The next Combaticon to get the TFW2005 gallery treatment is the slick interrogator of the Combaticons, Vortex!
Combiner Wars Vortex, like fellow Combaticon Blast Off, is a straight-up redeco of a toy that went before – in this case, Combiner Wars Alpha Bravo. Unlike Blast Off, this makes sense and some have observed that the mold was always intended to be Vortex, and there is some truth in this. A lot of details, from the head, to the positioning of the arms on the sides of the vehicle to resemble the weapons of the original, all recall Generation 1 Vortex, with the only significant differences being the number of rotors on the copter. With this in mind, the deco on Vortex really seals the deal and gives him an identity that is unmistakably Vortex.
Overall, Vortex is a solid addition to the Combaticon lineup. While he is not the star of the show, he turns in a solid performance and the ensemble is much richer for his inclusion. Check out his gallery to judge for yourself.
Megatronwp38
My Alpha Bravo has no stress marks on his port at all. That might change with Vortex but it might not be a problem with every version of the mold.
I would bet your AB has them. He is difficult to see on. I first noticed them on Blades because of the Red, then checked AB and he does have them. I have two of all three and they all have it. Even the 1 in Sols pictures has them.
Like Neko said, best thing to do is to shave down the post on the fist/foot to reduce stress.
Soundwinder
You know, if Alpha Bravo wasn't the exact same mold, I would be SUPER excited about Vortex. This mold just looks really sharp, and even the oddly bright yellow missiles are forgivable.
That said, I do like Alpha Bravo a lot. Like Rook and Offroad, the odd figure out is my favorite of the set (discounting massive nostalgia bias for Fireflight, mind you).
Yobuster
Great gallery, I never noticed that Vortex and Alpha Bravo had the exact same mold. I guess those colours really do very well to differentiate them.
Novaburnhilde
Another great gallery.
Love the image with the original Vortex.
Sumner Sturgeon
I honestly could care less about the yellow. The brightness of it just puts me in the mind of the crazy colour schemes that dominated the late-80s to early-90s. It makes a twisted kind of sense having it on the missiles too– they ARE hazardous, no?
Anyhow, I like this one. It's nice to see the mould finally used as who it was supposed to be.
RodimusZero
I get the homage to the original toy's stickers…
… but that yellow sucks! Bad Hasbro!
flik68
nice pics sol. I cant wait to get this guy as I don't have ab or blades so the mold will be new to me. also will be stripping the yellow off and leaving the forearms unpainted grey.
Neko-bot77
I looked at all 3 versions I have (all the USA releases) and my AB does have stress marks. They are difficult to see, since it's white stress marks on white plastic, but even so, Blades and AB had less stress marks than Vortex.
My recommendation for everyone buying Vortex is to SLOWLY insert the HFG into that port. If it needs to much pressure to go i then STOP and shave/sand away a little material from the HFG. Repeat until it goes on with SOME pressure, but not a stress-mark forming amount. (You don't want to HULK it into place the first time!)
Masktique
My Alpha Bravo has no stress marks on his port at all. That might change with Vortex but it might not be a problem with every version of the mold.
General Magnus
It took three tries, but finally those arm missiles make some sense.
Megatronwp38
Mine is the same way. Shaved down the peg on the fist and it is better now. I actually have the same issue on Blades & Alpha Bravo. Seems to be inherit in the mold.
If you looks at the pics above the one he used in the pictures has the same stress marks that mine does on the port.
Awesome shots btw, I love the Combaticons. Best if the normal CW Figures.
smf2045
Brilliant photogrpahy, Sol. Absolutely brilliant.
I like the helocopter mold. It makes a good arm and leg when combined as long as you secure the rotors between the tail stabilizers. It looked good as Alpha Bravo and decent enough as Blades. And I know it was meant to be Vortex from the get go. My only real issues are that horrid bright yellow on Vortex's chest and missiles. That color is an eyesore and if there was anything I could do about it that didn't involve a lot of time, trouble, and paint thinner, I would. But I'm not really a customizer.
Just noticed that I caught Vortex staring out of Bruticus's armpit. Oh, well!
Looking forward to the Swindle gallery!
Onslaught24
Favorite shot. Awesome job, Sol! Can't wait to see Swindle
rosewater
The colors on Vortex are awesome! When I had all the Combaticons laid out in their packages, he stood out as my favorite of the bunch. That mold is just so great!
WishfulThinking
Yup. "Called "lousy Earth-lover" by some fellow Autobots because he prefers sleek Earth car form to original robot form. "
allew
Tracks loves his car mode!
Vortex for me is really one of the standouts from combiner wars I was so glad to retire the energon scout repaint!
WishfulThinking
Well, Hound wishes he was human. Trying to remember who the bots are that prefer their alt-mode…
l0te
Man, those colors. They're just awful enough to be perfect.
What really interests me about this though is his bio, where it says some bots prefer being in their alt modes. Now I'm just thinking back wondering who likely mechs are for this.
Autovolt 127
He definitely makes the mold look the best on him….then again the mold was originally designed with him in mind.
artiepants
i don't know what it is, but the Yellow and teal-y blue works fine on the G1 version to me, but utterly and totally kills the CW version for me. The rockets are particularly eye-searing.
I'm really hoping that TT comes up with a better looking scheme on the UW version.