Decepticon Blackjack Arguably Optional Sixth Member of Menasor
Transformers Generations Combiner Wars Legends
Item No.: Asst. B0971 No. B1796 Manufacturer:Hasbro Includes:Trading Card Action Feature:Transforms from Car to Robot to Armor Retail:$9.99 Availability: December 2015 Other: Formerly a Micromasters toy
This is an interesting one. Named and decorated to match a Micromasters toy, Decepticon Blackjack was sculpted to look like one of the original Decepticon Battlechargers, Runabout. It's a perfectly nice standalone figure, and it was designed to resemble Menasor's G1 toy's robot chest. The original Motormaster had a non-transforming car that could plug in to the chest, but the new Combiner Wars toy has it as an option - you can open the chest and plug him in, or close it and leave him off. I would suggest leaving it off as it's quite loose, the car mode does not stay on the pegs.
The toy in and of itself is good, fun, and interesting to play with. The transformation is complex, but not complicated. The sculpting is good in both modes, and his articulation is perfectly fine. There's really nothing wrong with the toy - the axe/spoiler fits well in his hand or in the car as a spoiler. It's the same size as the other Legends toys - roughly 4-inches tall - with the durability you've come to love. It's a neat little car that doesn't do much other than roll on your desk, or plug his axe into the back.
The robot mode is fantastic - it stands, it holds his weapon, and it looks good. The unique coloration isn't something I've got in recent toys, as grey/gold/purple isn't the most common combination at stores these days. It's not a terribly difficult toy to transform, and I appreciate that. It's clever as there are more flippings and panels than you might expect at this size, which is great given that for $10 I'd like a little bit of a show. If it just stood up and the limbs came out, I'd be disappointed.
Transformation is a snap, if not obvious. You can see where everything goes, and it goes there, and you get a little car. That's the good news. The bad news is that the "armor mode" is just plugging the axe into the car, and the car into Menasor's chest. This sounds simple, but isn't because the size of the pegs aren't good for a solid fit. You can put BMOG things on the 5mm nipples if you push them in enough, but ol' Blackjack here won't stay put - tilt Menasor forward, and he falls out. This is bad. When it comes to Combiner Wars, fit is everything - you can't have a piece not go where it belongs. The good news is Menasor is perfectly good without the little guy, but his creation shows that someone, somewhere, didn't care enough to test that all of the pieces fit just so.
As a nobody character, you could probably skip this - but if you've got a Menasor on display you'll want one. Ten bucks is a lot for superfluous decoration so be glad the toy is fun on his own. Actually, it's really only fun on his own - otherwise he's just added unnecessary plastic. I would argue Blackjack is better on his own than as part of a team, which is not reallly the way any Combiner toy should be going. Get it if you find it, you'll have fun.
16bit.com is best not viewed in Apple's Safari browser, we don't know why. All material on this site copyright their respective copyright holders. All materials appear hear for informative and entertainment purposes. 16bit.com is not to be held responsible for anything, ever. Photos taken by the 16bit.com staff. Site design, graphics, writing, and whatnot credited on the credits page. Be cool-- don't steal. We know where you live and we'll break your friggin' legs.
RSS 
