Transformers: Titans Return Triggerhappy & Blowpipe are Something That Exists

The 1987 Transformers Triggerhappy toy

Back when I did that write-up for Scourge, one of the toys I held up as a positive example was Triggerhappy. Two thoughts soon followed. 1) why don't I dig him out?  And2) Is he actually as good as I remember? And so here we are, for a jaunt down memory lane. A wee bit of context first though. While I don't have many especially strong connections to G1 toys, Triggerhappy is a rare exception. He's one of those latter G1 guys that didn't get a huge amount of attention except as part of his subgroup. He mainly served as one of Skorponok's targetmasters, part of a team of thuggish jetformers with guns that turned into little dudes. Like his teammates, Triggerhappy had a sci-fi altmode, but his starfighter form was built around quad cannons, which you could mistransform for use in robot mode. This kinda made his little buddy Blowpipe a bit redundant, it's true. I had this toy and I remember enjoying it at the time. He was one of my guys. The version created for Titans Return recasts Blowpipe as Triggerhappy's head, and we'll come back to that momentarily, but thus far, this is the only revamp the pair ever got. Let's see if it holds up.

 

I realise that while I've done numerous Titans Return based articles over the years, it's probably pertinent to restate the basics after I glossed over it last time. A Titanmaster is a rebranded and modernised take on the old Headmaster concept, where a small robot becomes the head of a bigger robot, while also serving as a pilot or driver for their vehicle form. The fictional implications of this need not detain us at this juncture, it would take a while, but Titanmasters differ from Headmasters in a few ways. They are typically smaller, better articulated, while having peghole and tab connections in the legs for more interactivity. There's also attempts to improve the appearance and proportions of the resulting noggin, like with helmets and such in bigger toys, but it's face isn't concealed or anything while the Titanmaster is off enjoying their independence. Solo Titanmasters can be quite amazing, although the ones paired with larger toys got routine after a while, and Blowpipe is no different. He's not redundant anymore, but not like he got a particularly interesting sculpt nor any paint apps at all, all that saved for Triggerhappy. He does pilot Triggerhappy's altmode quite well, and the two handheld guns can peg together for him to sit on, maybe for use as a gun turret and such.  It's not hugely good, whatever that is, and it’s too bulky for use in Triggerhappy's jet mode. None of this is a negative in the context of the toy, but I should mention the TakaraTomy version, which presents Blowpipe in targetmaster form as well, at the cost of the regular gun accessories. As confusing as that may be, that's probably an objective improvement, but good luck finding that one for a sane price. Siege also did a version of Blowpipe a few years later, and that's probably easier to get a hold of. So Blowpipe is mainly just there, but unless you're a Geewunner or a perfectionist, he's doing the set no harm.

Now then, the Cybertronic spacefighter mode. I wonder if I'm either stating the obvious or presuming your tastes, dear reader, but this is sheer charisma isn't it? The sort of thing that ends up on propaganda posters on a aircraft nerd's wall. Or possibly a Toaplan verticle shooter. Let us acknowledge that it probably isn't aerodynamic, there's unwelcome hollow areas, and there's the old undercarriage junk problem common to jetformers, with his thighs on display. And I do acknowledge that nostalgia is a factor for me here, and I probably imprinted on this like duckling. But this is great, yes. It looks like something made of speed and gun. And here's the thing, it has a port for a figure stand. Lots of Transformers have these, but I usually forget that these exist as I don't have the desired type of stand. Then I remembered that the Action Base I use for Gunpla can work, and tried that, and wow. There's also an assortment of 5mm ports, flip out landing gear, and two pegs on the back end so Titanmasters can stand there. Because of, uh, reasons? Factor in effective use of plastic colours and a variety of paint apps, and you've got a 9/10 altmode.

 

Transformation is another highlight. I don't often talk much about transformation as it often becomes a dry blow-by-blow of the process, but Triggerhappy does do a few novel things. While gun housings and engines do become the arms like on the original toy, the cockpit block spins around to create the torso, with the nosecone ending up on the back. That's pretty clever, and benefits the robot mode in several ways. This style of conversion turned up a lot in Titans Return, not least because Triggerhappy's parts were reused for his teammates, but I don't recall this being done much recently. Maybe they do it somewhere where I'm not paying attention, like Studio Series...

So then, the robot mode. Perhaps not as appealing as the altmode, but ticking all the right boxes. Visually, it's favouring the comic and animation designs over the toy, although not as slavishly as say a post-Siege toy might.  As such, the head uses paint to achieve a red faceplate and yellow eyes look, which reminds me more than a little of Deadpool, although I suppose he and Triggerhappy would get on well. Otherwise he's mostly blue and grey plastic with a top heavy build, but there's like five different accent colours on the go here. I don't know how you would make this look better without a fundamental redesign or hitting diminishing returns. The weaknesses come however from articulation design, and a slight case of Reality Ensues. Due to the transformation, Triggerhappy has what I'm gonna "Inverted Universal Shoulders". A lot of transformers, when not using ball joints, connect the arm to the body with a rotation joint, where it moves forwards and back. Triggerhappy’s arms however attach at a tilt joint where the arm moves up and outwards for a T pose. See also: Tarn. It's not bad, but it feels the wrong way around. And then you hit the problems that occur from attaching gun barrels backwards to his shirt cuffs and wings to his shoulders. It's definitely something you need to work around, but the obvious solution is to just give him gunhands and then refusing to look back.…

I had a bit of journey rediscovering this one. A lot of Triggerhappy's strengths and weaknesses are shockingly close to modern toys, but maybe he's not quite as good as I remember him being. Hollowness and the arm joints aren't great, but these are still issues that more recent releases can have, and aren't inexcusable. Paint applications and visual design are also on point, and while Blowpipe could have used a bit of colour, today's toys skip details too, and frankly they haven't done Targetmasters better of late, have they? Triggerhappy doesn't have ankle tilts, but he does have angled feet, the option for gun hands, and nails the altmode. The worst thing you can say is that it's maybe too faithful to its source in places, but I'll take interesting weaknesses over mediocrity most days.