Transformers review: Universe Smokescreen



Enough of that nastiness about Transformers. I love the TFs, have spent thousands of dollars on them that I could have otherwise wasted, so I guess when it comes to movie years for these lines, I have to concentrate on what I like about the TFs. In all honesty, they really aren't making these live-action movies for fans like me, who grew up on G1. I should look at it this way- I may not like these movies or the toys from them, but they allow for things like the G1 cartoon to be released on DVD again, and for great toys like Smokescreen here in the off years.

The Classics/Universe line has been good to the G1 fan. It offers modern takes on G1 characters, like HasTakTom saying "here's what character X would look like if made today." I will argue that these are a lot more complex in transformation than their G1 predecessors, but that's only obvious. The robot mode is much more, well, dynamic than the barely articulated vintage brick, a toy you could only really move at the arms. It's incredible that Hasbro manages to offer a Transformer that not only has two modes, but is also a fully articulated action figure, and still manage to sell it for $13. One way is by using this particular mold three times in less than a year. Smokescreen, like he did back in the old days, shares the same body as Prowl and Bluestreak.

Smokescreen was my main Autobot back in the day. I didn't have a lot of TFs (which explains why I have so many now) but him, Soundwave, and Kup were my big guys. I was happy when I heard Prowl was in the first wave of the rebooted Classics line, since I knew they'd get around to Smokescreen soon. I bought him a few weeks ago, and lurv it. Smokescreen has a much more interesting color palette than Prowl, so he looks more dynamic.



The figure kind of falters in vehicle mode. The '38' could have been a little bigger, or the white box could have been smaller, but it simply looks goofy. It's the biggest nit on an otherwise great figure. There aren't a lot of fans of Smokescreen, I know, but I find it to be an essential addition to a respectable TF collection. Not as essential as Optimus Prime, but much better than, say, the Universe Galvatron. These new TFs are doing the same thing that the Masters of the Universe Classics figures are doing to me now: selling modern interpretations of characters you had when you were a kid, reminding you of how awesome those toys appeared to your younger self. Accomplishing the same thing to a jaded adult is hard to do, but they're doing it.

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