TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

Robot Mode:

Alternate Mode:

Box Art:

Sir Auros' review of: Whirl

Name: Whirl
Allegiance: Autobot
Function: Craptacular Aerial Assault
Sub-Group: NA

Worst. Transformer. Ever. Well, it's at least the worst Transformer I've ever bought. So bad in fact that I returned in the day after buying it and got my $20 back. The figure is a repaint of Machine Wars Sandstorm, which was in turn a repaint of a European exclusive Generation 2 figure. Now, I love G2 and think most of the figures that came out of it were superb, and maybe this figure was decent enough for back then (though I'll contest that later), but it's not something you can release now and expect people to pay $20 for and not be disappointed.

Vehicle Mode:
Whirl's vehicle mode is a helicopter and this is the only place where the figure is even halfway competent. Yes, it looks like a helicoptor and has two missile launchers. The paintjob's not that bad in this mode either, but there is something about it that really bothers me. The figure comes with two damn Minicons, but has not a single place where Minicons can link up to it. Hasbro remolded some Transmetal 2 figures to connect to Minicons for Armada, but they won't for Universe figures? Since I've run out of things to say about the vehicle mode, I'm going to discuss the Minicons here. One is a repaint from the Air Military team and the other is from the team that turned into weapons as well as vehicles and robots. Of course, even though one can turn into twin gatling guns of destruction, Whirl can't attach it in either mode because there isn't anywhere for the Minicon to link up!

Robot Mode:
This is just awful. The legs have no articulation, and are joined by a bar going through the shins. The arms can move up and down at the elbow, but that's it and that's also the extent of articulation on this figure because the head doesn't move at all. The coloring in robot mode is also very plain and ugly. Too much of that off-white and the head isn't very well defined due to lack of coloring, the yellow is gaudy, and the Machine Wars version of the figure had more detailing. Whirl can hold his missile launchers awkwardly in each hand, but that's about all this figure has going for it in robot mode. Everything else just adds up to this being the worst robot mode out of any Transformer I've ever owned, even if I did only own this for a little over 24 hours.

Transformation: 7 - Simple and does an effective job of hiding the robot mode.
Durability: 6 - Before I returned it, the hands and missile launchers had gotten some stress marks from being tight fits.
Fun: 1 - About as much fun as falling down the stairs.
Price: 1 - It's the right size to be priced as a Mega or Ultra, but the quality makes it worth the price of a Basic or Deluxe.
Summary: 1 - Look for the Machine Wars or G2 versions for less money on ebay if you absolutely have to have this mold.