With a wave filled with the two biggest names in the SilverHawks universe, you’d expect the other characters filling out a wave to be, well, filler material. But Wave 1’s biggest surprise is probably not in the great execution of the two main characters, but in the delivery of a surprise favorite. We’re ending our Q&A with ToyBro to talk about everything Buzz-Saw, Shredator and more.
WWMTC: This final figure is another beastly figure which also towers over the SilverHawks, albeit not as massively as the transformed Mon*Star. What are your first thoughts on having Buzz-Saw in hand?
TB: Initially I was surprised, to say the least. I think this guy is the sleeper hit of the wave, possibly. He’s so much cooler than I expected.
WWMTC: We know that his vintage toy was green and not yellow like in the toon. This is our first time we’re getting a cartoon correct version. If you owned the original, do you think people will be missing that nostalgic connection that the Wave 6 toy-inspired ThunderCats brought recently?
TB: I have never owned a single vintage Silverhawks figure, so there’s no real nostalgia there for me. I’m very aware of the toy look of course, but I’m glad we have his toon look, I’m sure we’ll get the toy variant at some point knowing Super7.
WWMTC: Is there room for Super7 to give us a green Buzz-Saw later on in the line like they did with ThunderCats, and if so, would you also like to see actual silver and shiny hawks to go with that?
TB: I would be shocked if they didn’t, this guy is a prime target for a repaint.
WWMTC: This guy is bulky, so it begs to ask the question: how is his articulation? Any areas of concern? Areas that surprised you?
TB: His articulation does suffer due to his design. He has ball pegs at the shoulder which definitely cause issues, he can’t extend his arms out to the sides. He also only has a waist swivel, which really isn’t too surprising. I’m sure part of the limitations are due to the blades in the shoulders. Honestly it’s not that big of a deal, he definitely has some limitations due to design, but I don’t really feel like I’m missing it all that much.
WWMTC: Do the saws he has for hands and the saws on his shoulders actually spin?
TB: They do! And either I’d forgotten, or just never knew, but I expected them to be static.
WWMTC: Do they get in the way of anything?
TB: They surely play a role in why his shoulders are so different, but they don’t really get in the way of anything else specifically.
WWMTC: He has alt hands, how do they work? Do you just pull them out underneath the saws on his forearms?
TB: Yeah, standard hands really, just odd shaped. They pop out like any other.
WWMTC: His blaster and his arm canon also add some extra change to this character. How do they work?
TB: The arm cannon is basically just a swappable hand, it pegs right in. The gun is pretty odd because it requires the use of the alt hands that have the wider space between his “fingers” and the gun sort of wedges in there. It’s not the most ideal setup, but due to his weird design it works pretty well.
WWMTC: There are three heads to choose from, and two it appears also have a rotating blade in them. Is that correct?
TB: Yeah, 2 have spinning blades but they’re different. The standard head has no spin, there is another head that looks the same but has an “in motion” blade that’s just a disc than can spin. The other head is a screaming head with a movable blade as well. I kind of wish they just made the regular head have the moving blade to avoid the need for 3 heads honestly, but I’m sure it was done to avoid having to carve into that head to preserve the look.
WWMTC: Which of these heads is your favorite and will end up on your shelf?
TB: Most likely the screaming head, I like the expression and it has the spinning blade, so probably my favorite all around.
WWMTC: Tell us about the pull handles. Do they simply plug in to his upper torso?
TB: Basically. They just socket into the chest. I do find them to be a little troublesome to swap, but I don’t see myself doing it that much to really worry about it.
WWMTC: SilverHawks really has the craziest designs for their villains, and he is no different. Do you think that Super7 captured him perfectly? Not just in looks but also in how he articulates since this does look a quite a challenge to make it articulated.
TB: I think they nailed him pretty good. He does have a weird design but it almost seems like this was just begging to be made into a figure. Articulation challenges aside, I think this is one of the best examples of what the line can offer.
WWMTC: The Shredator is also part and parcel of this big guy. We only get one version of him here. Do you think that is enough?
TB: Probably. I’m not all that hung up about having an entire army of birds, so just 1 isn’t a big deal to me.
WWMTC: Is it articulated in any way?
TB: Surprisingly so. Wings are hinged to extend out, head and tail rotate. And he has a spinning blade too.
WWMTC: Now that we’ve covered the whole wave, which figure is your favorite of the four, and which of the 8 released so far is your favorite?
TB: I think it’s still gotta be Armored Mon*Star just by virtue of what it is and how big he is, I really enjoy that one. Buzzsaw is a close second though.
WWMTC: Next we’ll be catching up again hopefully for something special in the form of an SDCC release. It’s just around the corner. Do you expect anything ThunderCats or SilverHawks related to show up?
TB: With there being such a lull in Cats and Hawks right now I’m not so sure, since it’s usually a repaint of some kind. Unless it’s a BuzzSaw repaint, which would be timed pretty well, I don’t know that I expect anything at SDCC specifically. Granted, they can always break the mold and give us a variant of a figure yet to be released.
WWMTC: Until next time!
TB: Hopefully next time will come sooner than later and that’ll be an onslaught of Cats and Hawks!
