Size: Deluxe (Giftset)
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The Swindle character has been known since G1 as a professional scammer. For its Fall of Cybertron incarnation, Hasbro sure kept the “scam” part in mind.
Diets are a scam
In robot mode, Swindle looks like a spoon squeezed by a giant hand, with tiny hips and waist next to huge legs, broad shoulders and tiny arms. Painted and sculpted details are OK, and articulation and stability are probably the best among its fellow Combaticons, but the proportions are awful. Even the head is swollen, departing from an expected homage to the G1 version of the character. Sure, the head is a homage to Alternators Swindle, but it sucks all the same.
Turning Swindle around reveals a much different story: there’s almost nothing behind those huge shoulders, and those gigantic legs are actually empty. Swindle is the TF equivalent of a kitten hissing with his hair up.
The cake is a lie
In vehicle mode, Swindle looks like… a Cybertronian Space Kitty, maybe.
In Space Kitty mode Swindle rolls freely on four wheels. This mode is quite stable and putting the gun on top gives some minor play value. The purple eyes and black paws on the front go a great length in make this an excellent Space Kitty mode.
There is literally not much to say on the rear side: unfortunately, empty legs result in an empty rear half of the vehicle.
Buy it now!
G1 Swindle was a small, solid and fun toy, with a great animated personality. Fall of Cybertron Swindle is… depressing, to say the least. Random proportions in robot mode really hurt this design, and the vehicle mode is half empty. It could be an OK toy for the Space Kitty mode alone, but I can’t really recommend anybody the purchase of THAT robot mode. As usual, consider getting Swindle only if you plan on completing FoC Bruticus.
Until next time,
Rikkomba
