TF Source Review – Transformers Heroes of Cybertron Thundercracker

Earlier this week I reviewed the Transformers: Heroes of Cybertron Skywarp toy at battlegrip.com (review here). This morning, as Thundercracker stared at me, I decided that it was time to get this guy online . . . and I figured it would be most fun to share Heroes of Cybertron Thundercracker here at tfsource.com where a larger number of Transformers fans could get a toy from 2001.

Attractive and simple are the two words I’ll use to describe the Heroes of Cybertron package design. It clearly has a Transformers Generation One style, and the included card and the toy are both presented nicely, and generally this is a successful package. But not so successful that I was going to leave Thundercracker forever imprisoned in the blister . . .

As I said in my Skywarp review this design’s sculpt is great. The one real benefit to Hasbro’s decision to create the “Seekers” back in 1984 is that they can always get three characters out of the same sculpt by just changing the colors, so it’s nice to see that they sunk real effort into producing a great sculpt. I’m completely happy and am now wishing I had the Seeker Jets Set (see it at TFSource). Maybe at Botcon next week I’ll get lucky and someone will be selling that Heroes of Cybertron set.

As with Skywarp, the paint on Thundercracker is pretty stripped down but it works. Any fan of the original trio of “Seekers” won’t have any problems at all identifying each of the three designs in the Heroes of Cybertron series, but I do kinda wish that the paint apps were a little more detailed. Maybe a wash to bring out the sculpted details would have worked.

Transformers toys that don’t transform immediately lose some of their playability, but from what I can tell the Heroes of Cybertron toys are durable, fun, and look great on display. I’m not about to trade off my entire collection in order to track down and secure every release in the Heroes of Cybertron line, but I do know that I’ll pick up a few more of these as I get the chance. These 3-inch tall toys were well crafted and are a lot neater than I expected.

After opening and playing with both Skywarp and Thundercracker I find myself looking at more of the Heroes of Cybertron toys (find several at TFSource). A great series that I wish I had caught when they were first released in 2001, but fortunately for me (and any of you who don’t have these) some of the toys are still available. A little pricey at times, yes, but that’s to be expected from toys that are over a decade old.

I’m recommending this line to anyone who wants an assortment of small Transformers toys that are poseable, fun, and make great display pieces.

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Philip Reed spends his days working away in the game industry and whatever spare time he can steal goes to the toy website, battlegrip.com, where he writes about a lot more than just Transformers.