Superlink Sprung

Robot Mode: Sprung, or Bulkhead as the American version of this figure is called, bears a lot of resemblance to G1 Springer in both modes, but especially in robot mode. He's green, of course, and with the visible helicopter parts it isn't hard to see him as a homage to the G1 triple changer. Sprung also strongly reminds me of Galaxy Force Life Convoy, though, another helicopter. Anyway, Sprung is a potentially very posable figure, but his actual posability is somewhat restricted, both by the rear end of the helicopter hanging off his back, as well as the missile launchers hanging off his hips. Still, he can do the dramatic poses without too many problems. Detailing is also pretty good, the colour scheme works well for him, too.

Sprung's robot mode is greatly enhanced when he combines with his booster unit (which I like to call Ed 209). It snaps onto his back as a rucksack and can be deployed in various ways. You can leave the unit's arms on its side, so it works as a kind of rocket pack. You can flip them forward over Sprung's shoulders to act as extra cannons. Or you can extend them and have them work as either extra arms or extra legs. The latter barely works, as the arms are long enough to reach the ground, but only when Sprung folds up his actual legs. It looks kinda funny, though. Anyway, Sprung with his booster unit looks pretty cool in any of the possible configurations. So all in all thumbs up for the robot mode, but normal and powerlinked.

Alternate Mode: A helicopter serves as Sprung's alternate mode, cementing his resemblance to G1 Springer. The copter looks pretty good and there is barely anything of the robot visible. Except his head, that is, which is sitting inside the cockpit behind the pilot seat. That's kind of neat, though, so no points deduction for that one. I don't particularly care for the way Sprung's hands change in this mode, as they stand out a bit, but that's just a minor thing. Sprung's rotor can be made to spin by way of the black lever on his tail. So all in all a decent vehicle mode.

Just like the robot mode, the vehicle mode can also be enhanced by snapping on Sprung's booster unit. It attaches to the underside of the helicopter and serves as a combination weapons platform / jet engine. Whichever way you look at it, it's pretty cool. You can also unflip the unit's arms here and make a helicopter on legs if you want, but that looked a tad too weird for me, so no pictures of that one. Again, a good combination for a good vehicle mode.

Partners / Add-Ons: Apart from working as a booster for either the robot or the helicopter, Sprung's little extra unit can also work on its own. Extend the legs and stand it upright, then it looks pretty much like a more colourful cousin of Robocop's Ed 209 crime buster unit. You know, the one that started gunning down civilians for traffic violations. I always loved that thing. Anyway, Ed 209 here doesn't look half-bad on his own, but he works better as Sprung's booster.

Remarks: Sprung / Bulkhead only made a relatively short appearance in the Energon TV series, where he came over more like G1 Kup rather than G1 Springer, whom he resembled. An old veteran ready to kick skidplate and teach the young whippersnappers a thing or two about combat. Anyway, the figure is pretty good in either mode and the booster unit works pretty well, too. I think the engineering could have been a bit better in robot mode to solve those posability restrictions he has, but that's pretty much his only flaw. Sprung is a pretty good Transformer, so I can easily recommend him.

Rating: B+