When it comes to store exclusives, Transformers have been very hit and miss. with the multi packs generally not doing so great. One set that didn't really even get that initial hype would be the most recent one, the Deadeye Duel set for Legacy Evolution, sold as an Amazon exclusive. For me, this set wasn't two "meh" level releases, it was two Fembots of which one was really, really sharp looking, which was enough to sell me on it.
The figure comes with a brown exterior shipper protecting the interior art box. The art itself looks decent, with a versus staredown going on. The box itself is isn't anything ordinary, but the box opens up with a nice presentation of a cardboard tray and two big blobs wrapped in tissue paper. Each figure comes with its weapons, which in this case is guns, guns, and more guns.
Our two contestants out of the box, Javelin and Kaskade. While Javelin is an Autobot, Kaskade is part of something called the Ascenticons. Something tells me this is something specific to the comics, but its a subject matter I have no real insight into. You can see there's a size difference. between the two despite both being Deluxe Class, and this goes back to my belief that basically the more complicate the toy is, the smaller the final release is.
Javelin is the far superior of the two. She is a retool/repaint of the very solid Deluxe Class Studio Seris Bumblebee Movie Arcee figure. I like the overall shape of the bot form and the proportions. I also very much love the Bubblegum Crisis style deco on the figure. Of course, being the figure I love the most, it took me three sets to find one that didn't have a gimpy ankle.
The Arcee mould was one of those figures without a proper thigh twist though you get some pretty good range of motion out of the existing thigh swivel system. There are double jointed elbows due to the transformation. There's no real bulk getting in the way of leg movement and as such you can pull of some decent looking poses, especially in conjunction with the ankle swivel. There is some ankle rotation but it mostly serves to separate the calf from the leg.
Kaskade, on the other hand, is a reuse of a mould that everyone hated to begin with, the Siege Moonracer mould, which itself was a retool of a Combiner Wars figure with all the combiner parts removed. Absolutely no idea that of all the Fembot moulds possible, they decided to use this one. Again, if its comic related then there was no way around it. Otherwise, it feels like they just used what was handy.
Thigh articulation is buried within the thigh itself, and the resulting range of motion isn't too bad. Ankle articulation is there, albeit broken u into two parts. The issues with this figure include the fact that there is no waist and that shoulder articulation is limited by the giant backpack on her back. As you can probably imagine, all the poses are of a straight body nature, requiring full turn of the body or head to convey any pose that isn't a straight on look.
Another fun fact about this mould. I have no idea why, but instead your typical moulded waist and groin piece, this features a crotch plate that likes to pop off at the slightest touch.
Transformation is of course no different from the original toys. In the instance of Javelin, it looks slightly different as the backpack wasn't exactly the same, so the pods on the side of the bike don't look as it did on Arcee. Kaskade just looks like a different coloured Moonracer. The transformation sequence for Javelin is quite satisfying whereas Kaskade is more of a shellformer than anything.
Otherwise, Paint Applications are pretty standard, with the minimal work being done to get things looking right, though the paint on Javelin certainly requires more finesse to put on. Kaskade technically has more actual paint on her because of the giant windshield, but I suppose a win is a win. Build Quality wise, there's not real design issues or finish, just the usual possible QC items regarding joints.
I think if you wait long enough, this set will go on fire sale and at that point, Javelin alone should make it all worth it. On the other hand, it's been over a year, and the previous set is still being sold for MSRP,, so it might be a while.
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