Botcon Flak (Wings of Honor)

Series: Botcon Exclusives
Allegiance: Autobot
Categories: Voyager Convention Exclusive
Year: 2009

Always be prepared. If you can be lucky, do that, too.
An experienced 'alien fighter' who forged his career in the Cybertronian Revolution, Flak is a fearsome opponent. Space pirates, mutants, transorganics... Flak has fought them all, first as a security officer, then as an explorer, and finally as a shock trooper under Thunderclash's command. He does not yearn for battle, but it is his only marketable skill. Off the battlefield, combat doesn't interest him; it's his job, he does it when needed and he does it well. Each of his weapons carries a unique feature: incendiary missile launchers conceal an acid burst cannon and an electron blaster. He carries a negative energy freeze rifle and has concussive force blasters concealed in his optics. An expert tactician and long-range combatant, he lacks finesse as a melee brawler. Flak sometimes has difficulty adjusting his tactics for use against Cybertronian foes.

Remarks: Flak is a repaint with a different head of Cybertron Defense Scattorshot, so look for the full review there. Just some words on the differences. Flak has inherited his name from a G1 Micromaster, a member of the Autobot Battle Patrol, who also transformed into a mobile missile launcher. Botcon Flak doesn't match the original in color, but the head sculpt is a very close match to his Micromaster roots (though again in different colors).

The Scattorshot mold is a very good choice. Not only is it a very good mold all by itself, it's also a close match to the original Micromaster. The new color scheme chosen for him fits him nicely, a cameo pattern in white and grey for the vehicle mode, plus additional grey with red and black highlights in robot mode. So I really like the overall look of Flak and like I said, there is very little wrong with the mold chosen for him except for a slightly boring vehicle mode.

Flak was part of the original Elite Guard in the Timeline's continuity, serving with Kup, Thunderclash and Landshark. He was involved in the first battle of the Autobot-Decepticon civil war and, though he never knew it, helped save the Autobot Matrix of Leadership and ensured that Alpha Trion would be able to create the great Autobot leader Optimus Prime. Flak's role in the actual battle was far from big, but he did help pull off the win. So bottom line: A very nice repaint of a very nice figure. Worth getting if you get the chance and have the cash.

Rating: A-