Windblade The 30th Anniversary Fan Poll Figure Returns for the 40th!
Transformers Legacy United Deluxe
Item No.: Asst. F2990 No. F8528 Manufacturer:Hasbro Includes:Stormfall Sword, Fan Action Feature:Transforms from robot to plane, removable head fan Retail:$24.99 Availability: December 2023 Other: A G1 addition, converted to Cyberverse cartoon, more or less converted back to G1 styling, sort of
While not a toy of the 1980s, Cyberverse Universe Windblade is, on some level, a G1 update. The Thrilling 30 Windblade [FOTD #1,020] came out with a comic and a $10 lower price tag, but was pretty similar in terms of what she could do. That Thrilling 30 design got revised in the comics, repaint in Japan, redesigned again (and again) and those redesigns were put back through the "adult fan machine" to give you this new figure. As the actual toys for Cyberverse Windblade were kind of rotten, this toy does extra duty as an update of that toy that gives us the bare minimum of a figure with swords and a full alt mode rather than a gerwalk mode or stunted robot. If you wanted a Cyberverse Windblade toy, this may well be the best one we ever see.
As someone with a lot of (but not all of) the Windblade toys, I'd say this is a good one. The Titans Return one had a lot going for it - heck, so did the Warrior-class Robots in Disguise toy - but each has its fun features, or quirks, but none of which stands out as the see-all, be-all, throw-your-other-toys-in-the-trash Windblade.
I started seeing her pop up in stores - and selling - so that seems like a good sign for a character that might not be the most famous for the old guard fan. Hasbro did a nice job with the robot mode, giving her modern niceties like rocker ankles and swivel wrists, but also working in a higher level of articulation that allows her to grip her sword with both hands. That's not something we tend to see much. She has big boots and stands well too, meaning you've probably got a good reason to upgrade your old Windblade to this one. She also has a lot of hollowed-out chunks on her wings which, I am not going to lie to you, don't look terribly good. I assumed we'd just get old-school flat wings, this is something that I don't think would be improved by gap fillers. Hasbro did engineer her to cover the gaps on her legs, though, and added a lot of 5mm holes on her feet and wings for some sort of future reuse. An older Windblade got retooled as Slipstream, and we can hope it happens again!
Thanks to her ever-shifting design, this toy could probably fit in on your G1 shelf. In some of the comics she has rounded blue elements on her knees and black coverings on her shins. Her torso generally has a red "crop top" of sorts, with red on her greaves and vambraces, and also some red on her bikini zone. Her head has a lot more detail than usual, with white make paint surrounded by some added blue and red plus a gold fan. Some of the other Windblade toys came up a little short in that department, and she turned out nicely. She has some added blue on her chest - which varies from design to design - and wings that are almost entirely red.
While the articulation really gives her a lot more potential personality than before, they didn't skimp on a couple of play features. Her fan is wrapped up in paper and can be stored on her head (or held in her hand), plus she has a sword that can store on her hip or be held in one or both hands. For a collector figure in 2024, that's arguably above and beyond the call of duty! The original Windblade figure had a scabbard, as did the Robots in Disguise Warrior-class toy, but this one doesn't. Admittedly it might be hard to do given the wind energy coming off the purple blade. There's not much more you can ask from accessories for this character, other than maybe some spinning fans. Not that you spun them ever.
Transformation is clever, with some new bits like splitting the jet cockpit area around her robot head, or storing the sword between her feet. There may be a little massaging in parts, and you get a pretty decent plane. It isn't overly complicated, nor should it be.
The plane doesn't bring much new to the table, but it looks cool - there are articulated fans and a landing skid. That may not sound like much, but "something that moves other than wheels" is more than we usually get in our toy vehicle modes. It looks nice, but lacks some of the color of the two previous cartoon toys. It's just not as blue - but given that it went through a G1 fun house mirror, "accuracy" is not the goal so much as making something that looks cool. And collectors do love their clear windows, which she has in jet mode. It's a fun transformation and a plane made out of robo bits, so it's good - but not great. It would be fascinating to see what Hasbro could do for a jet mode on a bigger budget, but it seems unlikely we'll ever see a Windblade that's fancier than a garden variety Deluxe.
A "Collector" Windblade hasn't been in American stores since 2016, and she was in pretty short supply - and got expensive. I prefer that one's Headmaster gimmick, but I prefer this one's cooler sword and coloring. As a Windblade goes, she's a pretty good figure for the price - and I assume it'll be several years before we get another one, so I'd get this one. She's sized about the same as most Deluxe toys, but comes up a tiny bit short in the accessories or heft department - so some of you might find other toys to be a better value proposition. But it's Windblade, and I want a Windblade, and Hasbro doesn't have a $20 assortment anymore so this is as good as it's going to get.
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