Lockdown - Animated - FigureLockdown
Function: Decepticon bounty hunter.
Motto: "Run all you want, it'll make the chase more fun."
"Lockdown could care less about Megatron and his grand goals of universal
domination. He's in the game for upgrades, pure and simple, and he wears
the Decepticon badge because they're the ones who can get him the systems he
wants. For the right price he'll hunt down any target and bring it in -
functioning or not. As a bonus, every new target means new trophies for his
workshop wall. He enjoys his work, and he's traveled from one end of the
universe to the other doing it, which is why he's got a collection of
weapons and functions second to none."
Transformers: Animated is the upcoming Transformers television series,
slated to open with a special premier on December 26. This series has
caused quite a bit of controversy amongst fans due to its brand new artistic
direction, bringing aesthetics to Transformers that have never before been
experimented with. A number of toy prototypes have been shown to the
public, and recent eBay auctions gave collectors a chance to obtain a few
figures almost six months before their rumored release date. I managed to
get one of the Lockdown figures put up for auction. Please excuse the poor
quality pics, I've only got a camera phone here at college, and my
"lightbox" was hastily thrown together using my desk and a sheet.
Now, without further ado, the world's first review of Transformers: Animated
deluxe class Decepticon bounty hunter: Lockdown.
Vehicle Mode
Prior to his brief run on eBay, nobody had gotten a really clear look at
Lockdown's vehicle mode. Once better pictures were available, fans had a
generally positive and enthusiastic reaction, and with good reason.
Lockdown's alternate mode is a stylized muscle car. The primary color is
black, done in a new "matte" fashion introduced for the first time with the
TF: Animated line. There are two lime green sections painted on the sides
of the hood, and the bumper, spikes on the roof, and back of the spoiler are
painted silver. The exposed engine, hubcap spikes, and side exhaust pipes
are cast in light gray plastic. The windows, headlights, and taillights are
translucent red plastic. A small, gold Decepticon emblem is stamped on the
roof. Overall, the paintjob is good in this mode. I really like Lockdown's
vehicular form; it's one of the coolest car modes I've seen in a while. It
looks sleek, yet powerful and menacing. It sort of reminds me of Cybertron
Downshift's alt. mode, mixed with a newer Batmobile model, only ten times
cooler.
The only robot parts visible in this mode are the bottom half of Lockdown's
face and neck, which can be seen through the windshield. However, I'd
rather have the translucent windows than painted ones, if at the expense of
seeing Lockdown's face through the window.
The wheels can spin, of course, and are made of plastic.
Transformation
Since I got this off of eBay as just a prototype, it did not come with any
kind of instructions. Luckily, I had the help of reference pictures. His
transformation is easy. (Note, I added these later, with the proper
transformation. The rest of the pics for Robot Mode show him
mistransformed).
Rotate the legs forward and detach the engine/weapon.
Stand him upright, rotating the rear bumper pieces up as feet. Pull the
legs down like so, so you can see a gap.
Bend the legs back at the knee, then rotate the headlight pieces down and
they will snap into place.
Rotate the torso 180 degrees. Separate the arms and swivel them forward,
and rotate the hands out. Open Lockdown's chest, and pull his head up.
Take the weapon unit, flip the hook out, fold his hand back and attach the
weapon to either arm, though the gimmick is only triggered on his right arm.
Robot Mode
When people first saw the animation models for TF: Animated Transformers,
many believed that it would be impossible to have transforming figures that
would resemble their animated incarnations. Hasbro proved this wrong,
however, providing transforming toys that almost perfectly resemble their
on-screen appearance. Lockdown is no exception. His robot mode is nearly
dead-on with the cartoon version of the character that was shown.
Many fans could hardly believe that Lockdown can transform from his alt.
mode into this robot mode. Almost no vehicle parts are visible in this
mode, making it nearly impossible to tell what his alt. mode is while in
this mode. There is absolutely no kibble in this mode.
Black remains the primary color in this mode, with more lime green and olive
green paint mainly on Lockdown's chest, which has a gold Decepticon emblem
stamped on it. His hands are gray plastic, as are the exhaust pipes and
engine block/guns, with the hook weapon painted silver. There is some
yellow paint on Lockdown's engine/gun weapon. His face is painted mostly
silver, with black detailing and red light piping for his eyes.
This mode is great. Lockdown looks like a no-nonsense, intimidating robot.
Though some fans don't really like the "cartoony" head sculpts used for TF:
Animated toys, Lockdown's is definitely one of the best of the bunch out of
what we've seen. It's unlike anything we've seen for a Transformer of any
other series, but it is very alien and sinister-looking. The four spikes on
the sides of his neck add to this look.
Supposedly, Lockdown is going to be a bounty hunter, and have a personality
similar to Boba Fett; the infamous Star Wars character of the same
profession. He's also supposed to have some characteristics of the
Predator, and be able to take on all the Autobots by himself. I could
definitely imagine him in this role just by the way he looks. He's also
taller than most deluxe class figures, so I'm sure your Autobots will be
intimidated by Lockdown.
Lockdown's main weapon in this mode is the engine block/double-barreled gun
which is mounted on either arm (I handn't figured out how to activate the
barrels at the time I took the pic, but I now know that you have to press
the unit onto his arm and the barrels flip out). He also has a mean-looking
hook that protrudes from above his right hand. Based on released animation
pictures of Lockdown, this hook could be a trademark characteristic.
Overall, Lockdown is an excellent Transformers figure, surpassing a number
of figures from the Movie line and previous lines. Hopefully this holds
true with the rest of the TF: Animated toys. If you're on the fence about
the Transformers: Animated toys, I suggest getting Lockdown, he might win
you over. If you plan on collecting TF: Animated figures, Lockdown is a
must-have. If you don't like TF: Animated at all, get Lockdown anyway,
because he's just that cool. Recently, it was revealed that Animated toys
will be pushed back to a June/August release. So put $10 aside for when
this guy hits shelves; Lockdown's not one to miss.
Here is a picture of Lockdown properly transformed. The car parts on his
hips fold in above his knees, and his legs extend downward more. You can
also see the extended gun barrels. The weapon gimmick works by pushing the
weapon down on his right arm only, but the weapon can be attached to either
arm.
Some random pics:
| Reviewer | Optimus747 |
| Date | December 3rd 2007 |
| Score |  (10 out of 10) |
| Reads | 13327 |
| Link | |
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Link to TFormers.com
