Dave's TF Universe Rant: Aerialbots Fireflight Silverbolt Skydive Storm Jet Air Raid Ro-Tor Combined Form: Superion Permalink: http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/BW/Universe/Aerialbots Sold individually as a store exclusive, these Aerialbots are recolors of the Sixwing set. Sixwing first came out in 1992, then was re-released in two different color schemes in 2003. It was also bootlegged recently in the 2003 Destron color scheme, which I own. I also have an oversized bootleg that was sold through K-Mart in 2004 or so without the combiner kibble. As happens with many small exclusives, overstock ended up at Odd Lots, where I snagged myself a set, albeit at a somewhat higher price than I think it's really worth. CAPSULES Note: All of them are overpriced, in my opinion, so I won't bother repeating that in each individual capsule. I'll tell you right now, though, I'm not really thrilled by any of them. Fireflight: Decent, if unremarkable jet Micromaster, although robot mode has trouble standing. Mildly recommended. $4.00 at Odd Lots. Silverbolt: Pretty much the same as Fireflight. Mildly recommended. $4.00 at Odd Lots. Skydive: Chubby vehicle mode, spindly robot mode. Neutral. $4.00 at Odd Lots. Storm Jet: Good and kibble-free vehicle mode, okay robot mode. Mildly recommended. $4.00 at Odd Lots. Air Raid: Nice, if kibbly, vehicle mode. Decent robot mode. Best of the lot, but still only mildly recommended. $4.00 at Odd Lots. Ro-Tor: Decent in both modes, if a bit garish. Totally superfluous to Superion, but you still need to buy it for the kibble piece if you want Superion, blast it. $4.00 at Odd Lots. Superion: Brickish, as one might expect. Weakest implementation of the Six-____er plan. Not really worth pursuing, especially not for $24 plus tax. You're better off with one of the many knockoffs. RANT Packaging: While the various Sixer bootlegs have generally been sold as sets, usually having the combined form together in package, the official Universe releases have been single-carded affairs, with each toy packaged with one or two pieces of combiner kibble (it was done with the green and purple Constructicon recolors of Sixbuilder as well). The cards are 8" (20cm) tall and 5.25" (13cm) wide in Universe layout and colors. The blisters themselves are 4.25" (11cm) tall, 3.75" (9.5cm) wide and 1.5" (4cm) deep. On the front, under the "Transformers Universe" logo is a smaller "Aerialbots" logo. In the upper right is a number (1 of 6, 2 of 6, etc...I'm reviewing them in the order of those numbers) and a mention of which Superion pieces are included. On the right, under the logos, is "Collect all 6 AERIALBOTS to create SUPERION". Inside the blister is the usual folded card with the name, and "MicroMaster Series IV" plus the Autobot logo. The figure name is also on either side. The cardbacks are the same for all six, showing a picture of Superion surrounded by all six components in both modes. The "kibble jet" isn't shown, however. The instructions inside are grayscale plus red, with photos of the individual in both modes, of Superion, and of the cardback photo. They fold out to four panels, with all the photos on one side. On the other side are the instructions in line art. The first panel shows the included pieces and the simple transformation of the component. The second panel shows how to assemble the kibble jet (which is not named). The third panel shows how to turn the figure into Superion component mode, and the fourth shows where it goes on the entire thing. There are no techspecs or story elements in or on the packaging. There are no twist-ties or rubber bands either. AUTOBOT: FIREFLIGHT Altmode: Su-27 Flanker Sixwing Name: Flanker G1 Aerialbot: Yes Superion Kibble: Right Foot Superion Position: Right Leg Vehicle Mode: While chibi'ed a bit and slightly warped to fit the needs of transformation and being a leg, it does seem to be a Sukhoi Flanker, although I couldn't tell you which variant it's closest to. Here's a reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhoi_Su-27 A pretty standard Micromaster in terms of size, it's 60mm long and has a wingspan of 52mm (at this size I'm not going to bother with inches). There's rolling wheels under each wing, but no nose wheel, leading to it leaning nose down despite the partial peg. The upper part of the fuselage, plus both wings are made of bright red plastic. The undercarriage is a mix of black and gray plastic, and a little of the