A Concise Review of Combiner Wars Protectobot Streetwise In 500 Words Or Less

Pricepoint/Vintage: Deluxe, 2015.

Modes: Robot, Police Interceptor, Arm, and Leg.

Transformation Style: CW deluxe limb, hollow feet style.

Play Patterns: Robot and vehicle, combiner, 5mm weaponry, a pack-in comic in the USA.

Points of Interest: A heavy retool of the aggressively reused Dead End from wave 2.

The Good
Dead End was a highlight of wave 2, so Streetwise is off to an ideal start. The new parts are comprehensive, but not invasive, so Streetwise looks different while retaining those merits. What merits? Above average articulation at sixteen points, a badass altmode, and pleasing limb modes. He's also arguably superior to Dead End in that he carries a triple-barrelled shotgun as opposed to a club. This is excellent, as while a police baton would have made sense, its a triple-barrelled shotgun. You have to be very serious about things not to welcome that. They even fixed the grey bicep problem. When it comes to play value, being a robot, being a car, or being a limb, Streetwise is pretty damn good.

The Bad
Streetwise suffers in that his paint and plastic colours just aren't as attractive as Dead End's, or some of his teammates. The particular shades of white and red used evoke raspberry ripple ice cream, while details like hubcaps go unpainted. In terms of less subjective flaws, his arm mode meanwhile retains the faintly annoying hollow forearm, and his combiner piece is still loose in his hands.

The Mediocre
Quality control seems to have been mixed on my example. On the plus side, Streetwise has some tighter tolerances than Dead End, a boon to his role as a combiner limb. However, this is at least partially due to excess plastic around joints, something which hampered transformation until I removed some of it. Other joints are functional, but show signs of the reuse. The wonderful shotgun was also sloppily painted.

The Alternatives
Combiner Wars is known for its reuse of moulds, and Streetwise is definitely one of the more familiar toys. With ten iterations of the same basic toy, depending on how you count, the odds are good you already HAVE an alternative if this line interests you. Or will do when the next wave comes out.


The Verdict
Dead End was a real good toy, and by extension, so is Streetwise. As remoulds go, he's definitely a superior example, and criticisms are minor. What may end up ruining his reputation after the fact is familiarity breeding contempt, when Prowl and Smokescreen turn up, but that isn't his fault. He's arguably better than the original.