Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Spray, iGear Mini Warriors MW-01 action figure Review

While some 3rd Party companies focus on add-ons to existing figures, iGear is producing brand new complete action figures of our favorite Transformers. Spray here is of course Autobot Seaspray from the pocket-sized minibot G1 figures. He's the first of iGear's Mini Warrior line and stands 4" which is taller than Rager whom I reviewed earlier, but mainly because of his fan mounts. Head to head he's basically the same height.

Spray's articulation is loads of awesome. Everything is ball jointed including his waist and ankles. Tho his head is tiny you can move it easily and the props on his back spin. Every bit of him is sculpted nicely with tight edges and neat tech design. There's even a space on his chest to affix your own Autobot logo you can pick up at ReproLabels. He's molded in a sparkly matte plastic which doesn't shine like the rest of your Transformers but at least you can see the detail with the darker blue and solid white making him look far less knockoff-ish.

Spray is packed in a nice box similar to Rager and comes with his own sparkly hard plastic collector card and a tiny harpoon gun which unfortunately doesn't store in vehicle mode. No instructions are included but a bit of unfolding and extending his legs will transform him easily. The only paint are his eyes and windows on his feet which are crisp and clean. His face is a separate piece of plastic and unlike the G1version the faceplate isn't yellow, but all grey.

The altmode for Seaspray is a hovercraft type that's almost as big as a scout vehicle. It looks sleek and updated with all sorts of panels and window cuts on it. Unfortunately there are no wheels underneath so Spray can't roll anywhere, just sit. I would have loved to see spherical mouse-ball type wheels that would allow you to spin him like a real hovercraft but it wasn't in iGear's design.

So what's the verdict? He's more articulated and designed better than Rager, also appearing taller because of the back props. The matte plastic and lack of wheels is a bit disappointing but aren't a dealbreaker. I really like the range of articulation he has in all his limbs and the spinning props are nice. Keep in mind he's an unlicensed product of a licensed character so weigh that internally as you will. You can pick him up at our sponsor Big Bad Toy Store or wait till he's back in stock at iGear's web store. I'd suggest BBTS because it's based in the USA. iGear's store ships from Hong Kong so it will take a while to reach you.

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