One of the modern staples of any Transformers line is the "cool-looking-Autobot-car" guy. For the past couple years, this role has been filled by Hot Shot. In Galaxy Force, a new character takes over this role: Exillion. Hailing from the planet Speedia, this sleek Cybertron is a sleek sports car and a robot in disguise.
Exillion is a sleek looking sports car. With a rounded front section, a low profile and all his details sweeping back, you can tell the designers were going for for the look of a concept car (with some elements of the Chrysler ME 4-12) but with extra details tossed in for good measure. And really, that's what I like a lot about this vehicle mode. Not so much that it is sleek (even G1 had a ton of sleek looking cars), but that it has a good amount of detail incorporated into the sculpt. Starting from the front, the curved edge and the vertical lines give the appearance of a shark with teeth staring at you (especially with the curved headlights on the hood). The top of the hood has a small sculpted Autobot symbol and large vents. The sides have indents and line details which all sweep and angle backwards. Take a peek inside the car and you'll see detailed seats along with a steering wheel and control panel between the two seats. Even the rear has vents for exhaust and the rear section looks almost like one big spoiler. I really dig how the car basically goes from curved in front to rectangular in back while still managing to look sleek.
Galaxy Force's gimmick centers around the "Force Chip", a key like piece of plastic that you plug into a slot on the toy to activate a feature. In this case, you push the key into the engine like piece on the top of the car and two translucent yellow wings splay out to the sides. These small wing pieces sweep out and then angle back, reminscent of G1 Hot Rod, who for many is the very prototype of the "sleek, hot shot, young Autobot" archetype. The Force Chip itself looks really cool. It is sculpted to have dials like those on a dashboard surrounding the central translucent red piece that has a lightning bolt symbol on it, presumably the symbol of Speedia. While not the most thrilling feature ever, it is cool to see that a good chunk of thought was put into the design of the chips.
Exillion's weapon is a missile launcher mostly made up with translucent yellow. The end of the barrel is dark blue while the missile is translucent yellow. This can be mounted on the top of the car. Since the hole is the standard weapon size, you could use weapons from Energon as well.
Unlike Hot Shot's "Look at me!" yellow color, Exillion uses a much more subtle approach. His primary color is metallic flake blue, a darker shade that doesn't offend the eyes. His windows are translucent yellow plastic. His tires, vents and the machinery on the top of the vehicle are dark blue. Yellow and metallic silver are used to color in details such as a jagged pattern on the spoiler.
Detach the missile launcher and Force Chip.
Pull the rear of the car back.
Flip the rear vents up to form the robot feet.
Swing the sides of the car out, then split the front and swing the halves down.
Rotate the passenger section around so the red part is on his back.
Place the missile launcher in his hand.
You can attach the Force Chip to splay out the wings.
If you activate the Force Chip and splay out the wings, they look just like the yellow spoiler G1 Hot Rod had on his back in robot mode.
The chest design is shaped like a smaller version of a car's hood. The "collar" design near the neck is present, as are the sleek "headlights".
On each arm, Exillion has three lower arm mounted weapons shaped just like G1 Hot Rod's "exhaust pipe" weapons.
The lower leg design mirrors that of G1 Hot Rod in many ways. It has a raised section roughly triangular in shape, with two smaller triangles in it, details that were provided by stickers on G1 Hot Rod.
Surprisingly, Exillion's head design is not like Hot Rod's at all. In fact, I would place it as a sibling design to Energon Hot Shot's head. It has the circles and antennae on the sides, a crest and a "visor" like piece over the eyes. If you wanted to really stretch it, you could claim Exillion is really a dual homage, to two young Autobots from previous lines.
There is more to Exillion than simple homages however. His design is quite intricate, evne by today's Transformers standards. His chest alone has about three levels of layering, with lots of cut lines and angled designs. His arms and back have fantastic line and tech detailing looking like everything from tubes, to vents to pistons. The legs have vent details on them too, along with raised surfaces for a good, layered look.
While his primary color remains metallic flake blue, Exillion is also enough of a Hot Rod homage that he uses two of that characters' colors liberally. His upper arms, upper legs and back piece are all red. His lower arm weapons and several paint details are a mix of translucent and solid yellow. The color combination works very well as it gets the homage point across, but also gives the toy its own unique look. Of course, in about a year we could be getting a "G1 Hot Rod" themed redeco.
Exillion has eleven points of articulation. Due to the way the passenger section is constructed and attached to the toy, he does not have waist articulation. While I am a fan of ball joints, I would have preferred that his legs have been connected by a series of hinged joints to allow for more range of movement. Still, he doesn't look bad by any means and you can achieve some cool poses for display.
Exillion is a fantastic toy. He is a wonderful design homage that also manages to have his own "look". The designers made a good choice in not using red as his primary color since it allows him to have his own identity. I do confess to still missing Powerlinx points for Mini-Cons, but that's just something I'll have to get used to as this line progresses. Highly recommended.