In its color and its aerial form, you might think that Terradive is another modernization of the Generation 2 toy Hooligan. He also looks a little bit like Rattrap, a little bit like Depth Charge, and a lot like a great toy. I'd put him as above average, as (at least on my sample) the robot mold doesn't peg together as well as I would like. (I've had what may be low-level assembly errors on several figures this year.)
He's a fairly thin robot, plus he's packed with articulation. The just under 6-inch robot mode hides nicely into the jet form, and the articulation is exceptional-- particularly in the arms. It's unreasonably good, if you've been picking up the "classics" figures this thing blows them away. It's remarkable with a great range of motion and articulated wrists, which are quite useful when holding the giant melee weapon which goes from spear to trident. (The weapon folds up and stores beneath the jet mode.)
In a jet mode, well, he's a jet. The robot has triple jointed shoulders, double-jointed elbows, swiveling wrists, double-jointed hips, knees, and even articulated toes. It's remarkable. The jet, on the other hand, looks like a jet. There are retractable landing gear, but aside from that it's very much a what-you-see-is-what-you-get situation. It's rare that a Transformers toy of any price has this level of movement, let alone one that costs about ten bucks. Just remember, the jet mode is pretty dull.
Detail is good, but not exceptional. For whatever reason, a lot of figures this year were molded with light-up eye ports, but the clear plastic window on the back of the head is blocked by the front of the eyes being painted over-- in this case, Terradive has a pair of red eyes and on the whole, they probably look better this way. He also has a fair amount of paint on his head, with a black crest, some silver markings, and a gold mouth plus his silver face and red eyes.
As an action figure, it's a great toy-- but as a Transformers toy, it's somewhat frustrating. The transformation is quite involved, with arms unfolding and wings rotating, but the real trial comes from the shoulders-- specifically, they peg into place and it seems our sample wasn't assembled perfectly. Getting the panels to line up just so seems difficult, if not impossible, resulting in added gaps just because the piece won't stay put. I'm not sure if this is a bad sample, or if they're all this way. As such, take care to examine your Terradive's left shoulder, it may be problematic.
If you can get past that, it's a great looking robot and a wonderful display piece. All of his many pieces make him start to come apart while posing him, so he's not a great toy, but certainly a fun looking figure. Get one if you like the look, but don't be surprised if you get a few glitches while getting him into his Decepticon form. I was thrilled to get this figure, but the shoulder problem sucked out the fun real fast. If you like complicated toys, this one is worth your while-- and a repaint is expected with a new head in the future.
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