Siege Smashdown

Prelude: Stop! Hammer time! Finally, the Siege has come back to Transformers Universe, ready to lay the Smashdown on all the Decepticons’ candy skidplates, if you smell what the Bots are cooking! Okay, got it out of my system. I hope you all read the preceding words imagining Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson shouting them. Moving on. Here comes Smashdown, a Battle Master from Siege, who transforms into a hammer. But the question is, are we worthy to lift this hammer? Or rather, is it worth it to buy this hammer? We shall see. Side note: auto-correct considers both “Smackdown!” and “Smashdown!” to be wrong, which really made writing this review hard.

Robot Mode: In robot mode Smashdown is a relatively small, pretty blocky robot with one defining characteristic: he’s got a bull’s head instead of a humanoid one. This takes me back to some of the great Decepticon designs from Robots in Disguise (2015). We really need more Transformers with non-humanoid robot modes in my opinion. Unlike most Transformers this size he does come with a weapon, really part of his alternate mode. It’s the handle of the hammer hammer (cue Peter Dinklage shouting “Where’s the handle!?”), which he can wield either as a mace or pretend it’s a gun barrel.

Smashdown is as well articulated as you can reasonably expect in this size class, having ball-jointed arms and legs, and the head sits on a ball-joint, too. No knees and elbows, unsurprisingly, but Smashdown can still pose a bit. Sadly a head-down charging pose isn’t really possible, but overall Smashdown is a lot of fun in robot mode. So no complaints, given the size and price class.

Alternate Mode: Of course the main reason for getting this figure is that it transforms into a big hammer. A big red hammer adorned with a bull’s head on one side, even. The hammer’s 5mm handle makes it compatible with roughly 90% of all Transformers figures ever made, but he is of course meant for the Siege line, looking good in either Hound’s or Ironhide’s hands especially. Like all Battle Masters he comes with a special effect, in his case a yellow-orange “impact boom”, which can be attached to either side of the hammer or on the smaller ports of Siege figures.

So overall: a great hammer mode. Not that there are that many other hammer Transformers to compare him to, mind you, but still. Great work here!

Remarks: Smashdown is one of the new characters introduced in the Siege line of Battle Masters, not based on any previously existing Targetmaster from G1. He is not the first Transformer to become a hammer, that honor belongs, I believe, to Ulma and Zamu, two Arms Microns from Takara’s Prime toy line. He might well be the first Hammer-Transformer released outside Japan, though, at least I can’t think of another one. His in-media presence is zero, of course, but that doesn’t change the fact that he is a Transformer that becomes a friggin’ hammer!

Which brings us neatly to the main point of this figure: it’s a robot (with a bull’s head) that transforms into a huge hammer. Do you really need more reasons to buy this toy? I certainly didn’t. Honestly, if you can’t see why a bull-headed Transformer that becomes a hammer is a must-buy, I’m not sure what else we have to say to each other. Just go and buy Smashdown, if you feel you are worthy to wield this hammer!

Rating: A

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