Review - Fans Hobby MB-16 Lightning Eagle (Thunder Clash)
Fans Hobby Lightning Eagle has been one of my most anticipated third party releases. This figure is an homage to the legendary Autobot Turbomaster Leader; Thunder Clash. A brilliant design that, unfortunately, due to copious use of Gold Plastic isn’t particularly abundant or safe to play with these days. Re-tooled from the already stellar Power Baser design, Thunder Eagle is dripping with 80s nostalgia, neon and pastel colors, and tons of play value.
This review will mainly focus on aesthetics. In terms of engineering the figure is nearly identical to Fans Hobby MB-06 Power Baser as well as his variants. For more information on this design you can check out the review for MB-06 Power Baser here. This review is based on a production sample provided by Fans Hobby.
Vehicle Mode
Lightning Eagle has no interest in subtlety. This vehicle mode rams straight into your optics with its fluorescent pink windshield and headlights, huge glittering gold cannons, and gorgeous pastel details.
One of the first things that draws the eye is the matrix-like design embedded behind the windshield, complete with a glittering blue crystal core. I absolutely love how Fans Hobby approaches layered designs like this. The previous releases of Power Baser in its various colors also had multi-layer designs embedded within the windows and windshield of the truck. The entire front of the cab is a brand new tooling for this version of the figure.
The next thing that will catch your eye is the new roof fairing accessory. This is a unique piece for this variation of the figure. It adds some overall height to the cab and is decorated with a beautiful, segmented crest designed to emulate the Autobot Elite Guard style crest that typically adorns Thunder Clash. This roof piece comes into play later to add some variance to the bot mode as well.
Lightning Eagle’s trailer is a gorgeous off-white, red, and black design with gold accents. There are mounting points on the roof for the twin cannons/engines as well as his rifle. Aside from the new weaponry there are no major design differences to the trailers included with the Power Baser variant.
Battle Platform
Lightning Eagle’s “Battle Platform” mode is easily achieved by transforming the trailer component most of the way into its full battle mode, leaving the arms connected in the central component and clipping the cannons onto the arms. There are handles integrated into the shoulder armor of the combined mode arms that flip out, then you flip up the trailer panels to create a platform for the core robot to stand on. Despite no new engineering, the hinges for these panels are stiff enough to hold up the robot without any issues. This is where the all plastic build of Lightning Eagle comes in handy.
Given that the trailer has not changed from an engineering stand point, the original battle station mode of Power Baser is also able to be achieved, however with less weaponry to mount you may want to borrow some weapons from your Power Baser figure to fill out this base mode.
Robot Mode
The core robot transforms in the exact same way as Power Baser. Unfolding into a roughly MP-10 sized robot with a white torso, clear pink chest windows, and two tone blue and red limbs with gold accents. The roof fairing component that was removed during transformation can be clipped onto his chest to bring the figure more in line with the design aesthetics of Thunder Clash. This mode is stylized after the original robot design for the G1 Thunder Clash figure.
The same gaps in the abdomen and torso that plagued Power Baser exist here as well, however their visual impact is reduced when you clip on the additional chest armor. It’s pretty amazing how a simple clip on armor piece and a new head sculpt can so drastically change the visual aesthetic of this figure.
Lightning Eagle sports a brand new head design with a boxy, Optimus Prime-style head shape. Rather than a face-plate we have a sculpted mouth, brilliant pink eyes, and a brilliant gold paintjob. The painted details on this figure are an absolute home run. Zooming in on the gold paint with a macro lens reveals so many layers of glitter and metallic finish.
One point of contention I have with this design, and I suspect others will as well, is the face sculpting. I think Fans Hobby needs to put some focus into improving their face sculpts, in particular the mouths. Thunder Eagle suffers from a similar duck lip design aesthetic as Double Evil. Not enough to take away from the overall impact of the figure, but certainly a bit amateurish in appearance, similar to some of the early third party head sculpts of yesteryear. This likely won’t affect the forthcoming “Machine Eagle” variant as it appears to have a classic “Prime” face-plate design.
Articulation is identical to the original figure, with a great range of movement all around including ab crunch, double elbows, and incredible ankle rockers. There’s not much you can’t achieve when it comes to posing this bot. He’s sturdy but quite light as he is an all plastic piece. Easy to balance and a joy to pick up and mess with.
Combined Mode
In an interesting twist, the combined form of Lightning Eagle takes a majority of its design cues from the IDW design of Thunder Clash as he appears in the “More Than Meets the Eye” comic book series. The X shaped markings on his shoulder armor, large gold knee spikes, and even the detailing in the helmet and pelvis. There’s no mistaking the inspiration at work here.
In terms of new tooling, there is obviously a new head sculpt for the combined mode, an up-scaled and fairly un-changed version of the core robots head design, giant golden spikes protruding from his knee pads, and new shoulder armor. The articulation of this mode is nearly identical to Power Baser however I found that the new shoulder armor is a bit more restrictive, and can only click outwards once without conflict. You have to use the base hinge to move the shoulder any further outward.
In this mode Lightning Eagle can wield his engines/cannons as handheld blasters, or mount them on his backpack as a combination jetpack/artillery mode. He can also wield the included rifle as well. There are storage spots on his backpack for both cannons as well as a mounting peg for the rifle on his backpack, and on the back of his waist.
Accessories
1 x Blaster Rifle – A simple gold and black rifle, capable of being equipped in every mode. It has a flip out handle, as well as a flip out magazine/peg for mounting on the trailer.
2x Engine Cannons – Huge cannons that double as jet engine boosters for his vehicle and combined modes. There is a spring loaded firing mechanism as well as a safety switch that can be enabled to keep the missiles from being accidentally launched.
2x Projectiles – Solid gold projectiles that can be inserted into the large cannons. They serve to fill in the engines central details and can also be launched via a spring loaded mechanism in the cannons.
1x Instruction Manual and Bio Card
Integration with Fans Hobby MB-11 God Armour
While not an advertised feature, MB-16 can be combined with any of the currently released MB-11 God Armour figures. I personally find it looks best with the standard MB-11 Armour however the gold details also mesh well with the black and grey tones of the MB-11A set.
Final Thoughts
This toy is a thrill ride of nostalgic design, packed into a familiar and reliable package. Power Baser is already one of Fans Hobby’s best toys to date and the brilliant colors, new accessories, and retro details of Lightning Eagle push it over the top. Despite being a retool I think Fans Hobby has really put the effort in to make this release stand on its own and I can absolutely recommend it in good faith as a fantastic addition to your collection. If you want a Thunder Clash figure you can play with, without wincing every time you transform it, this is the bot for you!
I want to thank Fans Hobby for giving me the opportunity to check out another one of their fantastic products. If you’d like to order your own MB-16 Lightning Eagle click here. Make sure to tell em I sent ya!
Gallery
