TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

Robot Mode:

Alternate Mode:

Box Art:

Sir Auros' review of: Swindle

Name: Swindle
Allegiance: Decepticon
Function: Warrior
Sub-Group: Combaticon still?

I liken Swindle to Dead End more than Silverstreak as far as repaints in the Alternators line go, and not simply because two are Decepticon repaints while another is an Autobot. No, Swindle is not what Hound should have been like Silverstreak is what Smokescreen would have looked better as, and the changes to Swindle's form are more noticeable. Not as much as Dead End, but much more than Silverstreak. In a bizarre turn, I actually found a Swindle soon after the figure was released at my local Walmart (also got a Grimlock), and I'm pleased with the figure.

Vehicle Mode:
First off, for all the smug, G1 fanboys thinking their complaints made Hasbro change Tracks' color from yellow to blue...you're wrong. Completely wrong. Hasbro said that the reason they changed Tracks' body color from yellow to blue was because the yellow was just too light and the black parts showed through. I submit Swindle as evidence of this. On the Jeep's doors, you can see patches of black where the plastic on the interior of the door is attached. It's strange that Hasbro would keep Swindle that particular shade of yellow, but I imagine there are two reasons they didn't change Swindle's color like they changed Tracks'. One is that they already had one delay in the line that left a long patch between releases (Tracks), and the other is that due to the way the mold is, the spots on Tracks were probably both more numerous and noticeable.

The behicle mode looks great, just like Hound's and the changes to the mold are most noticeable here. The tires are much bigger and Swindle looks more like an off-roader than Hound did and the grill guard looks snazzy. It would have been nice had the top been changed, but that would have been impossible due to the figure's transformation and robot mode. The yellow color looks fine and I've seen many Wranglers on the road colored that shade.

Robot Mode:
The grill guard looks just as good in this mode and I'd say it really makes Swindle look a lot different than Hound. The head is well-sculped and I just love the mouth expression. It just looks like he doesn't care at all about what he's doing. The figure's well-articulated except for two areas. The ankles could really use a wider range of motion (ie - more notches to improve the angles they can be posed at) because the figure's pretty hard to stand up and have the feet flat on the ground. The other area that could use articulation is the shoulders, and that's mainly because they arms are just too close to the hood of the Jeep. The arms seem very stubby, and this was a problem I had with the Hound mold. I feel the arms are the weakest part of the robot mode and would have been much better being a bit longer and further away from the chest. It also would have been nice had the gun been resculpted, because this is the first resculpt in the line that could have actually gotten away with that since it's not based on the vehicle's engine. A pistol still, but shaped differently.

Transformation: 10 - I think the most enjoyable thing about the Alternators line (apart from having brilliant display pieces) is the well-designed transformation sequences.
Durability: 10 - Nothing that becomes too loose and not a lot of room for paint chipping.
Fun: 8 - Not a whole lot of articulation, but still makes a good display piece.
Price: 10 - The Alternators line is priced perfectly.
Summary: 9 - Great vehicle mode and awesome looking robot mode except for the funky arms.