Name: Evac
Series: Cybertron
Allegiance: Autobot
Alternate Mode: Rescue Helicopter
CHOPPER MODE
Height: 3cm Length: 10.5cm Width: 3cm (rotorspan is 8.5cm)
A lemon yellow rescue chopper with a white tail, dark blue rotor and various blue at the back of the cabin. The yellow used is much lighter than on the full sized Evac, while the transparent windows have been replaced with metallic blue paint while the red and light metalluc blue of the larger toy has pretty much vanished.
There's a small Autobot logo stamped onto the starboard side of the tail, just above the enclosed rear rotor (which is solid moulded). There are dark blue gunpods on either side of the roof, which represent the missile launchers of the larger toy. They're fixed into position, and at this scale it works fine, since they make for menacing little weapons. There's a winch unit on the starboard side which is non-functional - at this scale making the gimmick work would have been a minor miracle. There are no wheels or runners underneath, which is my only real complaint. The rotor on his roof can turn, but it detaches rather than spins.
It's a vastly simplified helicopter, but the original is a mega, so there's a lot of shrinking involved here. The broad strokes match well, aside from the difference in yellows. The character is immediately obvious and for such a small toy, this is a good helicopter - even though I would have liked wheels (rolling or moulded).
TRANSFORMATION TO ROBOT MODE
Lift up the gunpods and fold them back to reveal the head. Swing down the front to form the legs, rotate the waist, split the boots and rotate, folding up the feet. Split the roof and swing back to the sides to form the shoulders, then rotate the forearms into place. Split the tail to form wings, fold the gunpod down onto his back.
While the transformation has been somewhat simplified, Evac's heritage as a much larger figure means this is a complex and clever transformation for such a small toy, and that it manages to work is a highlight of this figure.
ROBOT MODE
Height: 9.5cm Width: 7.5cm
Again mainly yellow, Evac's shoulders, groin and thighs are dark blue, along with the gunpods sticking up behind his head and the rotor attached to his left arm. The chest is yellow, but is largely painted in dark blue and red. The wings which stick out from the sides of his shoulders are white, with the right side wing bearing the small Autobot logo. His face is yellow with red eyes while the helmet is painted a silvery-blue (which is not the same shade as the windows). The paint mask is complex and well laid out, and in some ways better than that on the larger version.
The rotor can detach and plug into the small holes in either fist, although it works better in the right fist since the engineblock on the left forearm gets in the way. The gunpod unit can lift up over his head, although it tends to conceal the head with is a little strange. The elbows can rotate but not bend, while the knees and hips are ball jointed, giving Evac erratic poseability (but then with so much transformation at this scale, it's understandable). The legs are actually quite long and the torso short, which is a tad strange, but he works visually since the torso is beefed up by the wings and gunpod rack. Incidentally, while the larger toy can stow the wings (which is the "standard" position, although Hasbro market the toy with wings out), the wings are permanently deployed on this figure.
A cute little robot with well mapped out colours and features. Sure, the poseability is a drastic step down, but at this scale I really don't mind that. The rotor can form a kind of melee weapon, making this robot imposing for his scale.
VARIATIONS
None that I'm aware of. Classics Whirl is a repaint of Evac.
OVERALL
I got this figure _after_ the larger version, but the intricate design still has something to offer - certainly both modes are decent and the colours are well thought out, despite being simplified. The transformation is spectacular for such a small toy, and at the pricepoint these figure sell at, it's fantastic. He makes a great display figure for a dashboard or workstation, and is a good Transformer in his own right - 8.5/10, losing 0.5 for the change in yellow.
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