By Loran
Possibly the best “feature” of the Power Core Combiners line has not been the unique alt-modes, nifty Minicons, or combination gimmick, but rather its abundance of new characters. So far the only “heritage” character, as Hasbro calls it, has been Huffer. Even some characters with reused names in this line manage to come off as completely new characters. It’s a breath of fresh air, really, when you consider all the reused names we’ve gotten over the years-Bumblebee, Hot Shot, Ironhide, Ratchet, Arcee-the list goes on. I think a continuity-ambiguous series with a bunch of fresh new characters is just what the brand needed.
The name Sledge has been seen in Transformers a few times before, but none of them really stand out-just a Minicon, two Micromasters, and a limb of the Energon Constructicon team. Like every other incarnation of the name, though, Sledge transforms into a construction vehicle, but this time, it’s something we don’t see too often.
The Power Core Combiners Sledge transforms into one of those strange giant excavators with a buzzsaw attached to the front. I have no idea what exactly the purpose of this vehicle is, but I know we saw it before on the Cybertron Metroplex figure. Here, though, it looks more like an actual vehicle mode. It still isn’t perfect, with those blue combiner ports sticking out like sore thumbs and the obvious ball joints and hands on the shovel. Still, it looks MUCH better than Metroplex’s vehicle mode, which just looked like a robot presenting…
His transformation isn’t anything too special, but that weird buzzsaw takes some getting used to. Throughout all of this guy’s modes, it gets fiddled with quite a bit and you might end up popping his head off by accident a few times.
Sledge’s robot mode is pretty nifty. I rather like the buckets from his vehicle mode mounted on his arms. They’d make pretty neat weapons, if a bit unwieldy. The buzzsaw on his chest is a nice touch, though I guess that means he can’t really hug anyone. Of course, he IS a Decepticon, so I guess that’s what he was going for. Unlike his Constructicon counterpart Steamhammer, he manages to have a much more fluid range of poseability.
But what caught the attention of most fans with this figure was not Sledge himself, but his Minicon, Throttler. Yes… he transforms into a giant drill, and that’s awesome. I’d really like to know what the thought process was when it came to making a drill Transformer, but I sure like the result.
At first I worried if Sledge could properly hold Throttler because of Sledge’s strange Minicon ports. While Sledge may lack hands with them, he does have 5mm ports right underneath and behind them into which you can plug Throttler’s head. Fantastic.
Throttler can also do the silly chest armor mode, but in order for it to look right you really need to fiddle with Sledge’s buzzsaw and little cockpit piece. But hey, who needs that silly chest armor when your Minicon turns into a DRILL?
Of course, Sledge has the “torso” mode for use with any Power Core Combiners drone team. Obviously, the logical choice here is to use him with the Constructicons, and it looks pretty awesome. Unlike some of the other commanders, he doesn’t have a separate head-rather, his regular robot head turns around and reveals a nasty visor head with a faceplate. He makes a pretty good torso, although I still think Crankcase and Steamhammer have the best ones.
Sledge by himself is really nothing special. There isn’t anything really wrong with him but he isn’t too exciting either. His strengths come from his awesome Minicon partner and how well he complements the Constructicon team. If you like the Minicon and want to enhance your experience with the Constructicons, then drop in and pick him up.
GIGA DRILL BREAKERRRRR!
