While not Siege's only innovation, the concept of the "Weaponizer" is probably its main focus of creativity in what would otherwise prove to be a very Sunbow G1 period of Generations. The idea was a simple one, have a transformer not as such convert, as break apart, to be reassembled into a vehicle or a set of accessories for another figure. This concept was first applied to characters that where basically accessories budgeted out of Titan class releases, chaps like Sixgun, but it was subsequently applied to Micromaster playsets, Quintessons, and finally Kingdom's highly memorable dinosaur skeletons. Of course, one idea that occurred to the fandom almost immediately was "Hang on, you could do the Junkions like this, and it would be both in character, and it would be amazing.". So, after Legacy seemingly retired such things, Legacy: Evolution did exactly that. And they much pushing harder towards actual vehicle modes this time, with the mixing and matching parts to create your own alt modes. Scraphook is the first such toy, and he has potential.
As Scraphook has a lot going on as a toy, but is totally new as a character, I'm gonna break from my usual format, and talk about how he works first. Scraphook is designed to be more of a self-contained toy than previous attempts, with a transformation scheme that is not merely reassembly. The engineering on this toy is such that it could have been applied to a regular transformer, and in the absence of documentation, I could totally see someone not realising that it was meant to come apart. And then being baffled when it does. In that respect, its a success. Where it falters is in plastic tolerances and general kind of wave 1 vibe, like later toys will take this idea and execute it better. Time will tell on that point, but Scraphook has one thing about him that is slightly disappointing: a chunk of stuff that gets leftover if you use him for parts. The truck cab gets left behind, which includes the main body and upper legs, and there's nothing obvious to do with it just now. The only thing that comes to mind is to transform it back to robot mode, and use it for a Monty Python reference. At least its compact…
Now then, the truck mode. As you might imagine this is rather up my street, resembling the sort of vehicle I've been scratchbuilding. It is only a couple of icons away from being an Ork vehicle, and rest assured, I've been thinking about a little customising. It has a ramshackle but ultimately real world vibe than previous Weaponizers have not attempted, and generally succeeds. You have to love that reinforced bumper and the crude repairs. The only visual weak-points are the exposed hands in the flatbed, but I've seen a lot worse. It's wheels are bit of an odd one too, as like the Earthrise Grapple mould, the hubs don't spin, the tires do, thus making the 5mm ports on each actually useful. The matter of ports and accessory stowage is also an interesting one, not least because Scraphook is technically an accessory himself. He technically has 7, some more integrated than others, some having their own 5mm ports, with the vehicle having 11 ports when plain and 8 typically. I wonder what a future retool might do there. All things considered, a great vehicle form.
When putting Scraphook into robot mode, we get a similarly pleasing experience, although getting there is where those minor issues with tolerances make themselves felt. The arms just love to come apart, especially at the elbows, which I can't tell if they are an oversight or intentional. Also in the realms of the downside is the back of the head, which has that regrettable common trend of being hollow. Junkions can be a bit dumb, but they are not literally empty headed. They just watch too much telly. Those complaints aside, Scraphook is undeniably a Junkion, but he's putting a fresh angle on things. First off, the familiar. Scraphook is colour matched to the recent Studio Series Wreck-Gar, the leader of the Junkions and noted madlad. Scraphook has a handlebar moustache, goatee, and the suggestion of a mohawk. He's also got a few spikes about the place, including a battered shield like a Junkion wheel. So he fits right in, but you know what else he is? A ONE-EYED GUNFIGHTER! Articulation meanwhile is quite satisfying, as while there is the aforementioned elbow issue, it's all usefully placed, with possibly the largest heel spurs by proportion of any transformer. So, another thumbs up.
What about the armour mode, sorry, Evo Fusion mode? Well, it's pretty standard as these things go. There is a chunk leftover, but there is an awful lot anyway. Here we see Scraphook applied to his wave mate Hot Shot, whom I'm getting to, but for now, let's content ourselves by saying he's okay. Scraphook adds wide & tall to the shorter lad, while the road warrior motifs go well with Hot Shot's rally look and axelzooka. So, yeah, this is pretty good. Not earth-shattering, and I regret that I don't have suitable Junkions to hand to test further, but its a long way from a downside.
My point? Only that Scraphook is something that exists. He almost has too much going on, and recency bias is a thing. But it really does my heart good to see Generations try innovating again.
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