By Loran
This little guy is Breacher. He’s one of the newest molds to come at this price point, and he’s been getting quite a bit of attention since the first pictures of him showed up. Really, I couldn’t see why. He seemed like a neat little Scout, but none of the figures at this price point have really grabbed my attention since Beast Machines-heck, before I got this guy I only bought three during Revenge of the Fallen! So, does Breacher live up to his hype? Let’s see…
Breacher’s alt-mode is one that we don’t see too often-an APC! I think the only other noteworthy toy with this vehicle mode was Wreckage from the first movie. It’s a really nifty, compact alt-mode. He does, however, have a little bit of “blank space” in the area behind his cockpit, and the turret seems a bit high up. These are easy enough to ignore, though.
His neat double-barreled cannons use the gimmick of this year’s toys-the 3mm clip system! But we’ll get to that in a bit…
This guy’s transformation is really complex for a scout, and can be kinda tricky. There’s one little panel that needs to be flipped out in order for his robot mode to properly lock into place, and I forget about it almost every time I transform him.
But check out this robot mode! Really, if I just saw pictures of him without anyone around him, I’d think he was at LEAST Deluxe. They packed a LOT of toy into this little guy. Sadly he suffers from a little problem I’ve noticed on a few car/truck ‘formers over the past few years-his doors end up on his forearms, creating some extraneous kibble. It creates a neat-looking shield thing, but from a functionality standpoint, it’s kind of annoying and gets in the way.
Breacher is loaded with AMAZING articulation. It’s really nice to see so many ball-joints again in a time that’s dominated by ratchet joints and hinges. He even has ball-joints on his ankles, making him extra stable and easy to stand up.
My favorite part of the sculpt is his head. He looks like he’d be a badass platoon leader that flips out on his troops every time they make a short joke about him. It’s loaded with character and probably one of my favorite head sculpts out there right now.
But of course, I have to talk about his 3mm clips. His gun is pretty awesome, though it looks best in his vehicle mode or stored away on his back. Breacher’s greatest asset is not the gun itself, but rather, the placement of the clips themselves. His clips are mounted on his wrists, making them look almost like brass knuckles! As a result, he can actually look like he’s HOLDING a weapon unlike most other scouts, and he looks pretty awesome with Skystalker/Sunspot’s axes.
In short, Breacher is an AWESOME figure. I’d dare say he’s the best new-mold Scout on the market right now (until I find Windcharger, that is). He has a unique vehicle mode, a great robot mode, creative use of the clip system, and tons of articulation in such a small package. There’s no reason you shouldn’t pick him up the second you see him on our shelves. You won’t be disappointed.
