One of the more inventive subversions of the film, Barricade was the first Decepticon to transform into a realistic emergency services vehicle (albeit one unable to avoid hinting at its' evil nature through its' decor). Barricade was also something of a 'new' character as opposed to the rebooted likes of the Autobots, Megatron and Starscream, his sharing a name with the Micromaster being largely a coincidence. The Decepticon police cruiser was popular with Michael Bay even before the film was released, and thus Barricade's death at the hands of Optimus Prime was cut (it stayed in IDW's lacklustre comic adaptation, only to be contradicted in their woeful Alliance mini-series - more good work from them) so he could appear in Revenge of the Fallen. Thus everyone was a bit miffed when he didn't.

His toy was made in both Legends and Deluxe versions - the former is notable for not being a complete waste of plastic, quite unusual for the range. Both versions were also issued in a pointless silver and blue 'Recon' scheme. The Deluxe should come with a tiny little version of Frenzy - mine doesn't, but I'm not all that fussed to be honest...

Barricade's alternate mode is more than just a police car, it's a Saleen Mustang police car. With the possible exception of Bumblebee's original form, it's the only really good-looking car in the whole film, actually looking like something other than a squirt of toothpaste. It's a nice, beefy form, perfectly suited as a police vehicle (though, at the same time, it's a shame they didn't do a redeco as a road car, rather than the slightly different police car we got).

The colour scheme is functional, but what really wins though is some neat touches - the paint applications might not be the most numerous, but the ones that are present are crisp and clear - especially the 'Punish & Enslave' and the Deception-themed precinct badge. Plus the lightbar, headlights, windscreen and side windows (and the paint matching for these is excellent). Overall, while the look is a little prosaic, it's also very crisp and effective.

Barricade has, by Movie standards, a very simple transformation that's very easy to master. It's a little bit harder going the other way, mainly lining the little pegs for the sides of the back of the car up with the pegs, but still not much more complex than earlier figures. The robot mode is a weird mix as well - the big blocky chest and arms are straight off a Unicron Trilogy figure, the legs and head more akin to other Movie toys. It means he looks a little odd - Barricade was somewhat ungainly in the film, but the toy just seems a little top heavy. The arms can at lash be broken up to look a little less clumsy, which is good - even if the spring-loaded punch function of the left one is appalling as an attack, and looks preposterous. Sadly, the top-heavy nature of the figure negates much of the leg articulation, and the sheer size of the arms mean they can't to much either. And the neck doesn't turn.

The largely black rendering of the robot mode also looks a bit dull - it works for the police car mode, but he looks dull in robot form. The few sculpted details and flashes of paint below the waist don't come close to conveying the metallic panels that made Barricade's character model work so well. Similarly, the chest is just a block and the head's the wrong colour. Of course the thing's not going to be totally accurate to the CGI model, but the coloration for a start makes a quick and easy way to define the figure a little more - make the lower legs primarily dark silver with black accents, make the head silver with the gold face. The overall impression is of a rather slapdash robot mode that feels a bit like something that's wandered in from a much older line, put out with the all-too-frequent ethos of "Sod it, this'll do".

In some respects Barricade suffers from simply being surpassed by more recent efforts. He's not a bad toy by any stretch of the imagination, but in terms of complexity and accuracy he's been outstripped by many Deluxe Movie figures since. The vehicle mode is straightforward, but the robot mode just lacks any sort of visual impact - it's a shame, as adding in a different colour for the head, waist and legs would have been an inexpensive way of vastly improving the toy. Great concept, shame about the execution.

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