Transformers Air Raid review – Age of the Primes (2025)

Air Raid kicks off the Transformers Studio Series 86 adjacent Age of the Primes 2025 tagline for the Transformers brand. This is an all-encompassing branding, but the Aerialbots are being done according to their look from the 80s cartoon series.

Thankfully, Hasbro didn’t milk the release pattern of the Aerialbots as Air Raid and the others were all released this year so building Superion was relatively easy. Not inexpensive, but at least easy so I can do the Superion vs. Menasor battle soon.

Let’s see if Air Raid blazes through the sky with ease or if this Aerialbot isn’t cleared for takeoff.

Packaging: Air Raid had to be included in the Age of the Primes line since the Aerialbots were annoyingly excluded from The Transformers: The Movie. Menasor was also absent, but the Aerialbots could have helped stave off Devastator.

The front has images of Air Raid in both his bot and alt modes. I like the artwork, which shows him with a focused expression and his jet mode roaring into action. Hasbro probably should have done a larger version of the artwork on the side instead of The Age of the Primes artwork since the other side features Superion ready for battle.

Over on the back we get actual pictures of both modes of Air Raid although there is no bio at all. As usual, we get the helpful gauge breaking down the transformation steps.

Likeness: Air Raid is based on his cartoon appearance. The Hasbro TF team absolutely nailed this aesthetic from his helmet with points on either end, the two open panels on his chest right down to the rectangle and triangle panels on his lower torso. As one of the more reckless Aerialbots, a cocky expression could have worked for him to show a bit more personality, but the neutral expression is never a bad choice.

Thanks to his helmet brim, the eyes on Air Raid appear slimmer than the norm, which remains a legacy complaint from me with the line.

Alt Mode: Air Raid’s alt mode is an F-15 Fighting jet. Although he shares many parts with Skydive, Hasbro set up enough differences between the two so it’s not just a simple matter of a repaint.

Air Raid has a wider, more rounded cockpit, two stabilizing fins in the back, a blockier base around the cockpit, wings angled sharper and different blasters along the sides. That’s really cool.

I love his sleek black color scheme with just a little grey, white and red accents.

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Transformation: Air Raid can be transformed in 17 steps. Deluxe class figures aren’t typically too crazy to switch back and forth. He was another one that wasn’t insanely crazy to figure out as the instructions made his transformation easy to follow.

Scale: Air Raid, Slingshot, Fireflight and Skydive are all right around the same height. They all look up to Silverbot, who makes the bulk of Superion.

Paint: Air Raid is another Aerialbot with a cool paint scheme although his alt mode might be a tad cooler. He’s a red torso with the rest mostly white save a few black accent points.

His helmet section is silver while his face is grey. As usual, I wish the blues in his eyes were brighter so they could pop stronger.

Articulation: Air Raid’s articulation is well engineered so he can hit some fun aiming his blaster poses. His great articulation is appreciated, but it won’t be used that often once I complete Superion.

Air Raid has:

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

Accessories:  Air Raid gets two blasters.

In the cartoon, he only had one, but this is a very strong match to the source material. Having two blasters makes it easier for him to strafe Decepticons instead of only firing from one side.

Worth it?  Air Raid retails for $27.99, which is a rough price hike from when these Deluxe Class figures were $22.99. This is close to the point where Hasbro can’t make the figures worth the price point so now it’s a taxing waiting game hoping for a sale. I was able to get him for $23, which now feels like a bargain.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Air Raid makes the Aerialbots 3 for 3 so far. I’m looking forward to putting the rest of the fleet in action before assembling Superion.

Where to get it?  You should be able to find Air Raid pretty easily at retail. Or you could grab him from Amazon or Entertainment Earth. EE has him available as part of a case pack out.

As an Amazon Associate and Entertainment Earth affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.