Lockdown Decepticon Bounty Hunter Transformers Revenge of the Fallen Deluxe Figures Item No.: Asst. 93871 No. 94565 Manufacturer: Hasbro Includes: Engine weapon Action Feature: Transforms from car to robot Retail: $9.99 Availability: Early 2010 Other: Retooled as Axor
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The Transformers fanbase has a lot of interesting pockets and unusual things regarding the decisions of where fans decide to put their figures. With most lines, the toys are as named-- Transformers fans will take a toy and pop it into another Universe if they want, so Lockdown from the movie-verse quickly became a stand-in for "Classics" or "G1" Lockdown, and this was later given a more or less official nod in the IDW comic book series.

Standing 8-inches tall, this Lockdown is freakishly large just like his Transformers Animated ancestor. As deluxe toys go, he may be the largest ever. Bits of him are a little spindly, namely his legs, but aside from that he's a pretty nifty pile of parts. He doesn't have a lot of gimmicks, but a "Mech Alive" thing is embedded in his thighs-- you may notice some grey pistons and bits inside the black plastic. If you turn his knee joint, these move. And that's all he has going as spring-loaded zany battle features go.

I've generally felt that many of the movie toys felt a little more thin and fragile, and seemed less suited to younger fans than what was put out in the past few years. Lockdown is no exception-- while he has amazing deco, a good sculpt covered in spikes, and a fantastic vehicle mold, he won't hold together well. Arms pop off easily, his left hand and right claw hand are made of a supremely rubbery plastic and are not capable of holding anything, and there are so many moving parts here that it seems unlikely that this toy would make it through a year in an average child's toy box without damage or lost parts. Granted, the distribution of this guy was all over the place so it remains to be seen how many ended up in kids' hands after the various closeout stores got Lockdowns. (Are any kids in the distant future reading this? I'd love to know how the children of 2010 like this guy and how he looks in 2020 or 2025.)

The figure has an exceptional level of articulation. Each knee has multiple bends and swivels, and the head alone has an astonishingly unnecessary 3 joints-- he can be made taller if you position him just right. His giant feet ensure he has no difficulty standing, and his face... well, it's Lockdownish. He almost looks like he has a robotic cookie duster, and if he had just a little more paint or a little more silver below what seems to be his lips, I think he'd be all the better for it. His design retains many of the influences of the Animated character, including a ton of bolts and mismatched pieces. Part of the original concept was a sort of Frankenstein's monster of a robot bounty hunter, who put himself together and continued to upgrade himself after his jobs were over. It's a really neat idea, and apparently fans thought so too-- after all, he's been adopted into the Generation 1 cast of characters, which generally smells like a stamp of approval.

The car mode is muscle car of sorts, but covered in spikes. With a lot of green and gold, it's unlike anything anyone would ever drive and that's precisely why I love it. I've seen normal cars-- they're dull. Part of what I loved about Transformers in the 1980s was a move to "futuristic" vehicles like Hot Rod, Kup, and Blurr giving us something beyond just whatever your weird uncle drives. This car is tricked-out and mean, his spiked hubcaps could do some serious damage on the road. I admire the decision to step away from realism for a bit, and I like that Hasbro delivered something genuinely different from the dozens of Autobots I've bought over the last few years.

Rounding out the toy is a weapon-- his engine. It pops off his hood and into his left forearm, and it looks... well, it looks like an engine. He can also use deluxe Revenge of the Fallen Ratchet's weapon, a nice touch mirroring a similar feature in the Animated toy line. Overall this is a neat display piece with an excellent vehicle mode. The robot form-- while huge-- exposes many limitations in modern toy production, with its rubbery plastic hands and parts that pop off too easily in the name of safety. If you like a toy to transform and display, this is one of the better purchases you could make. If you want something fun and simple, and never frustrating? This isn't it.

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