Transformers Generations: Titans Return – Autobot Shuffler

I mentioned in my 2017 Roundup that the Titans Return range was one of my favourite things of last year. So it seems fitting that for the first review of 2018, we take a look at one of the Titan Master figures.

Being a huge sucker for prehistoric creatures, it’s actually a wonder I hadn’t picked up the mammoth-shaped Autobot Shuffler sooner. Largely it’s down to his Autobot status; though I have picked up a number of Autobots from this range, I am increasingly loath to by Autobots product. They don’t tend to fit into the larger collection, and space is increasingly at a premium within my house. But I made an exception for this little guy. 

Shuffler has three modes – the aforementioned mammoth, a tank and a gun for larger figures to hold. Typically, the Titan Master-scale figures look good in one or two of their modes and totally crap in at least one. Not so the case here; all of them look pretty good!  

In bot mode, Shuffler is a bit plain. It’s been a running complaint that there isn’t enough paint on the Titan Masters, even at the top-end models, and the same applies here. Even some eyes would have done wonders. However, his face is a little interesting by virtue of having a “snout” where his nose would be. It’s a nice sculpted detail. 

Shuffler’s mammoth mode has the rare distinction of appearing “complete” even when his head isn’t inserted into it. In fact, when he is inserted into the base body, the tab that sits on the back of his legs kind of makes it look like he has a big ol’ robotic dong. Hilarious.

The tank mode hides the elephantine look of the head more effectively than you might have thought. Shuffler serves as pilot, but if you leave him off the vehicle still has a nice mecha-style look to it.

While the gun (not pictured) is definitely the weakest of the modes, it still gives off a nice missile launcher vibe. The designers are to be commended for not simply trying to make the whole thing look like a giant pistol, which is something that has plagued a lot of the other Titan Master accessories. 

In head mode, he gives the appearance of definitely being a Decepticon, with his masked face and red eyes. Still, it’s oddly friendly, and I find myself sort of wishing that he had a “real” body to attach to. In fact, the only real downside about Shuffler is that he’s an Autobot. I mean, why cast him in these colours and NOT have him as a Decepticon? 

"Curse your betrayal, Shuffler!" 

Brand history is one thing, but he’s hardly a major character in the mythos. Recast him in a different colour scheme and call him a new character for the Autobots; new characters aren’t going to hurt. But in my personal canon, he will be serving strictly as a warrior for Galvatron. Maybe some kind of undercover spy, lurking among the Autobots until the time is right. Maybe even hijacking Autobot bodies in the process…who could say?

Though I only picked him up quite recently, Shuffler has rapidly become of my favourite figures from the Titans Return line. He’s sturdy, yet easy to transform, offers multiple play patterns and is easy to carry around in your pocket. Well done Hasbro.   

Transformers: Titans Return – Highbrow

Company: Hasbro

Year: 2016

 So I know I don’t normally have a lot to do with the Autobots, but every now and then one will slip through the net. But this week, Target stuffed up the pricing in their weekly catalogue, and the Deluxe Titans Return figures were reduced to only $15AUD a pop, which is an absolute steal!

At that price, I decided I should pick up Highbrow. I’ll take Decepticons in virtually any alt-mode, but for the Autobots they tend to have to be airborne vehicles. Plus, somewhere in my cupboard I have the Kre-O version of this guy, and since I was particularly fond of that Kre-O I thought it was time to get the “real” version of him.

Highbrow’s bot mode is awesome – the sunglasses-style design for faces is my second favourite after faceplates, and he stands very well. Colour scheme pops nicely on the shelf, and he manoeuvres easily into cool poses.  The lack of waist articulation is a slight downer, but a necessary element due to his transformation style. Xort, his Titan Master companion, is similarly cool in design. Rocking a semi-inverted Highbrow colour scheme, he’s very fun to look at. But on the downside, his joints are a little floppy – when removing the head, don’t be surprised if his legs and arms swing around a little. 

