Onslaught

I feel that Transformers were something that was a part of my childhood, but in a very distant manner. I only had a few of the toys and the ones I had I really liked, but I never really got into it. With the Universe line I feel like I’m getting back a part of that fond memory of my childhood, and Ultra-class Onslaught is definitely one of those toys I would have loved as a kid.

The alt mode is a large chunky swat-team truck. The turret on top moves, along with the giant claws at the front which can move flush along the vehicle or set low down to the ground to cause some destruction. The large SWAT shield on the turret can be removed easily just by pulling it off. Underneath is a nicely detailed top with a siren, several slots for lights, and a little plastic light as well.

The little orange button activates the lights and sounds of the vehicle. A hinge on the shield allows the button to be pressed with or without the shield. There are two different sounds. One is the sound of the guns going off, and the other is the siren. While the gun sound effects will play so long as you hold down the button, the siren only goes off once no matter what. Later molds of this toy have fixed this problem, but I personally find it rather charming and amusing to have it only go off once.

Another sound effect is activated when you roll the alt mode. The sounds of the SWAT tank moving will continue so long as you continue to roll it around. It’s a fun sound and definitely entertaining enough.

Onslaught’s transformation is simple but incredibly satisfying. As you unfold the legs from underneath, the knees ratchet loudly and wonderfully. As you pull the arms out underneath the hood and pull the chest down to click it in place, Onslaught’s mighty appearance bestows you.

The arms ratchet and have not only an elbow joint, but a wrist and bicep swivel as well!

There’s some slight over spray on my left arm, but it’s just a bit of QC problems. Nothing too major.

The left arm can also hold the shield from the alt mode by pulling out a tab and slotting it into the hole where the siren slots on the shield are located. The overall effect is very solid. It can also be stored onto his back as well by resting on the previous turret position.

Onslaught’s other arm features a small gun. By pressing the little black button it flips out. Although a little puny, Onslaught doesn’t seem to really need them since I imagine him going around just punching everything in his path anyways.

His leg articulation is pretty good as well. His knees feature incredibly heavy ratchets that are just a joy to hear.

His legs feature the same universal joints that are on most Transformers his size. There’s no sort of ankle or foot articulation, but Onslaught’s footprint is so large that he’s stable enough that he doesn’t really need it.

All of the sound effects for Onslaught still turn on while in his robot mode. In addition to lighting up the turret, Onslaught’s visor will light up red.

Onslaught is sort of lacking in the weapons area. All he has is the small gun on his arm along with the two cannons on his back. Unfortunately, in order to use those, he sort of has to bend over and aim. At the same time however I can sort of see Onslaught doing that as well.

Everything about this Transformer is large, chunky, and loads of fun. He’s exactly what I think of when a large powerful Decepticon comes to mind.