Siege Firedrive

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Skyquake87
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Siege Firedrive

Post by Skyquake87 »

Name: Firedrive
Allegiance: Autobot
Size Class: Battle Master
Accessories: Cannon, 2 “Fire Blast” pieces

As the Decepticons have a Battle Master in the shape of Blowpipe, so the Autobots get one in the form of Firedrive here. The original version of the figure was known as Firebolt and came packed in with the 1987 Targetmaster version of Hot Rod. For Siege, he strikes out on his own as a robot that can transform into a gun for larger figures in the Siege line. Or most other modern Transformers lines, thanks to his 5mm port.


Robot Mode: Firedrive looks quite slim and less bulky than Blowpipe. He's got some nice shaping to the arms and chest, looking a little more dynamic than his Decepticon counterpart. The legs are nicely shaped, although the usual gaping voids in his legs ruin things somewhat. The sculpting is really nice and some thoughtful dabs of red paint bring out his face and some detail on the chest. Love the tiny Autobot symbol stamped on his forehead too. The cannon on his back can detach and peg into his arm, but he doesn't like to stand up when you do this, so I don't bother.

Weapon Mode: The gun mode, or 'Duo-Charge Electrostatic Photon Cannon' – who writes these things? - is less impressive than Blowpipe. The neat styling and detailing in robot mode doesn't translate well to his alternate mode and looks very obviously like a folded up robot. I do like the missile pods sculpted into the bottom of the feet though.


Marks out of ten for the following:

Transformation Design: Standard stuff for a Targetmaster, legs over head, cannon folds out etc etc. It's fine and does the job. 6/10

Articulation: Just movement at the shoulders and hips for Firedrive, as you'd expect for something that's basically an accessory. 5/10

Durability: The white plastics feel a bit spongy, so I'm not sure how these will last long term. They look okay, and will probably do alright for this tiny fellow as he doesn't have so many moving parts. As with Blowpipe, the cannon can detach to form a weapon for the robot mode. Whilst it's designed to do this, I suspect repeat unplugging will wear down the connectors, making it loose and causing it to drop off and be easily lost over time. 6/10

Fun: The fun with any of these Battle Masters comes with pairing them with other figures. On their own, they're not screaming at me to play with them. The blast effect pieces are nice if you've no imagination. 6/10

Price: Standard retail price is £6.99, online you're looking at more than this in weird inversion of how the internet usually works. Doesn't feel like a great deal, to be honest. 5/10

Overall: Firedrive is a nice looking robot who turns into a decent weapon. There's not really much else I can say about him. None of the Battle Masters are particularly essential purchases and don't really add much to the Siege play pattern. I think these would have been better packed in with the Weaponizers, but understand Hasbro's thinking behind selling them separately, so they can be paired up with other figures. 6/10
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