I'm pretty thoroughly into the 3rd party stuff these days but I think Springer is the first official Transformer to come out in quite a while that can hang with that stuff (barring the occasional MP, of course). Springer lives up to the hype.

The main issue with Blitzwing is that the shoulders don't lock into place properly. Apparently a few exsist that work properly but they are definitely the minority. Even with the shoulder problem he grew on me after a few days but he's definitely not in the same league as Springer.

I really like Springer, but I think I like Blitzwing more. True, his QC issues are a problem. It takes a lot of effort to get things to tab together properly, and the face-flipping idea, while neat, is gummed up by thick paint. But the main reason I prefer Blitzwing is that he feels more ambitious than Springer. Springer's two alt modes look very, very similar, which Blitzwing's mode are very distinct. I just wish we had Voyagers of Astrotrain and Octane to go with them.

I love both Springer and BW even with the qc BW issues. I too am very much into 3p products as well though but understand that Hasbro had limitations to work with in order to make these products possible to sell at a mass mainstream level while being profitable enough to justify production.

This really shows some solid progress even though there were some qc issues.

Same here. My Blitzwing had SUPER loose hips. It was an easy fix with the clear rubber ties that come in the package. Should I have to work on my figures? No. Is it still worth the buy? Absolutely.

I lucked into finding Springer last week (at the local Meijer). Absolutely love 'im (and now I'm on the prowl for BH Shockwave and Sandstorm). =)

Edit: And Trailbreaker and Hoist and Waspinator and Skids, whenever they're due. And probably Metroplex.

I would've snagged Springer if I didn't already have the FP one. But I did find Sandstorm and he is amazing. I'm just really not fond of the weapon. It's just odd, the two pieces don't really look like they belong together.

Between official and 3rd party, I now have 7 Wreckers. I am a happy man.

does he kinda fit in with mp figures? i've always loved springer but am only collecting mp scaled tf now.

I'm not sure if he's properly scaled since this is the first Springer I've owned. Appearance-wise, I think he holds up well while standing next to MPs.

oh, wow. he looks pretty good next to them. thanks for posting the pic!

I like Springer overall, but its maddening to me that the car mode doesn't transform correctly - my figure its pretty impossible to get the windshield to look adequate at all.

Great Bot mode though.

The windows on mine don't connect perfectly, but enough that it looks OK. It's a pretty minor flaw for me.

Emerje