Landmine is another of these figures based on peripheral vehicles from the first live action film. To be specific, he's modelled on a Sector 7 armoured buggy. To be particularly specific, it's the one Lennox and Epps rode into Mission City, which then got blown up a bit. Similar buggies are in the first computer game, while IDW took the tech spec bio seriously (like no-one else) and featured Sector 7 buggies (codenamed 'LM' or 'Landmine' units, for no reason whatsoever beyond it being the arbitrary name chosen for the action figure) brought to life by the All Spark. These mainly featured in the dire Reign of Starscream, an ersatz sequel to the first film which featured Sector 7 (y'know, the ones who disbanded at the end of the film) cornering the titular Decepticon. Instead of using the Sabots shown to be so effective during recent events, they decided this was the time to try out the totally untested miracle alien technology they had on hand. It didn't work. Much like IDW's Movie comics in general.

Landmine's alternate mode is very well done. I've never quite worked out why military organisations like Sector 7, NEST and GI Joe use armoured dune buggies - perhaps because they look cool. This one certainly does, with a nice military blue colour and oodles of detail. It's rippling with armour plating, not to mention the riveting. Then there are the coolant drums on the back and a nifty roof-mounted heavy gun, which can be turned and elevated. Inside there are even seats.

There are discreet Sector 7 and Autobot logos, nicely done in black on blue. The black tyres are made of a slightly softer plastic, adding that veneer of quality, while the wheels have independent sprung suspension. There's even space for someone (like a Lego Minifig pretending to be Lennox, albeit with a leg hanging over the side) to man the gun. Overall the thing is very, very well done - this must have been someone's labour of love, considering it ticks so many boxes that, say, Jazz or Barricade fail to fulfil. The only real problem is the rear headlights, which tend to pop off easily and could probably get lost without you even realising it.

The transformation is a fairly basic scheme (back becomes legs, sides become arms, front becomes chest), but is nicely executed and maintains the flow of other Movie figures. The Automorph functions are simple enough, with the wheels popping in closer to the chest, and the rear headlights sliding up. There are some really nice touches, like the seats becoming hands and the canisters becoming the feet. However, the latter lumber Landmine with some little castors on the bottom of the feet, which give the robot a bit of a balance problem.

Unlike Longarm, Landmine actually captures the aesthetic of the film models. He actually looks a bit mad and spiky, more in the mould of a Decepticon, what with his claws and dark colours. The head cast also has a hostile, drone-like quantity to it. I suppose it might fit more with an Allspark mutation that's been captured and enslaved by a defunct government agency, but Landmine looks somewhat out of place displayed with other Autobots. His articulation isn't bad, but is shackled by his insecure feet, meaning the legs have to be bent at the knee and moved apart just so the robot can stand, while the joints on the arms are restricted by the sideboards of the armoured car either side. In this mode, Landmine's gun can either be manoeuvred into place as a shoulder weapon, or removed and placed in his hand. The latter looks silly, though - too much like he's just holding an oversized army assault rifle. It's not that it's a bad robot mode, it's just that a few things could have been sorted to make it really good.

In conclusion, Landmine is an odd figure. The alternate mode is excellent, nicely detailed and a welcome addition. The robot mode isn't outright poor, but with a little more refinement could have been something really good. As it is, it's quite generic and lacks personality. On the plus side, Landmine - like a lot of non-screen figures from the Movie line - can be picked up cheap.

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