Super 7 Silverhawks Ultimates Wave 2 Bluegrass review
I’ve been enjoying this quick binge of Super7’s Ultimates Silverhawks Wave 2, that I’m a little bummed it’s already over with this Bluegrass review.
Bluegrass, of course, was the unique Silverhawk as he didn’t “wing it” preferring to just be the pilot for the Maraj and fighting with his harmonic guitar Hot Licks. Despite his lack of an alternate mask or wings, Bluegrass was still a popular member of the team.
Steelwill was somewhat of a mixed bag while Windhammer was awesome. Let’s see if Bluegrass ends this first stretch of Silverhawks reviews on a high note to have me asking for an encore i.e., more figures.
Packaging: I like the packaging presentation with the silver foil outer box with the Silverhawks logo that slips up and off the interior.
The wide window showcases the figure and his accessories very well and the deep blue foil inner package really pops.
Bluegrass also has a nicely written bio showing the genuine love the Super7 crew has for the license.
It’s fairly comprehensive as well and much better than a one or two sentence line we see in our figure lines.
Likeness: Bluegrass isn’t charging into battle like the rest of his teammates and is lankier with an appearance befitting a slender cowboy type. He makes for a nice contrast to the brawnier Steelwill.
The Super7 sculptors also really get the core of the character as indicated by the various head sculpts. Bluegrass’ default head sculpt have a determined expression like he’s ready for battle or a long flight.
His armor outfit is sleek and streamlined with little personalized elements like his cowboy boots, scarf and big 10-gallon hat.
And each head sculpt has his signature mohawk that securely plugs into the hat to keep it from falling off.
Scale: While I just have two it’s nice to already have some noticeable visual difference between Steelwill and Bluegrass.
Bluegrass is just a little shorter than Steelwill, which makes sense given the more football linebacker portrayal of Lil Will.
Paint: I’ve heard a few horror stories of Super7 quality control and had some hiccups with Steelwill. Bluegrass doesn’t emerge unscathed either, but it’s not so major it’s making me swear off the line.
Bluegrass’ skin tone seems a little pale. It’s alright but doesn’t look as vibrant as it should looking somewhat sickly. Super7 didn’t want the headaches of the vac-metal appearance and went with more of an animated cartoon paint job.
Like Steelwill, Bluegrass has almost an airbrushed style wash that helps fill in the sculpted elements. His shade of blue seems about right though there’s an element that could enhance that further.
I think the big thing is the paint could use a little darker cell shading to create the illusion of greater detail with the sculpt. Super7 didn’t skimp on the detail work — note the panel on his right arm — but adding some black and white highlights would have really made the figure pop that much more from the paintjob.
Bluegrass also has the shaky elbow paint issues with it flaking off even in the package. His smiling expression has some stickiness on the nose as if the paint didn’t finish drying.
Articulation: Super7’s articulation won’t have Hasbro losing any sleep, but it’s basically good enough. Bluegrass is less active in combat than his teammates so he won’t need to be posed in dynamic action shots.
His basic battle stance is strumming his guitar, Hot Licks, or his transforming hawk, Sideman. And he can hit a convincing guitarist pose even if he won’t be falling to his knees for any dramatic final notes.
The torso joint having more range would have been very useful for him as it would allow Bluegrass to rock out better. One frustrating note (pun intended) is his left elbow swivel got increasingly looser the more I just lightly posed him. Going to need some floor polish for that joint.
Bluegrass has:
- neck
- shoulders
- elbows
- wrist
- torso
- waist
- knees
- ankles
- feet
Accessories: Super7 has made its bones from packing a slew of accessories into their figures.
Bluegrass has a ton of very useful and worthwhile accessories that add to his play value.
First up, he’s got two alternate head sculpts. One is a winking smiling one for when Bluegrass wants to lay on the charm extra thick while the other is more of a smirking one.
I think this one shows off more of his personality and will be my default choice for him though I love having options.
He’s also got a plethora of extra hands – to strum the guitar, hold the guitar pick, hold a steering column, make a fist and salute.
Since Bluegrass doesn’t go in flight, he doesn’t have wings or an alternate faceplate. He does make up for it in other ways.
Bluegrass’ hawk, Sideman, can also transform into a guitar that Bluegrass can play. Nice multifaceted use for his pet bird.
Sideman has very impressive detailing even if his paint job is a little sloppy around the beak. And like Stronghold, there’s a perched version and a wings spread flying version.
He also has another standard guitar, Hot Licks, which was his main offensive weapon on the show. This is a very accurately done weapon/guitar and even with the trickiest color combination of black and white, the paint work is immaculate.
Playing up on the cowboy theme, Bluegrass has two lassos — one that’s in a loop and another that’s partially extended with a hoop to round up some of the Limbo Mob.
It’s too bad Super7 didn’t decide to make the open lasso with a more pliable material as it just kind of sits unnaturally.
There’s also a single energy blast piece for more precise aiming and blasting.
Bluegrass also gets his musical energy trail as a translucent blue wave of energy and sculpted notes done on both sides to really sell the energy in motion visual! The effect is a little heavy and won’t stay suspended in mid-air long or at all, but it’s a fun idea.
Worth It? Bluegrass runs around $55.99. The accessories definitely help justify that cost mostly, but I still think the sweet spot for this line is more like $45.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10
Bluegrass is another solid addition to the Silverhawks line. It’s very cool to start building the team even with the occasionally frustrating quality control issues.
Where to Get It: You can grab Bluegrass on Entertainment Earth.