It seems to me that Hasbro was strongly considering the upcoming classics line near the end of Cybertron. We got Blurr, we got Breakdown GTS, and we got Smokescreen, right at the tail end. It’s actually fairly rare for Hasbro to release a G1 homage recolor and actually get the name correct. We’re lucky that Smokescreen wasn’t named Ironhide or Silverstreak really.
But no, this color scheme belongs undisputedly to G1 Smokescreen, and the appropriate name was assigned. Still, that’s only one hurdle for Hasbro to overcome. The other is mold. This deco could have easily been applied to a repaint of Repugnus and called Smokescreen.
But no, once again, we get an appropriate alternate mode. Smokescreen is a repaint of Cybertron Crosswise. Crosswise isn’t exactly a Datsun 280ZX but he does closely resemble the Bugatti Veyron and looks sporty enough to be an update of our old G1 buddy.
What makes things even better, is Crosswise, upon his release was loved by G1 fans for his “hood as a chest” transformation. Even better, he has little flip up shoulder launchers. Crosswise isn’t an exact update, but he does all around resemble one of the G1 Autobot cars in the family of Smokescreen and Jazz.
So it works really well when he’s repainted as one of said cars. The original Crosswise color scheme works very nicely as well. The sleek black makes this Autobot come off as fit for espionage and skirting the edge of what’s good. Still, he’s not quite sinister looking enough to come off as being a Decepticon at all, since for the most part Black Transformers are evil.
Still, the mold is not without it’s flaws. The transformation is slightly confusing and complicated. I almost always end up popping one of the large rear wheel “spike” pieces off while trying ot get his arms to work and my Smokescreen has never quite fit back together solidly in vehicle mode. He’s got a lot of little panels and such that need to fit just right. He’s a bit reminiscent of the RiD Autobot Brothers in this respect.
It is a good molt though, and certainly a refreshing change from the brickish Autobots we’ve had from the past several lines. I’d have to say he’s worth picking up in both color schemes, but if you’re just looking for a G1 hook up to go with your Classics, Smokescreen is the way to go.
