Galaxy Force Toy Reviews: Chromia

in 2005, Action Figure Review, Decepticon, Galaxy Force, Generation One

Transformers Galaxy Force

General Information:
Release Year: June 2005
Retailer: Japanese exclusive
Price: $25 (Depending on Import Retailer, purchased at Image Anime)
Accessories: Force Chip, Missiles x 2, Missile Launcher


Tech Specs:*
Name: Chromia (GD-11)
Function: Naval Combat
"Chromia is a female Transformer who lurks in the oceans of Earth. She appears in front of ships cruising on the water and bursts into beautiful song, terrifying the Earthlings. This female's lovely, graceful methods of fighting have forced our Cybertron troops into some tough battles. Her attachment to strong power will doubtless be exacerbated by the Destrons' aspirations."

Strength: 7  Intelligence:Speed:Endurance: 5
Rank: 8  Courage: 7  Firepower: 8  Skill: 10

*Tech Specs translated by Doug Dlin.

Female Transformers are often welcome by fans because they are so rare. As interesting as it seems, while Transformers television shows generally portray female Transformers as good guys (even Blackarachnia turned into a Maximal), a majority of the toys released as females have in fact been bad guys (Decepticons, Predacon, Vehicon...). This tradition continues with Galaxy Force's first female release: Chromia. The name Chromia will sound familiar to long time Transformers fans. Chromia was the name of one of the G1 female Autobots, but in this universe it belongs to a Destron!

Vehicle Mode:
Chromia is a heavily armed boat in vehicle mode. The sculpt is sleek but filled with detail. The general shape is the same as a typical boat, but the details are what truly sets it apart from a recreational vehicle. There are many layers of detail to this toy, with the main bulk of the boat looking like it has several layers of armor and parts on top of it. While she is a robot in disguise, Chromia does have two seats, controls and a windshield to aid in her disguise. The details range from larger shapes such as rectangles to smaller cross hatch lines near the rotating missile launcher. One of my favorite details are the six thrusters on the back making this one super high powered boat!

Armed with two missiles, a machine gun and a rotating missile launcher, she is ready for high seas destruction. Each weapon is nicely done. The front machine gun is small, looking like a human could actually man it if he/she wanted to. The design includes a cartridge on the side for bullets. The two missiles on the sides are nicely sculpted, with nice details running along the sides. The main weapon on the back of the boat has nice, cut line designs running along the weapon with four missile points sticking out the front.

Chromia has four primary colors. Purple makes up most of the boat. Silver is found on the top of the boat. Translucent orange is used for the windshield, side missile mounts and the missiles themselves. A small Decepticon symbol can be found on the top of the boat,and a bit of gold detail appears on the front tip.

The machine gun mounted on the front can rotate. The primary missile launcher can do the same but it also angles up and down. Insert the Force Chip included with the figure, and the missile launcher converts to a different weapon! What reveals itself is a functional missile launcher that you plug one of the translucent orange missiles into and fire using the button on top. I really like the way the parts move when the launcher changes from one form to another. Very nicely done.

Chromia has a cool vehicle mode with nice detailing, a very Destron-esque color scheme and weaponry galore. Perfect for a Destron!

Transformation to Robot Mode:

  1. Detach the two missiles and missile launcher.
  2. Flip the panel with the rear thrusters up.
  3. Fold open the sides of the boat and swing them back.
  4. Swivel the lower robot legs up, then straighten out the upper legs.
  5. Flip up the robot feet.
  6. Straighten out the robot arms.
  7. Swing the main body forward, then up.
  8. The missiles can be attached to the back for now and place the launcher into her hand.

Robot Mode:
There is no mistaking what gender the designers were going for when they designed Chromia. Her overall form is very feminine. Her chest comes forward quite a bit with a thin waist and the legs are designed to look like she is wearing high boots with high heeled feet. While she is rather small for a deluxe, a majority of the figure's bulk comes from the legs and the "wings" formed by the sides of the boat. The details are fairly simple overall, but effective. The arms and legs have very straight forward, curved designs. the chest has a Matrix shaped front section (where you would imagine a small Spark Crystal could have gone) while the head actually has a rather complex design, with a central crest, horns angling back and other small details that elevate it from a typical head sculpt to a very impressive one.

I love how the missile launcher is so large compared to the rest of her. The contrast really plays against the idea of a female having to use sleek or small weapons. For lack of a better word, she has one "manly" weapon! The only problem is that the ball jointed shoulder doesn't always keep the weapon pointed forward well. A bit of clear nailpolish added to the joint will make it hold better. Hardly a fatal flaw, but still a noticable one.

Chromia has sixteen points of articulation, with most focused on the arms. The shoulders and legs are on ball joints, but their movement is a bit limited because her body rests right up against the underside of the boat.

Grey, silver and purple all carry over as primary colors from the vehicle mode. However, the gold color that was only used on a small section of the vehicle mode is very prominant here. The metallic gold color can be found on her head, chest, upper legs, feet and wings.

You can use the Force Chip gimmick in this mode as well, though it really makes the weapon heavy so she can only really hold it to the side.

The main body of Chromia is well sculpted and looks fantastic. However, the boat essentially hanging on her back is a bit awkward in terms of functionality. It blocks movement and looks a bit odd. I see that in theme they are acting as wings, not too dissimilar from the G1 Sweeps. It doesn't bother me a lot because the figure is well sculpted, but I can see how it would bother some people.

Final Thoughts:
Chromia is a fun toy that looks great, but the aforementioned wing/boat on my back design could turn some people off. This is really one of those pieces that is hard to judge as individual tastes will greatly affect who likes/does not like it. I recommend seeing if you can see one up close, perhaps borrow a friend's before making the final decision to purchase this figure (or not).