Alpha Bravo is one of the recently released figures in Hasbro’s Combiner Wars series and represents a new character introduced in through IDW’s comic books.
He/She is the replacement for Slingshot/Quickslinger (read canonball’s review here) after Slingshot met his demise in the comics. Being a helicopter, Alpha Bravo is a bit slow but makes up for everything in firepower. I’m still on the fence about the addition of helicopter to the Aerialbots, but I’m getting used it, and since I am collecting a kinda G1/IDW theme, it works.
We’ve basically covered this figure in the review for Quickslinger (see above), Skydive, and Firefly and there isn’t too much more to say about the figure. It features the same articulation as the rest and has the same fun factor. The figure has the ball joints at the knees, hips, shoulders, and elbow that allow for flexing and extension, while the ball joints at the elbow and shoulder make for external and internal rotations. The same applies to the legs. While these joints don’t always work well on 6-inch action figures, they do work well on Transformers and blend in with the sculpt.
The sculpt on these figures continues to knock me out. I’m in love with this updated “IDW” look that all the newer figures incorporate. They are really sharp and give the figures a much needed facelift. I love the raised panels, not just the panel lines (which are super cool), but the different layers — it makes the regular panelling really pop. Alpha Bravo is a completely new character and we get a first-of-a-kind sculpt with him. I like that all the Aerialbots share the same consistent look; it makes them stand out on the shelf and gives them a “uniform” appearance. While Alpha Bravo is a helicopter, his robot mode is made uniform with the rest. The figure is being re-released as Vortex for Bruticus and Blades for Defensor, so as a result he’ll lose some of his current uniqueness.
The helicopter mode is pretty sharp, but I’m not certain if this is supposed to be a variation of the Eurocopter or a variation the Bell/Augusta AB139. I’ll stick with the AB139 since it seems to fit better with the theme of the rest of the planes. The ‘copter is great with the rotating blades and the tricked-out look. I have a thing for helicopters, and flying them around the house with their blades spinning is so much fun!
The figure makes up a limb for Superion. When he combines with Silverbolt he can be a leg or an arm, and he seems to favor being a right leg — that is my takeaway from the picture on the back of the box. I’ll have to confirm this fact with someone reading the other Transformers comics since he isn’t in More Than Meets the Eye, which I read. No matter your preference, I’m certain you will find a good place for him on your Superion.
The hardcore G1 collector trying to “modernize” their collection could skip this figure; it’s not canon, and with Quickslinger’s release, Alpha Bravo doesn’t make sense. But for the collector keeping up with the IDW comics and wanting their collection to match, then he’s a must have.
You can pick him today at:
