Rounding out the trio of Armada Decepticons with reused names is this guy, whose alt mode ironically makes him more suitable for the name Cyclonus than the original. Life's just full of amusement, isn't it?
CRUMPLEZONE
Tank Mode: A stout little tank that measures 4 cm(1.6") long, 6 cm(2.4") including main gun, Crumplezone is navy and light blue with white and black treads, orange headlights, and a caramel brown gun. Fine detailing includes a hatch on top of the turret and vents on the front panel. The tank rolls along on four tiny wheels and superficially resembles a WWII Tiger tank.
Transformation: Flip out the robot's legs and rotate the waist around.
Robot Mode: Crumplezone is 5.5 cm(2.2") tall and very bulky in robot mode. His head is navy blue with a red mouthplate, his faction symbol and Powerlinx socket are located on his chest, and he has moulded fists on the insides of his tank tread arms. Strangely, his fists are where his elbows should be, thus making it practically impossible for him to wash dishes or paint a picture. He is articulated at the shoulders, waist, hips, and knees.
Cockpit Mode: In tank mode, turn the turret to face the rear and rotate the treads upside-down.
Overall, Crumplezone is a cute little tank, but his robot mode is somewhat wanting.
CYCLONUS
Attack Copter Mode: Cyclonus appears to combine elements of a transport helicopter and a gunship. He's got a bulbous cockpit and a long, narrow tail, but also has heavy machine guns jutting out from his undercarriage and missile launchers and laser blasters mounted on his wings. From nose to tail, Cyclonus measures 15 cm(6"), has a wingspan of 12 cm(4.7"), and a 18 cm(7") long rotor. Main colours are navy and light blue, creamy white, caramel brown, and purple, orange, gold, and metallic silver accents. A raised Decepticon symbol is on his right wing. Plugging Mini-Cons into the live connectors on his launchers causes them to fire their missiles a little over a foot. Interestingly, each missile is differently moulded, with one smoother than the other.
Flipping up Cyc's cockpit and then snapping Crumplezone into place turns Cyc into a gunship proper, with a sloping cockpit and nose cannon. Pulling back repeatedly on the navy blue trigger on the bottom of the gunship's tail causes the rotor to rapidly spin (a first among helicopter TFs) and the nose cannon to pivot back and forth to the right. As well, on the underside of the cockpit there's a couple of clips and an exposed gear that spins along with the rotor. The purpose of this feature was something of a mystery until Botcon 2002, when it was learned that members of the upcoming Mini-Con Destruction Team can actually be attached onto the cockpit and used in conjunction with the rotor and the nose cannon!
Only two things about this mode bug me. First, Cyc's robot fists are clearly visible. And second, his legs don't peg into anything, so they tend to flop around some.
Transformation: Legs unfold, hips swing down and rotate, tail swings down, arms unfold, and head flips up.
Robot Mode: Sinister and powerful-looking, Cyc stands about 14 cm(5.5") tall. He's got one ugly, thuggish mug: orange face with narrow green eyes, a flattened nose, and sneering lips. Looks like he just shoved a little old lady into a baby carriage, the slime. His robot mode is best described as one of those "love-it-or-hate-it" modes, being about as far a cry from the original G1 Cyc as you possibly get. He's articulated at the shoulders, elbows, hips, and knees, plus his head can crane upward to gaze at the stars. His right arm has a double-barrelled laser blaster on it in addition to the missile launcher; his left arm has a single-barrelled one.
In addition to the live connectors on his arms, Cyc has two more on his shins. Plugging Mini-Cons into them activates his flip-out knee guns. And to top it all off, his rotor can detach and fit onto either arm as a blade weapon. Combined with all his other weaponry, this makes Cyc an arsenal on legs, outgunning both his G1 and Wrecker namesakes.
Annoyingly, his waist doesn't plug into anything, making his lower body floppy.
Overall, Susp Sez: While Wrecker Cyclonus may be the biggest and best-looking of the three toys to share the name, Armada Cyclonus is definitely the most fun. Looks good in both modes, great gimmicks, nifty add-on Mini-Con feature, and the promise of additional fun once the Destruction Team arrives onto the scene. 9/10
Susp, noting how the term "fun" comes up more often in his Armada reviews than any previous ones. Gotta love it.
"Out of my way! Attack!" -Cyclonus
| Reviewer | Suspsy |
| Date | September 16th 2002 |
| Score |  (9 out of 10) |
| Reads | 6617 |
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