A giant crazy katana wielding skeletal Samurai robot! Does it get much better!? Decepticon Bludgeon is all that and much much more!

Bludgeon appeared in toy form in 1989 as part of Hasbro's Series 6 small pretenders’ line-up. But it wasn't until we were introduced to him through the Marvel-UK comics that we realized just how awesome he really was. As leader of the Mayhem Attack Squad he quickly became a fan favorite with the UK TF fans and has remained so ever since. 

Surprising then that Bludgeon was overlooked throughout all the Generation 1 updates through the Classics, Universe and Generations lines. In fact, it took a Live Action Movie line of bots to put Bludgeon back in the spotlight. Happily despite coming packaged in a Revenge of the Fallen (ROTF) box, he actually turned out to be an almost perfect update of his G1 original.

I say 'almost' perfect because his head sculpt was certainly a let-down, but more about that later. Of course, he's no longer a pretender, but his tank and robot modes are an excellent homage to his tank and pretender shell form of his 1989 self. These two modes were without doubt his two favourite and overwhelmingly popular appearances, with his inner pretender robot almost never seen. It doesn’t bother me at all then that he's no longer a 'pretender' as with this figure you get the best of Blugeon in all his fantastic glory.

Bludgeon put his devastating martial arts to work through the amazing artwork of the TF comics and was always seen wielding a Samurai sword. The original toy had no such accessory, much to the dismay of many a TF fan from back in the day. At last then, this updated Bludgeon comes with not just one sword but two! A long sword (Katana) and a short sword (Tanto). They also store ingeniously in both modes, with the latter forming part of the Mech Tech gimmick popular in many of the ROTF figures. We here at RR love this gimmick, and we love both of his modes.

The tank mode is arguably not only one of the best representations of a real-life tank (a Japanese Type 90) but also one of the best 'tank type' transformers moulds out there. It is a sturdy figure and has some fabulous detailing. It's a satisfying transformation and it all just fits well together. And it looks amazing on display.

His robot mode is equally impressive, giving us full on Samurai armour. Haidate thigh guards, chunky Sode shoulder guards, not to mention the classic layered body armour and bone-like chest piece. Articulation is good, there's plenty of fun to be had putting him on display in various poses, it's even possible to have him wielding his Katana double handed. The hip holster is also a very nice addition as an additional storage location and with a sheathed sword in place he looks just the part.

With all this awesomeness it is a true disappointment to find his head sculpt so poorly done. Of course we understand this figure was released as a movie bot and needed to fit in with the aesthetic of all the other ROTF faces. Nevertheless, both his modes, weapons and colours all homage his original self so well, his none G1 face stands out like a sore thumb. Thankfully there's always a third party toy manufacturer to come to our rescue. And Headrobots did not disappoint. Their appropriately named 'Blood: The Dark Warrior' upgrade kit did a fantastic job of recreating an authentic looking G1 Bludgeon head sculpt. Not only is there a choice of faces but also some rather nice shiny chromed new weapons to go with it. So now we can enjoy Bludgeon in all his glory exactly as he should be, up there on our CHUG shelf looking awesome with all his other updated G1 comrades. 

If you'd like to add this Bludgeon along with the now extremely hard to find Headrobots upgrade kit to your collection, we have a pre-owned one in excellent condition, up for auction over in our eBay outlet right now! Follow the link for more information. You can also view more pictures of this item over on our Facebook page.