The vehicle mode isn’t quite as strong; it’s tandem rotor helicopter that wouldn’t look out of place in some mid-90s anime. While not a bad design in and of itself, the colours come across as very toy-ish (curiously, much more than they do in bot mode) and that is a little distracting. Still, it’s nice sculpting and the transformation doesn’t feel too forced or awkward, unlike some recent figures I’ve looked at.   

Now, TFWiki notes that there’s two known issues with this toy – the plug for the head doesn’t click in properly on some, and the legs are loose on others. The example I own is one of the former, but the good news is that you can kind of see it in the package. If he looks like his head isn’t clicked in properly, then you’re likely looking at one of them. The head is a little loose on mine, but nothing too severe. He just looks like he has an unusually long neck from certain angles.  

  

Overall? The vehicle mode isn’t as strong as bot mode, but it’s still a very fun toy. And considering the fairly nominal amount I paid for it, I’m extremely satisfied.  

Transformers Generations: Titans Return – Mindwipe

Company: Hasbro

Year: 2016

So, another week at the LBC, and another Titans Return review. I thought Combiner Wars was incredibly fun, but I feel like it’s been blown out of the water by this year’s releases. Tonnes of original sculpts, cool articulation, good updates to characters that haven’t been produced in years…what more do you want from a Transformers line?

So today we come to Mindwipe, and his little Titan Master buddy Vorath. As with many Transformers, I’m not really familiar with Mindwipe’s background but a quick glance at TFWiki suggests that he’s a next-level Edgelord in a faction that’s already mighty loaded with Edgelords. He’s a skilled hypnotist, and also spends a lot of time trying – though apparently unsuccessfully – to become the Transformers version of a necromancer. His alt-mode is a bat, which gives him a tenuous kind of vampire/goth connection. I get the impression he would have enjoyed The Misfits.

His bot mode is genuinely great, one of the best figures I’ve seen in quite some time. As I’ve noted numerous times, black and purple are my favourite Decepticon colours, which of course instantly gives him roughly 1000219702130932 extra cool points – though I think the design is a nice one, nonetheless.

Transformation is intuitive for the most part, though the placement of certain tabs makes it quite obvious that it was computer-designed.  And the alt-mode…well, it’s not bad, but it is kind of weird. I think it’s to do with the design of the head – it’s a little too busy in comparison to his bot mode, with lots of greebles decorating the surface. Additionally, the head is cast in a much softer plastic, which just seems strange. However, the jaw is articulated, which is a definite bonus. While in alt-mode, Vorath is stored in the chest, which is a nice Megazord-esque touch.  

Vorath himself is okay, but not amazing. He looks somewhat like a colour-swapped Apeface, and I think that a paint app on the face would have definitely enhanced his look a little. Still, these mini Titan Masters are always great fun.

I wasn’t originally going to pick up Mindwipe, but a friend talked me into it. Though I’m a bit ambivalent towards his alt-mode, his bot mode is fantastic, and worth the price of admission on that basis alone. Highly recommended for fellow members of the Decepticon nation.

Transformers Generations: Titans Return – Apeface

Company: Hasbro

Year: 2016

Titans Return continues to throw up more awesome toys, and today we take a look at another awesome Decepticon* – Apeface!

Black and purple Decepticons are my favourite. And as with all the Titan Masters, there’s four modes – the head, the Titan Master on his own, robot mode (in this case, a gorilla-bot) and combined vehicle mode (a jet). All of them work reasonably well, and it’s actually a bit of a shame that we’re not seeing this guy in deluxe size. In jet mode, he looks like a mini-Skywarp, which means I’m 99% guaranteed to love it. 

My only real criticism is that he doesn’t stand quite right in his gorilla-bot mode, but you can fudge the effect well enough. And this brings us to the most important question of all – in light of this year’s most popular meme, should we be calling this guy Harambot?

*Autobots can get in the bin 

 

Transformers Generations: Titans Return – Hardhead

Company: Hasbro

Year: 2016

Titans Return is trickling out in dribs and drabs across Sydney, and I am almost as excited as Big Kev used to be. I’ve already taken a look at Crashbash and Terri-Bull – and I plan to look at Galvatron in the next…ooh…week…?

