Thursday, July 21, 2016

DX9 Gewalt - Blitzwing

Carry and Tyrant are two of my favorite figures from 2015. I also enjoyed Chigurh a lot. I looked forward to Gewalt (German for violence, I guess?). I like DX9's aesthetic. I wouldn't call it Masterpiece style; it's something a little different.

Gewalt comes boxed in tank mode. It's not really that successful looking. It's large, but the proportions seem kind of off. The turret is really flat and the the cannon is really short. The jet cockpit and his robot head are visible from the front. The jet wings are noticeable from the top and back. Although it's a different kind of tank and not a triple changer, Badcube Wardog looks much more successful. The turret only swivels from about 11 o'clock through about 1 o'clock. The cannon can hinge up about 45 degrees. The treads are merely decorative; he rolls on tiny wheels. The sword can store on the back of the tank, but I couldn't find a place to store his rifle. There is a pair of die-cast plates on which the turret sits.

Transformation to jet mode involves some parts-forming. The process is not difficult at all; much easier than I remember Chigurh being. Unfortunately, there are some transparent plastic hinges where the tank treads fold in half to form thrusters or missile pods under the wings.

Jet mode is somewhat better looking than tank mode, but the proportions are still odd. It is even larger than the tank and somewhat larger than Masterpiece jets. I've never been near a fighter jet, but the fuselage behind the cockpit seems overly long. The cockpit is blue transparent plastic, and has a World War II vibe. It does not open. The wheels of the landing gears allow him to roll forward. Pushing him backward causes the front landing gear to collapse. The front landing gear on mine won't stay retracted; it keeps swinging out. The canon barrel and sword can peg under each wing. There doesn't seem to be a port for his rifle. The main wings feature working flaps. The rear stabilizer wings are on ball joints. I like how the purple and tan colors reverse their proportions between the two vehicle modes.

Transformation to robot mode is also pretty simple. I don't like how his chest and flanks are just loose panels. His torso doesn't seem to collapse down, leaving an unsightly gap at the waist. His cannon pegs onto his back. Although it does not seem very secure, I've yet to have it fall off. Another piece of die-cast can be found joining the upper and lower halves of the figure.

I like his head sculpt. It certainly reminds me of the character. He has red light-piping. He's much more of a hulking beast of a figure than Chigurh is. Perhaps not canonically the correct height, but I don't mind the triple changers being larger than a standard Decepticon soldier.

His head is on a swivel and hinge, but vertical articulation is pretty limited. You can use the transformation hinge to tilt his head to his left. His shoulders are on ratcheted swivels and hinges, but you have to fiddle with the covers. They do fold flush against his biceps, but that leaves a gap at the top of each shoulder..He swivels at the biceps, wrists, waist, and thighs. It's difficult to find a spot to hold him to rotate his waist because of the loose panels of his chest and flanks. His thumbs are on ball joints and articulated at the knuckles. The rest of his fingers are single-pinned and articulate individually. He is double-jointed at the elbows and knees. His knees are ratcheted. His elbows should have been, too. On my figure, the right elbow could not support the weight of the sword or rifle. I tightened a screw right next to the joint, but the threads feel like they are stripping. His hips are on universal joints. They are ratcheted. His surprisingly effective heel spurs are not meant to move, but you can swivel and hinge them around. His toes are also on swivels and hinges.

His accessories include two rifles, a sword, an alternate angry face, and replacement hips for Chigurh. His main rifle is purple plastic with decent line work, but no paint applications. It uses a Masterpiece-style tab. The sword pommel and crossguard are purple plastic, but the blade is purple transparent plastic. The shape is very stylized, with line work for added detail. It also uses a Masterpiece-style tab. I do not like Masterpiece-style tabs because they simply do not work very well. His sword and rifle keep falling off whenever I manipulate his arms. Chigurh's replacement hips are ratcheted only for the side-to-side motion. I'm not sure where the extra rifle goes. It is grey plastic, with 'DX9' embossed on the sides. I can't figure out where to peg it in any mode.

I won't be using any DX9 figures in my Masterpiece collection. Chigurh, Tyrant, and Carry are great figures, but aesthetically I'm not satisfied with them on my Masterpiece shelf. I'll be starting another group consisting mostly of UniqueToys, Toyworld, and DX9 figures, anchored by Reximus Prime and the upcoming Toyworld Optimus Prime. Just like Chigurh, it's a good effort and a fun toy, but the door is wide open for FansToys and KFC to blow us away with their Blitzwing figures.













1 comment:

  1. The jet mode is fantastic. Yes it's boxy but if reviewers did their research they'd know it's a superbly representation of the Russian MiG 25 Foxbat interceptor, which is a very rectangular and boxy aircraft. It's not a rounded as the F-15A Eagle the Masterpiece seekers represent.

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