TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

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INT
SPD
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ganon578's review: Breakaway

Name: Breakaway
Function: Warrior/Escape Artist
Allegiance: Autobot
Group: 2007 Movie Line

"Run hot, but always keep your cool."

Escape-artist extraordinaire Breakaway has never been held in captivity for more than a few hours. Even then, most of the times he's been captured have only been because he let it happen, so he could get inside a Decepticon base and blow it up. Every one of his joints is double, and secret compartments cover his body, hiding dozens of tools for use in escaping from any cell. He's as slippery as a Neutronian grease eel, and clever as a turbofox. Decepticon bounty hunters across the galaxy have an almost supernatural regard for his skill.

A history lesson on Breakaway (the character and the figure): The character Breakaway is an homage/representation of the G1 Powermaster Getaway, who is a crafty escape artist. From what I understand, the name Getaway was not available to Hasbro, so they went with something very close with a similar meaning, and they came up with Breakaway. This “new” toy (which is part of the live action Movie line, but in my opinion is better suited to the Classics/Universe line) bears a strong resemblance to the G1 toy in both color and design. The toy itself is a Wal-Mart exclusive figure, and was part of a wave that also included Fracture (remake of Gobot Crasher), and Crankcase (remake of the Triggercon of the same name). The figure itself is a repaint of a mould from the Cybertron line in the form of Hot Shot and Excellion. Now that you’re all caught up, here’s the review!!!

Alternate Mode: Breakaway’s alternate mode is a futuristic race car (which is quite similar to a Chrysler ME Four-Twelve - Thanks Clay!). Anyways, the alternate mode is very sturdy on the quality side of things, with no rickety parts or easy to move pieces. Everything is held together nicely. The main coloring of the car is white and blue, with some additions of black thrown in, such as the engine/intake on the top of the car. The windshield and windows are some sort of pale but yet dark red color. What is nice to see in this mode is the attention to detail; underneath the transparent windshield are two seats, a steering wheel, and a center console. This gives the alternate mode a sense of realism, if that’s possible. The wheels are also nicely done; they feature tread molded into the tire and silver rims. A pseudo-spoiler on the back completes sports car feel, and makes the alternate mode look quite fast, while a small Autobot symbol on the front adds a little color to a bright white hood. The front end has what appears to be an intake of sorts; right above the bumper there are open slots where air flow can help cool the engine. One feature of the figure is the Cyber key, which, in my opinion, is really dumb. When you insert the key into the area right behind the engine on the top of the car, transparent red “wings” pop out. Yeah, not real exciting. This feature (yes, I know, it was part of the original mould and was easier to keep it in) could have been done away with. The wings serve no purpose. I don’t think this car is flying away anytime soon (although he is an “escape-artist extraordinaire”, so you never know). The only time the wings worked was when this mould was painted as Excellion (an obvious Hot Rod) and was intended to mimic said G1 Transformer. However, this feature is useless on Breakaway. On the bright side of things, you can attach the “grenade rifle” to the top for some projectile goodness.

Robot Mode: Breakaway’s robot mode is quite stellar. Yes, I just used the word stellar. Anyways, I like the robot mode, the color combination is nice; mostly white with dark red, blue and black detailing. Also with some random yellow accents to match his yellow face, and a silver Autobot symbol (which is rather large compared to most deluxe sized figures) adorns the left shoulder. Overall, I’d say that the color palette very closely resembles what was done with the character in G1. Detail in the robot mode is done well; there’s a lot of circuitry all over, and nothing looks too flat or boring. The face detail is good, and yellow paint on the face, blue eyes, and a black helmet with red accents shows that Hasbro actually put in a little effort. Also, there are some small guns (3 to be exact) molded into each door, just past the knuckles. I feel this is kind of a cool feature, and maybe smoke comes from these to aid in his escapes. I do have two problems with the robot mode: 1) the wings are yet again pointless in this mode, and when you insert the Cyber key, Breakaway has a giant red circle over his head, and 2) lack of articulation really hampers any dynamic positioning. Breakaway’s upper arms only extend until they are perpendicular to the ground. More upward movement in the arms would be nice. Furthermore, when the wings are extended, the shoulders don’t easily rotate without some careful movement. His hips also have decreased mobility, and he can’t do much more than stand straight up or with his knees slightly bent (even though he is well balanced when doing so). It really detracts from the figure, and I don’t know how he’s an escape-artist when he has these arthritic joints. Seems like he might get caught, when forced to move all robotic-like (pun intended). Maybe he just waves a Jedi-like hand “This is not the Autobot you’re looking for…” and the Decepticon agrees, and lets him go. Either way, it detracts from the figure a bit, and is definitely not the double jointed escapee mentioned in the bio. Other than that, he’s a pretty sturdy TF, and I do enjoy him a lot.

Transformation: 6. It’s fun, but not challenging. I’m not sure how it got a ‘3’ on the package, it’s not too far off of the Legends design of this mould.
Durability: 8. He’s sturdy. But some things (like the useless “wings”) could break with a decent tumble.
Fun: 7. He’s an awesome Transformer, that’s for sure, but the lack of mobility in robot mode hurts this score.
Price: 9. Most places are around $10 US, and Wal-Mart has him for $7.77 US. I got mine as a gift, so that’s the best price. Either way, it’s not much money to have a worthwhile figure in your collection.
Overall: 7. I can’t recommend him as a must have. He’s very cool, and is a great display piece, but there are a couple faults that pull him down a little. If you have extra money and want a cool TF, I say pick him up. Otherwise, I wouldn’t go searching Wal-Marts all over for him.