black shows through on top. The cockpit is painted yellow, and there's red and white Autobot symbols 6mm tall printed on each wing. Transformation: Pull the cockpit forward, bend the nose back, fold the wings back. Pretty typical Micromaster jet transformation. Robot Mode: 55mm tall, but only 48mm to the top of the head. The entire tail section is a huge hat. The big hat plus narrow footprint make this a very tippable figure. Leaving the wings out to the side instead of folding them back can help a little with stability. There's missile tips molded into the "hat" on either side of the head, a common Micromaster feature. The solid torso-and-head piece is black plastic with silver paint on the waist, central chest and faceplate, plus red eyes. Thighs are unpainted black plastic. The arms are light gray plastic with black paint on the forearms. The wheels on the elbows are black plastic. The arms swivel at the shoulders, and the legs bend at the hips. That's it, which again is pretty typical of Micromasters. Overall: Looks decent enough, but an otherwise unremarkable Micromaster jet. AUTOBOT: SILVERBOLT Altmode: Falcon F-16 Sixwing Name: Falcon G1 Aerialbot: Yes Superion Kibble: Left Foot Superion Position: Left Leg Vehicle Mode: An F-16 Falcon, more or less. There's some differences beyond even the chibification, and the snub nose looks more Harrier than anything else. It shares Fireflight's nose-down problem. 60mm long, 52mm wide. The fuselage is white plastic, with silver and red paint on the tops of the wings, yellow cockpit top, and a red and white Autobot symbol 6mm tall atop each wing. The undercarriage is a mix of red and silver plastic, and the wheels are black. Transformation: Identical to Fireflight. Robot Mode: 55mm tall, 48mm at the head. Poseability and stability pretty much the same as Fireflight. The torso piece is red plastic with black waist and central chest, while the face and some chest details are painted silver. The arms and legs are made of what seems to be silver plastic. He does seem to be a little more stable than Fireflight. Overall: Pretty much the same assessment as Fireflight. AUTOBOT: SKYDIVE Altmode: Concorde SST Sixwing Name: Super Sonic G1 Aerialbot: Yes Superion Kibble: Head, Left Hand Superion Position: Left Arm Odd that there is a Concorde in the set, but they didn't name it Silverbolt. After all, they clearly have the rights to the name. Hm. I'd be inclined to call this Silverbolt, call the space shuttle Skydive, and call the snub-nosed F-16 Slingshot (a name they do seem to have lost). :) Vehicle Mode: A rather chibi and fat Concorde SST with Sky Lynx-ish undercarriage box junk. 71mm long, with a wingspan of 40mm. There's a wheel under each wing, but little wheel-shaped pegs on the front of the undercarriage junk, so it sits horizontal on the table. The upper part is white plastic with yellow cockpit windows, silver trim along the leading edges of the wings and on the trailing part of the tail, and red Autobot symbols 5mm tall on each wing. The undercarriage is a mix of red and black plastic. Little pegs keep the robot arms fixed in place. Transformation: The rear third folds out to become the boots, with its associated undercarriage junk becoming the thighs. The wings fold forward. The nose section folds down to become the chest. You should bend the knees the "wrong" way a bit and push the legs back so that the center of mass is over the feet a little better, although it'll still stand if you don't. Robot Mode: A beanpole-ish 64mm tall, but only 21mm wide. The head is part of the white plastic of the mid-fuselage, with a face painted light blue. The torso piece and arms re red plastic, with the elbow areas painted black. The thighs are black. The shoulders swivel, the hips are hinged, as are the knees. The legs do not move separately. The figure is kinda disproportionate, the legs are nearly twice as long as they should be for good proportions. Overall: Eh, it's okay. Doesn't look quite right in robot mode, and the vehicle mode is too chunky. If you're not looking to collect all six, this is one of the missable ones. AUTOBOT: STORM JET Altmode: Space Shuttle Sixwing Name: Raker (as in Moonraker) G1 Aerialbot: No (Energon Aerialbot, though) Superion Kibble: Gun, Right Hand Superion Position: Right Arm Vehicle Mode: A big advantage of the space shuttle altmode is that it doesn't have to be warped to make room for all the robot bits. The main concession made for transformation is a lack of rocket engine nozzles at the rear. There's a single wheel under the rear centerline, and two wheel-pegs in line with the place where the wing leading edges merge into the fuselage. 