Transformers War for Cybertron Earthrise Trailbreaker figure review

Trailbreaker was one of the Autobots that I slept on as a kid. That’s probably because I never managed to get his figure and he’s been a low priority on the Masterpiece line. Rewatching the original cartoon series definitely has given me a greater appreciation for one of the Autobots heaviest hitters.

That definitely helped make him a priority when he came back in stock at Hasbro Pulse.

Packaging: The War for Cybertron packaging is smaller than I expect for a Transformers line and effectively makes use of the space. Trailbreaker looks crammed in there so there’s not the typical wasted space we see from other lines.

Trailbreaker is listed as a deluxe class figure although the box size is about the same as other far smaller figures.

As usual there’s a very cool drawing on the side showing him charging into action. On the other side there’s a great drawing of the Autobots and Decepticons that looks like a modern movie poster. The rear of the package lacks much personalization, which is the weak point of this presentation.

Likeness:  Trailbreaker is one of the thicker and boxier Autobots, which is helpful since he’s one of the most formidable in battle thanks to his impenetrable force field.

The figure really does a nice job of capturing Trailbreaker’s boxy appearance with a wide upper torso and skinnier legs. I really love the cartoon touches like the layered knee joints and ridged shins. I’m also a big fan of his head sculpt, which captures his personality from the show nicely. He’s got a bit of a sneer suggesting Decepticons better think twice before coming for him.

His force field projector and rocket launcher attachments are prominently positioned and can raise and lower as you’d like.

It’s hard not to appreciate how well crafted these WFC figures are in terms of capturing the G1 aesthetics at a more affordable price point.

Alt Mode: Trailbreaker’s alt mode is a Toyota 4WD Hi-Lux camper truck. I wasn’t into cars back then and any possible knowledge of them has been squeezed out for random comic book, wrestling and action figure facts. A quick Google search of the camper truck shows that’s a pretty good approximation of his vehicle mode.

Transformation: Trailbreaker can transform in 18 steps. That’s not too bad considering his height and scale.

Scale:  Trying to use the cartoon as a scale guide can be a bit frustrating, but I’ve always considered Trailbreaker to be around the Ironhide/Ratchet size.

He’s taller than the Sunstreaker/Jazz figures, which is important. Maybe one day I can get a new Ironhide…

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Paint: Trailbreaker has a unique color scheme compared to most of his fellow Autobots and the black, silver and red is solid. So far I haven’t had any issues with any of these figures with sketchy paintwork.

It’s always more a matter of me disagreeing with a paint choice not a badly painted section.

Case in point, my one small minor gripe — I wish the rocket launcher was also in grey/silver as well as the force field projector.

Articulation:  Trailbreaker has the same quality level of articulation that I’m starting to expect from the WFC line. He can hit all the reasonable poses and looks good in action.

Trailbreaker has:

• neck
• bicep
• ball-jointed shoulders
• elbows
• wrists
• wrist hinge
• torso
• waist
• hips
• thighs
• knees (double-jointed)
• ankles

Accessories:  Trailbreaker isn’t loaded with accessories. He’s got his blaster and his top cab can be used as a shield. If this were a Masterpiece figure, Takara Tomy probably would have tried some way to reflect his force field.

 

Worth it? I grabbed Trailbreaker for $20. That’s a really solid value for a figure of this size and scale.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Trailbreaker gets me closer on my uphill battle of completing at least the G1 Autobots and Decepticons. He’s another terrific addition and this is quickly becoming one of my favorite lines to collect.

Where to get it?  I got Trailbreaker from Hasbro Pulse. If you aren’t having any luck, you can always order him from Amazon or get the case including Sunstreaker at Entertainment Earth.