The rival beginning.

Do you see what I did there?

So I finally got the original Deluxe Barricade after 12 years of wanting it!We already looked at the Legends Barricade and a KO of it earlier. Let’s see how the bigger Barricade stacks up to those guys!

Vehicle mode

Barricade has a great police car mode. It’s got no overly annoying panel lines, no distracting kibble and most importantly lots of paint. Which is good, cause there’s a bunch of nicely molded detail in car mode. Also, the “punish and enslave” on the back. Just perfect.

Clearance on the bottom of the car is not a problem and he rolls just fine. Also, because he’s noticeably heavier than newer Deluxe figures he rolls faster than them. Neat.

Transformation

For a Movie figure, he’s pretty straightforward. The transformation is not overly simple but there’s no way I’m calling it complicated either. The transformation hits the right balance of fun and fast.

Robot mode

Barricade is one of the most accurate of the first Movie Decepticons. The proportions are close to the movie and he’s got no noticeable paint inaccuracies like Megatron. Good job on your first try Hasbro! He’ll look great with Classic Camaro Bumblebee whenever the heck I get him.

Let’s get this out of the way. Barricade has no head articulation. That’s a bad. But this was 2007, not every figure from then can compare to the ones we have now in terms of posability. Barricade has ball jointed shoulders and bends at the elbows. His thumb and three fingers can swivel up. He has ball jointed hips and knee bends. He also rotates below the knees and has ball jointed feet.

Gimmicks

Barricade doesn’t have an Automorph gimmick. That was the schtick of the Movie 2007 toyline. For shame Barricade.

What Barricade does have though is a spring loaded punching gimmick. There’s a well hidden button on his right arm that when pressed launches his fist forward. It doesn’t have much range but it can knock a Deluxe size figure over. Nice.

Barricade also cones with his little buddy Frenzy. Frenzy is well molded but is barely painted. He’s also barely posable with only his arms rotating 360° and him having conjoined hips, knees as well as feet due to the way he folds up. Frenzy folds up and can hide in Barricade’s chest. Or the hood of the police car I guess.

Toy or collectible?

I’d argue he’s both honestly. He’s got a really nice car mode, a straightforward transformation and an okay robot mode. Having a punching gimmick and a chest bursting buddy also helps his fun factor.

As a collectible for adults, he’s got something going for him. Barricade is a good toy if not outstanding. But, he’s also part of the first line of Movie-verse Transformers that came out well over a decade ago. Movie 2007 Transformers seem to be getting sought after more and more. Also, more expensive. That said, if you’re concern is a great Barricade figure, you’ve got better options.

Closing

Of the many Movie 2007 figures I’ve reviewed, I think Barricade is the most dated of them. Yes, that includes Leader Megatron.

You can probably safely skip this guy and get the Studio Series, Human Alliance or Masterpiece Barricade. That said he’s not a bad figure and I do recommend him over the DOTM Deluxe Barricade. So that’s something, I guess.