05 Oct 2016

Action Master Exo Suits Circuit / Thundercracker and comparisons

For some reason, Action Masters did better in Europe than in other territories, and while the US saw the TF mainline end in 1990 it continued in both Japan and Europe, with each company seeing a mixture of different releases.

Japan had already started moving in it’s own direction, focusing on the Micro Machines element but with all new giant toys with base modes and increased Micro-master interactivity, and they continued this in 1991 with the Return of Convoy line featuring Star Convoy and Grandus. In Europe, we got a second year of Action Masters.

Although it was only a mere 14 figures, they are memorable now for being some of the hardest to find mainline releases of all time, especially with the confusing Action Master Elites, who were of course Transformers who couldn’t transform who could transform. We’ll look at those at some point, but for today, we’re looking at the Exo-Suits and their modern counterparts.

CIRCUIT

As mentioned last week, the base figure for Circuit is a straight re-use of Axer but in the more positive and primary colours of yellow, befitting his Autobot allegiance. Seen above with his TFCC Subscription Service repaint, which also shares a mold with Axer, a repurpose of 2010 ROTF Lockdown. Circuit may be destined to be a straight repaint of Axer (even with the modern mold head-sculpt not really suiting a good guy), but his exo-suit is all new at least.

Unlike Axer who came with a motorbike, Circuit’s Formula One-esque race-car makes a lot more sense for the base mold which seems to show leftover alt. mode car detailing. Unlike Axer’s motorbike, Circuit looks very silly sat on his vehicle. There is some odd internal logic happening both at Hasbro and in-universe at this point, giving characters who used to be cars or planes a car or plane accessory; by this logic Action Master Grimlock should have been given a giant T-Rex accessory he could ride into battle. Actually, now I verbalise it, that sounds pretty damn cool!

His exo-suit is kind of lame, when you figure that this came out just one year before the Kenner Aliens Power Loader exo-suit (a vehicle which looking back could fit seamlessly into Action Masters), so it very easily could have been better than this. Unlike other Action Master accessories / playsets, this has very little involvement in the transformation, and no detachable external weapons (although, scratch that – the front wheel blaster on the exo-suit does have a peg hold on it, so it looks like it was intended for use as a hand weapon too, and I’ve just literally discovered it detaches easier than I thought). To make up for any deficiencies in the design, the factory applied stickers do say Action Masters on three occasions, so Circuit seems to be very comfortable and proud of his mono-former status.

As always with Action Masters the paint is very easy to rub off the character through minimal use, and like a lot of stickers of this era they are very prone to peeling, wear and dis-colouration, so handle with care.

Ultimately with this guy, I feel Circuit is a figure that most US or Asian collectors would have been okay with missing, but you have to give credit for the TFCC going with such an obscure choice of character! Sure, half the work was done for them with the mainline release of Axor, and I still feel the choice of alt. mode and head-sculpt are not the best choices for the character, but I guess they were tied to the mold because of Axor (even if a part of me thinks they should have released Animated Circuit using the Animated Lockdown mold, a toy I infinitely prefer over the ROTF / HFTD release).

THUNDERCRACKER

Ah, this is more my speed. Rather than just repainting Action Master Starscream in blue and calling it a day, the team at Hasbro Europe decided that Action Master Thundercracker should be every colour they could find. In many ways, he is the ultimate early-nineties colour-scheme. When people think of G2 colouring, they picture this release – it’s fair to say, he’s more G2 than G2.

And heck, what a great job TFCC did with him!!! If I was being picky, I think some remolded weapons would have really helped the homage, but I can’t complain.

With three weapons, he’s already out-classed Circuit’s accessories, and with a much more cooler looking alt. mode and power-suit design, he’s definitely the winner of this subline. Sure, the power-suit has the same limitations as Circuit in a lot of ways; no poseability for one, but this actually seems to make the character look cooler and a more effective fighter. In comparison, Circuit’s suit looks like someone made a straight-jacket out of a car.

