Demolishor Review Capsule

Demolishor is a big giant dump truck and an upgrade of the character that appeared in both Armada and Energon. His new mode gives him a giant missile launcher, a very sturdy robot mode, and an adequate vehicle mode. For $10, he's a nifty purchase and seems to sport what may well be the largest Decepticon logo on a toy, ever. The toy includes four projectiles.

Introduction

One good upgrade deserves another, and after appearing as a repainted character in the first few episodes of Energon he finally gets his much deserved upgraded mode. Still appearing in a green color scheme, the new version has an all-new head and all-new weapons as well as an all-new vehicle mode. In fact, it's a little surprising they didn't just make this Demolishor an all-new character with an all-new name.

In the Japanese Super Link series, his name is Iron Tread, and his previous mode was Iron Hide. As you can see, he goes from dumptruck to robot and back again.

Robot

The robot's design doesn't seem to reference any other robots, but it does vaguely recall the likes of Rhinox from Beast Wars.

As Demolishor is an existing character in the TransFormers Universe, it isn't surprising that they wanted to bring him back in an all-new form before bringing out the repaint of his Armada toy. After all, kids will probably recognize the name, and those that don't will probably dig the dumptruck mode.

The head looks much better in person than it does in the various photos I've seen, and it seems the molding quality varies from toy to toy. The face is a little unorthodox as it's hard to tell where his mouth is, and almost seems like it might be better suited to, say, a Sharkticon. Additional paint to define the face would help, as he does have a nose, and what seems to be a mouth and a beard, but it's hard to tell when his face is entirely made of silver.

The robot sculpt is pretty great, and the look of this mode is helped by a lot of twists and turns that reveal all sorts of components from his vehicle mode that give him just a little more personality, like his headlights on his torso. The decision to put the faction crystal on his crotch is, to say the least, a little unsettling especially as this isn't the first time they decided to do that.

Demolishor has especially large feet which help him stand up in numerous poses without falling over, which is fantastic considering how back heavy he is. Numerous joints were added to the figure, many of which weren't necessary for transformation, which make this a nicely posable toy. For instance, his head has a few pieces that allow him to look up, down, and pivot his cranium a variety of ways. Surely, this is a big improvement over his stiff neck during the Armada days.

There are some transparent green pieces making up his arms and shoulders, much like Energon Tidal Wave, and for some reason it doesn't seem to look too great for the hands. A little more definition would be nice, as clear plastic doesn't tend to show off detail especially well.

There's a surprisingly good amount of decoration on this toy, with painted silver damage as well as headlights, faction logos, and other pieces. In a few places, assembly of the plastic seems slightly uneven, and the decision to have the mold split down the middle didn't seem like a great one. There's a lot of chunky bits to the figure, and the transformation sequence hids some of the ones that wouldn't look especially great on a robot. It's a solid toy, although the absence of hand weapons may disappoint some.

Like all larger Energon toys, there's a Hyper Power mode. Basically, here he becomes a hunchback with a giant rocket battery on his back. Only four of the rockets fire, though, and all four are operated by separate spring-loaded switches.

This mode looks a little silly, but since it is an expanded way to play with the toy, it's a nice bonus. I don't believe it's the best mode for displaying the figure, but I'd be lying if I said it was entirely without merit. Kids should love this one.

Vehicle

Hasbro really seems to like construction vehicles, which makes sense as kids do as well. This time around, we see a dump truck, the first since Robots in Disguise.

While getting him from robot to truck is tricky, there's no problem folding him out from truck to robot. Everything folds out, twists, and turns nicely and there's no mistaking that everything is where it should be as you finish the job.

The truck itself has a fair amount of decoration to it, such as painted panel lines, added damage, and the aforementioned giant Decepticon logo on his back. The wheels roll freely and the truck is quite stable in its vehicle mode. This is definitely one of the better vehicle modes as far as the toys go.

In the vehicle's Hyper Mode, the bed kind of rotates out and the missles are visible. It isn't really all that exciting and it looks like the toy is mistransformed but, again, it gives the toy an extra element of play value and that's a good thing.

A pair of Mini-Con hardpoints sit on top of the truck, and two more are under the panel. At any given time, you can only use two of them, but they are accessable in both Hyper Power and regular vehicle modes. Due to positioning, they are of little use in robot mode.

Considering that it's a dump truck, it does quite a bit. It can even dump its cargo, which is a nice bonus.

Accessories & Gimmicks

Here, you get four identical projectiles. Nothing too fancy, but really, what more do you need?

These get a decent distance, actually, these have enough spring to them to be a lot of fun. Compared to a number of other similar toys, these stay in until you push the button and go far enough to be worthwhile. Good job, Hasbro!

Packaging, Tech Specs, & Co-Sells

This toy came packaged in regular TransFormers Energon packaging with a couple of twist ties and a comic book. Actually, it's the same comic as the first wave.

The packaging itself is typical trilingual fare. The card art is fairly striking, although not striking to the point where you might feel bad about opening the toy.

As a dump truck, Demolishor has stats that make sense, and some that don't. The character on the show is painted as a pensive character who actually gives some though to the side on which he fights, which is unusual. At least his firepower is high with his giant missile battery, but the rest of the numbers seem fairly arbitrary. It's not like it really matters anyway.

Demolishor shipped as part of the third wave of Energon toys in late April of 2004. The case we spotted had a number of characters in it packed at one per case, but no other new figures shipped with him in the third wave. It's possible this will change in a revised case soon.

Fin

Ten bucks well spent. He's big and bulky, but his small arms and lack of a hand weapon may disappoint some. The full package is excellent, though, and I think kids will really love this. As a collector, I see this is a neat, solid toy that I'm quite glad I have, even if it isn't referencing older characters or somehow appealing to my nerdish sensibilities.

If you've enjoyed the Deluxe-sized Decepticons in Energon so far, you'll love this one. If not, well, you might rather save that ten bucks and put it toward the recently announced all-new G1 Starscream.

Reviewed and photographed by Adam Pawlus
Sample purchased at a Phoenix, AZ Wal-Mart on January 24, 2004 for $9.76
Reviewed on April 27, 2004.