Though I’m DECEPTICONS 4 LYFE™, Hardhead has such a cool design I couldn’t pass him up. Hopefully though, there will eventually be a Decepticon version released, preferably in some kind of purple, black and grey colour scheme. 

Hardhead isn’t a character I’d ever heard of before, but he was an original Headmaster back in 1987, paired with his partner Duros – now known as Furos, presumably due to trademark reasons. He’s primarily green and grey, though has black treads and a couple of yellow bits here and there. While the concept of transforming from a masked robot through into some kind of Cybertronian tank isn’t really new, this figure is an example of how the Titan Masters concept really shines. Hardhead’s head – Furos – pops off, turning into a fun little robot of its own. Furos can then be stored in the cockpit of the tank, giving it a little driver. Or alternatively, part of his cannon pops opens and he can be placed in there as a gunman. It’s such a small thing, but it’s immediately elevates it several notches above just about any other tank Transformer out there

As we know, correct scale is virtually non-existent for Transformers – but I like to think of the Titan Masters being around human size. This works quite well with Hardhead, and I’ll probably keep it as my yardstick for future reviews too.  

Hardhead’s transformation is that rare blend of easy and memorable, while not being dull. He has a couple of tell-tale signs of being designed by computer rather than by hand, but overall it’s a much smoother process than I have had with a larger Transformer in quite a while. Were that they were all so well-engineered.

Articulation is also excellent – a (detachable) ball-jointed head, ball-jointed shoulders, double-hinged elbows, cut wrists, ball-jointed hips, cut thighs, swivel-hinged knees (due to the transformation mechanism). If there was one thing missing that I’d like to see included, it would be a waist joint – but that’s just the nature of the figure’s transformation, and I can live without it. Even better, he’s still easy to keep standing – he doesn’t have that whole vibe of being able to be blown over in a stiff breeze which plagues some of Hasbro’s more heavily articulated figures.  

In vehicle mode, the tank’s treads are moulded rather than moveable, but they have been equipped with some discreet miniature wheels so they can be rolled along the ground. Additionally, there’s a few spots on the treads where other Titan Masters can be attached – you can up to six ready for action once you factor in the two cockpits. My only other Titan Masters are Decepticons, so they will not be taking Hardhead up on the offer -- but it's nice to know what the issues are head.

Hardhead has the rare distinction of being a Transformer that has equally cool bot and alt modes, something few have managed to achieve in the 30+ year history of the brand. Irrespective of your allegiances, he is a truly must-own toy. Highly recommended by the Lupine Book Club.

Transformers Generations: Titans Return – Terri-Bull

Company: Hasbro

Year: 2016

So after buying Crashbash, I got pretty excited and went back to Hobbyco the next day, with plans for picking up another Titan Master figure. The only other Decepticon Titan Master released so far is the subject of today’s review – Terri-Bull.

Back in the 1980s, he was known as Horri-Bull, and was a Headmaster who transformed into a bull. Here he’s been reimagined into a small head who rides a miniature tank, which in turn can be transformed to a jet. Not the most faithful interpretation of the character, but hey, times change. It would've been nice to see a bull Transformer, but I assume the moulding vs the reuse potential wouldn't necessarily cost out. Such are the economics of modern toys, I guess...  

But what’s more annoying for me is that the colours of the promotional images vs the actual figure are incredibly inaccurate. Hasbro has been using renders for a while now, and that’s okay in theory, it’s sometimes a little…misleading. This is one of those times. What’s rendered as gold on the package is more akin to some kind of unpleasant beigey-orange. That may not sound like a big deal, but it makes the whole thing look much more toy-ish, and the colour scheme isn’t anywhere near as appealing. You'll also notice that mine has a chip on his faceplate, though there's no way to be able to tell this when he's in the packaging, Good luck!  

The jet mode is pretty cool, and it’s good to have another Titan Master figure. So Terri-Bull isn’t from…terrible. But he’s a bit of a poor cousin to his prehistoric friend Crashbash. Fun, but not really essential unless you were a big fan of the character as a kid. Don't worry -- it shouldn't take the sheen of the Titan Masters for you. I've got a really fun one coming up soon...

