The original G1 Punch/Counterpunch was a very cool toy with a very cool concept! Whereas all Triple-Changers in the past had two vehicle modes this toy had two robot modes. He was an Autobot that could not only turn into a Pontiac Fiero , but also transform into a Decepticon in order to act as a spy! Despite his abysmal appearance in Season 4 of the cartoon, the toy was so cool that it proved extremely popular, and lead to Doubledealer expanding upon the concept the following year.
We have only had one new version of this character since then, the Timelines version that was released several years ago (I don’t count the subsequent Counterpunch based on a CW mold since he only had one robot mode). While that toy was good, it was let down primarily by a small and weird looking head and of course a very limited release. Fans have been awaiting a new toy that could do this unique character justice.
Well wait no more, for now we have the Amazon exclusive Power of the Primes Punch/Counterpunch. Let’s take a look and see if it was worth the wait.
Vehicle Mode
One of the appeals of Punch is he was one of the very few Transformers released in 1987 that had an Earth alt-mode (the others being the Throttlebots and new Decepticon Cassettes) when the line was moving heavily into Cybertronian and/or Creature modes. The vehicle mode has been faithfully redone here, down to the red hubcaps.
The arms/shoulder come misassembled which means that the arms don’t tab properly when you are folding the doors over to make his car mode. This is apparently easily repaired though I haven’t gotten around to it yet, I’ve found with sufficient (yet carefully applied) force that you can tab the doors properly, though they come back loose with the slightest knock. When I get around to making the repair I will post the method here, much like I did with the problem regarding Trypticons hip.
Punch Mode
Excellent colours, well proportioned, good articulation, an orange gun – what more could one ask for! Well, perhaps some feet. But he balances quite well all the same and really puts the Timelines version to shame. You can fold down a tab on his back to hide the Decepticon symbol located there.
Counterpunch
Like the original toy, you turn this figure around, adjust the set of the shoulders, flip the helmet and viola – instant Decepticon! Like his Autobot version you can flip a tab on his back to hide the other factions symbol and he also lacks feet. Additionally what he lacks is a blaster of his own. In my opinion it helped differentiate the two robot modes with the original toy by each having its own gun. Since Counterpunch looks weird holding Punch’s gun, I give him the otherwise useless combiner appendage (since this toy does NOT combine) as a sort of black shield. Still on the whole he looks excellent, you can even flip the hands around so they are different colours!
Prima Prime
You can turn him into a box and stick him in the shield – that’s all I can say about this figure, except perhaps he has some cool pipelighting from the back the other POTP Primes lack. But I don’t like the concept as a whole and find them mostly useless little figures just waiting to get lost – give us some proper figures of the Original 13 more than just the likes of Alpha Trion and Megatronus.
So is this figure worth getting?
As long as you can afford the bigger (but not gigantic) price tag I’d say definitely yes, especially if you are a G1 fan! 3 great modes, a few accessories and a cool collectors box – he is good quality and a lot of fun! Now we can simply hope this toy prompts the character appearance in the upcoming IDW reboot of the Transformers universe.
Got anything to say about this figure? Would love to read it in the comments section below!
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