Transformers Alternators - Mazda RX-8 (Shock Blast) Review

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(More customer reviews)I can't help but notice the "Ages 5 and Up" recommendation for this toy. I guarantee if you give this thing to a five-year-old, it will be broken before you get it out of the box.
I'm a long way from five years old, and I've collected scores of Transformers since I was a kid in 1984. Still, transforming Shockblast is a nerve-wracking chore. When the hood pops off (and it will, repeatedly), it can be difficult to reattach. It seems impossible to reattach in robot mode, but slips right on if it's closer to car mode. In robot mode, it never seems to fit right, like it's not fully attached. The antennae on his head exacerbate this problem, but without them he just wouldn't look right. Perhaps the engineers at Hasbro should have mounted them on pins so they could rotate down and out of the way.
Another gripe is that the various plastic pins don't stick too well in their holes to hold the thing firmly together. The hip pins won't stay snug in the torso holes, and the pin on the gun handle won't push into the hole in his hand.
This all points to the purpose of the Alternators toys...they aren't meant to be played with, only examined and displayed. The Alternators line is definitely intended for older kids and adults. The plastic is just begging to be broken, and they take patience and a little ingenuity to transform. Compared with other Alternators, Shockblast is one of the more difficult to transform. I'm still surprised I didn't break it.
Sure, the durability of the plastic itself seems weak. The benefit of this construction, however, has merit over the old die-cast designs in that parts tend to pop off rather than break. It's generally easy to snap plastic parts back together, not so easy to solder metal (unless the plastic itself breaks, which has not happened yet despite the feeling that it will). Also, I have to give credit to the engineers for making this thing mostly work. I imagine it takes a lot of skill to get all of these parts to fit and move properly.
Despite the design flaws and poor materials, this thing looks super. The color scheme is a dead-on representation of the original Shockwave. The head mold and arm cannon are also perfect homages to the original. Articulation in robot mode is excellent, as is the level of detail. While annoying to handle, it looks great on a shelf.
Bottom line, this thing (along with all Alternators) should carry an "Ages 12 and up" recommendation. If you want a Transformer to handle, one that will stand up to the rigors of manual manipulation, get one of the kid-friendly "Energon" or "Cybertron" figures. If you want something more mature that looks better than it works, Shockblast is the way to go.
Final Note: Apparently Hasbro lost the legal rights to the name "Shockwave" (something that has happened a lot in the last ten years) but that didn't stop them from putting "SHKWAV" on the license plate. This little touch made me giddy like a schoolgirl.

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