58mm long, 48mm wingspan. The fuselage is white plastic, the tail and wings red plastic, and the underside and "running boards" black plastic. There's black paint on the nose, yellow cockpit windows, red on the wing bits that extend onto the running boards, and white paint on top of the wings. A red Autobot symbol 4mm tall is printed on each wing (it's not an unpainted area, the color isn't quite the same as the plastic underneath). Transformation: Basically the same as Skydive's, although the nose doesn't fold all the way pointed down, instead being a bit forward as well. Robot Mode: 57mm tall. The head is part of the torso chunk. The torso, arms and thighs are black plastic. The face and front of the crest are painted silver. The arms swivel at the shoulders. The hips bend about 15 degrees, being blocked by the vehicle nose, but I suppose it lets Storm Jet sketch a bow. The knees bend as part of transformation, but without the hips being free to move it's not really a useful joint. Overall: Looks decent in both modes, otherwise unexceptional. AUTOBOT: AIR RAID Altmode: B-1 Lancer Sixwing Name: Missile Run G1 Aerialbot: Yes Superion Kibble: Thighs/Pelvis Superion Position: Chest Vehicle Mode: A B-1 Lancer bomber. I almost mistook it for a Tupolev of similar design, but the canards distinguish the two. Definitely suffers from excessive undercarriage junk. 59mm long, 49mm wide. Two wheels near the very back, some wheel pegs on what becomes the robot chest. I suppose at this point I should note that I'd have rather they ditched the wheels entirely in favor of improving the design in some other way on these toys, since none actually has a full set to let them roll freely. The upper part (i.e. pretty much the entire part that's actually the plane) is black plastic. The cockpit windows are (surprise!) yellow, there's red strips on the wingtips and tail tips, and a large red and white Autobot symbol 8mm tall printed on the central fuselage. The jet thrust nozzles are painted a medium gray. The undercarriage is a mix of white, red and gray plastics. Transformation: The tail section (including the nozzle tips) folds down to become the boots. The cockpit section folds back, as do the wings. You have to shove the legs back a la Skydive to get the center of mass over the feet. Robot Mode: A fairly well-proportioned 56mm tall. The head and torso chunk is light gray plastic with black on the helmet and the shoulders/ outer torso. The lack of black paint on the back of the head just calls further attention to its hollowness, you might want to leave the cockpit piece in place to make him a conehead. The arms are white plastic, unpainted. The thighs are red plastic. Shoulders swivel, hips and knees hinge. As with all of the Aerialbots, the legs do not move separately. Overall: If you just want one, to say you got a Universe Aerialbot, I'd go with thi sone. It's still not outstanding, but it's the best of a mediocre breed. AUTOBOT: RO-TOR Altmode: AH-64 Apache (more or less) Sixwing Name: Chain Gun G1 Aerialbot: No (Name actually used for Vortex recolors previously) Superion Kibble: Torso Superion Position: Backside Vehicle Mode: A somewhat chunky or chibi AH-64 Apache, but with a rotor that has only two blades, rather than the Apache's four. Unlike the other five, its wheels are at the front, which means it leans back a bit onto the robot chest. And leaning back looks fine. The rotor is just pegged on, so it doesn't spin freely. Too bad there's no hole on the arm to use it as a weapon in robot mode (I may rectify that with a drill, though). 63mm long, with a rotor span of 48mm. The actual helicopter bits are red plastic, with yellow paint on the cockpit and white Autobot symbol outlines 5mm tall on the missile packs to either side. Okay, they're just the robot arms, they don't even bother putting missile tip molding on the front, but I'll call 'em missile packs. The undercarriage bits are light gray plastic. Transformation: The cockpit folds out to become the boots, the tail boom folds back. That's it. The angle of the monofoot is tilted forward just enough to compensate for the backpack. Robot Mode: A leggy 55mm tall. The head is part of the torso piece. The torso and legs are light gray, with red paint on chest and pelvis