By Loran
Like every other Transformers line in history, Generations is chock-full of repaints (well, redecos) and retools. Of course, this got some people’s panties in a twist, but what do you expect? It’s Transformers. I guess repaints were only acceptable in the first few years *shrug*. Unlike Universe 2.0, however, these repaints don’t use molds from lines like Cybertron or Energon, instead focuses on using its own molds over again (with a few from Universe). A lot of these were designed to be made into these new characters to begin with (as indicated by the instruction sheets of several of the initial figures). So today, I’m going to sort-of revisit some figures I’ve done before, with Blurr, Dirge, and Skullgrin!
Blurr reuses the mold from Generations Drift. Instead of going for the wacky robo-samurai look, Blurr is a sniper. How THIS GUY got to be a sniper, I have no idea, and really, I don’t care HOW little sense it makes when the figure is this cool. I guess he takes one shot, runs away REALLY fast, then shoots from another spot. His whole appearance is, unsurprisingly, based on his IDW Comics appearance. A lot of people don’t seem to like his head, but I rather like it. It looks like they crossed his G1 head with the Autobot symbol. Sadly, he loses Drift’s awesome light piping…
But Blurr’s main attraction has got to be his guns-they ROCK. His sniper rifle is HUGE-it’s taller than a Scout class figure! It even stores on his back, just like Drift’s sword. Not only that, it has a second handle so he can properly snipe! What a weapon. In the place of Drift’s two small swords, he has two smaller guns. Not as cool as the rifle, but he can DUAL WIELD, and that rocks.
Between Drift and Blurr, I have to give it to Blurr, but that’s up to you if you want guns or swords. Blurr does have the added advantage of being a 1986 Movie character, though!
Next up is Dirge. He’s (surprise!) a retool of Classics Ramjet/Generations Thrust. Really, there’s nothing special about him, but he gets the job done. His wings split into two for the transformation, with a smaller portion going where the wing hinges on the mold go. Sadly, his guns are the same as Starscream, depriving him of his original guns. Oh well. At least he isn’t a straight-up Ramjet repaint this time around!
Dirge isn’t anything special or surprising, but if you want to come close to completing your Seeker team and don’t want to shell out $75-$150 for the Henkei or Botcon figure, he gets the job done at a fraction of the price. I swear, though, this mold is going to fall apart sooner or later…
Last but not least is Skullgrin! Yeah, there’s an homage nobody saw coming. Well, at least Bludgeon has a new Pretender friend now! He’s a retool of Darkmount/Straxus with a head that… sort of resembles Skullgrin’s pretender shell? It really doesn’t look like him, even at a passing glance, but Skullgrin is the only G1 name that would come to mind if I saw it without knowing the name. It’s molded in the same white as the pickaxe, waist, and hands, and does kind of seem out of place, but it fits the whole “skull” motif.
I like Skullgrin. I’d say I like Darkmount more just for his character, but Skullgrin’s fun too, and it’s always good to pad out your Decepticon army with nobodies. I’d recommend him.
With the exception of Blurr, none of these guys really bring anything new to the table, but they all get the job done pretty well. I’d suggest picking them all up for different reasons, so drop by and get one (or all of them) for yourself!
And can someone tell me why Blurr has a tech spec rank of 9?!
