings as a reviewer. Since part of me hates him, since the turret doesn't turn, I see lots of things from his cassette mode exposed. He doesn't have a complete tank tread. There is a long list of complaints here.

That being said, I flip over to the other side of me that looks at him and sees a tank I'd see from say Generation 1. Where yes, he's built like a brick, and his tank turret aims up and down only. His front end is exposed so any Decepitcon wanting an easy kill can shoot him head on. However for the most part he looks cool in that futuristic sense. Like something you'd see out of the movie Tron. Not necessarily the most effective killing machine, but still nice to look at.

Final Call

Transformation Design 9/10: I want to give Hasbro top marks for making a Legend size class that is a triple changer, and not a half bad one at that. Yes he has some bad points, but it's hard to impress an older reviewer like me, and they've done that in full here.

Durability 9/10: With the exception of the ends of the non-firing end of his blaster, he's built like a brick. Where there are ball joints, yes they pop, but nothing too hard to put back together.

Fun 10/10: I see two situations here. It's a long drive in a car with the kid; s/he wants a toy to bring along to amuse themselves with as you drive to wherever you are going. Rewind is small enough for a trip like that, and because he does three shapes he's going to keep the kid busy. Situation two at home with a few bots, he can be a great defender as the other Autobots scramble to beat off the Decepticons.

Aesthetics 7/10: This is one of those times where I wish I could really do split scores. I love how he has contrasting colors, and nothing feels too bland. Maybe a brighter shade of yellow for the chest. What I really hated was the stock sticker job. I mean the Decepticons get jokes there; all we get is an image of a tape, and the fact he's down a power bar, and has an e-mail waiting to be read.

Articulation 8/10: It's hard to have any articulation in cassette or tablet mode. As a tank while there is room for improvement, I am pleased with what I saw which are a few wheels and a barrel that can go up and down. As a humanoid figure he does the job, he can move around, aim up an and down, minimal use of ball joints means he can hold positions for the long term.

Value 9/10: I paid like $8.00 Canadian for him, since he was on sale. I am surprised by how durable he is, how fun he is, and how easy he is to transform.

Overall 8.6/10: Rewind is durable, he's fun to play with, and he looks decent. While there is room for improvement for how he looks and functions in humanoid form. I will agree that those complaints are minor against him.