When I saw the list of Bot Shots characters, one that got me the most excited was Lockdown. This was an awesome new character introduced to Transformers by the great Animated cartoon, and he's received a surprisingly large amount of merchandising for someone who is, for all intents and purposes, the new guy. He got a Speeds Stars non-transforming car (which I could never find), a "movie" toy, several animated toys, and now this Bot Shots release. I'm very glad about this for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that as far as Bot Shots go, this is one of the better releases.
You know what to expect as transformation goes. Start with a robot, fold him into a car, and tap the bumper to transform him back.
Standing around 2-inches high, this is a pretty nice mini-figure. You'll note many pieces are recycled from Bumblebee (and other sportscar figures) but he has a new head, bumper, hood, and spoiler, plus a nice paint job. The robot is primarily black, but there's enough silver, red, and green to give him some personality. What's particularly interesting is the eyes, rather than try to be symmetrical they have one eye raised slightly, giving him a more thoughtful appearance.
With no accessories, it is what it is-- a fun, cheap toy with a good sculpt and exceptional paint job. The car mode is notably striking in that Hasbro opted to paint more of the windows, generally we only see deco on the windshield but Lockdown has red all over the car mode. I'd go so far as to say this is the best-painted Bot Shots toy vehicle so far, given the silver engine and bumper are actually decorated. I'd love it if the spikes on top were painted as well, but well, you can't have everything. If you loved Animated you owe it to yourself to pick this figure up. Sure, it's completely devoid of articulation, but it rolls nicely and has a fun spring-loaded transformation. And none of the parts pop off during transformation. That puts it at the head of the Lockdown class, in some respects!
Troubleshooting Note: As always, there are two screws on each figure's chest. If you tighten these, the trigger is a little jumpier. If you loosen it, it weakens it a bit. Depending on how well the figures do (or don't) spring up, you may want to keep a screwdriver around to adjust them to your liking.
--Adam Pawlus
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