Autobot Red Alert of the Armada Universe Transformers Age of the Primes Voyager Class Item No.: Asst. G0473 No. G1008 Manufacturer: Hasbro Includes: Blaster, claw attachment, 2 red tool attachments Action Feature: Converts from robot to emergency SUV Retail: $39.99 Availability: March 2025 Other: Stiff
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The 2002 Armada toy has been updated! And the fun was sucked out. Autobot Red Alert gives adult toy fans what they asked for - more articulation, no gimmicks, and clear windows. The original toy was an amazing toy with a sidekick Longarm as well as a claw missile, disc launcher, and little fold-out panels to pretend he's a medical bay. And lights and sounds. This new toy does replicate the swappable hand tools, and has a non-spring-loaded claw launcher that doesn't launch and only has a slug claw. I think there's a kind of fan that is going to get this and say "this is how it should be," but I think they got the 2002 toy more or less right. One of the springs on mine came out of joint rather quickly, but he had a ton of articulation and was chunky and fun.

2025 Armada Red Alert has some of the stiffest joints I've ever encountered on an Autobot. It might only be my sample, but the knees and elbows are so tight it may not be obvious they're supposed to move.

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If you're the kind of collector who opens a toy, transforms them once or twice, and poses them on a shelf? It's perfect. The red Autobot symbol is painted cleanly, unlike the sculpt red blob of 2002. The shoulders have clear red windows on them, which does look more consistent. Sculpting is very good, with mostly smooth panels and jut the most subtle and necessary grooves on every pat. It's not overdesigned - at first glance you might even think it's the original toy. Its appearance captures the vibes of the original toy.

Red Alert has fold-out heel spurs, which you don't see in the pictures here as I didn't see them in the instructions. Whoops. They're also very tight and I found getting them out a bit of a struggle. They're great for improving stability if you can get to them. I had to use a broken toothpick.

I appreciate what the team was doing here, but I think the parts tolerances removed the joy of posing it. It's not a statue, but it's not very friendly when it comes to moving the elbows and his blaster's shallow peg easily pops out of his fist. The tools hold on for dear life and I had to slowly wriggle them out. It's probably good for displays, and to make sure you don't lose the piece, but it's unpleasant. You may also store the clear bits in the figure's calf kibble, which is a good choice.

Changing it from robot to the SUV was rather enjoyable, mostly. The knees and elbows required a bit more force than I'd prefer, but things stay in place as you go. Everything tucks in - including the claw from the blaster - out of the way, leaving you an emergency vehicle that looks like you'd expect. There are no weird bulges and minimal massaging. It's not a pain in the neck.

The vehicle is smaller than the original, and lacks almost all gimmicks. There's a 5mm socket on the hood of the vehicle, plus some decent paint. The wheels spin perfectly well, and there are a lot of clear red bits to be careful with over the long haul. I think this is what fans want in an Autobot SUV, but it's a little smaller and it doesn't really give you a lot of reason to play with it. A few 5mm pegs and ports are here to use as hooks with your own Longarm or a future new Longarm should Hasbro release it. The red crosses have been replaced by the Autobot medic symbol, as the actual Red Cross organization does not want their mark used anywhere ever.

The original toy was a party in a box. He brought a friend, he was a noisemaker, and he had a lot of fun tricks up his sleeve. This one removes the surprises and kinetic elements and gives you a very pretty, very bright, very clean display piece. with a little less color than his predecessor. At $35 I am not particularly charmed, but I feel if this one were on sale I'd be very happy with it. His black repaint, Flatline, is due soon and I wouldn't be opposed to seeing the mold again with some sort of optic yellow deco either.

As an older collector it can be weird picking up something I had when I was younger - but not a child - and see what may well have been the apex "toy" of a 2000s kid brand reimagined to something to appease 1980s kids in their 40s. I think it will please that set of expectations, but I'm certainly peering over the Cyberworld kiddo line and wondering if that might scratch my itch for non-collector Spacerobotsactionfun! For those who cry for their lost childhoods through a lens of trying to impress other adults, this gets the job done.

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