Transformers: Age of the Primes Sureshot is Something that Exists

  

I am in no way a completionist. Some Transformers lines I go very heavily into, but generally I only pick up things that are interesting or cheap. Recently though, I gotta say Hasbro hasn't really been doing either. Studio Series is dull. Age of the Primes tried, but seemingly only made one Prime I liked. Cyberworld is at least doing some oddball stuff, but the play pattern doesn't do it for me. Which is the reason why you've seen more third party, collaboratives, and retro Transformers of late, rather than anything "mainstream". Where does Sureshot fit into that? Well, I kinda got fixated on him. Not necessarily because he's good or bad, or that I have a prior attachment to the character. But more because he'd be worth talking about if, and only it, the price was right. At TFN, it was, and so here we are. Read on to find out if he's any good, what the word bellwether might mean.

This article is a sequel to my write up on Needlenose, and the wider issues with targetmaster type toys. I didn't like that figure, I've parted with it, as I felt the designers had tried to turn a cheap and cheerful meal into gourmet food, to mixed results. Spoilsport here, Sureshot's targetmaster, shows few signs of improvement in the time since. He is a straightforward sidegrade to the 80's original in function and articulation, if noticeably hollow. We can have a discussion about toy design versus the assorted character models, if that's what matters to you, but that’s not what I’m doing today. For now, let us agree that this is very-very 80's. But at least he's not made of paint chipping, and has more than one step in his transformation. He is otherwise inoffensive, is not unattractive, and I am perhaps being unfair with my comment about the years since. This set seems to have been twice delayed since Legacy United, so maybe this was designed around the same time. The wiki suggests that these delays may be due to Sureshot's obscurity, but let's put a pin in that for later.

So, is the main event also an 80's sidegrade? No. That would be so weird as to be interesting. Sureshot is recognisable as a modern deluxe with ankle tilts and 5mm ports in the usual places, with the usual animation model bias and looks. He does however feel slightly subpar in terms of build quality. Part of that are some paint imperfections on my example, but let's not hold that against it. Most of that feeling comes from a plethora of hollowness and the plastics used. One review I watched compared this to a Thrilling Thirty release, and I don't think that's unfair. Sureshot does not have a torso so much as a chestplate, which means he only looks solid directly from the front, a flaw worthy of a lesser Cyberverse release from 2012. The colours don't help either; Sureshot is mostly in tones associated with cheese and that looks a bit cheap.  Yellow is always a bastard of a colour to work with, and while it's pretty good in places, the red leicester legs needed something to break them up. Faithful to a fault. But then, there's the spoiler segments, that peg rather loosely into the shoulder ports and thus are a nuisance in both modes. There's also messiness on his back where car bits end up, a product of a fairly novel transformation, which I honestly kinda like. The resulting vehicle form has the same sort of flaws as a robot, but gets the fundamentals right. It's not an especially solid affair, but given that this is akin to a futuristic Baja Buggy I'm more inclined to forgive the gaps. Its not good, especially with the arms out back, but its doing the job, and there was stuff done to get there. So, we have a toy that looks the part in both modes, does the basics OK, but it seems absolutely every corner they could cut, they did. Also, my photography is shit today, I apologise. I think its the yellow.

Is this the same as me saying I dislike it? No, I like better than Needlenose because it does what a Transformer should. Like two distinct modes, an actual transformation, and decent articulation in robot mode for use with an accessory. Where he differs is in the build quality and design compromises, and to be fair, that seems to have become the recurring issue for modern targetmaster types. Sureshot isn't as obviously bad as Quake, he still feels sub-average. The question is why? Could this have been delayed as it had obvious problems, and Pointblank turned out so badly? Was this the victim of repeated budget cuts? Or was this simply the designers not being their A Game to this release? All sound plausible. But there's also the wider context of 'Merica, tarrifs, and oil prices. This is the sort of thing that happens in Transformers every decade or so, a periodic shift in complexity along with inflation. Just in this case it's in opposite directions. We have been here before.

Sureshot is a bellwether, I feel, a trendsetter. The proverbial coalmine canary, a sign of things to come. I suspect that he may represent the average deluxe standard going forwards. Once all the retools and repacks are done, and there's been a lot lately, there may only be toys like this one. That's not terrible, as Sureshot actually gets a lot right, but this is not happy thought. What probably is terrible, is Sureshot's retool Joyride. They've taken an already-questionable deluxe, and turned Spoilsport into a powermaster, loosing any weaponry in the process. And it looks like this.

