Na na na na na na NAH, RED ALERT!

I’m not sure if Beelzeboss’ Heroic Duo upgrade kit has slipped under the radar or not, but I for one have been waiting a LONG time for this set:

Holy Upgrade BATMAN!

Like their other products (i.e. Goldbug kit) the set comes in a nice, beautifully designed box, with a foam insert to protect the various pieces.  The set focuses on upgrading both Generations Red Alert and Classics Sideswipe with more G1-accurate weapons and, for Red Alert, a brand new head sculpt!

Sideswipe gets his shoulder rocket as well as his G1 rifle:

He also, much like his soon-to-be Master Piece release, gets his pile drivers –

But my Sideswipe’s hands are an excruciating pain to get off, so…meh.   I don’t really get the draw for these things, and frankly, they’re going to stay in the box.
Red Alert gets similar treatment, though his shoulder rocket is much more “rocket like” where as Sideswipes is more of a cannon.

The G1 rifle both ‘Bots get is a great replacement to the scrimpy little tail-pipe blaster:

I suppose you could also put the pile drivers on Red Alert too, but meh….meh.

The shoulder mounted weapons attach via new shoulder attachments that add a little bit of bulk to each bot.  They simply peg into one of the molded in holes on the shoulder, and then the launchers attach by a small c-clip:

But the BEEF of this kit, is the new head for Red Alert.  It is simply put, AMAZING.  I mean that.  It’s AMAZING:

Unfortunately, this picture doesn’t really do it great justice.  The face is bright polished silver, the crest has light piping as well, which is an amazing touch.  I believe the eyes are, but they require a lot of light.  My only issue was that its a little loose, which is why this picture isn’t too great, but with a touch of sticky tacky, I was able to resolve the issue.

Honestly, this sculpt is so amazing that I’m sort of sad they didn’t make one for Sideswipe.  But this kit was designed to distinguish the two characters a bit more so I can understand it.

Now, the only thing worth noting – most of the parts need to be removed before transforming them.  The shoulder rockets, obviously have to, but the new shoulder pads do as well.  Its not an issue for me, but some people who don’t like Parts-formers my have a problem.  Red Alert’s head folds into his body just like the original, naturally.

For as long as I waited for this kit, it was worth the wait.  Beelzeboss really knocked this right out of the park!  Red Alert has now become on of my favorite Autobots in my collection now.   You can get the kit from TFSource here.
Up next – My Collection – Robot Mode!  Also, a surprising addition to my BotCon collection!

Stay Tuned!