Alright, I will try that out. I want to post pics of Fort Max with his G1 counterpart as well as with Metroplex and all three together. And then of course, the huge, sprawling city that will result from all three together.andersonh1 wrote:I use tinypic for forum images. Seems to work well enough.
Man, it's a good thing Trypticon is in the works because the Decepticons are horribly outnumbered at the moment.
Anyway, true and proper reviews!
Titan Masters wave 1:
Loudmouth: I'll start with this one since I can never remember his name. The vehicle turns into a car and... something else. Grey and red colors seem to work well and the car mode seems to work for the headmaster to drive. Alt mode, flip it upside down and try to cram a head in there. Yeah, I mostly leave it in car mode. The legs on the headmaster are loose on mine, but that doesn't seem to be a line wide problem.
Nightbeat: I'll admit that I actually want a full size Nightbeat figure to go with this head. But this is a fun toy too. And the colors are reminiscent enough of the original that it works. Not much else to say about this.
Terri-Bull: An obvious update to Horri-Bull, which was one of the few Headmasters I had back in the day. It's nice to see the character at least get some acknowledgement in toy form even if it's not a full figure. The vehicle transforms from tank to jet and seems to look fairly decent in both modes. In tank mode, it looks like he's riding the tank while in jet mode, he's more integrated to look like part of the jet.
Crashbash: I'm not sure if this is supposed to be an update to anyone, but it's not a bad figure. The vehicle mode is... some sort of dino monster.... thing. I will say this, it Crashbash actually does have to integrate with it to complete it, feeling much more like an actual transformation rather than just a thing for the headmaster to ride. I also like the colors and the details on this one.
Overall: You'll notice I didn't include recommendations with these guys and... well, they're not bad, but I can't help feeling like they're here in case we want to occassionally customize some of the other Titans Returns figures into these characters. It's an interesting idea, in theory and it actually does offer a lot of versatility in play for the larger figures, but I really feel like not having proper robot forms for themselves is kind of a missed opportunity. They're not bad, but they're not great either. I'd recommend them if you really want to use the heads on the larger ones or just want something tiny to fiddle with. Otherwise, you can probably skip these. I don't regret buying these and I do enjoy them, but your mileage may vary. EDIT: It's been a few weeks (maybe even a month!) since I started writing this and I have some new thoughts on these: Skip 'em. I actually kind of do regret buying them now. It isn't really about the money, it's because I mostly just wind up wishing they had proper bodies of their own for the head modes. I probably wouldn't mind so much if the vehicles they came with would turn into something that would use the head, but they don't and the head just seems superfluous because of it. The vehicle is either a vehicle or a weapon with is fine on it's own, but feels like something to be included with one of the larger figures rather than sold separately. In fact, that's exactly what they're doing with these in Japan. I have several other toys I'm going to be selling coming soon and I think these guys are going with.
Titans Returns Leader Class:
Powermaster Optimus Prime: Ok. I like this figure. It's a good update to the original, better articulation, blah blah blah... yeah, the helmet thing is bad, but not deal breaking bad for me. And the headmaster actually looks enough like Optimus that you could just have that if you don't like the helmet. I tend to keep the helmet on because he can still turn his head side to side. I've wanted this figure ever since it was announced and I'll admit when I pulled it out of the box, I was pretty impressed. They really captured the look and feel of the original in this. But, second day I was fiddling with it and couldn't help wishing that the cab had it's own robot mode and that a cab merging with trailer thing would probably work better for Ultra Magnus. Then on day 3 I had this same musing and I saw it: The feet. And then I remembered that I DO have an Ultra Magnus that does this: Combiner Wars Ultra Magnus, who has those exact same feet. PMOP is essentially an extensive remold of Ultra Magnus. His vehicle mode is approrpiately similar to the G1 version and the cab opens up so that Hi-Q, I mean Apex can sit in it, which is cool. I like that everything has a place to go in alt mode. The battlestation mode is one that I think works better if you're combining it with Fortress Maximus but it isn't bad. Although there is one design flaw that could have been fixed: There's a tiny rectangle detail on the top of the chest piece that fist a rectangle hole on the gray cannons that looks like it was supposed to be able to sit there, but there's no way to get it to stay in place. Overall, I really like this figure, I think it's a great update to the original toy and the character and so far is one of my favorites from TR.
