TF Generations Windblade

Presenting the battling beauty Transformers Generations Windblade.

Admittedly we once again did not understand the hype behind why people were dying for her - other than that it's a female Autobot which is always a plus.

Turns out she has quite a history - and we're not referring to the one created by IDW for her.

The Autobot Windblade is apparently the first officially "fan-created" Transformer.

Between April 18, 2013 and SDCC of 2013, fans voted for the creation of an Autobot; with a Jet alt-mode; whose signature weapon was a sword; with a red & black color scheme; a valiant personality; was named Windblade; was female; hails from the city of Kaon; and was a Telepath. SDCC concept sketches moved her from being a European Knight or a Roman Warrior to the Japanese stylings that she now bears. Designer Lenny Panzica made her hairstyle to match the one commonly used by the  upper-class warrior women (Onna Bugeisha) of Feudal Japan.

Lastly her name refers to a variety of things: Windblade is a real variety of industrial fans and she turns into a jet with turbofans; Hasbro thought it would be cool if her sword was powered by the spinning of the turbo blade in the hilt of the sword - Stormfall; she has a tessen or "iron fan" in her hair, and; because the fans said so. Do check out her wiki for more about this.

Transformers Generations Windblade's blister card states a simpler origin "When given the opportunity to join the Autobot cause, Windblade jumped at the chance. The Autobots were more than happy to welcome her to their ranks. her near-telepathic link to the Titan Metroplex is a remarkable power that holds untold potential"

Although if you read the comic book that comes with Windblade, she'll tell you it's not telepathy (Chromia says she can barely communicate). She just reads the color patterns emitting from Metroplex's brain (So technically she could just be cuckoo.

The blister pack lists her stats at:

• Strength: 7
• Intelligence: 8 - so how'd she figure out the color pattern? Maybe she's empathic, not telepathic.
• Speed: 8
• Endurance: 7
• Rank: 8
• Courage: 7
• Fireblast: 6 - should be lower since she only comes armed with a sword.
• Skill: 9 - yet her wiki sadly lists her as a "Better than average" Swords-woman.

WHAT'S TO LOVE ABOUT WIND BLADE?

FIRST: To say that designer Lenny Panzica put a lot of effort into her design - particularly her looks - is a gross understatement!

Transformers Generations Windblade's detailing is simply through the roof! We love all the little creases and grooves that went into her facial design and how much work was poured into painting her face.

We think that the tessen (fan) may have been a happy accident of production, but it's an incredibly nice touch.

If you play video games then you know that you're about to get your ass-kicked and all your concentration is needed not when you are greeted by an opponent with a drawn sword - unless they're really, really big - but when you're greeted by the genteel opponent softly fanning herself.

That, we feel, is the overall affect of that simple little piece.

Take a gander at the "kabuki" makeup on Windblade's face:

And here she is with the Tessen: Admittedly she has some difficulty holding it, but check out the fan's details:

SECOND: Lenny Panzica put a lot of thought into her articulation. It is excellent! Posing her is a dream because of the multitude of options open to you:

• Wings back:

• Wings out:

• Fans moving - the fans can spin by the way, but making them do so is difficult. It would have been nice if all you had to do was blow on them:

• Stormfall sheathed, Stormfall held one handed right side up:

• Stormfall dual wielded, Stormfall reverse wielded single and double grasped:

THIRD: Have you noticed the wonderful articulation? Autobot Windblade can twist at the waste and, if you pop her leg open, kneel.

FOURTH: We love Stormfall. We love that it can be sheathed. We love the wicked curve of the blade and the fact that it's energy - or some sort of glass that channels energy from that turbine at the hilt. Great concept. Great execution.

WHAT'S NOT TO LOVE ABOUT WIND BLADE?

FIRST: This big gaping hole in her side. We can see right through Transformers Generations Windblade - or we transformed her wrong, but we don't think so. 

But that's the price to pay for such high articulation we suppose.

SECOND: Speaking of high articulation: Because she's so lanky and chock full of joints, transforming Windblade was a bit of a pain.

In the end, even with the instructions, we are not 100% sure we've transformed her correctly. The biggest conundrum for us were her arms. If we were to follow the instructions, they would flap loosely on his side. We pulled her arms down lower than the instructions tell us to do and we were able to make her grasp the pegs on her wings. Note the pulldown nose landing gear.

Attaching Stormfall also makes it appear like she's curves at the bottom:

We're also not quite happy with the fact that we have no idea what Windblade transforms into. It's a jet VTOL, that's about it.





THIRD: We talked earlier about TF Generations Windblade's high articulation. The lower in her body goes, so does her articulation. She has no give on her feet and most of the time the only way to pose her is to split her leg open (Not much of a lock there either).

FOURTH: Why does she have a gap in the front of her pelvic region? Had the slot been vertical instead of horizontal we might have gotten some weird ideas.

FIFTH:  Stormfall has a rectangular hilt. Windblade has circular grasps for hands. Putting the two together can take some coaxing.

Lastly, and this is very selfish, we would have liked bigger boobs. We have to again make this argument though "Why do robots have gender, why would robots need breasts?"

This particular Transformers Generations Windblade was purchased from Toy Kingdom in the Podium Mall here in the Philippines at the retail price of PhP 849.75 (Roughly US$ 19.31). She is available in Amazon for US$ 34.75 (Roughly PhP 1,529 plus shipping).

Windblade is a must have.