Toy Review: Generation Toy GT-11 Red Bull

Bull Sideswipe is best Sideswipe.

Producer: Generation Toy

Price: Approx. $100

Release Date: Mat 2020 (2nd Release coming Jul. 2020)

Item Height: approx. 6.5″

Item Weight: N/A

Batteries: 2x LR521 Cell Batteries (For the Cannon)

WHERE TO BUY: TFSource (Sold Out)

Generation Toy continues their homages to the “T-Beasts” Transformers fan concepts with GT-11 Red Bull which takes on that version of the character Sideswipe. I was very impressed with how well made and playable this piece is. Thanks in advance for checking out my thoughts and pictures in this article and please let me know what you think in the comments.

Presentation: The box is pretty standard generation toy fare with a cardboard box made to emulate a jewelry box aesthetically covered by a paper sleeve that has a nice graphical layout on it. I love that these figures are placed in cut foam rather than plastic or Styrofoam as it makes for easier access with just as much protection.

Build: GT-11 Red Bull is an entirely plastic piece with a nice, strong plastic used. The joints are friction based and strong. The paint applications are also perfect. My copy came with the wrong piece assembled on one of the leg hinges which I had to get a 3D printed replacement for but the general consensus in the community seems to be that this is a one-off occurrence so I won’t mark it down as if it were a wide-spread quality concern.

Accessories: Here’s a list of the accessories taken from the product listing;

1 x Shoulder Cannon
1 x Alternate Hands

In actuality there were no alternate hands and the only separate accessory was a blaster which could either be held in hand or attached to the shoulder canon which is affixed to its back via a rotating hinge piece that lets it set over above either shoulder as well as on its back in alt. mode. The shoulder canon does have an LED inside of it that activated by pressing the barrel part inwards but it’s not really something I find myself using at all.

Articulation: The articulation on Red Bull is very good (see video) with the one area lacking being the backwards swing range in the hips. Like their GT-11 Gorill the “shell” on the backside of the hip meets the back side of the crotch area very early when swinging it backwards. It’s a unfortunate design choice (after doing it twice I can’t call it an error) that seems to have no real reasoning to it at all as the extra plastic in that area doesn’t do anything to help the functionality or stability of the figure.

Overall Score: 9.0/10 – I can certainly say that the overall execution on Generation on Red Bull is leaps better than GT-10 Gorilla. It’s genuinely as fun of a piece to play with as it is to look at. There’s no real flash to it but it still shines because it’s such a straightforward and well-done piece. The parts that keep it from being scored higher from me are the hip articulation range issue gone over in the articulation section and the LED gimmick being relatively throwaway. Definitely a recommended piece though and I feel like people who liked Gorilla will absolutely love Red Bull