
Series: Garatron
Year: 2017
Allegiance: Decepticon
Prelude: It emerges, swathed in flame and dripping white phosphorous. Time and again I am dragged back to the very heart of the raging, howling storm that I brought upon myself by desiring this rare, almost impossible to find figure. I wish to see it end, but the shuddering, lurching instant brings scant comfort, for I know deep down, it never ends. Only now it has, because finally I have the one figure that has been at the top of my holy grail list for ages. And now, now we are all Thunderwing, for Thunderstorm, the third party IDW Thunderwing we deserve, is finally here. Let’s say go!
Dedication: This figure here was gifted to me by a wonderful group of German Transformers fans who pooled their money and made use of international contacts to acquire it for me from Singapore. Many thanks to Alex, Andi, Andy, Benni, Brocki, Chris, Den, Flo, Katharina, Klaus, Klotz, Kosuke, Maik, Marc, René, Scourge, Tim, and Timbo. Special extra thanks to Den and Tim, who made a detour to my hometown on their way back from the Nuremburg Toy Fair to hand-deliver it. Just be aware that, due to all of this, my review might not be entirely objective.
Robot Mode: My first impression of the Thunderstorm robot was: he’s big. My second was: he’s heavy! And my third was: ouch! Those are some sharp edges. Thunderstorm, despite being from 2017 (best I could find out) feels and handles like an older third party figure from the early 2010s, meaning big, heavy, and with sharp edges that probably wouldn’t have made it past quality controls for a kids toy (to be fair, the instructions do warn you about them). Which isn’t a problem for me as a collector, mind you, I just want to give you an impression of the general feel of this figure.
Thunderstorm is a third party robot inspired by Thunderwing, the version of the character as he appeared in the IDW Stormbringer comics, which in turn was inspired by the original G1 Thunderwing toy, or rather its Pretender shell. Thunderstorm is roughly the size of an old-school Leader Class figure, maybe a tad taller, and carries a huge set of wings and jet turbines on his back. His general design is somewhat reminiscent of Energon Galvatron, who also transforms into a big space jet and carries the wings and cockpit on his back.
Articulation-wise Thunderstorm does very well, he easily matches modern-day Transformers figures with his twisting wrists, ankle tilt, and ball-jointed head and even includes articulated fingers, perfect for pointing menacingly at his upcoming victims or holding up the Matrix of Leadership (WE ARE THUNDERWING!!!). Just be aware that some of those joints are very tight and also, very loud. Moving his legs at the hip sometimes sounds like you’re breaking him apart rather than posing him.
Thunderstorm’s appearance is pretty close to that of IDW Thunderwing. The head sculpt is fabulous, the chest and legs are a very close match, too, and really the only thing missing are those gun barrels that Thunderwing usually sports on top of his shoulders. Otherwise, though, very nice. The big wings on his back are fully articulate, too, you can fold them forward or back, slide the outer wing parts up or down, the works. The big turbines on his back are also on a multi-joint, meaning you can even make them point forward over his shoulders as huge guns. Very nice.
The only slight downside here is balance, as the big backpack makes him somewhat prone to toppling over backwards, but he is articulated enough to counter that in most poses. Also, the panels forming his shins tend to split apart when you move the feet. Not a big thing, just worth mentioning.
So bottom line: I love and adore this robot mode here. Thunderwing as we deserve him.
Super Mode: Thunderstorm also has a secondary robot mode, called Berzerker Mode. In the IDW Stormbringer comics it was called an Ultra Mode, possibly a call-back to the old Ultra Pretenders (of whom Thunderwing was not one), not sure. Basically, Thunderstorm uses his huge wings and jet turbines to enlarge himself. Both Thunderstorm’s waist and lower legs elongate, the plates of his lower legs pop open and fold out, the robot’s arms folds back, and the wings wrap around his torso as a sort of battle armor. The jet turbines extend to become new arms with claws for hands, and the jet cockpit flips over from the back to become a helmet.
