Dark of the Moon Blackout

Robot Mode: Finally, finally Blackout doesn’t seem too small for his size class. Overall there is very little to complain about here. He’s articulated, has only very few unpainted grey parts (upper legs and arms) and looks very much like the character from the (first) movie. Also, some nice gimmicks.

In detail: his feet give him a very stolid stance, despite the fact that he’s basically standing on his toes. I like his head sculpt very much and his torso is fully painted and nicely done. His rotor blades aren’t as perfect as they were on the Voyager, but still pretty good.

His only problem: His lower arms and legs can only twist, but that only bugs me a little.

Alternate Mode: Blackout is big here, too. Very big, but nicely detailed, too. The armour represented by sculpted plates looks great, as do the windows, the landing gear and the details on the rotor. The only slight drawback here: you can see the hands at the tail end.

Gimmicks, Partners, Add-Ons: Blackout once again has his pet from the first movie along, Scorponok. Ok, this time it’s an unpainted rubber-like piece of plastic with nearly no articulation except for the tail, but it’s highly detailed. Scorponok can also transform into a weapon or dock on the rear of the helicopter. In robot mode Blackout can wield the small rotor blade as a weapon.

Conclusion: A great robot, a nice-looking alternate mode, and cool gimmicks. A near-perfect toy.

Rating: A