This alt. mode is a Solo Mission Jet plane, and differs a bit from other AM releases; Thundercracker doesn’t look so much like he’s riding his stealth bomber inspired fighter as much as he looks like he’s just trying to hang onto the damn thing! A clever use of the longer weapon also helps hold Thundercracker’s legs into position. Again, the transformation of the power suit / alt. mode isn’t that inspired, but I personally like the results in both modes.

The interesting legacy of this figure is the deco’s repurposing, years later it has come to be known as Shattered Glass Thundercracker and it was under this name that the CHUG repaint was released at Botcon 2011, part of the TFCC written (and seemingly owned) concept of a Mirrorverse Transformers universe where Autobots are bad and Decepticons are good. This re-purposing of repaints and obscure figures helped the TFCC SG concept gain great ground in the fandom (despite not releasing easily available licensed SG faction logos), and it’s one I take to heart when I repurpose figures for my own collection, such as using this figure as an extension to my CHUG2 collection, as although I don’t collect Shattered Glass due to space issues, I’m all about finding space for Action Master homages in my collection.
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This colour scheme has also launched a repaint campaign, with one Radicon customiser attempting to customise every seeker mold in this colour scheme, sometimes to great effect, especially the one pictured above which uses the official Botcon release with a customised MP seeker body! I implore you to do a little google search of your own.

Overall

These figures tend to be divisive, but whatever you might personally feel about non-transforming Transformers, garish colour-schemes, odd power suits, or the availability of European exclusives, at the end of the day it’s just cool that we got something unique in Europe (and Australia) for a change, and it’s very cool that there’s been homages to BOTH of these toys.

We’ve been very lucky over the last few years, and I hope whatever Hasbro decides to do with the license post-Fun Publishing is half as fruitful for collectors.

05 Oct 2016

GigaPower Gigasaurs HQ-02R Grassor

Ben’s Collectables shows us just how much of a beast Grassor really is!! Those are Mp seekers he is throwing around!

Head over to benscollectables.com to check out the full review

Still available to pre order:

https://www.kapowtoys.co.uk/gigapower-gigasaurs-hq-02-grassor-chrome-version.html

04 Oct 2016

Transformers MP11NT Is Due In Stock On The 5th November

This Bad boy is still available to pre order!! What are you waiting for?

https://www.kapowtoys.co.uk/brand-new-transformers-masterpiece-mp11nt-thrust.html

01 Oct 2016

Decepticon Action Master Action Blasters Coming at ya!

Continuing our look at the Action Master line, today we look at a small subset of two vehicle playsets, the Decepticon Action Master Action Blasters. Check out the advert below to see what you’re in store for.

Axer / Axor

Axer was an all new character for Action Masters, mixed in with more recognisable “legacy” characters as we discussed in last weeks article. He came packaged with his Off-Road Cycle. As with all good Action Masters, this accessory could transform in leui of Axer transforming, having given up the power of transformation to become stronger, faster, and cheaper to manufacture.

Although don’t expect the toy to fire missiles from the sidepod like in the picture.

This is Axer in the plastic. A nicely detailed figure who gives a few things away about his previous transformation, his blue leg wheels denote that he was a ground based vehicle, and his chest looks like a car faring in the manner of some of the great TF cars of all time, complete with bumper. Like Prowl, his Autobot equivalent, he is a car partnered with a motorbike, and he uses the seat back of the bike as a very small shield, and his hand-gun can be used as a weapon in conunction with his partnered motorbike.

The motorbike is all kinds of funky, and with flames on the faring you know it’s fast too(!) Pegging the hands onto the handlebars involves bending the arms in which can put pressure on the already prone to detaching AM shoulder joints (being seemingly held together with pixie dust and good faith), and the split leg positioning to get him seated looks very uncomfortable, the vehicle could perhaps be a little bit thinner to allow the figure to stay in position a little easier.

The fiction for AM characters was always very little, focusing mostly on Grimlock’s battle to save the other Dinobots, and as such it’s never really been explained if the partnered accessories are sentient or not. It’s often assumed that the creature partners such as Wing-Thing, Catgut and so on are sentient, but nothing has been written on whether the vehicles are anything other than mere equipment. For the sake of these articles I’ll continue to use the phrase “partenered with”, because regardless of the sentience of the equipment, it comes partnered with the figure from a sales POV.

The cycle transforms into a Battle Platform of some kind, with the wheel opening into a far from optimal protective rubber and spoked shield, the seat detaches and becomes a stand t help with balance, the twin exhausts flip forward to become missile launchers, and a little flap opens on the sidecar so another AM can peg onto it, utilising the 3 3/4 action figure standard of a peg hole in the foot, offering no real benefit that standing a figure next to the platform wouldn’t offer. As an adult looking at a 25 year old collectible, it’s not the best of transformations; as a kid I’m sure it would have been great fun.

Axor was reborn and slightly renamed as a ROTF-era Lockdown repaint with a new head. Unlike some of the newer AM homages like Krok and AM Thundercracker, I’ve never been a huge fan of this new figure as Axer. I’ve always felt that the figure aesthetic is far too movie-esque to have a place in a modern CHUG collection, however it’s the only game in town for an Axer update, and probably the only one we’re likely to get. The oddest thing about this release isn’t the choice of figure, as much as the fact it was released as a mainline retail figure, not an exclusive or club figure. Very odd indeed for a character as obscure as Axer.

It’s not the only time Axer’s name was re-used though, it was dusted off in 2001 for a RID two-pack, using a repaint of G2 Laser Cycle Road-Pig (Axer in name only, as it borrows zero styling from this characters look). So the first time Axer got a transforming figure it was a motorcycle, like his partner, and it’s only recently in 2010 that he transformed into a car.

It’s an odd-pairing, and while it might not be terrible accurate to the original Axer, no-one can say the Lockdown vehicle mode isn’t awesome looking.

Axer shares a mold with the European exclusive Circuit figure, and as such the Axor / Lockdown mold was used to make a modern update to Circuit in the first TFCC Subscription Service range. We’ll take a look at that in an article next week, but that’s a quick sneak peak above.

AM Starscream

The third release of Starscream, an enduringly popular character. After his death in the movie in 1986 and death in the comic during the Underbase Saga, Hasbro seemed keen to return him to the fold, first as a Pretender and then as an Action Master, before his G2 release.

Losing much of what made his silhouette identifiable, his non-transformable figure loses his wings, keeping only his cockpit chest as a reminder of what the Air Commander of the Decepticon fleet had once been. His colour scheme is an odd-one, following more closely his Pretenders colouration rather than his more popular cartoon or G1 appearances, hence the blue arms and legs. Losing his null-rays, Starscream is down to one weapon, but he does have that awesome looking shield which looks like it would protect against… well, very little.

Luckily, befitting his rank, he was partnered with his Turbo Jet. I’m sure this awkward looking vehicle more than makes up for his lack of a flight capable alt-mode, seemingly based on a human sized jet rather than a Transformers sized vehicle like the rest of the AM accessories.

Turbo seems to be one of those early-nineties power terms, as the Turbo Cycle and Turbo Racer were also used as other AM vehicles.

With a more involving transformation than it seems at first glance, the Turbo Jet can become the Starscream Uncomfortabler. Oh, sorry, it transforms into a battle chariot attack platform. My bad. Looking like a piece of gym equipment designed purely to frustrate newcomers, the attack platform has a pair of (non-firing) missile launchers and a place for Starscream’s gun to store. Like Axer’s vehicle, it features a spring-loaded mechanism, but rather than springing missile launchers forward (which at least looks cool) it’s just a part of the transformation. There isn’t that much you can do with this in this mode, and it’s functionality seems less than the Turbo Jet mode. Yet, it has to transform, because that’s the point of the line.

AM Stascream has no direct modern-day update because, lets face it, there are hundreds of other Starscream figures in his more popular traditional colour-scheme, however, this has just left the door open for talented customisers to work their magic.

Other than the funky-coloured Thundercracker released in Europe (who shared a subline with Circuit, coincedentally), this figure was not repainted to make any of the other traditional Seeker Jets. A missed opportunity that surely would not go unutilised these days?

We’ll be taking a look at AM Thundercracker alongside Circuit in just a few days, so come back to the site.

Overall, they are fun figures from a less cynical more playful time, and while I like a lot of other TF fans may have intitially written off Action Masters, it has become one of my favourite sublines in the long and varied history of the Transformers brand.

26 Sep 2016

G2 Ramjet and Starscream TFCC and originals comparison

The first year of Generation Two in 1992 saw many repaints of the G1 range, some of these featured minor changes (Inferno), a few new paint detailing (Jazz), some complete mold redecos (Sideswipe) and some of these included running changes through the line (Dinobots seeing three separate colour-scheme releases, with a fourth for Grimlock planned and unreleased).

What was interesting to see was that the original Seeker jets saw less repaints in G2 than during G1, with only two of the original six figures seeing a release. We know the Thrust and Dirge wing molds were available (and not “lost” like Sunstreaker or Wheeljack) because just a decade later they saw a release first through e-Hobby and later through Toys R Us as Hasbro Commemorative Editions, but for reasons unknown, two jets is all we got. So lets see them.

G2 Starscream

The leader of the Seekers is back, even if he has less of an Air Squadron to command then in previous years.

At first glance, his redeco may look tonally similar to his original; A grey body becoming white with reddish parts for the upper torso, with grey highlights replacing the original blue. In hand, the red is very noticeably a salmon colour (which became a more orangey shade with the TFCC release) and the blue to grey colour swap does make him noticably different, especially on his wings which – having not been blue on the original release – would have been on a different mold sprue to his blue parts, so his colour change is more thought out than a mere mold palette swap. The slight purple of his cockpit and missiles were a nice change carried over in the TFCC version, which does a remarkably good job of copying the original, especially on homaging some of the original sticker apps.

One of the major changes from G1 to G2 was the addition of a rudimentary sound-chip and new missile launchers. Like G2 Optimus Prime, Starscream features an add-on “light and sound” box that clips onto the figure, meaning Starscream can now make the “pew-pew” noises so you’re kids don’t have to. Unfortunately, the technology of the time meant that the noises were of the same quality as you’d find on a key-fob at a cheap market stall; limited to a poor quality gun noise, and a take-off engine thrust noise that never seems to end. Still, at least they didn’t try and add a voice file like on Megatron and Prime!

The new missile launcher is an interesting choice and was also carried over for G2 Superion / Silverbolt, we presume the changes were not aesthetic but necessary thanks to new toy laws denoting the size of missiles, to avoid choking mishaps with small projectiles. What I find oddest about these missiles and launcher is that they were not carried over for the TRU reissues which had all new missiles designed to comply with the same laws (not so with the Takara / eHobby reissues), and even as recently as the Platinum Seeker sets we saw a new change to Thrust’s Missile ~~Launcher~~ Holder, which now is a solid piece with no firing mechanism at all. Surely it would have been able to port the G2 missile and launcher over for these subsequent releases?

The alt. modes are pretty much what you expect, with G2 Starscream featuring the same factory sticker sets as the G1 figure, hence the old school faction logos, curiously this was carried over with the redesigned factory applied wing and tailfin stickers, which also featured the G2 logos. Given the G2 logos were used before (and after) G2, they had them in hand at the design stage, so it’s very curious that these were not used.

Thankfully, the TFCC release features accurate G2 faction logo stickering as part of it’s tampographing, and I would be remiss if I didn”t mention that it’s probably the finest designed and applied tampographing of any of the recent figures released, and a highlight of the TFCC range.

Style-guide transformation artwork.

Something else worth mentioning, this is the fourth mainline release of Starscream from a company that was starting to realise the value of it’s own character IPs. Starscream was released in 1984, and both as a Pretender Classic and an Action Master before his G2 release, only a small set of characters share that honour including Jazz and Grimlock, but unlike the big-players Prime and Megatron, Starscream was not replaced for the 1986 line (despite his graphic on screen death) making him one of the most enduring characters at this point in the line’s history – only Bumbleebee with his five releases by this point, beats him (although an argument could be made for Grimlocks three G2 colour-schemes pushing him into the lead).

G2 Ramjet

Now that is a colour overhaul!!! Having lost his white torso to G2 Starscream, G2 Ramjet went in a completely different direction. Now bright purple, with turquoise detailing. Because G2.

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Most of the things I mentioned for Starscream apply here for G2 Ramjet; new missile launchers, crappy clip-on sound-box which is only good at annoying pets, parents (and later spouses – it still works after all these years and the same batteries too!). The way Ramjets wings display in robot mode give me the perfect opportunity to point out another G2 addition, the tampo’d faction identifier on the underside of his left wing identifying Ramjet as a Deception. Something similar was carried over for the Transmetal era of Beast Wars, with name idents tampo’d on the curiously faction-less beasties.

The TFCC CHUG version did an excellent job homaging the original, once again replacing the old G1 stickers with G2 tampos, and although some of the detailing was lost (air intakes for instance) they did an excellent job all-round. The biggest difference between the two classics molds used were off course the conehead, a change made for all the coneheads in the CHUG line to differentiate them from Starscream and co., and a great improvement on the G1 style of Coneheading, which always looks naff.

More rarely seen style-guide artwork

CHUG2 Ramjet actually pre-dates CHUG2 Starscream by about five years and was so popular he sold out in 2 days, it’s great that they manage to “finish” the set before the TFCC line died, but I sort of wish they’d rounded it out with the other four as well. Tricky, considering Hasbro never revealed any scheduled repaints for the other characters, but in the years since G2 two other repaints of Ramjet have leaked, one known amoung the fandom as Sandstorm (click here for excellent Maz analysis of this unique hand-painted mold), and the other in a sky-blue deco you can read about here.

However, for those wanting to boost their G2 seeker ranks, Action Master Thundercracker’s colour-scheme is one of the most G2 looking things around and makes a great stand-in, and I feel Shattered Glass Dirge (below) could have also made an excellent G2 stand-in had they ever released it (although the mold is Ramjets, you can tell by the wings), and at a push Nacelle could almost be used for a G2 Thrust, although he is no longer a conehead. But that’s it, no real inspiration for Skywarp.

Despite the enduring popularity of obscure G2 and the necessity for repaints, there have been no G2 MP style seekers. Well, no official ones. The iGear version of G2 Ramjet was released, but in very limited numbers. Originally scheduled to be a Comic Ink store exclusive in the USA, an alleged Cease and Desist order apparently shut that down. It’s a very nice piece if you can find it, and there are rumoured to only be about 20 ever made.

Overall, I’m a big fan of G2 toys, so all four of these official pieces call to me in a way I don’t fully understand, but even I have to draw the line somewhere, so G2 MPs are not for me. However, there are plenty of other MP seekers available through Kapow Toys either in stock or on pre-order. As well as that, the Kapow SALE is currently underway. Go to.

21 Sep 2016

What a Krok of ‘Shot: Action Master Redux

Ah, Classics. How I miss thee.

While some might argue that Combiner Wars and Titans Return are a new Golden Age for mainline Transformers, my heart will forever be tied up in the early days of CHUG, when the acronym almost made sense. We’re firmly in the days of CHUG+ ( CHUGURTSFOCLCWUWTR just doesn’t roll off the tongue) now, and it’s up to the individual collector what goes where in their personal collection, whether they keep the Titans Return collection with their line-wide Headmaster play pattern as a separate toyline or mix it all in together.

It’s taken us a while to move away from the 1984-1986 characters, but even with the mining of the 1987-1989 mainline, there are still some characters too obscure for mainline release. Thanks to the likes of Hero X / Million Publishing, and the late Transformers Collectors Club, those bases are covered. In the last few years we’ve had figures such as Dogfight, Carzap, Go-Shooter, Shouki, Windsweeper and even a half-decent official Impactor. That’s pretty obscure!

Today we’re looking at two of my favourites from the TFCC subscription service; Krok and Treadbolt, homages to two Decepticons from the Action Master era.

