Transformers Legacy Sharpnel figure review

Of the three Insecticons, Shrapnel had a very unique and fun design. I think it was because of his wild looking mandibles in bot mode and his very insect-like alt mode. Hasbro doesn’t have any reason to delay getting this three-man Decepticon squad done. With Kickback already done, it was just a matter of how fast we’d get Shrapnel and Bombshell. The latter had just been pipeline announced when I happened to stumble onto Shrapnel at my local Target.

I’ll make sure to keep him away from the grass and any tasty looking Autobots while I break him down.

Let’s get a little heavy on the electrons and take a look at this latest addition to the Decepticon ranks.

Packaging: You’re not going to miss the Legacy line figures on the shelves.

Not with that busy purple color scheme and the garish yet eye catching combinations of green/yellow, silver and turquoise accents. There’s no plastic window for these figures, which is somewhat non-committal in showcasing the figure since most of Shrapnel is obscured.

Despite the package switch, we still get images of Shrapnel in both his alt and bot modes. The collage artwork on the left side with the various Autobots and Decepticons is very cool as it resembles a big war underway.

Over on the right side is a is a close up and wide image of Shrapnel. At the top is the QR code that takes you to Transformers.com for the direct link to Shrapnel’s bio and stats.

To Shrapnel, enemy screams and the blasts of battle are the sweetest sounds. His battle cry can be heard for miles around. 

On the stats front, Shrapnel ranks at nine for strength, six for intelligence, four for speed and eight in firepower.

Likeness: Shrapnel definitely looks he’s leaped right out of the cartoon. His design pops with the translucent gold canopy piece. He’s got a firm head sculpt that indicates he’s slightly pissed off.

I love that he is this ideal hybrid between the original G1 figure and the cartoon. The Insecticons were a little easier than some of the Autobots to blend the cartoon looks with the figures in a reasonable manner right down to the yellow paneling on the feet reminiscent of the sticker on the G1 model.

Alt Mode: Keeping with the insect theme, Shrapnel’s alt mode is a stag beetle. This was done very well in the shift from the actual insect to a robotic facsimile.

Transformation: Shrapnel isn’t the most complex Transformer needing a mere 11 steps to transform. His transformation is fairly intuitive and makes sense.

Scale: Shrapnel is right around the same height as his fellow Insecticon Kickback and they’re both just about the same height as the Stunticons. That means they’re noticeably shorter than the Seekers Thundercracker and Skywarp and definitely looking up to Megatron.

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Paint: The Insecticons have a sweet color scheme among the Decepiticon ranks with their black and purple with silver, yellow gold and grey accents.

All of the paint apps are very clean, which is nice since there’s plenty of areas for sloppy paint or oversprays. Unlike Kickback, the red visor is nice and crisp with the deep red contrasting sharply against the black and silver.

Articulation: Shrapnel moves smoothly. These Legacy figures carry on the terrific articulation scheme from the War For Cybertron: Earthrise/Siege/Kingdom series making for very fluid Transformer action. The only thing that’s been off with the figures is they’re a little light lacking a firm foundation. That doesn’t mean he’s falling every five seconds, but Shrapnel will fall down if he gets brushed up against.

Shrapnel has:

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

Accessories: Shrapnel comes with his trust gamma ray detector blaster. Just to make sure none of those human germ are The Hulk. It features nice detailing and has a purple barrel.

Playing up on the Evo Fusion gimmick, Shrapnel’s purple blasters can plug into various ports on the gamma ray detector.

These can also be used as weapons when he’s in his alt mode. They attach along his undercarriage to aid in blasting away at opponents.

Worth it?  This was a long story. At Target’s price-checker, Kickback was $22.99, but at the register he was $24.99. That was offset from another figure being $15.99 instead of the $21.99 I was expecting. I don’t know if he’s worth $25 largely due to the smaller size. Transformers should probably hover in that $22.99 price point for a little longer.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

I’ve really been enjoying this round of Transformers. The Legacy series haven’t had any lemons ad Hasbro is delivering some high-quality versions of classic Transfromers

Where to get it?  This wave of Legacy figures is now out in stores like Target. He’s in and out of stock at Amazon.  Entertainment Earth has him coming in June.