(NOTE: Because this is a repaint, this is not a full-blown review. This mainly covers any changes made to the mold and the color scheme, and merely compares it to Generations Alpha Bravo. For a review on the mold itself, read the review of Generations Alpha Bravo here.)

    Aaaand here we finally have the character this mold was made for in the first place. Vortex sticks to his G1 color scheme fairly closely, but with a few extra paint apps due to the larger size. Vortex's helicopter mode is mostly a flat gray, which isn't really a great main color, even if it is realistic. Luckily, Vortex has a handful of other colors-- particularly in robot mode-- that help to liven things up a bit. There is some black-- which admittedly does NOT liven things up a bit-- but is used in places where it makes sense, like the rotors and on the windows. The tint of dark greenish blue plastic used for the base of his rotors, upper arms, hips and waist, head, and a few other minor parts is a really nice shade of the color, both adding some color while staying in the same "dark, dull" category as the gray to complement it. The yellow color works well on the missiles, as well as on the stripe on his chest-- a nice accent color to help lighten things up some. The red on the abs and on the optic visor is also a nice shade, too. Along with the greenish blue, though, the dark purple paint is what REALLY helps to bring Vortex's color scheme together, with lines on the sides of the copter mode and some on the robot chest and lower abdomen. Particularly on the robot chest, this combination of colors looks great and really makes Vortex look far and away from being just a "dull gray" Transformer. I will say that I'm not crazy about the color of Vortex's weapons, though-- they're both that really blah light milky gray that I wish Hasbro would do away with altogether.
    No mold changes have been made to Vortex.
    Combiner Wars Vortex is not only the character that the mold fits best-- having obviously been originally made for him-- but as for the 2015 releases of this mold, this one is definitely my favorite. Sure he's got a fair amount of dull gray, but the way most of his other colors-- the greenish blue and purple in particular-- contrast with the other colors, and the way the paint apps are spread out, looks great.

Decepticon Operational Status Update, reported by Soundwave:
Most Cybertronians secretly prefer either their robot mode or their alternate mode, but Vortex is completely comfortable either way. As the interrogator for the Combaticons, Vortex has found effective ways to glean information from prisoners in either mode. He's learned critical secrets by magnetizing bots and taking them for the ride of their lives in helicopter mode-- dangling them over certain doom to encourage compliance. As a robot, the closer his rotor blades come to a prisoner, the more likely it is that the captive will talk. Vortex utilizes a high-impact "glue gun" to paralyze other aircraft and robots. With fellow Combaticons forms Bruticus.
CONCLUSION: Combat endorsed and approved.

HISTORY (extracted from compulsory biographical download):
Vortex is one of the few Decepticons you might actually describe as friendly. He's witty and encouraging-- almost chatty. Other bots walk away from a conversation with Vortex feeling good... until they realize they might have said too much. Interrogation has many forms, and it's not always reserved for your enemies. Forms either an arm or a leg of Bruticus, the combined form of the Combaticons.

Review by Beastbot

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