and blue on the visor. The arms are the red missile packs. The peg holes on the shoulders are about the right size to plug in the rotor, but the winglets on the shoulders get in the way. The rotor peg, by the way, is 2.6mm or a tenth of an inch...I don't have a drill bit that size, sigh. Arms swing on swivels, hips and knees hinge. The thighs are disproportionately long, though. Overall: Decent, probably second best of the lot. Sadly, as outlined below, it's totally superfluous to Superion. AUTOBOT: SUPERION Altmode: Kibble Jet Sixwing Name: Sixwing G1 Aerialbot: Superion Super Robot Mode: 6.5" (16.5cm) tall, as with all the Sixcombiners. While the colors are kinda scattered around, it's all white, black, red and gold, with little bits of silver and light gray. The torso piece is white plastic with red paint on the chest wings. The head is red plastic entirely painted black with gold faceplate and crest, the eyes left red. The pelvis/ thighs piece is gold plastic with white paint on the thighs. The fists are red plastic painted entirely white, and the feet are white plastic. The gun is gold plastic with black paint accents. The extensive full-paint-apps simply reflect how mold swaps didn't quite do the job the designers wanted. The black chest with big Autobot symbol works nicely, though. Poseability is pretty typical G1. The shoulders are a combination of peg and hinge that make them effectively universal, although the chest wings get in the way (impeding the right arm more than the left). The head turns on its peg. I suppose the knees kinda bend, although it's really a bend in the middle of each shin. And that's it. As with all of the sixcombiners, it's really a fourcombiner with two more figures just sort of sitting on the torso. Air Raid works well on the chest, although he doesn't fill it all the way. Ro-Tor, however, is pathetic even by sixcombiner standards, it just looks like the robot mode is trying to sit on Superion's butt. It doesn't even lock in place well, and flops around a bit. At least on Sixtrain/Sixliner the tail-end charlie looks kinda like a backpack or something. They would have been better served to design a way to attach Ro-Tor to a shoulder as a shield or something. Sixwing suffers the most from the attempt to have a common design to all the sixers. Kibble Jet: One of the common design elements of the sixcombiner Micromasters was that all the combiner kibble is designed to merge into a jet-like thing that can theoretically carry one of the robots as a passenger. While the kibble does vary slightly from set to set (mainly the fists), they all go together about the same way. The torso and legs stay together. Turn the head around to face backwards, its fins form the tail. Put the fists on the shoulder pegs, and then plug the feet into the fists to become winglets. Paint on the fists makes the fit a little tight, but it's doable. The gun goes between the thighs in a very suggestive manner to become the, um, cockpit. Sorry about the innuendo pun. Total length is 6.25" (16cm), with a wingspan of a little over 5" (13cm) in a roughly delta shape. The hollow chest can hold one figure as a pilot, securing it with the peg meant to hold Air Raid in Superion mode. Storm Jet and Skydive has foot-pegs too large to hold on this, though, so they can only stand loosely. Fireflight and Silverbolt don't exactly have holes, but they have slots in the base of their feet that hold well on the peg. They're a near fit due to the wings, though. Air Raid, obviously, fits perfectly. Ro-Tor's peg hole is too far forward on his toes, so he can only fit if he stands backwards. Still, three out of six is better than Sixturbo managed. Overall: As mentioned, this is the least effective of the Micromaster sixcombiner designs, IMO. Mind you, it was also the hardest concept to pull off, given the spindlier nature of aircraft compared to trains or cars or construction vehicles. They never did design a Combaticons-style one, although the Combaticons themselves were re-released as Battle Gaea along with Sixtrain, Sixbuilder, Sixturbo and Sixwing as part of Operation Combination (Sixliner came out the year before in the Star Convoy assortment). Anyway, that history aside, if you have no other sixcombiners and absolutely have to have a genuine one, go ahead and get this one. But the knockoffs are pretty good, and a better deal monetarily. Dave Van Domelen, now to open the Micromaster-sized Autorooper he traded for....