Transformers Legacy – Breakdown review

Just like a Build-A-Figure there’s a thrill in getting close to completing a Transformers combiner. Breakdown gets me one Stunticon away from finishing up Menasor. The Stunticons provided a fresh dynamic in the Autobots/Deceptions war with these five psychos looking to run the Autobots off the road.

Breakdown proved much harder to track down than Dragstrip and Wild Rider. Let’s see if he was worth the effort or if he’s in need of a pit stop.

Packaging: I’ve finally gotten used to this new non-plastic setup. It’s not perfect, but it’s much better than Hasbro’s other line packages. Still, it’s pretty tricky to get a MOC version now especially if you order online.

It’s much harder to spot the accessories with the standard new setup, but Breakdown’s are packed within the interior wall so they’re not visible at all.

The Legacy package setup is busy though the artwork is cool showing Breakdown in his bot mode on the side and his alt mode on the front.

At the top is the Menasor icon showing Breakdown is the fourth of five Stunticons needed. To the right is the QR code to get to the bio on Transformers.hasbro.com.

The bio states: Breakdown is extremely self-conscious, and his paranoia often gets the best of him. He believes everything — living or not — is watching him. Combines with other Stunticons to form Menasor.

Likeness:  Breakdown continues the strong sculpting of the Stunticons. He’s a partial reuse of fellow Stunticon Wild Rider sharing arms, legs and rear panels part of the alt mode.

There’s enough differences specifically with the head, torso and waist piece that Breakdown looks like a very distinct figure. Maybe I’m reading into it too much, but the head sculpt kinda reflects Breakdown’s paranoid personality.

Alt Mode: Breakdown’s alt mode is mostly based on the Lamborghini Countach with the hood from the Ferrari 308 GTB sports car.

 

He’s described as a scout car and Breakdown looks very sleek and stylish with his spoiler.

In addition to the car alt mode, Breakdown also transforms into the right shin of Menasor.

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Transformation: While Wild Rider transformed in 13 steps, Breakdown gets completed in 15 steps. The transformation makes sense and was easy to follow. It becomes intuitive to change him back and forth after a few times.

Scale:  Breakdown is the same height and size as Wild Rider and Dragstrip. Of course they’re all looking up at Motormaster.

Paint: To further distinguish Wild Rider and Breakdown, Breakdown has a sharp white paint scheme with blue and silver accents along with a red face. His colors really help him stand out with that vibrant shade of white.

His blue is more of a midnight blue that contrasts nicely with the white. The silver on the chest plate blends in well against the blue and the red face pops with so little red elsewhere — in robot mode.

It’s harder to see the yellow of his eyes. I wish Hasbro could enhance the light piping to make the eyes have more vibrancy.

Articulation: Breakdown’s articulation is as fun as the other Stunticons allowing him to hit some quality poses.

Breakdown has:

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

Accessories:  Breakdown comes with two accessories.

First up is his concussion blaster, which has very nice detailing.

Secondly, his spoiler can be removed and used as an indestructible axe.

It’s not the most exciting axe and probably should be called a spoiler blade.

Worth it?  I got Breakdown for $24, the new standard price for these figures. With the Stunticons getting harder to track down in stores, I didn’t want to chance paying higher prices. Naturally, he’s still just worth the same $22.99 as Wild Rider.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

So far I’ve been thrilled with all the Stunticons. Just one more to go before I complete Menasor.

Where to get it?  You should be able to find Breakdown at retail. Or grab him from Amazon or Entertainment Earth.