DE 
EN 
with Hi-Test & Throttle
Series: Generation 1
Allegiance: Decepticon
Categories: Powermaster
Year: 1988
Things are never as bad as they seem -- usually they're worse.
Never has anything nice to say, but says it anyway. Believes that life is one long ordeal of pain and suffering and strives to insure that others experience more of it than he does. Binary bonded to the Nebulan, Throttle, a hot-headed burglar prone to over-heating while in engine Mode. Armed with two laser-guided electro-kinetic blasters. Combines with Dreadwind to form the fearsome Dreadwing.
Fear is a friend whose presence is felt long after he's left
As ominous as a storm cloud and as chilling as a winter breeze. Grim and gloomy -- always acts as if his best friend just became permanently inoperative. Binary-bonded to the Nebulan, Hi-Test, a thrill-seeking, over-achieving perfectionist, constantly striving to keep Dreadwind's morose mind on his evil work. Equipped with two thermal melters and two air-to-air missiles. Combines with Darkwing to form Dreadwing.
Darkwing - Robot Mode: Darkwing makes for an imposing figure in robot mode. Most of his plane parts (as well as his Powermaster engine block) fold together into a backpack, leaving his robot body uncluttered (at least from the front). He is also relatively posable (at least for a G1 toy). With his cold colouring and the huge Decepticon logo on his chest Darkwing epitomizes the Decepticon warrior. The only drawback here, his small feet don't give him all that much stability and he is a little prone to toppling over backwards.
Darkwing - Alternate Mode: Darkwing transformers into a jet fighter and looks pretty relastic doing so. Not sure which model he is. His twin guns can either fit under his wings or on top of the plane. I like the latter variant better. His Powermaster figure Throttle can either remain in engine mode on the jet's back or disengage. An elevating patch prevents the jet from having a hole where the engine block should be. All in all, a good jet mode.
Dreadwind - Robot Mode: Dreadwind in robot mode makes for a classic Decepticon warrior, what with the cool colours, the jet canopy forming the chest, and just a hint of wings jutting out from his back. He is pretty posable (at least for a G1 toy) and is of more-or-less standard height, so he fits in well with most of the other Transformers from that time. All in all, a good robot mode.
Dreadwind - Alternate Mode: Dreadwind transforms into an F16 fighter jet and looks pretty good doing it. His twin guns go under his wings as weapons. The only drawback is that his legs fold under the plane, making it a bit bulkier down there than a real jet should be. A minor complaint, though, on a very good jet mode.
Partners / Add-Ons: Darkwing comes with Powermaster Throttle and Dreadwind with Powermaster Hi-Test, who transform into their engine blocks. In robot mode the engine is on the back and out of the way for both figures. In jet mode it's on the back of the jet. Throttle and Hi-Test have the usual posability for first wave Nebulan figure, able to move their arms at the shoulders and legs sideways.
Combiner Mode: Dreadwind and Darkwing combine to form the superjet Dreadwing. The combination looks a bit forced, but it is a decent superjet and can be used as an equal-scale opponent for Autobot Jetfire, for example.
Remarks: Dreadwind and Darkwing only ever appeared in the comics and the Japanese Masterforce TV show, never in the US cartoon. I mostly bought them to bolster the ranks of my Decepticon air force, but I recently read a hilarious comic story from the old Marvel UK series where Darkwing and Dreadwind are in a bar together and get sloshed on energon. Just great comedy.
Think of the Powermaster gimmick what you will (I find it better than the Targetmasters, but still a bit silly), but Darkwing and Dreadwind are a nice toys with or without it.
Rating: A-
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