Name: Rook
Series: Combiner Wars
Allegiance: Autobot
Alternate Mode: Armoured SWAT Truck
TRUCK MODE
Height: 7cm Length: 14cm Width: 5.5cm
A boxy white truck with blue around the lower edge of the box. Rook has six big plastic tyres, and sits high above these tyres. He has "POLICE" and "SWAT" in black text on either side and on top. There's also an Autobot logo on top. There are sculpted details all over, some painted silver on the sides. There are small window on the front which are painted silver and large yellow headlights on the front. There's a black stripe on top towards the rear and the silver claw weapon on top. It's a colour scheme that makes sense for a police vehicle and for a Protectobot. There's nothing fancy here but the detailing is good and he looks like an armoured riot vehicle should.
While Rook is a box on wheels, he's got a lot going on. The claw weapon - which is intended to sit on a hole on the front right - gives him something interesting. It can also plug into twin holes on the back if you prefer and it can rotate through 360 degrees in any of the locations. It reminds me of a taser though I'm not sure about a taser at this size. The sculpt is impressive and there's a black post on top allowing you to attach other accessories. All six wheels roll well enough, adding to his play value.
A well detailed armoured truck that brings something new - not just to the Protectobots but to the G1 universe in general. The colours and style work for the team and Rook just has a nice, unique vehicle mode.
TRANSFORMATION TO ROBOT MODE
Detach and set aside the claw. Unclip the front and pivot up. Split the lower front and pivot the halves forward to form his boots. Fold the feet into place, stand him up. Unclip the arms (rear of the truck) and swing down to the sides. Flip up and rotate his head. Fold the front panel up onto his back as a backpack. Give him his claw weapon.
ROBOT MODE
Height: 14cm Width: ~9cm (depending on pose)
A white, blue and blue robot. These three colours mix throughout but much of the torso is black aside from a silver combiner peg on his chest while his arms and boots are mostly white. Rook has a black head with a sculpt that both resembles a police hat AND a chess piece (the Rook - get it?). His face is silver and has a sculpt that's designed to resemble a riot helmet mask while his eyes are blue and there's an Autobot logo on his forehead - basically where the police badge would be. It's a good colour scheme and he's just dripping with cleverness in that head.
Again Rook has a detailed sculpt. And again the colours work for the police theme here and as a Protectobot. While Rook may be the "new" Protectobot we got because Groove got relegated to an optional chest piece, but he's far from awkward and out of place alongside his teammates like say Offroad. His claw weapon plugs into the front of his hands rather than holes in the fists - which on the one hand is odd but on the other is a subtle throwback to the G1 Protectobot toys (3 of whom had guns that plugged into the insides of the hands). The weapon can also plug into those rear of the vehicle holes that now sit on the outsides of his shoulders and it works well enough there, if that's what you prefer.
Rook has good poseability. His head, shoulders and hips are ball jointed. His elbows and knees are ball jointed with rotators. His ankles have rockers and the feet can hinge down thanks to transformation joints. His waist turns, the wrists are fixed (not unexpected at on a deluxe though). The only negative is that his shins are hollow on the insides, which limits the visual impact of some poses - but this is really splitting hairs - this is a really poseable deluxe.
A good robot mode with great play value, detail, colours that work and a head that manages to tribute the police vehicle AND the chess piece. He's not an original Protectobot, but he certainly holds his own visually with his teammates.
VARIATIONS
None that I'm aware of. Unlike his teammates, he was not released in Unite Warriors. The mould was used in Unite Warriors for Roller, while with the Club Exclusive Impactor & BotCon 2016 Tarantulas are retools of Rook.
OVERALL
The "new" characters inserted into the traditional teams in Combiner Wars weren't necessarily welcomed by the fandom. Alpha Bravo did a poor job of not being Slingshot and Offroad just doesn't quite fit into the Stunticons visually. Rook, on the other hand, DOES fit into the Protectobots. The colours work, his alt mode is an urban police vehicle and he's not trying to be a Groove substitute. While I want my Combiner Wars Defensor with Groove as a limb, Rook is excellent and worthy of being included. What's more, he's great even if you never combine him with the others - 10/10
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