Can turn foes into helpless accomplices by injecting cerebro-shells into their head (robot or human) with his stinger...gives him control of their minds...has a cruel sense of humor...arms himself by having his victims debase themselves. In insect Mode this insecticon can fly 10km. In robot Mode wears head-mounted mortar...throws 25 kg explosive shell 15 km. Cerebro-shells can be used against him if removed from victim's head.
First/Last Comic Appearance (UK) - Issue 88, November 22nd 1986 / Issue 289, September 29th, 1990
First/Last Cartoon Appearance - Episode 15 (Season 1 #15), December 19th 1984 / Episode 70 (Season 3 #5), September 19th 1986
Figure Details
AKA 'Stormbomb'
Manufacturer - FansProject
Toyline - Causality
Additions/Mods:
- Added a Decepticon symbol to the chest
Review
Bombshell was probably the most sinister of any Decepticon back in my youth, due to his ability to control minds. I remember one notable story where he fired cerebro shells into a human and it reminded me of Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, where Checkov has a nasty alien crawl inside his ear. Needless to say, it gave me the willies. In fact, it still does today. Bombshell was one of the earler
FansProject releases, and in truth I was never a fan of the whole 'ninja' aesthetic. My relief was palpable then, when FansProject released an additional set of G1 weapons alongside their Deluxe
Insecticons box set. Let's see how well they have fared in homaging this sinister G1 character.
Appearance (Robot Mode) 8/10
All of the Insecticons stand somewhere between deluxe and scout class, probably closer to deluxe in height. What is notable about Bombshell is his impressive bulk - he looks squat and powerful. He does a good job of hiding his kibble, with the forelegs either visible or hidden behind his shoulders depending on your preference. The rear insect legs are neatly folded on the lower leg of the robot. His headsculpt is particularly impressive, with a menacing grille for a mouth plate punctuated by the demonic eyes above it. His expression is enigmatic - perfect to reflect this character. The new gun very much fits in with his overall appearance and I prefer it infinitely over the whole 'ninja' aesthetic. Colour-wise, this guy is spot on, perfectly capturing the purple, black and yellow of the original figure. Red is used sparingly, but effectively.
Appearance (Alternate Mode) 7/10
A pretty successful analogue of the original, the rear legs work really well. My gripes are that the front legs tend to pop out of their clips every now and then because they double as auxiliary weapons (complete with metal chain attachments) and I'm not sure about how well the daggers serve as the 'mouth'. It's a shame that because of the different connector, there is no way to instead use the front of the rifle as the mouthpiece, as is the case with the Barrage homage. The
Skyquake-esque 'pods' either side of the robot head make more sense in this mode, serving as 2 sets of creepy eyes, either side of the mouth. Very unsettling.
Transformation 8/10
This figure has a relatively simple transformation (especially for FansProject), although the arms take some mastery. The groin and hip panels are slid up to allow the legs to telescope into each other, which they do once they are rotated and tabbed together. The feet are then folded in, and the insect mode legs are then unfolded and moved into position. The head is covered by the insect 'mouth', which is folded up from its position on the back in robot mode. The both shoulder pads are rotated around, and the arms swing behind the back, with the fists slotting in to tabs on the underside of the leg. This step can be tricky unless the elbows are aligned properly. Then the ninja weapons are added to the stumps to form the front legs. Job done!
Poseability 9/10
Fantastic, there's not a lot that this figure can't do. From top to bottom this figure is blessed with a ball-jointed head, lateral and side-to side shoulder articulation, bicep swivel courtesy of a ball-joint, and forearm swivel. There is no wrist articulation but then this is not really needed thanks to the forearm articulation. There is also a ball-jointed waist and hips; with the bonus being that the hip and groin panels can be moved for a greater range of movement. This figure also has bicep swivel, jointed knees ankle tilt and swivel. The low center of gravity of this figure coupled with large feet and tight joints mean that this figure is super poseable.
Quality 8/10
Something about the plastic that FansProject use always makes me worry somehow, for me there seems to be less 'give' in the plastic, in that it feels very good quality but is slightly brittle. Maybe this is unfounded but I am always more careful with the FansProject stuff (perhaps the price might have something to do with that!) I have no specific worries with this figure, because there are no transformation steps which make me wince.
Overall - 40/50
FansProject have taken on 3 classic figures that have been sadly neglected by Hasbro and have re-imagined them to good effect. As I have already said, I am not a massive fan of the ninja weapons but thankfully this has been addressed by not another 3rd party, but FansProject themselves! Bombshell is certainly my favourite figure of the 3 original Insecticons, and should certainly be considered for any collection, as he was pretty decent value, to boot.
