Review #88: Power of the Primes Deluxe Dreadwind
Recently, we've looked at a lot of toys from Combiner Wars and the more recent Titans Return line. These two, it seems, form the first two parts of a trilogy, and that trilogy is now beginning its concluding line in the form of Power of the Primes. Today, we look at our first Power of the Primes toy in the form of Dreadwind.
The original Dreadwind was a Decepticon Powermaster released in the later years of the G1 toyline in 1988. He's one of those characters that just a few years ago, we'd never have expected a new toy of. A repaint of someone else maybe, but a new toy? Never! |
Yet we've been seeing a lot of those characters lately, and so here he is! A shiny new toy of Dreadwind, leading off a new toyline as a member of the first wave of Deluxe Class figures. Yup. Look at all that shiny newness. A totally new Dreadwind. Or... is he? Well, let's take a look!
Well, Dreadwind is certainly a good looking jet, really evocative of his G1 figure, except... what the heck is that huge purple block on his back? Well that, my friends, ties into the new gimmick of the Power of the Primes toyline. All Deluxe Class figures will come with such a piece, and it is called Prime Armor.
Like Titans Return, Power of the Primes has a smaller‑than‑Legends class of figures, this time called Prime Masters. I don't have any of these figures yet, but functionally they are the same as Titan Masters. The main difference is that rather then forming a head, they form a block with a power-up sigil on them. These sigils can plug into the Prime Armor and attach to Deluxe Class figures to bestow their power to the larger figure. |
Since, as I said, Prime Masters and Titan Masters are functionally identical, in the absence of a Prime Master I can use a Titan Master to demonstrate this gimmick. Removing the turquoise panel from Dreadwind's Prime Armor reveals a port, and into it a Titan (or Prime) Master can nicely fit! Just, instead of a power-up sigil, using a Titan Master has a big‑ol face sticking out of the armor. And since this is Power of the Primes, above you can see Optimus Prime doing the honors.
The Prime Armor is a bit, well... chunky, so some people may think it looks a bit ridiculous sitting on top of a jet. And, objectively, yes, it does! But you know what? On this figure, I kind of like it. It pays a nice homage to this character's Powermaster origins by attaching to the figure in a similar position. Yes, it attaches in a much less sleek way, as it is a giant block that pegs on top of the jet rather than a little engine that plugs into a recessed port on the jet, but I'm still kind of digging it. It works for me!
If it doesn't work for you, though, it is of course a completely optional piece. It can be removed and set aside, revealing the base jet underneath to be a nice, normal looking thing. And now that we can get a much clearer look at it, we can return to my coy questioning back in the opening of this review about if Dreadwind was a totally new toy, because... Hello, Skydive!
The Prime Armor is a bit, well... chunky, so some people may think it looks a bit ridiculous sitting on top of a jet. And, objectively, yes, it does! But you know what? On this figure, I kind of like it. It pays a nice homage to this character's Powermaster origins by attaching to the figure in a similar position. Yes, it attaches in a much less sleek way, as it is a giant block that pegs on top of the jet rather than a little engine that plugs into a recessed port on the jet, but I'm still kind of digging it. It works for me!
If it doesn't work for you, though, it is of course a completely optional piece. It can be removed and set aside, revealing the base jet underneath to be a nice, normal looking thing. And now that we can get a much clearer look at it, we can return to my coy questioning back in the opening of this review about if Dreadwind was a totally new toy, because... Hello, Skydive!
Yup, Dreadwind, one of the flagship Deluxe Class figures in the first wave introducing us to Power of the Primes, is actually a retool of an already existing figure from not one, but two toylines ago! But does this have to be considered a bad thing? In vehicle mode, at least, Dreadwind definitely looks the part, so I suppose the real question will be when we get him into robot mode. So, shall we?
Extensive remolding was done. A new head. New upper arms. A new chest, including alterations to the combiner peg. The mechanism behind the attachment of his wings has been changed, so that the wings end up on the sides of his legs rather than on his back. His origins are not invisible, but he is definitely his own bot!
Dreadwind's articulation is mostly unchanged from his Skydive origins. His head is on a ball joint, which gives it a full swivel and a little bit of wobble. The shoulders are where the main difference is. Skydive had ball joints, whereas Dreadwind has swivels. Functionally, however, there isn't much difference in the provided articulation. There's also an upper arm swivel and an elbow bend. There's waist rotation, ball jointed hips, and a knee bend.
He has a gun that he can hold in either hand, or which could peg into a hole on the side of either forearm. The forearm peg can also be a good attachment point for the Prime Armor, which in robot mode can become a rather nifty clawed gauntlet. |
There is another way for Dreadwind to utilize his Prime Armor, this time as actual armor! On the front of his chest, incorporated into the combiner peg. Flip down a little panel, and a 5mm port is revealed. Plug the armor in, and Dreadwind's ready to go.
The Prime Armor is a bit bulgy on his chest, but it doesn't look too bad from most angles. Maybe Dreadwind is trying out to join the Breastforce? (Yes, that was a thing.) Personally, I like it better as the clawed gauntlet, but this isn't a terrible option. It is the better option, of course, for interaction with Prime Masters. (As seen below with an Optimus Titan Master continuing to fill in for demonstration purposes.)
The little turquoise filler piece that you have to remove to fit the Titan/Prime Master into place can be used by Dreadwind as a smaller handgun. It is a bit inelegant, being so wide, flat, and square. But it is nice that they tried to do something with it.
As a fun bonus, I noticed that the holes in the top of his shoulder extrusions happen to be 5mm as well, so his guns can be plugged in there, as well! Not something that is my cup of tea, but it certainly could add extra play value to the figure for the younglings out there. Since Dreadwind happens to be a retool of a Combiner Wars figure, and since in this review I have even talked about his combiner peg, you might be thinking to yourself, "Hey, can this guy be a limb for a Combiner?" Why yes, yes he can. In fact, in Power of the Primes, all of the Deluxe Class figures will once again have this ability. "But," your thoughts might continue, "he doesn't come with a hand-foot-gun thingy. So what do you do about that?" Well, Prime Armor to the rescue once again. The Prime Armor can turn into a hand for the arm mode. Feet, on the other hand, Prime Armor doesn't do. Power of the Prime gestalts will handle the feet differently, and the parts needed for it will come with the Voyager Class figures, so we'll have to wait a bit before we see what the leg mode looks like. |
There is one other thing that Dreadwind can do, but it is something else that we will have to wait to see. In the G1 days, Dreadwind was one half of a different type of combiner. Robots didn't make larger robots in this case, but rather in vehicle mode he combined with another Decepticon jet to form a super jet. Dreadwind's partner Darkwing (now renamed Blackwing, presumably so that people don't confuse him with crime fighting ducks) has been announced for wave 2, and the two figure's vehicle modes will still be able to combine, so we have that to look forward to checking out eventually.
In the meantime... size comparison photo time!
So, Dreadwind. On the surface, one wouldn't think a remold of a figure from two toylines ago would be the best first impression for a new toyline to make. But you know what? Dreadwind works. I rather like him, and if he is this good, I can't wait to see what else Power of the Primes has to offer. |
Review added 8 December 2017 by Yotsuya. Comments are welcomed.