It’s been a busy time for New Age with seven retail releases and a giveaway all in the space of a month. Maverick (aka G1 Smokescreen) is release number six.
The Box
The box is inspired by the Diaclone No. 11 Fairlady Z Racing Type 280 ZX Turbo packaging but with a much heavier usage of the racing flag pattern. It also features the return of the Ark Warrior branding last seen on Harry’s packaging.
In the box you get a rifle, two shoulder cannons and the same instruction sheet that came with Harry.
The Robot
The robot mode gets an animation accurate head, front bumper extension and shoulder wheels.
Although I applaud the accuracy and love the look, the shoulder wheels do limit articulation. Since the top of the ball joint is now covered, the arms cannot be posed straight out to the side without rotating the hood piece up and nearly hitting the side of the head with the tire.
In some early photos it appeared that Maverick’s head had a flat back, which is almost true. To match the cartoon design, the head is very tall and pill-shaped.
To complete the cartoon look are Smokescreen’s iconic shoulder cannons.
The Datsun
This is a very fun vehicle mode, with a lot of strong colors and great details. The only thing missing is the rear spoiler which, admittedly, would probably have interfered with the transformation.
Due to the extra hinge in the arms, Maverick’s head needs to be tilted down below the rest of the undercarriage in order to get the hood transformed correctly. This is certainly a bot who must hate speed bumps!
The Comparisons
When side-by-side with Harry you can see all of the mold changes that help set Maverick apart.
To further demonstrate the shoulder articulation issue mentioned above:
The Name
New Age has shown a fondness for media references in their release names. I wasn’t able to figure this one out myself but there are two theories over on TFW2005:,
- RedEG6 proposed that it’s a reference to the character from Top Gun.
- LoserBroadside proposed that it’s a reference to the TV show Maverick (1957) “Maverick’s name comes from: the James Garner tv show about a gambler. Smokescreen was introduced in the episode ‘The Gambler.’”
I’m leaning towards the TV show idea, it’s a much better fit.
The Conclusion
With Murphy (anime Bluestreak) being delivered, Kitt (Diaclone blue Bluestreak) and Alonzo (G1-ized movie Barricade) shipped from the factory we’re only one Datsun away from the complete set!
Get yours where I got mine: Show.Z Store – New Age H5 Maverick
Releases in Fast Forward
We’re rapidly running out of announced figures! Will New Age wait until December to show off their next batch of releases or will we see some new molds after the vans come out? Here’s what we know:
Pending Releases
- H4 Murphy: in the mail
- H3B Kitt and H5B Alonzo: shipped from the factory
- H4G Black Rain: expected in June
- H7 McCoy and H8 Miller: expected by the end of August
- H2PT Vizla and H2P Kagemusha: expected by the end of the year
- H9 Agamenmnon: no release date or pre-orders yet – we haven’t even seen renders of the final colors, only the grey prototype shown back in December