But first, what is an Action Master? On one hand it’s a toy company looking at the success of 3 & 3/4 inch action figures and trying to compete, on the other it’s a nonsensical way of killing the Unique Selling Point of the TF range; transforming toys. At the time several hardcore TF fans were detractors of this failed marketing gimmick, a feeling which for many continues to this day. However I feel the line is not without merit and introduced some interesting characters and story-line potential, with the more-powerful Nucleon powered bodies coming at the expense of the characters transformation becoming a focus of the comic series.

Treadshot

Treadshot was also released in 1990 during the first wave of Action Master releases, like ~~all~~ most AMs he doesn’t transform, however his partner Catgut does. Sort of. One of the best things about the Action Master range was the introduction of new characters rather than just sticking to the core Season One crew, and the detailing and imagination used to create these new characters is fertile ground indeed, ground which is only recently being used. Rather than just tooling generic non-transforming robots, these new characters are imagined as if they also had alt. modes which they gave up for more powerful Nucleon powered bodies.

Catgut transforms from robotic cat to a Pulse Demagnetizer rifle, although whether there is any advantage to this over Treadshot just holding his own gun rather than plugging it into the repositioned spine of a robot cat is anyone’s guess. Although the gun-mode makes little sense, Action Master fans like myself were pleased when Catgut was included with the modern update.

As part of the Transformers Collectors Club Subscription Service 2.0, Treadshot was re-imagined as a fully transforming deluxe figure. Taking inspiration from the gun chest on Treadshot (thought by some to be inspired by the non-Takara .357 Magnum Robo which was later released in Gig’s Trasformer line as Highway Patrol Robo), Generations Warpath was chosen as the base figure for this update.

The addition of an Arms Micron figure as Catgut really helped the more expensive price-tag for these figures feel slightly more justified, as this mix of themes is unlikely to happen in traditional Hasbro Deluxes (although stranger things have happened).

The character has had more love and attention of late – dying in Last Stand of the Wreckers seems to do that for a character’s popularity – and he also showed up in Furman’s G1 continuation; Regeneration One.

It’s a solid update to a less popular character, and absolutely the type of thing the Collectors Club figures were perfect for. I’m sure some people weren’t happy with the change in alt. mode from gun to tank, but that’s just the times we live in, and I’d rather he have this base mold than a Nerf-gun alt. mode like Classics Megatron.

If I had to be fussy, I’d say the head needed more work. This needed to be a re-sculpt rather than a straight repaint, what with the visor being a really defining part of the character. I suppose loose Treadshots in poor condition are easy enough to find for a donor head-swap operation, for those that really need a more accurate head-sculpt. But I can live with this.

Krok

The non-transforming Krok was first released in 1990, along with his partner-in-crime, the excellently named Gatoraider.

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As with Treadshot, Gatoraider turns from alligator to weapon, becoming an Elector-Pulsator gun – for a society at war over energy, they sure were good at wasting it on energy weapons back in G1!

As part of the TFCC Subscription Service 3.0, Krok was the final release, and my favourite of the whole set. His G1 figure only had vague hints of previous alt. mode, but it looked vaguely space-shippy. I have to take my hat-off to the folks at TFCC for getting the choice of mode totally right for the updated Krok, as they went with the Generations Stealth Bomber Megatron! Perfect

For me, this game me the opportunity to not only add an obscure AM figure to my updated Classics collection, but it gave me the chance to add a new mold as well, as I HATED this mold the first time round and could not give it space in the collection. It just shows the importance of character choice with a mold, as this figure works great as Krok, whereas before I found it too small and flimsy to make a convincing Megatron (especially Don Fig’s Stealth Bomber Megatron who was a BEAST!).

Not only is the figure a great choice for robot and alt. mode, it also meant that it’s weapons work perfectly giving Gatoraider an updated “beast+gun=super gun” mode like the original AM figure.

And the headsculpt. Did I mention the headsculpt? Perfect. So much of the character in the first line of AM releases was in the head-sculpt, and this figure NAILS it! Great work TFCC.

Ultimately, these are exactly the types of homage that a Subscription Service should aim for. Obscure, but with G1 ties, that not everyone NEEDS to complete a collection, but that a certain hardcore fan base will totally WANT.

Perfect.

Thanks TFCC, long may it continue. Oh, wait. Oh. (too soon?)

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