There is no innuendo here.
Movie Mudflap is a straight up repaint of Cybertron Mudflap. While called (Movie) Mudflap, he’s very much an homage to a little known Transformer by the name of Erector. In the interest of avoiding confusion with Cybertron Mudflap, he’ll henceforth, be called Erector for the purposes of this review.
As a disclaimer, I will state here and now that I won’t go out of my way to make double entendres for this figure, simply because there’s no need to. Erector’s a walking innuendo. There are toys made of win and/or suck (heh, suck) and then there’s Erector. No matter how innocently you try to describe him, it’ll turn into a winkwinknudgenudge moment.
For instance, I saw Erector on display, and asked the girl minding the store to let me have a look. So she grabbed a piece and gave me an Erector. After fiddling with the Erector for a bit, I told her I wanted a piece. So she gave me a new Erector, and I was genuinely surprised to see how long my new Erector was.
See? No challenge. Anyway, onto the character.
Erector’s relatively interesting. According to his bio, he’s got a reputation as a particularly brutal Decepticon. However, he’s actually not really into the whole “Decepticon Cause” thing, and would much rather be a peace loving Autobot. Unfortunately, he knows that with his reputation, that’s never going to happen. No one’s going to trust him, not even Prime. This is understandably frustrating, and Erector’s only outlet is therefore… to SMASH more Autobots.
This is a nice bio, if only because it’s not your typical Decepticon bio which goes “He’s the best at what he does, and what he does is SMASH Autobots”. Sure, it amounts to the same thing, but at least there’s a little more depth to Erector. Also, this is a complete turnaround from his Mudflap days. In Cybertron, Mudflap was portrayed as an Autobot who didn’t particularly like humans and the way he had to hide among them. He was seduced to the dark side by Starscream as a result. Although at the end of the series, he did rejoin the Autobots.
Mudflap was a shelfwarmer, sadly enough. But thankfully, because he’s now Erector, he’s moving much faster on the isles. Or so I heard. And this is good, because this is an excellent toy that deserves a good home. The fact that he’s probably being bought precisely because he’s an homage to a char named Erector, probably means he’ll be in the safe hands of a TF “Otaku” as opposed to the destructive ones of a 5 (and above) year old.
Anywho, in vehicle mode, the first thing you’ll note with Erector is that he’s so looooong. I was really surprised at the length of Erector. And he’s pretty wide too, for what he is. The next thing of note is that this is a pretty darn well detailed vehicle mode. There’s just something cool looking about Erector’s vehicle mode, and the fact that it has actual play value beyond just rolling on the floor is a plus. His front cab section can flip forward and fire a projectile when you insert a Cyber Planet Key in. While his crane can extend, then just insert the Cyber Key and a saw blade will pop out. Further extending the crane to a ridiculous length. Of course, the crane cab section has full articulation, and even a hydraulic shaft thingy that extends when you raise the crane up. This is one vehicle mode where I can have stuff to say.
Transformation is neat. Everything is held tight together via pegs though. While that means it’s a stable vehicle mode, it also means that conversion between modes isn’t a smooth transition you can do absentmindedly. Since you have to peg and unpeg the limbs from mode to mode. That said, it’s still a neat transformation. Relatively straightforward, but not as simple looking as the transformation animation from Cybertron, as the animation simplified/streamlined some steps. But it’s a good transform nonetheless, simple without being too simple.
In robot mode, Erector just looks great. There are few flaws with him here. The only downsides that I can really bring up are that his eyes use a grayish brown/purple color that just doesn’t lightpipe very well, and his crane arm kibble doesn’t quite clear his back wings assembly when the arms are flushed to the body. Otherwise, Erector is peachy keen. He’s very detailed without going overboard. He’s a well proportioned and solid figure with no gaps in his torso or anything. He looks good and the colors work for him.
He’s got some play value with his missile firing cab on one arm and his super extendo crane on the other. I heard some people say that he can’t be posed with his crane extended, but that doesn’t seem to be the case with mine. Sure, poses are limited when you fully extend the crane, because it’s an effin’ long crane. Well over a foot long. But he’s got big feet and his other arm is able to act as a counterbalance thanks to the heft of the vehicle cab attached to it. I have to problem standing my Erector up, and the shoulder joint for his crane arm is especially tight, so he’s able to hold the crane up with nary a spot of trouble.
Articulation is also top notch. Of course, Erector has the usual neck, shoulders, elbows, hips and knees. But he’s also got swivel biceps, thighs and ankles. He even has limited articulation in his chest. And all the joints are tight or ratchetted, which is important, considering his design.
Movie Mudflap (Erector) is peachy keen.
I can understand why Cybertron Mudflap was a shelfwarmer, perhaps he was lacking that special something to make him stand out in that line. And let’s face it, Movie Mudflap’s main draw amongst fans is that he’s a tribute to an amusingly named, obscure G1 toy. But the simple fact is, this is an outstanding toy, in both function and form. He plays and displays well. And I think these colors actually work better for him, regardless of whether or not he’s an homage. They really bring out his details. I absolutely love my Erector, he’s got presence and is inherently fun/amusing.
4.3 out of 5.
There are seven innuendos in this review, collect them all for fun and profit!