Another day, another Datsun: New Age Toys’ Diaclone No. 7 Fairlady Z blue version inspired Kitt has arrived.
The Box
Th box is very similar to Maverick‘s with a very strong 1970’s feel that replacing the racing flag pattern with a sea green background and removing the Ark Warrior badge. Unlike the rest of the Bluestreak-inspired releases which were numbered H4_, Kitt has been added to Harry‘s numbering scheme: H3B.
Like the rest of the Datsuns this includes the rifle and two of the same missile launchers that came with Harry for a more toy-inspired look.
The Robot
No changes from Murphy except for the blue. I was a little concerned by some of the early photos of this figure that the shade of blue would be overwhelming but, in hand, it looks fine.
The Datsun
Again, no changes here besides the blue paint job.
The Comparisons
To really show off the blue, here’s Kitt with Maverick.
There is now a Bluestreak for everyone; animation, toy or Diaclone. I have no doubt that there will be clear versions in the near future for those of you that just need more Datsuns.
Basic black is a great look for the Maverick mold!
The Box
Alonzo’s box is inspired by the 2007 movie toy line packaging and includes a huge window on the front.
It is the first release in the line that was not given a function. Even Multiverse Cyclops was had a function of “Security Police”.
There’s also a movie-style bumblebee logo on the back
In the box you get a rifle, two shoulder cannons and the same instruction sheet that came with Harry.
It is a little disappointing that they painted the weapons gold instead of just casting them in that color. The unpainted rifle handle really stands out and the extra paint makes the shoulder cannons extremely difficult to use.
The Robot
The robot mode doesn’t have any changes from Maverick with the sole exception of having Harry’s roof.
The Datsun
Here’s where this release really shines! The classic black and white police car looks fantastic.
Sadly mine has a scratch on the door that really stands out in close-ups.The language barrier turns Barricade’s slogan into “to punish V enslave…”
As originally speculated by Scurv on the TFW2005 boards, the name comes from Robocop (1987). This thought was most succinctly put by zeroblue2099 on TFW2005, “Alex Murphy starts the movie as a cop (Prowl) and is rebuilt into a black and silver cyborg”.
The Conclusion
This will be the primary Bluestreak for my display as far as robot mode goes.
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.
The rough edges are only noticeable in these close-ups, in hand it looks great.
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:,
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!
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
The box is similar to those of the other two Maxes but the background has been changed to a much lighter blue and green gradient
In the box you get the same instructions and three piece “beam up” stand as the original Max.
The Robot
Same bot – now see-through!
The UFO
The UFO mode…
The Comparisons
Here are all three versions of Max.
Autobot symbol sold separatelyAutobot symbol sold separately
The Conclusion
Certainly not a “must have” release unless you’re one of the lucky few who own the Weibo giveaway Heart of Gold Flipper or Ion Storm Max. Still, it is a very cool looking figure!
One odd thing about the back of the box is that it shows the clear display stand that’s included with the other versions of Max.
In the box you get the same instructions and three piece “beam up” stand (this time in yellow).
Backwards Max, just like in the box
The Name
The one thing that bothers me about this release is the name: Max V2. Their first Go Bot inspired release wasn’t called Flipper V2. They’ve even given names to all of the Bluestreak variants; Murphy for the animation silver and black version, Kitt for Diaclone blue, and Black Rain for the all silver toy version. So why does Max’s repaint miss out?
Just call me Max too
The Robot
Max is an enormously adorable rotund little figure, now in blue
Not actually evil despite the red eyes!
The UFO
The UFO mode looks great in blue!
The Comparisons
Here are both versions of Max.
(Autobot symbol sold separately)
The Conclusion
Being a straight repaint, this figure is just as good as the original Max. I still wish he had a name though.
Since this is a limited release it reuses the instructions and plastic insert created for Manero which can be a little confusing. To be clear, the rifle slot should be empty since Cyclops does not include any accessories.
The Robot
Since Laserwave was a repaint of Meister in the Binaltech line it makes sense (from a certain point of view) to make Cyclops a repaint of Manero.
One thing that you’ll notice is that there are very few paint apps for the robot mode, which makes it a very purple-forward figure as it should be.
True to the character, the left hand has been replaced with a cannon. Due to limitations in how the arms fold into the vehicle mode the cannon is rather short.
The new head, as expected in this line, is spot on and includes a nice arrow detail on the top.
The Porsche
The vehicle mode is much plainer than the other versions of this mold which matches the the Binaltech inspriation.
The Original Tease
H2 was originally teased in July 2018 with the following image:
With the Shockwave head on a Jazz chest the silhouette covers both Manero and Cyclops. The black latex gloves, hopefully, were simply a reference to Shockwave as an experimental scientist.
