Windblade is a curious experiment come to life, in a manner of speaking. The result of a fan-vote, Hasbro produced the figure based on the physical attributes (color, alt mode, gender, etc.) fans voted for in creating this “Thrilling 30” release, who just happens to come in at number 30. I guess the age-old argument that female figures don’t sell can finally be laid to rest because the fans literally voted for a female Transformers figure, and the results are actually much cooler than expected.
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Hasbro and IDW have really gone all out in the development of this new character. Hasbro designed and produced the figure, clearly, and IDW worked her into the Dark Cybertron story arc, and then they even gave the character her own limited series, written and illustrated by two female comic creators, incidentally — Mairghread Scott and Sarah Stone, respectively. I don’t think enough attention has been brought to this fact. Two female comic creators producing a comic about a female Transformers character. These are amazing times we’re living in.
Windblade’s packaging is standard, and I was sure the pack-in comic was going to be Windblade #1 because of the cover, but it’s another issue of Dark Cybertron. At least she actually appears in the issue, which is more than we can say for some figures in the Generations line.
Her design is on the complicated side, which just means there’s a lot going on. There’s a clear Asian influence, particularly in her head sculpt and paint, that makes her look rather Kabuki-ish. This is an attribute that was not part of the fan vote and was likely added by her design team. Unfortunately, because of her jet wings, she’s got some major kibble that hangs off her back. When viewed straight-on, she looks really cool, and the red and black combination works really well with those blue accents on her wrists and neck. It helps tie in all the colors on her head sculpt.
The colors work together well, but I still can’t decide how I feel about the head sculpt. It’s so conspicuously influenced by an Earth-based culture that I find it oddly distracting. I guess I prefer my ‘bots to look Cybertronian? But the cultural appropriation that’s going on with this figure makes me feel a little weird. The gold headdress is supposed to be removable, but mine doesn’t want to budge, and since it’s made of clear plastic, which is famously brittle (right, Game of Thrones figures?), I’m less inclined to force it for fear of breakage.
Her only accessory is a “Stormfall” sword that could be one of the best-looking weapons in the entire Generations line. It’s a clear plastic with a purple gradient that succeeds in making it look energy-based. It comes with a sheath/scabbard that can be plugged into her hips and can also be stored while she’s in jet mode. I think there’s a way to get her to hold the sword with both hands, but I haven’t quire found that sweet spot yet. It certainly seems as though she should be able to do it. (I figured it out! See the video posted above!)
She’s highly poseable and her articulation yields a good range of motion, but it’s a pain to keep her standing because of the design of her feet. Her feet are tiny, and her heels keeping wanting to fold in, so it doesn’t take much to make her tumble over.
Windblade’s size is consistent with everything else we’re seeing these days in the Generations line. She comes in at about 5 inches in height and weighs next to nothing. Seriously, she feels really light, which is probably due to the grade of plastic used and Hasbro’s penchant for “hollow” chunks of plastic.
Windblade’s alt mode mostly works. From certain angles it looks sleek and tight, but from others is can look rather clunky. Her shins and feet just sit atop the plane, and if you can forget what you’re looking at, they look OK. But once you think, “Oh, that’s her foot,” you see nothing but her feet sitting o top of the plane. I wish they could have been better integrated.
The fans on her wings can swivel (see video above) and there’s some retractable landing gear in the nose of the jet, but otherwise it’s a pretty standard alt mode as far as Generations figures go.
Windblade is worth picking up on the basis of her creation alone. a fan-made figure doesn’t come around every wave, so I’d like to support this effort just so it happens again. Hopefully it won’t be another 30 years before Hasbro attempts it again.
