REVIEW: KFC E.A.V.I. METAL Phase Seven: A Ditka (part 2)

If you’ve yet to catch up on part 1 of my KFC Ditka write-up then you will have missed my long-winded rundown of what exactly brought me to review a toy I’ve taken a pass at twice over already, but the tl;dr version is that I’m a glutton for punishment, clearly. How else would you explain such an endeavour?

Fortunately, it hasn’t exactly been all that bad so far, as the tank mode has once again proven to be a definite highlight of this release, even if this version’s darker tan colour isn’t quite as nice as the one sported by the original test shot of Ditka I still have in hand. Yet now it’s time to go to the next step and get him all concerted up into jet form!

The first thing to note about this transformation is how clever it is in many regards, but also how close it flies to the G1 original toy. True, there’s a far greater degree of complexity on offer here, but the manner in which the sides unfold to form the wings is eerily familiar for one thing. There are some intriguing touches along the way but suffice it to say that this is a remarkably restrained conversion on the whole, keeping things to the minimum of what they need to be to achieve the desired result.

And that result is bound to be one that will divide opinion, I think. After all, let’s just go ahead and acknowledge that this is a very bizarre jet mode indeed!

I’ll never forget when I first discovered that Blitzwing’s aerial form was meant to actually represent a real-world jet and how surprised I was by that fact! After all, it’s always been a strange prospect, even with the Generation 1 toy and its subsequent fictional portrayal. That this third party attempt seeks to ape that appearance so keenly means that it too ends up looking precisely nothing like reality, let alone something that could actually fly!

But hey, it’s not like Transformers fans are always known for wanting a big ol’ chunk of realism now, is it? And, for collectors who like the cartoon represented in toy form no matter how quirky or outlandish that might appear to be, there’s little doubt that Ditka achieves that goal more than some of the competition on offer, with alternatives such as DX9’s Gewalt attempting a bit more of a grounded look, in its way.

So I guess maybe your feelings on this jet form are probably dictated by such preferences to begin with. For all its many foibles, what you see here is surprisingly faithful to the animation and could, by that metric at least, be considered a success.

That doesn’t mean it’s devoid of problems, mind, as indeed there are many potential examples to cite. The most obvious is that the whole thing is extremely back-heavy, and not just visually. It’s unfortunate that KFC has loaded the rear half of the jet mode with an inordinate amount of bulk without ever thinking about how to create balance elsewhere, meaning that Ditka has a nasty habit of toppling backwards without a second’s notice.

Actually it’s more than that – not only did they not counter the weight in any way but they added to it by throwing in a load of diecast towards the back as well, just to ensure it would really feel off-kilter. It’s a strange choice that could arguably be said to benefit elsewhere at the expense of the jet form in many ways, with the single solution provided being a small flap that must be folded down behind the rear landing gear to try and hold the thing upright. Seriously.

Unfortunately, it smacks of afterthought a little, leaving me feeling that there’s a bit of nuance lacking in this jet mode’s execution. I mean, it’s one thing not to look aerodynamic enough to fly but it’s quite another to topple onto your backside like a rollerskating hippo.

The other major compromise here is perhaps obviously the tank turret sitting rather inconspicuously on the underneath. Oh, you hadn’t noticed it? Yeah, right.

Now, there is a bit of a solution for this in that the whole turret section can be unclipped and removed entirely, giving a considerably sleeker feel to the jet form, however that also means removing the rear landing gear (and that precious stability flap!), meaning that it then won’t allow you to stand Ditka in jet form in any way.

Then there’s the grumble of getting everything tabbed in properly. I neglected to mention this in regards to the front part of the tank mode in part 1 but really, the problem is compounded quite a bit here. The top of the nosecone section is forever popping out of place and the main panels that form the back simply refuse to stay tabbed as they should. It can be a little annoying, to say the least.

Yet despite all of that I still find that there’s something sort of endearing about Ditka’s jet mode, all the same. I am one of those collectors that likes a fair dose of animation accuracy and so there is a certain amount of quirk that I’m prepared to accept to that end. This is pushing the boundaries a bit, sure, but it’s still kind of fun to see, in a lot of ways!

I mean, if you’re going to do cartoon-accurate G1 Blitzwing then you may as well swing into the idea a little, eh? I prefer that they went for it wholesale instead of trying to reinterpret the design too much and making it inherently “not Blitzwing”. These kinds of things should be at least a little outlandish, offbeat and, dare I say it, ridiculous, no? Otherwise you’re not really embracing Transformers as it was back in the day, somehow!

In that regard, I guess it’s fair to say that Ditka’s a bit of a mixed bag in jet mode then. Props to them for having the stones to recreate the original design so slavishly but perhaps its a bit of a shame it wasn’t done with a touch more elegance along the way. As it is, the jet mode feels like a bit of a wet thud of 1980s accuracy, for better or for worse.

One thing that is interesting though is comparing it to that test shot version. We’ve already seen that the tank’s tan colouration didn’t prove to be as much as a gamechanger as I’d remember it to be but there’s no getting around how different those purples are in this mode!

I have to admit that I do definitely prefer the lighter colour on the final version, and if anything it’s making me realise all over again that the perfect colour scheme would be to have that alongside the original’s lighter tan somehow. Still, on balance the newer one feels a lot more accurate to the source on the whole.

It also allows Ditka to stack up well alongside stuff like Masterpiece Seekers (or third party equivalents), as although the weird proportions still exist, somehow the cartoonish colouration helps my brain to see it as something that works, in its way!

Be it ever so peculiar, there’s nowt like cartoon Blitzwing, after all, and you’d be hard-pressed to tell me that Ditka doesn’t give that vibe in a Masterpiece-styled collection.

The ultimate test is surely in seeing him alongside our other 3PMP triple changers then, especially as that’s the idea that sent me down this road to begin with! For one thing, it’s remarkably satisfying to see how well he and FansToys Thomas come off as a pair, particularly as its those characters who are most well-known as a double act from the infamous episode, Triple Takeover.

Ditka and KFC’s other effort, Stratotanker, also shape up nicely in their way, although the comparative mismatch of sizes is a bit of a hard one to swallow too, I think!

Still, as far as this trio of flight modes goes, things are shaping up relatively well on the whole so far. Ditka may not be quite the smash that Thomas is proving to be but there’s still plenty to have fun with along the way.

The final test will be that robot mode then, but that’s a story for next time!

TTFN