First Aid is a character who has really only gained popularity in the last year or two, thanks to his somewhat prominent role in IDW's MTMTE series, in which he recently became Chief Medical Officer following Ratchet's retirement from the position. Like many, I have been won over by First Aid and have grow to like the character very much. So let's see how well his new toy in the Combiner Wars line holds up
Let's start with the vehicle mode. First Aid transforms into a slick looking ambulance, which is heavily remolded from Off-Road's pick up truck mode, as is the rest of the toy. I don't have Off-Road, so I can't really say how much remolding there is, but when I get Ironhide I should be able to. Anyways, it's a pretty cool ambulance, and rolls well too. It's a bit lacking in paint details on the back, but that's nothing new. He's certainly not short of paint applications in this mode, that's for sure
He actually looks almost armored in this mode, and given how high his wheels lift him off the ground, I could easily see him as being an all-terrain/military ambulance of some sort. Assuming those exist
He actually looks almost armored in this mode, and given how high his wheels lift him off the ground, I could easily see him as being an all-terrain/military ambulance of some sort. Assuming those exist
Like just about any Transformers toy these days, you can peg his weapons onto his vehicle mode into all kinds of ridiculous ways. He's got 5mm pegs on either side of his body, and he also has what I think are 3mm clip points, although they seem a little too thick for most 3mm clips. Or at least the ones I used. It could just be a design choice that happened to look like one, but they stay on steadily enough
First Aid's robot mode is great too. The nice solid red torso helps to break up the mass of white carried over from his vehicle mode. The red is also broken up by some silver highlights, which are a nice touch. There isn't nearly as much remolding from Off-Road on the robot mode as there was on the vehicle mode, but the colours and head sculpt are just enough to set First Aid apart from the other two figures with whom he shares this mold. The head sculpt is particularly nice. It's simple, but very evocative of First Aid in the comics
As far as pose-ability goes, this guy has plenty of it. Ball jointed neck, shoulders, and hips. Hinged elbows and knees, and swivels in his elbows and thighs. It's all the basics you get in a Transformers figure these days, but it's just about enough to do the job. You can get this guy in plenty of interesting poses
My only gripes would be that the shoulder and back kibble tend to clash sometimes when you try to attempt some poses, so there's a lot of fiddling to be done there. But otherwise, his pose-ability is top notch
My only gripes would be that the shoulder and back kibble tend to clash sometimes when you try to attempt some poses, so there's a lot of fiddling to be done there. But otherwise, his pose-ability is top notch
For weapons, First Aid comes with an axe, which seems to be molded with this sculpt, as it comes with Off-Road and Ironhide come with it too. It's a decent axe, and it's got some cool engine block detailing which is pretty nice, but I'm not really sure what First Aid would do with an axe? Breaking down doors to get to the sick and wounded? Emergency amputations? I've always seen him as the pacifist his G1 biography describes him as being, working to help the wounded while the other Protectobots keep the Cons at bay
Being a Combiner Wars deluxe, he also comes with a food/hand piece, again, common to this mold. It's got four cannons coming out of the toes/knuckles, and some cool tech detailing on the back, which I think is neat. I like to think that the cannons are foam cannons for putting out fires or something, although that'd probably be better for Hot Spot
Being a Combiner Wars deluxe, he also comes with a food/hand piece, again, common to this mold. It's got four cannons coming out of the toes/knuckles, and some cool tech detailing on the back, which I think is neat. I like to think that the cannons are foam cannons for putting out fires or something, although that'd probably be better for Hot Spot
As a Combiner Wars deluxe, First Aid is capable of becoming an arm or a leg for any Combiner of your choosing. I think he looks good as both limbs, but I have a preference towards him being an arm. Although sometimes his legs don't close together properly, so you end up with a slight gap running down the middle, which is kind of annoying
Overall, First Aid is a pretty good figure, but there's something about him that keeps him from being great, although I'm not quite sure what it is. He could use a few more paint apps for sure, but that can be said for just about any Transformers figure these days, and he's got a few issues with pegging together and pose-ability, but otherwise First Aid has easily grown to be one of my favourite Combiner Wars deluxe figures
7/10
Thanks for reading! Check out the gallery below for some comparisons
7/10
Thanks for reading! Check out the gallery below for some comparisons