To tell you the truth I was not a big fan of this mode during its brief appearance in the IDW comics, but on this toy here it just looks fabulous and I almost like it more than the standard robot mode. Of course one big advantage it has over the smaller robot is that the backpack is mostly gone now, meaning he is now far less prone to toppling over backwards and separating his toes makes his stance more stable, too. One slight disadvantage is that the lower legs, with the plates now separated, are thicker, meaning Thunderstorm now needs to stand with his legs slightly apart. Also, the elongated waist wobbles a bit, but that’s just a minor thing. It still looks great, mind you, and the new arms are very nicely articulated, including the claws he now has for hands.
The bigger arms also contain Thunderstorm’s electronics. Inserting two L44 batteries (each) makes the claws light up. It’s a bit of an underwhelming gimmick, but doesn’t hurt the figure any, either. The buttons for the lights are under those orange panels on Thunderstorm’s arms, which also contain two small blasters, each. I first thought they’d fold up, but you can only unpin them and get them out. Again, a bit underwhelming, but a nice extra.
Bottom line for the Berzerker Mode: very nice. I didn’t think it would be, but I love it.
Alternate Mode: Thunderstorm transforms into a space jet and a truly massive one at that. This mode (which barely resembles that of the G1 toy) was only briefly seen in the pages of the Stormbringer comic, but Thunderstorm pretty much nails it. The transformation is basically the same as Energon Galvatron. The wings and cockpit from the back form most of the jet, while the legs fold around the torso underneath it, now flanked by the two big turbines. It’s a simple transformation as such, but getting everything lined up correctly and getting all the tabs to tab in properly is a bit of a hassle. Also, at least one tab already shows stress marks after a single time transforming him back and forth, so I probably won’t be transforming him into jet mode that often.
That does not take anything away from the beauty of this massive alien space jet. Its’s big, it’s awesome, it could be at home in any given science fiction movie and you can just imagine seeing this massive thing slice through the sky of your home world, signaling its impeding doom. The jet also has a landing gear in the front, while small wheels in what used to be the robot’s lower legs provide for the back. Unfolding the landing gear requires a bit of force, to be honest, but the result looks pretty good. You can also flip open the cockpit and there is something slightly resembling a seat inside for detail.
Bottom line: a wonderful space jet mode. Very nice. Just be aware that the transformation requires a bit of finesse and patience.
Remarks: When the original IDW Transformers comics continuity started, there were two parallel mini series. One was your standard TF story set on Earth, Autobots hiding as cars, humans discovering them, the works. The other, though, was a deep space adventure, set on a ruined Cybertron, which had been all but destroyed by a cataclysm. The name of that cataclysm? Thunderwing! The former Decepticon scientist, having seen the imminent ecological collapse of his home world, sought to improve the Cybertronian race via a process so dangerous that it nearly destroyed Hasbro’s Transformers franchise in the late 80s, the Pretenders. Thunderwing became an invincible monster that even the combined might of the Autobots and Decepticons could barely defeat.
Sadly Hasbro has yet to bring us a figure of this incarnation of Thunderwing. But in 2017 third party company Garatron released Thunderstorm, who is not a perfect match for the monster from the comics, but very close. Sadly, the figure is almost impossible to find, only turning up on eBay every odd year, and those few people who own it are unwilling to part with it. Thankfully, as mentioned above, my friends managed to find one for me in Singapore and yes, I will never willingly part with it.
Bottom line for this figure: it does have its weak spots, yes, but overall, I adore it. It’s everything I expected it to be, the closest we’ve come to see Stormbringer Thunderwing in toy form, and the sheer joy of being gifted this guy completely unexpectedly is still giving me goosebumps days later. So if you are a fan of Thunderwing, the early IDW comics, or rare Transformers figures in general and should happen to have the opportunity to acquire this treasure, I urge you to do so.
Rating: A
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