Alternators Swindle

Series: Alternators
Allegiance: Decepticon
Year: 2004

Make deals, not war.
One of the first group of evil Binaltech warriors revived through the "Bad Product" incident, in which the Decepticons hijacked the BT Project. A specialist in illegal transactions and weapons manufacturing, he was the perpetrator who developed a customized form of Cosmic Rust as a tactical weapon, creating the very cause for the BT Project that now cared for so many Autobots. Outwardly good-natured and easygoing, he is in fact an extremely greedy and self-centered opportunist, and originally had his name put at the top of the BT-conversion list in complete disregard of far more critical casualties.
(Tech Spec by Hirofumi Ichikawa, translation by Doug Dlin)

Robot Mode: Swindle in robot mode leaves little doubt into what vehicle he transformers, all the elements from the Jeep are still clearly visible. Comparing him to G1 Swindle, you notice that he's missing his big shoulder/arm weapon, but apart from that the designers did a pretty good job. Swindle is bulky, but posable. You just want to put him in that slightly crouched, sneaky-looking pose, he has that effect on you. Swindle to the T. He has the smallest weapon of any Alternator I've seen yet (and the only one not becoming a part of the vehicle mode). His feet are looking a bit strange, but they are stable and allow for all sorts of poses. All in all, a near-perfect Swindle.

Vehicle Modes: Swindle becomes a Jeep. Again, he's missing the big weapon that he used to have in his G1 days, but apart from that I have nothing to complain about. The Jeep looks like what it's supposed to be, the doors can be opened, the interior detailing is quite good and up to Alternator standards. The hood opens up (you can see the Decepticon symbol inside when you do) and shows ... well, not the engine, exactly, as Swindle doesn't have one of those weapon-turned-engine things. You're actually looking at his upper arms from the robot mode, which have some engine detailing on them. Not perfect, but still quite good. The Jeep has four seats (you can put Minicons in them, if you want) and a spare tire for added details. I'm not getting tired of saying this about the Alternators: Another very good vehicle mode.

Remarks: Swindle was one of the sneakiest and most fun Decepticons from the G1 era. Always looking to make some kind of shady deal, screw anyone else, even his Combaticon teammates. He once snuck inside Metroplex and stole its transforming cog for Galvatron, at another time he sold the remains of his damaged teammates for scrap. Swindle was a guy you just had to love. His Alternator version isn't exactly a replica of his G1 version (the big gun is missing), but very close to it. The mold was first used for the Autobot Hound, but thanks to different colours and an undefinable 'Swindle-ness' it looks very much original. A great figure.

Rating: A