KM-07
Warper (3rd party Hearts of Steel Skywarp)
I pre-ordered Warper for a little over $45 off of BigBadToyStore, and he arrived in October 2020.
This is a 3rd party toy based on IDW Comics Transformers comic book series titled, ‘Hearts of Steel’ where the Transformers awakened on Earth during the industrial revolution, so several well-known Autobots and Decepticons have pretty much gone steam punk. I can dig it.
Accessories:
The accessories packaged with Warper are few.
1. A section of rail road track
2. Alternate head and gray hands
3. Instruction manual/comicbook.
4. Lastly a sprue of...purple stars? I might have to check the instructions again, and see what that’s about...I’m not sure what that’s for.
The extra head is a decent sculpt with a neutral face and it’s got a lot of cool detail, and the gray hands are open/relaxed, similar in style of the Reveal The Shield line of Transformers of the 2010s.
The railroad track is unpainted black plastic, and can be used on Warper’s vehicle mode. It simple for what it is; it seems sturdy enough.
Vehicle Mode:
Warper’s vehicle mode is a steampunk flying machine with some design elements of that of Leonardo Da Vinci.
It’s a tri-prop plane with 3 pairs of bat-like wings, and it’s a very odd shape, but it looks steampunk, and turn of the century-ish.
The vehicle mode is covered with a lot of cool details, like vents, pipes, rivets, exposed engine details in the back; there’s a lot to see.
Transformation:
Transformation to either mode isn’t that difficult, but it’s very fiddly. Aside from the head and the hands nothing much else is hidden away. You’re folding up the arms, bending the legs, and being very careful to not accidentally break the thin plastic of the propellers.
Robot Mode:
Robot mode is fun. You get a lot of the same details as the vehicle mode, but it’s an impressive figure with a unique looks.
(Below) This was the best pose I could pull off for Warper, alas his feet and heels are both on ball joints, and it puts stability into question.
Warper also has moving gears in his leg, and they turn whenever you bend the leg at the knee, much like the mech alive feature of the ‘Revenge of the Fallen’ toys.
It’s a really cool feature, and nice engineering.
Yea, watch yourself with all those pointy wing tips. They are sharp.
The railroad tracks also works very well for Knight Morpher (Optimus Prime)
Final Thoughts:
Warper is an okay figure.
I really like the look of the toy; I’m digging the idea of steampunk Transformers.
In my opinion design-wise, and detail Warper surpasses Knight Morpher, which is looking old by comparison. However in spite of Warper’s improvements the plastic feels lighter, and more flexible than your average retail toy which makes me feel uncomfortable converting it.
This is a collector's item only; not a toy I’d give to a kid; he feels too delicate, but I love the look!
