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EN 
Series: Movie
Allegiance: Decepticon
Categories: Deluxe
Year: 2007
Two things are crucial to maintaining the Decepticon cause and the hunt for the Allspark - energy and currency. Energy powers weapons and combat systems, and money allows the Decepticons to purchase modifications and integrate them into their bodies. Payload is tasked with seeing that Decepticon forces in need of either commodity get it on time and in full. He's armoured and armed to plow through or destroy any Autobots that get in his way, and fast enough to outrun almost anything on the road.
Robot Mode: Judging by his look alone, Payload is a pretty cool robot. The cyclops eye he has for a face makes him look inhuman and emotionless and his blue colouring enhances that impression. Unfortunately once you get past the look and his decent posability, Payload has a few problems. The first being his gimmick, the big claw that emerges from his torso. Because if you look at him sideways, you can see the length of the claw sticking out his back, which looks pretty ridiculous. Also, the claw must be pushed out with a lot of force and can't be locked into position. It's also his only weapon. I would have wished for some kind of hand-held gun.
Another thing that bothers me is his head. It detaches for no obvious reason. It's not necessary for the transformation and doesn't serve any other purpose I can see. Another problem is that the ball joints that connect Payload's legs to his hips are pretty loose, he tends to fall into a split. But maybe that's just my version and not a general problem. Overall, though, I have to say that Payload's robot mode is average at best.
Alternate Mode: Payload transforms into an armoured transport car, the kind used for taking money from bank to bank. The vehicle looks decent, but that's pretty much it. There is nothing you can do here. No doors open, no gimmicks, nothing. I'm not saying a vehicle mode necessarily needs any of that, but considering that the vehicle itself is little more than a brick, it would have been nice to have something extra here. There isn't, though, so this vehicle mode ends up on the wrong side of average.
Remarks: Another figure that didn't appear in the Movie but made an appearance in the video game, Payload is a mixture of cool looks and bad execution. His appearance is pretty good, but everything else is more or less a let-down. The claw gimmick isn't worth the hassle, the detachable head just left me confused, and the vehicle mode is just boring. There is little more I can say here. The fact that he looks cool just manages to bring him up to an average rating, but no more than that.
Rating: C
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