The Comparisons
Side-by-side with Manero you can really see how simple the deco on this figure is.
To get a better idea of the size, here is Cyclops with Power of the Primes Shockwave.
360 Degree Turnaround
The Conclusion
As mentioned above, this is not supposed to be G1 Shockwave but rather an interpretation of Laserwave from the Binaltech line. I do not believe that this excludes the possibility of a true G1-inspired Shockwave later in the line, but time will tell.
Capoeira (aka G1 Stepper, Ricochet or Manero repaint #1) is here!
The Box
Like Max, Capoeira’s box is G1 inspired with a grid starburst pattern behind the robot mode photo.
Since this is a limited release it reuses the instructions created for Manero. You also get a gold version of the rifle.
The Robot
All the glory of Manero in black and gold!
As you can see on the box, New Age is a bit fixated with mounting the rifle on the figure’s shoulder which, for me, just reinforces that it does not include a version of Nebulon (aka Nightstick) who originally would have been placed there.
No really, it’s a Target Master
The Porsche
Just like the original toy, this Porsche 935 Turbo looks fantastic in black!
The Comparisons
This is a pure repaint, but the colors really pop.
(Autobot symbol sold separately)(Autobot symbol sold separately)
Here he is with United Stepper, a great repaint of my favorite modern Jazz mold.
360 Degree Turnaround
The Conclusion
A great looking repaint that I am very happy to have in my New Age display!
Manero (aka Jazz) was announced as ready to ship on April 4th – an appropriate date for their fourth mold released!
The Box
Manero is packaged is a Diaclone inspired window box just like Harry. Unfortunately, the box for the Diaclone Porsche 935 Turbo was not as nice as the box for Police Car Fairlady Z (that became Prowl and later inspired Harry). To add a little more G1 flair, New Age has replaced the static toy photo from the Diaclone box with a drawing of Manero posed just like the art on the G1 Jazz packaging.
Unlike Harry, Manero is not labeled as an “Ark Warrior” but does retain the “Alliance” categorization on the bottom of the box.
Inside the box you get a rifle, two speakers and instructions.
The instructions feature line art with the moving parts drawn in red instead of photos with highlighting like on the previous releases.
The Robot
The robot is unquestionably a tightly designed piece of engineering. When Harry came out it was often described as a “mini-masterpiece” and it’s hard to argue that Manero is in the same class
Almost no kibble here at all.
The head, as expected, is very sharp and very Jazz.
The hips are nicely detailed and painted.
The articulation is on a par with Harry with no interfering parts like on Max.
Toy-purists beware: as you can see above, there is no way to give Manero shoulder wings since the vehicle doors wrap around the figure’s lower legs.
Apparently they tweaked Manero’s design after releasing Harry to address customer concerns:
After receiving the feedback of the H3, we improved the new version of the H2. Remaining the waist joint, we also make the shoulders and feet joint to make it better. You can’t see any empty space when looking from the back.
The new feet are top notch as you can see in the following “boxer” pose!
The other Legendary Heroes wish they could hold this pose!
The ankle on this figure is double hinged with a main joint on the inside of the foot that can fold out to 90 degrees and a secondary joint at the back of the foot which can fold out 45 degrees. Here are some close-ups of the feet:
As you can see above, the grey cover is not attached to the calf so if you’re not careful it can separate during posing. It does fold down flat in this pose but I left the flawed photo here as a public advisory.
The Porsche
The transformation for Manero is much more complex than Harry. When transforming the knees they need to very firmly snap into place so that the attached roof panels sit flush with the rest of the roof.
There is one small flaw in the vehicle mode, the two sides of the spoiler do not quite match with the left side being much thicker than the right.
The tiny details on this are extremely nice. From the fully painted rolling tires…
to the textured front grill…
to the doors with molded handles that are almost too small to see…
New Age really pulled out all of the stops on this mold.
The Original Tease
H2 was originally teased in July 2018 with the following image:
With the Shockwave head on a Jazz chest the silhouette covers both Manero and Cyclops. The black latex gloves, hopefully, were simply a reference to Shockwave as an experimental scientist.
The Name
The first result for “Manero” is a movie from 2008. It’s also Spanish for trained. However, with Gremlin and Harry being used for other releases in this line it seems like the movie is the more likely inspiration.
360 Degree Turnaround
The Conclusion
I love New Age’s confidence when they posted on Facebook about Manero:
The pictures can not describe its perfection. There’s no need to hesitate, just buy it.
New Age Toys Facebook post March 16 at 11:53 PM (emphasis added)
For me, their confidence was more than justified. This is one impressive figure!