Blaster: I was a little skeptical about this one when I first saw the pics because the speakers looked a little too big compared to the rest of the alt mode. Having it in hand though I have to say it's not as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, I actually like and think it's a pretty decent update. The legs turning into speakers that are bigger than the middle tape deck unit is what I thought would look ridiculous, but it actually kinda works for his alt mode. He comes with a "missile launcher" thing that's the same size as the current iphone-ish cassette bots and fits in Blaster's chest. The headmaster can fit in that and store in the chest in alt mode. Bot mode is where Blaster really looks great, evoking the G1 look and feel really well. Articulation is even pretty decent in this mode, although he lacks wrist and waist articulation because of transformation. Overall, I really like this figure. Hasbro "Sentinal Primed" us with this one, essentially giving us the repaint before the figure it was designed for: Soundwave. I think it was a good choice in this case, because it really works for this figure, but I have my doubts about Soundwave. Giant speakers on a boom box kinda makes sense, but that big, empty area on a tape deck is looking pretty bland. I think Blaster is worth getting if you find him. There are certainly worse things you could spend your money on and I don't regret having spent mine on this.
Voyager Class:
Sentinel Prime/Astrotrain: This feels like Hasbro decided to release the repaint first which is brilliant because I think it may actually get more people to buy it (I know of at least one reviewer on youtube who bought it just because Astrotrain wasn't out yet and admitted that if AT had he wouldn't have bought this). Again, I don't regret buying this figure, it's a good mold in general. Some people have reported having problems getting it to stand, I don't have any problems with mine on either toy, I think people were probably mistransforming it, having the train mode "cockpits" as the feet rather than the shuttle mode ones. Shuttle mode I think actually looks pretty good. It's not exactly like the old space shuttles that NASA used to use, but I think expecting that as an alt mode is unrealistic anyway and this evokes that well enough without just copying it outright. Train mode is... I dunno. I've never seen a train that looks like this except maybe in that one level of Starfox 64. It basically looks like the shuttle mode split lengthwise and with the wings wrapped around it. Not my favorite mode. I certainly would have liked something a little more "train" looking, but I honestly don't know what that would be or how they would have pulled it off with this design. Bot mode is where he's really the best, evoking the original Astrotrain and Sentinel looks different enough with his paint app that it doesn't feel like you're just buying the same toy twice, even though we technically are. The only real WTF moment of bot mode is around the shoulders. There's a button on the chest that causes these "pylons" to come up around the head which restricts movement and doesn't really add anything to it visually. Alpha Trion seems to have this feature as well and I have to wonder what it's for. The sculpts and detail on these guys are great, there's a lot going on there, especially in train mode but it would have benefited from a lot more paint just bring out those details. One example is painted wheels on Sentinel that are not painted on Astrotrain. Overall, I would definitely recommend these two. Astrotrain in particular is good figure to compliment with the voyager Blitzwing that we already have (yes, I know there's another one coming) and it's also good to have one of the other Primes in toy form, which I don't think we've had in a while.
Galvatron: Galvatron, Galvatron, Galvatron... Ok, so Hasbro was SO close to knocking it out of the park on this one. The colors on this are GREAT, I love the shade of purple and the grey in all the right places that they should be, most of the molded details actually have paint on them and they really stand out. The cannon mode really looks like a great update to the original as does the bot mode. The cannon on the arm could be better, it would work much better if it was on the side rather than the top, but I haven't had any problems with getting him to an imposing pose because of it. The "spaceship" mode is... questionable but not terrible and bot mode almost looks like he was plucked straight from the G1 cartoon... until you get to the head. Yeah, let's talk about the head for a moment. First the good: I like the fact that bot mode for the head looks like a mini Megatron, it's a nice nod to Megatron getting reformatted into Gavlatron and really works for the character. The sculpt in head mode is actually pretty decent although it lacks paint. And now the bad: So, Optimus and Blaster both have these helmets that cover the headmaster to give the look of their G1 figures. The deluxe size guys don't, they just accomplish this on the head sculpt alone. Galvatron could make up his mind so he has some sort of flip up Halloween mask to make him look more "Galvatrony". And it has VERY minimal movement, meaning that if you want him to look anywhere other than straight ahead (no pun intended) you have to modify the figure to do so. I cut the mask off of mine and glued it to the head, but have since separated it because I think I'm actually just going to mold my own custom helmet for it. I will say that once the mask is glued on, he does look pretty decent and since the chest compartment is already designed to hold the mask, he still has somewhere to go in alt mode, even though the headmaster can no longer sit in the cockpit because of the mask. Overall, I do think this figure is worth getting since even without the mask the head sculpt is pretty decent even if it is a little bland without additional paint. But, one could just consider that more accurate to the original toy than the cartoon so it still kind of works. So yeah, in spite of it's flaws, I do still highly recommend this figure.
