TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

Robot Mode:
Alternate Mode:
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Box Art:
Technical Specifications:
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INT
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Kamen's review: Lockdown

Name: Lockdown
Function: Badass Bounty Hunter
Subgroup: RoTF Deluxe Vehicles

“Run all you want. It will make the chase more fun.”

Lockdown was hired to hunt down and destroy Autobot Ratchet, and that's what he aims to do. Once he's accepted a contract, nothing short of total deactivation can stop him. His services don't come cheap, but he's the best there is at what he does. Lockdown has never lost a target, and doesn't intend for this to be the first time.


In fiction, it's hard to beat the raw badassary of a bounty hunter, and Lockdown is no exception. First appearing in the Transformers: Animated episode “The Thrill of the Hunt”, he appeared to be a long time enemy of Ratchet. Later his focus switch to Prowl, though these additional episodes were less interesting, and sadly tarnished Lockdown's reputation. Even so, Lockdown's status as an ensemble darkhorse had been established. So much so, that he has been granted a toy in the N.E.S.T. subline of the ROTF Movie line.

Alternate Mode:

As an expy of himself, Lockdown's vehicle mode, unlike every other vehicle in the line, doesn't have a real life analog and is instead a more realistic looking version of his Animated alt, and he looks good. The toon-like proportions of the Animated version now fold sleekly into a dangerous looking vehicle. Seriously, there are spikes everywhere. The colour scheme is an upgrade from the Animated version as well. Instead of matte black with a little bit of green, Movie Lockdown sports various shades of green and more of it, which nicely breaks up the subdued copper of the rest of the mold. The new figure definitely comes out better here.

Robot Mode:

Although, I really like the alt mode, I don't think the robot mode made the transition quite as well. The base sculpt is good, and I really like how the individual parts are sculpted very differently. Lockdown's original plan was to be a monster like Frankenstein's, made up of an amalgam of parts. This idea didn't make it so much into the Animated version, so it's nice to see it here. On the other hand, he is very thin, spindly even, compared to his Animated incarnation, with lots of kibble, something the Animated line had remarkably little of. I'm also not a fan of the rubbery plastic used for his hands and hook.

Articulation, however, gives Movie Lockdown more of an advantage. He loses the waist joint of the original, but gets a hell of a lot more in the bargain. Including a neck that has two ball joints and and swivel, plus extra joints on his calves that let him stay flat-footed in wide stances. Sadly, his arms don't turn out so well, and mine has an extremely loose shoulder joint at the rotation, which I don't believe can be tightened.

Lockdown has one accessory: his engine, which becomes a cannon. Nothing flips out or changes like the original, so he really just has an engine block on his arm, but it can fit on the deluxe size Ratchet of the same line, so points for interactivity.

Marks out of ten for the following:

Transformation: With all the panels, you'd think Lockdown would be an exercise in frustration, but he actually folds out and back very intuitively. 4/10
Durability: Mine came with several loose joints, but otherwise nothing seemed like it would be a problem later. 8/10
Fun: He's an alien bounty hunter, plus he has limited interaction with another figure of the line. 8/10
Value/Price: Lockdown exemplifies quality, mostly. The loose joints are very annoying, however. Still, fans of the character will be happy with what they get, and others will be pleased with a solid toy. 7/10
Overall: Honestly, I still prefer the Animated version. Largely, I'll admit, because I really liked the show and consider Revenge of the Fallen a flaming shit-storm. But I like the bulk of the Animated version's robot mode to the skinny chicken limbs of the new one. On the other hand, the Movie version has a fantastic vehicle mode, and the posability of the robot mode is top notch. A solid buying decision. 8/10