He won't ever win a Mr. Popularity contest - incessant braggart, takes credit for exploits of other Autobots. Optimus Prime is supportive since he's hard-working and loyal, but he secretly lacks self-confidence. Vertical-take-off-and-landing aircraft, flies at Mach 1.6, range: 800 miles, extremely maneuverable. Sharpshooter - has twin mortar cannons as jet, neutron rifle as robot. With fellow Aerialbots forms "Superion".
First/Last Comic Appearance (US) - Issue 21, October 1986 / Issue 50, March 1989
First/Last Comic Appearance (UK) - Issue 63, May 31st 1986 / Issue 278, July 14th 1990
First/Last Cartoon Appearance - Episode 57 (Season 2 #41), November 26th 1985 / Episode 98 (Season 4 #3), November 11th 1987
Figure Details
AKA 'Airazor'
Manufacturer - Hasbro
Toyline - Revenge of the Fallen
Additions/Mods:
- Added an Autobot symbol to the chest, covering the sculpted one
Review
Poor Slingshot actually doesn't exist anymore, having been replaced by Airazor (presumably because Hasbro could trademark 'Airazor', and not something as generic as 'Slingshot'). Perhaps it is for the best that Slingshot is 'dead' now, considering his track record of stealing other's exploits. Let's hope his figure can do him justice, then.
Appearance (Robot Mode) 9/10
This is actually my favourite Scout class mould as a robot - it is absolutely awesome. Well-proportioned, stylish, and even the kibble integrates very nicely into the figure. He really is great, and looks even better now that I have equipped him with his
FansProject pistols. His face appears to be expressionless, but if you look closely, you can see the outline of a mouth there. He has a great big visor which lends itself extremely well to light piping. Unlike
Air Raid, the colour scheme does a pretty good job of homaging Slingshot as well - the original was white with a red chest, and this guy is predominantly white with some red and grey/blue accents here and there. The yellowish gold parts help to sell his slightly arrogant persona.
Appearance (Alternate Mode) 8/10
This plane is slightly messy, but looks pretty decent from a 3/4 view, things only get ugly if you look at the undercarriage as the arms just kind of sit there. There are small tabs to lock the arms in place but these do not work, overwhelmed as they are by the weight of the arms. I don't tend to fly these things around anymore, but if you were that way inclined that I can imagine the arms dangling out as gravity does its work. The paintjob is actually really nice and helps the jet to look that bit more impressive than Air Raid's is. The grey/blue plastic has a really nice finish, too.
Transformation 8/10
I'm pretty impressed with this guy, considering that the engineers needed to pack in the combiner transformation as well. This mould has a very instinctive but simple transformation sequence. The arms splay out and the chest folds over, with the shoulders clicking into place. The legs are formed from the wings, and unlike the arms, they tab into the jet mode very solidly.
Poseability 8/10
This guy poses really well for a scout class figure, and because his proportions are spot on, you can get some really good-looking poses out of him. He has ball jointed hips and shoulders, and a swivel on his head. His knees and elbows are also ball jointed, allowing a pretty nice range of movement. Unfortunately there is no waist or wrist articulation, but this does not overly affect the figure.
Quality 7/10
This guy needs to be transformed through 3 modes and I have never felt any undue stresses during transformation. However, the shoulder joints are painted clear plastic, and I do worry that over time, these joints will become brittle. Plus, to transform him to a robot, a fair amount of force must be used to lock the shoulders into position. I would not worry about these joints at all if they were not clear plastic. Still, so far, so good.
Overall - 39/50
This mould is far and away the 'superior' of those which comprise
Superion (Not much of an accolade in truth, though, considering how bad the others are) and even as a standalone figure, this little guy holds up well. He looks nice in both modes, and despite his few flaws, is an aesthetically-pleasing, compact and fun toy. I would recommend him. His new Fansproject weapons integrate much better than his garish originals, too. I also think that the colour scheme works very well, and is a pretty decent match for the original Slingshot toy.