Deluxe Class:
Blurr: Blurr is a pretty decent update to the original. I don't have much to say about this figure, it's only real drawbacks are that I wish the cockpit canopy would actually cover the whole "cockpit" and I think he could definitely use more color, but that's easily fixable by just getting the Japanese version. Articulation is decent, detail is good, so if you like Blurr and don't have one, get this one, you could certainly do worse.
Scourge: Much like Blurr, although I don't have the same complaint about the paint. I think he's got plenty of it in the right spots, but Hasbro was clearly homaging the original toy where as the Takara version is clearly homaging the cartoon. Head sculpt is pretty decent and I like the head cannon thing on him. Blurr has this too with his head fin. Alt mode could be a little better, I'm not sure if they were going for some kind of boat or water craft or a jet/spaceship. It has wings/fins and yet, so I guess spaceship? I dunno it does look like an updated version of the original which is clearly what they were going for and I do think they accomplished it. The only real complain is kibble under the front end, I do think they could have hid that better. Still, like the rest of this line, I do think he's worth getting.
Skullsmasher: I think this is the weakest entry so far: I don't normally complain about hollow limbs, but here, they really should have tried harder. The bot mode legs really only have two sides to them and they really need at least three or all four to get him to stand well. His sculpt and design is fine, bot mode articulation is pretty decent and even the gator mode has pretty decent articulation with the head being on a ball joint, a jaw that opens and closes, and limbs that do have some limited articulation, it's really not bad. They even have painted detail inside the gator mouth. The bot mode is the weakest mode since the back and inside parts of the legs don't exist and the big giant head sits on the back, making it back heavy. This can be countered by having him hold his weapons and point them forward, but there's storage on the back for them as well, which just adds to the problem. Not a bad figure and I do think they updated him well, but I think some of the balance issues could have been better designed.
Hardhead: Hardhead is one of the better figures here. I kind of wish the head had a face rather than a faceplate, but that's mostly from reading the comics. As a toy, he's not bad, the transformation is pretty simple but in alt mode there's a lot going on there: You can have headmasters in the cockpit, 2 in the cannon and there are even pegs for them to stand in various points around Hardhead. Bot mode isn't bad either, with good detail and even some paint to draw it out. Honestly, I have no complaints with this figure, go get one.
Mindwipe: Bot mode looks pretty decent, although this is another figure where Hasbro skimped on paint. There's a lot of detail on a lot of black plastic that just gets lost. He's got decent articulation and my only complaint with this mode is the legs. They're pretty easy to separate because of the fact that they turn into his wings in alt mode. Yes, you read that right: The wings on his back are not the wings for his alt mode, his legs are. Which does cause some functional problems with this figure. Transformation to bat mode is complicated to the point where I had to read the instructions to make sure I was doing it right. I wasn't. So yeah, not very intuitive. As for bat mode, well there's a lot of detail on a lot of purple plastic. I do like the look of the bat mode, the mouth moves which is cool and I like how the "cockpit" for the headmaster resembles a coffin. And it actually looks pretty decent from the front. It's a mess on the back though. that's where the faux wings go and using the guns as a "tail" doesn't really seem to work. Definitely one of the weaker entries but I don't regret getting him and I will probably still use him in TF Halloween display, where ever that winds up being.
Wierdwolf: It's nice to see the later generation characters from G1 getting updated as they are characters that I'm less familiar with since I was kind of losing interest in the line at that point in my childhood. Wierdwolf, Mindwipe and others are not characters that I had as a kid so I have no real comparison to their original toys versus the TR updates, so it's cool to have these guys get some love. As for wierdwolf himself, he's a pretty decent figure. The paint apps aren't bad, the articulation is pretty decent and the transformation is interesting without being unintuitive. The toughest part is the legs going from bot mode to beast mode, and the beast mode legs are about the only complaint I would have with this figure, but it's not bad enough that I wouldn't still recommend it. I do like how the sword for bot mode becomes the tail for beast mode. I also can't help feeling like this could be remolded into an update for Cheetor or Tigatron at some point. If you like the character or if the later G1 guys are something you're interested in he's definitely worth getting.
