Fanboys are always looking for homages and tributes to the Autobots and Decepticons they grew up with. In response, Hasbro gives us different attempts to do such. Sometimes, they hit a line drive. Other times, they fall off the mark. This review looks at Strafe, which borrows a mold from the previous movie line. Can a Bayverse figure really make a good G1 tribute?

Bio

Most of the time, Strafe is a pleasant guy to be around, if a little bit jumpy. But if something startles him, it's a better than even chance that everything around him will end up with at least one hole burned through it. Loud noises, alarms, bacon sizzling - pretty much anything can set him off. Other Autobots tend to stay away from him on the battlefield, preferring to let his spastic fighting reaction burn itself out on Decepticons before they move in to capture the cowering survivors.

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Intelligence 

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Fireblast    

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Robot Mode

Strafe is a straight repaint of ROTF Mindwipe. While the coloration is more in line with the Technobot's G1 figure, they don't seem to work as well on this mold. The glossy PVC gray and white make the red stand out too much. The head sculpt is a carry-over as well, which doesn't even come close to matching Strafe's. The only real G1 comparison is with the rubsign on his right shoulder.

All the MechAlive gimmicks that were present with Mindwipe are present here. The blades on his arms flip out via a lever and the microblades extend when the wings are folded back. The gap in the chest plate is more obvious with the new colors, as is the extremely long neck.

Articulation

Feet:Pin hinges, 90 degree bend
Knees:Pin hinge, 135 degree bend
Hips: Floating ball joint, 135 degree 6pt ratcheting bend, 90 degree spread and unlimited leg rotation
Waist:Pinned for unlimited rotation
Shoulders:Toothed pin hinge for unlimited arm rotation, pinned for 90 degree spread. Pinned below shoulder for unlimited arm rotation
Elbows:Pin hinge, 90 degree bend
Head:Ball joint for unlimited rotation, pinned at neck for 90 degree downward bend.

This is perhaps Strafe's best quality. Just be careful of the hair-trigger blades.

Robot Mode Specs

Height:7.13in/181.1mm (9.5in/241.3mm including wings)
Width:6in/152.4mm
Depth:2.25in/57.2mm (3.25in/82.6mm including wings)
Supplied accessories:None

Transformation