Transformers: Titans Return -- Crashbash

In the 4.5 billionish years this planet has existed, dinosaurs have been pretty much the coolest creatures to ever walk God's green earth. Sure, humans weren't around for their heyday -- but ever since that first Megalosaurus bones were discovered back in 1824, they've had a stranglehold on popular culture, showing up in all sorts of bizarro places -- not least of which was Transformers.

Titans Return is pretty much the reintroduction of the Headmasters concept to the Transformers franchise, last seen in the late 1980s. Basically, the theme introduces the concept of Titan Masters – small Transformers who can combine with larger ones to supplement their power by replacing their heads. While it’s an excellent idea for establishing a play pattern, it’s slightly disturbing in storyline terms – two robots bonded together for the indefinite future, the larger stuck in a useless state when the head decides to pop off and move around on its own. I’m sure that’s not quite how it works, but it’s the version of events that sticks in my mind.    

However, as these transforming heads are intentionally designed to be interchangeable with one another, Hasbro has taken the novel step of selling some heads separately, using it to reintroduce some characters who presumably might not have gotten a release in another form. But though a head that transforms into a teensy robot is pretty cool, it's a little thin for a regular release...so each of these figures also comes packed with some kind of vehicle that can also be transformed into a weapon -- which can then be used either by the miniature pilot or by a larger figure. Pretty cool, huh? 

Considering that Hasbro tends to overprice TFs a little, I expected these heads to sell for $15-20 each, but I found this one at Hobbyco for a much more reasonably priced $11.95. This means they'll probably be $9-10 at Big W/Target/Kmart. The first wave offers some good options, but I was naturally enough drawn to Crashbash -- a purple Decepticon t-rex? Had I died and gone to heaven??? After recovering from this  near-death experience, I seized it tightly and knew that I had to buy it. It would go with my bizarro collection of other Decepticons, which currently numbers at somewhere between "waaaaaay more Transformers than I had as a kid" and "why didn't I buy a Thundercracker when I had the chance, aftermarket prices are redonk now".

Now, Crashbash is a character that was released back in the 1980s, though he was then known as "Squeezeplay" and was a kind of crab-person thing. Pretty cool, but the only real resemblance this modern version has to his 1980s incarnation is in the head mode. The T-rex look is a new one. 

And it's awesome!!! Crab people are cool and all, as South Park taught us years ago -- but T-Rex alt mode conquers virtually all other contenders. It's made by combining the Titan Master and the weapon mode together, Ingeniously, the legs become the lower half of the jaw, while the Titan Master's arms become the T-Rex's arms. You can also cheat a gun mode for bigger figures by fiddling with the legs and tail while using the "cannon" as a gun handle, but I haven't included a pic here.  

The Dragon (weapon) mode, by contrast, is neither here nor there -- it looks kind of like some kind of dino-chicken hybrid, and I don't really plan to make much use of it. It's nice to give the Titan Master something to stand on to. 

And head mode? Well, with the purple colour he might look nice on Galvatron. But I think he's going to stay in T-Rex or Titan Master mode most of the time. Though it is cool that the Titan Master's own head is a miniature facsimile of the larger head.

Now, I do have some minor criticisms. First, the promotional render makes this toy look as though it's kind of lavender in colour, but the real toy is much darker, more of a magenta colour. This isn't a problem -- I prefer magenta -- but the increasing reliance on renders in Hasbro's promotional material is giving a less and less accurate impression of what the final toy is actually going to look like. Going back to hardcopies really would be a better option, even if their paint jobs tended to be a little... questionable.  

Secondly, be warned -- the Titan Masters are a bit fragile, so have a spare or two handy if your kid plays rough. I'm quite gentle, and I've already had a couple of white pressure marks appear on him. 

Overall? If this toy had existed when I was a little kid, I have little doubt that it would have been one of my favourites. There's something indisputably awesome about a gigantic chunky figure like Devastator, but I have a lot of love for figures that are near capsule-toy size too. Ideally, I'd build an army of these guys...but I'll probably limit myself to just to or three. I vote that these separately-sold Titan Masters are a big success!