Transformers Prime: Bulkhead

Presenting Bulkhead from the Transformers Prime Animated Series. Think of the Transformers Prime Bulkhead as the smaller version of his Transformers Animated Series Legends class cousin - down to the wrecking ball.

Transformers Prime Bulkhead is the sterotypical gentle giant - down to the big-blue eyes (Hats off to Hasbro, something that small is actually pretty good detailing).  While he  seriously looks like a green gorilla on steroids, he also delivers on being the green gorilla that can drive you into the ground and both dish and take on a lot of punishment.

Bulkhead never saw himself as a genius and started out as a Wrecker but eventually followed Prime and was one of the last ones on the Earth-bound Ark - ironically the Wreckers, led by Ultra Magnus held off Trypticon long enough for the Ark to escape. The Wreckers stayed vowing to take apart Shockwave's new empire.

On Earth, Bulkhead befriends, and is most protective of, 15 year old Miko Nakadai who accepts his clumsy but well meaning ways.

It is this friendship that brings Bulkhead back from a coma after he accidentally gets into a situation akin to what happened to Spike Witwicky in the Transformers Revenge of the Fallen movie - except that because Bulkhead is... intellectually challenged... it overloads him, literally.




Bulkhead's blister card dose not tell us anything about him, but his wiki has the following to say about him: "Bulkhead looks huge and menacing, but he's only the former. Once you get to know him, he has a gentle soul. He's afraid of hurting things smaller and more fragile than him, but his new human friend, Miko Nakadai, has helped him grow past that. He has a low tolerance for jerks and bullies, and is quite happy to let people like that stew in the trouble they've made for themselves, but his better impulses—or at least, needling from those around him—always sway him into helping in the end."

What's to like about Transformers Prime: Bulkhead?

He's a big hulking Green Gorilla. He even feels like one. Picture someone this big shaking the Earth while walking around, with all those forward mounted plates clanking together like armor on a rotund medieval knight.

Simply put, to say that he's a solid figure is an understatement. Yet Hasbro was kind enough to add a dash of character via his baby blue eyes and innocent face that is directly in contrast with Bulkhead's body. You can tell that he may have the body of a bull in a china shop, but he has the heart of a teddy-bear.

Like Cliffjumper, Bulkhead come with a hidden weapon system. Simply fold back his hands and you have a monster with twin cannons facing you.

But Bulkhead's real weapon of choice - like his animated version - is a battlefist/mace that simply attaches to one of his hand "gunports". This is where he looks most menacing:

Transformers Prime Bulkhead transforms into a just as solid ATV - though he's incredibly hard to transform and I probably can't do it without a manual. You've got to love the detailing and it is as heavy and as solid as it looks.

Transformers Prime Bulkhead's Battlefist/Mace sits like a Naval mine (Kinda weird) on his back and you can actually pop open Bulkhead's hood.

What's NOT to like about Transformers Prime: Bulkhead?

Well I've always had soft spots for "Ferdinand the Gentle Bull" types, so I have to say that I really do like Transformers Prime Bulkhead. Of concern though are the following:

1. He really is difficult to transform - but this could be me.
2. His "crotch lock" keeps popping open - so yes, his fly is usually open.
3. Articulation is as moderate as that of Cliffjumper's i.e. he can twist at the waist and what you see above is as far as his knees will go which reduces his pose-ability.
4. His chest is so broad that it limits the pose-ability of his arms as they like to occasionally clash against his plates.

But other than that, I really do like him. This particular Transformers Prime Bulkhead was bought at retail value at Toy Kingdom here in the Philippines for PhP 1,499.75 (Roughly US$ 34) and is currently (as of this writing) not available on Amazon.