9.30.03
Transformers - Armada Thrust and Powerlinx Thrust
  
    The last two Armada toys I've picked up have been Thrust so I figure it's only 
appropriate to post a review. This is made even more so considering the next Armada 
figure I pick up will probably be Thrust as well (when the Red version starts 
circulating). That is unless I pick up PL Cyclonus first.
  
Vehicle Mode
  
    Thrust vehicle mode, like his G1 predecessor is a jet. Sources suggest it is one 
of these http://www.lmaeronautics.com/products/combat_air/x-35/ . This version even 
has an intake on it's top, similar to ones the old Thrust had on it's wings, though 
I don't really see this being a VTOL (Vertical Take Off and Landing) type jet. The 
single fan is pretty small compared to the body of the craft and could not possibly 
provide enough "thrust" to get this jet into the sky. I imagine he could possibly 
hover though for a short time once he was all ready airborne. That is if it can get 
airborne. The size of the wings on this guy seem a bit too stubby for flight as well. 
This is made worse by the extra wide fuselage and the missiles hanging off the front 
sides. It really seems like it would have been easy to add another quarter to half 
inch to the length of each wing while keeping all of the other sizes and angles the 
same. They would just hang forward a bit over the leg bits. The rear thrusters also 
have the landing gears built into them (permanently 'deployed') which tends to make 
the plane look a little back heavy as well. There is a spot between the twin tail 
fins where his Mini-con can sit, and you'll probably want to stick the little guy in 
there as Thrust looks kind of bare with nothing filling the hole.
  
    So far this mold has been released in two sets of colors. And these colors are 
not straight color swap outs. There is also supposed to be a running change to create 
a third color variation. The original color scheme is camouflage gray for most of the 
body with a light green trim color along the edges of the wings and fins. He also has 
a blue canopy and neon Green missile launchers hanging off his sides. There are also 
other bits of detailing as well. The second color scheme is mostly tan in color with 
silver or black replacing the light green trim. The canopy is now orange and several 
of the panels on the top of the plane are colored black. The missiles are a dark blue 
color and look a bit better than the green colored ones of the original Thrust. 
However of these two color schemes I think I prefer the Camouflage. The third color 
scheme will feature red in place of the tan but is otherwise identical to the tan one.
  
    Thrust features four Minicon ports in this mode, all of which seem to be dead.
There is one in the hole on his take designed to hold Inferno (Thrust's Minicon, one 
on the underside of each wing, and one slightly off center on the underside of the 
plane. You'll have to remove any Minicon on the underside peg before landing though.
  
Transformation Notes
  
    Generally Thrust is remarkable in that his nose area becomes both his head AND 
feet. Otherwise it's nothing too spectacular.
  
Robot Mode
  
    Thrust is rather notable for being one of the better articulated Armada figures. 
Though his mis-proportioned legs and the wings on his back tend to hinder things a 
bit. He features ankle hinges, ball knees and hips, shoulder swivels and hinges, elbow 
hinges, and neck. However the wings tend to keep the shoulder swivels from being too 
useful and often get in the way of the huge arms when posing the elbows. Also the 
figure is a bit top heavy and is hard to balance in any real fancy poses. Thrust also 
lacks real hands and features guns/flame-throwers(?) instead. The missiles hanging 
off the legs and the jet canopy between the legs get in the way a lot as well (though 
this can be fixed, see below).
  
    The wings can be pulled lose and flipped so that the angled side is on either top 
or bottom. The two Minicon plugs on the wings are still useful as well, but the one 
that was on the rear of the plane is no longer accessible. There is also a port on the 
chest that activates a gimmick. When you pull his wings out, the chest port will cause 
the wings to rotate when activated. The instructions also suggest turning around 
Thrust's head and legs for some sort of bizarre attack mode but for the most part it's 
pretty lame.
  
    The color schemes from jet mode carry over some here of course. There is much more 
of the green/blue color from the missiles in the robot mode. CamoThrust has a light 
gray chest, head, and arms where PL Thrust has a black in the same places. PL Thrust 
also has two tones to his face while CamoThrust only has one. The also have differently 
colored eyes (Purple and Yellow).
  
  
Minicon Inferno
  
    Pretty decent but nothing special. Camo Thrust's Inferno has a dark green body and 
light colored missile launcher while PL Thrust comes with a white bodied, black launcher 
Inferno. The launcher is removable completely and can be stuck in holes on either of 
Inferno's arms or on one of Thrust's various holes.
  
  
Appendix - Modifying Thrust
  
    I actually must recommend this. After hearing about several things one can do to 
Thrust to improve the toy greatly by removing several easy flaws, I figured I'd give 
it a go. First off, the Jet Canopy in robot mode is removable. Just grab it and pull 
it out. It's not clipped and comes right off. Secondly, using a sharp knife or possibly 
a dremmel, but off the missile launchers on the legs. I had a little trouble at first 
but they came off pretty easily when I finally figured out how to work it. If you want 
the launcher to remain essentially intact, use a flat razor (NOTE Don't cut yourself 
etc). You may chip up the paint a bit but if you do it right you can always glue the 
round back pieces on to cover the holes and chips. Now the launchers won't be in the 
way anymore in Robot mode.
  
    "But I like those launchers" you say? Well, the launchers have built in pegs, they 
can be re attached to the legs extremely easily in robot or Jet m ode or attached to 
the arms, even Inferno can hold them if you'd like. Also the canopy piece can be used 
as a sort of shield in several ways if you mess around with it a bit. Something else 
though, if you're going to cut the launchers off you may as well cut the missiles down 
a bit too on the boring round end, otherwise they will hit the wings when attached to 
the arms. Leave a centimeter or so hanging out of the launcher and you should be just 
find. I've just found the launchers can also be stored in Thrust's "backpack".
  
Overall
  
    I'm not really sure why but I like this mold. Maybe Armada has just left me 
desperate for decent transformers even the mediocre is looking outstanding. Either 
way, I recommend this guy pretty strongly. If you're going to get only one color 
scheme though I'd recommend the Camo one. The red looks pretty good though.