Highbrow: Not much to say about him that I haven't said about the others. The transformation is pretty simple. The bot mode looks good, the copter mode looks good. My only two complaints are that it could have more detail painted and the rotors for the copter tend to smack into each other. Still, not a bad figure.
Chromedome: Bot mode looks like an update to the original toy while the head is definitely modelled after the IDW comic. I think the alt mode is more referrential to the original toy but since I never had one, I can't be sure. But it's not bad, there's decent painted detail all of the bot mode weapons can peg onto it which is cool. The only complaint I have with this figure is the same one I had about CW Smokescreen, which is the upper arms being one solid color that breaks up the colors on the alt mode. Like jarringly so. I didn't get Smokescreen because I still have Universe Smokescreen and it's a better figure and that arm thing was a close second. It wasn't enough of a reason for me not to get this one and honestly, if that's my only complaint, that's not bad.
And finally....
FORTRESS MAXIMUS!!! Yeah, I like this figure. We all knew I would, we all know I do and I'm not even gonna apologize for it. This figure is exactly what I was expecting it would be: 1/2 G1 Fort Max, 1/2 Generations Metroplex and it delivers. Literally. I think literally half the parts are repainted from from Metroplex and the other half are completely new parts. They really did a good job of capturing the look and feel of the original while giving us something new at the same time. Having said that, there are some problems with this figure. Or not really problems, but I do have some complaints. The first is stickers. Ok, I'M not complaining about this but if you hate stickers, then this probably isn't the figure for you since he has a LOT of them, just like Metroplex did. Unlike Metroplex they at least seem to stick well. The other is lack of bot mode weapons. Yeah, no hand cannons. You can take the cannons off of his shins and have him hold those, but... I think that just looks weird. My only other complaint is with the alt mode, I wish the legs could fold up into towers like the original did. Instead they extend out to either be landing ramps or rotate for cannon defenses. Also, there's no way to make use of the inside of the legs like on Metroplex, which I think is a wasted opportunity. And because of the the legs transform, this guy takes up a LOT of real estate. Seriously, you need to have a pretty big table or shelf to display him on. Now, I have played around with point the legs up in alt mode to mimick the original city mode and I've had mixed results. I looks pretty cool, but there's no way to anchor the legs in that position or have them rest on the table so they just kind of flop about if the table gets bumped. Still, I really like the paint, the sculpt, all of the different play features, he's got plenty of places to put lots of figures in all modes which means this guy is just one FUN figure. Our version here has cerebros inspired more by the original cartoon while the Japanese one is more like the original toy. And articulation is pretty decent as well. With Metroplex, he had the articulation but because of the weight distribution, he couldn't really pull of many poses, Fort Max is much better balanced and he's actually managed to pass my "Mortal Kombat" test. Overall, I definitely do recommend this figure, but I can see why some people might skip it since it is pretty expensive and takes up a lot of space. For me, it's instantly become one of the centerpieces of my collection and I don't regret having spent the money on him.
For the line overall, it's pretty good, with a lot of interesting ideas present with some figures executing them well and others not so much. Paint apps are minimal generally speaking but the detail is good and having all of them be headmasters does add a lot of play and fiddle value to them. I think the Titan Masters are the weakest part of the line since their head modes don't have bodies of their own which honestly, is kind of disturbing. And annoying. Mostly annoying. Case in point: Brawn. If I was going to get an update of Brawn, I'd want a full figure with an actual vehicle mode and body rather than a weapon and head that can't go anywhere. Yeah, I could put him on one of the other figures, but then I just have GalvaBrawn or Brawnimus Prime or... yeah, it doesn't really work. I think they are mostly there to add play value to the battle station versions of Prime, Blaster and Fort Max, but again I'd prefer they just have bodies of their own. Having said that, I really like that we are getting more obscure characters updated, it's nice to finally see figures other than the TF version of the Mane Six (Optimus, Bumblebee, Grimlock and Megatron, Starscream and Soundwave). Yeah, they're there too, but even those feel new and different (Powermaster Prime is a good example of this). More characters, more interesting characters, more color, it's actually a pretty good line right now and I'm excited to see what's going to come next.