Dave's Alternator Rant

     8. Swindle - Jeep Wrangler Custom (not Rubicon, see below)

     A remold of Hound that looks like it should be Trailbreaker (in shape,
anyway), but that contains the spark of a Decepticon.  I hope the rumored
1/72 scale jets come out, it's kinda annoying that all of the Decepticons are
remolds in "hijacked bodies" per the Binaltech story (in the Japanese
storyline, this was going to be Trailbreaker's new body, but Swindle got
himself put in via dirty tricks).

     Here's the original Hound review:

     http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/BW/Alt/Hound

     As per my other remold reviews, I'll focus on differences between the
versions. 

CAPSULE

     Swindle: Feels a little more brittle and loose than Hound, but that
could just be my copy.  A strong mold, decent changes, but really just three
actual mold changes (head, tires/wheels, front end bars).  About as good as
Hound (who was Strongly Recommended), but only mildly recommended if you
already have Hound and you were on the fence.  $19.76 at Wal-Mart.


RANT

     Packaging: This is the new red box with open front and top.  Listed as
number 8 (which will NOT be going to the remold Smokescreen 2004 after all)
and described just as Jeep Wrangler.  The colors are the same as I've seen on
a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, though, and I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be the
Rubicon variant.  The co-sell on the bottom is Meister, despite the fact this
seems to ship with Grimlock.  The drawing on the front has a silver gun, but
all the actual photos of the toy have the correct black.
     The instructions have been changed to include the remolds, and are a
single one-sided sheet.  The gun is packaged in a smaller baggie inside the
bag holding the instructions.
     A single plastic strap holds the hood closed, there are no twist-ties or
rubber bands.

     [Later note: I'm told that it's not a Rubicon after all, but an
after-market custom job on a Jeep Wrangler base.  So it should be called a
Jeep Wrangler Custom.]


VEHICLE MODE

     Here's the mold changes: the front has one of those offroad bar
structures in front of the grille, I don't know the technical term, but its
all chromed plastic and feels a litle brittle; the tires are larger (36mm
diameter) and thicker (13mm) with a new chromed hub.  That, as far as I can
tell, is it.
     The green vehicle shell plastic is replaced with yellow, the charcoal
parts stay the same, as do most of the clear plastic bits.  The one exception
is the third "safety" taillight above the spare tire, which was so dark I
missed it on Hound, but is bright red here (and I think that's actually
paint, not a piece of clear plastic).  The interior bits that were light gray
on Hound are medium gray now.  The logos on the sides are black, as is the
hood hinge.  The flipover piece has a Decepticon symbol in purple and silver,
and there's a small purple Decepticon symbol on the white front license
plate.  
     I have so far managed to not snap any of the pegs holding the rollbars
together, but the front chrome piece worries me.


TRANSFORMATION

     Identical to Hound.  However, getting the pelvis and abdomen to snap
together was a lot harder.


ROBOT MODE

     The one new remold visible in this mode is the head, which is
essentially a composite of the toy and cartoon heads of Trailbreaker.  Black
helmet, silver face, clear red visor.  Others who have messed with it tell me
there are no eyes behind the visor, just holes.
     Robot light gray becomes black, forearms are now yellow with black
stripes, pelvis is black with purple metallic paint over most of it.  Upper
arms have silver paint detailing in places Hound has no paint, plus Hound's
yellow upper arm stripe is now silver on Swindle.  It's worth noting that the
upper arms are actually yellow plastic covered in paint...while Hound had
this as well, it wasn't as obvious on his dark green plastic.  The shins are
yellow with black paint in the centers, in a sort of trapezoid shape.  His
pistol is black.  If you look inside the torso, the internal chest support
piece is yellow plastic painted black on the outsides to be less visible.
     The hips are kinda floppy compared to Hound, but that's probably just
mold variation. 


OVERALL

     It's a good mold, and better looking than you'd think given the bright
yellow color scheme.  If you already have Hound, it may not be worth picking
this up as well if you're not a completist, but if you have neither, I'd say
they're about equal.

     Dave Van Domelen, just spent ten minutes searching for the pistol after
it fell out of Swindle's hand.  Gah.