 

Fucking hell.

Plamo: Transformers Action Edition G1 Megatron by Blokees

 

Something I've dabbled in a bit, but not felt like writing about, are Blokees model kits. Transformers is one of the many brands they do. And mostly these are blind box releases, with a high level of modularity and articulation for their size. Such models are not transformable as such, but they tend to absolutely nail their character.  These have become an ever larger feature of the UK fandom, and have started to show up Hasbro proper with their charms. I have not written about them however for two reasons, in that area very simple by my standards, and I don't like blind boxes as a business model. This wasn't something I could spin out into an article, more an occasional indulgence. They do however larger, conventional releases of specific characters, the most impressive being Action Editions. l was not prepared.

Blokees generally give the impression of being something Gunpla adjacent, but modern and simple-ish. Maybe 30MM, Entry Grade, or that Haro business. This kit retains that simplicity, but honestly feels like they are gunning for Bandai's Master Grades or RE: 100s in both size and quality. It's a big box to make a big robot, with an awful lot of plastic in it. There's what amounts to an internal skeleton, basically great colour accuracy, no stickers, no requirements for glue or even nippers. It's all friction-based joints, and the fingers come pre-built on the sprue. The sprue! With multiple joints and everything. There's even a magnet triggered light up gimmick too. That's not something I would have sought out, but it works so well I don't mind it. There's even internal detail too, with Megs storing bullets in his legs, accessible via opening leg armour. Not even  two hours into the build, I was starting to wonder if this was the best kit I'd built all year. The only flaws I find are the very minor imperfections that come from separating the parts from the runners. Later on some minor complaints did manifest, like a production imperfection on the stand plate, and the translucent plastic scars easily, but honestly? The kit went together as well as any gunpla you care to name. Another question started to form in my head...

There’s an awful lot here. It comes with both a throne and the aforementioned flight stand, the former offering accessory storage. Laserbeak and Kremzeek are present as little buddies. So is Reflector. Those three need maybe a touch of paint to make them shine, picking out eye details, these are quite simple affairs, but they are entirely fine as is. The fusion cannon can open up via a pullback mechanism, and use that back kibble as a barrel extension. There's also the usual one scene accessories too, a well-executed mace, that pistol and that light sabre. Oh, and swappable faces too. Its also posable in ways I just didn’t expect. Megatron is not a ninja and has fairly chunky proportions, but this works in an ab-crunch, toe joints, butterfly shoulders, and the aforementioned fingers.  This articulation seems to be common across this size class, which may make these samey in the long-term, but I’m not seeing an obvious area for improvement. Maybe in the fingers? They can be a bit fiddly and have an effect on the size of the hands, but other than doing fixed pose hands too, I dunno. This is very much the complete package, both in articulation and accessories. There's bits around the edges that I'm not fond of, like how Laserbeak needs some parts swapped to rest on Meg's arm, but none of that gets close to being an actual negative. The question solidified in my head...

 

So, let's ask that question, how does this compare to the recent Studio Series 86 Megs? But that's ridiculous. Isn't it? You can't compare a non-transforming model kit and a transforming toy. It's a totally different experience, both valid. The kit is about 15 quid less, and I've yet to actually handle that Megatron. It's a totally unfair comparison for me to make. But... is it really? G1 Megatron's gun altmode is totally unworkable from a legal perspective, and it's not super-easy to engineer that any way. So that's why the SS86 version has a tank mode. The tank mode I'm pretty sure you've never really liked, or kept him in for any real length of time. You just wanted him for the robot form. And if that's all that you want? Well, I think you have a solid Plan B here.

Chalk and cheese comparisons aside, I did really like this. It was the best kit I picked up in 2025, and certainly the most impressive Transformers-adjacent thing I got that year too. I dunno if I’d go all in and collect these, but that Tarn looks tempting. 9/10, why aren’t we talking about these absolutely all the time?

Transformers: Alternators Jaguar XK Ravage is Something that Exists

 

The 1984 Transformers Ravage toy

While largely forgotten these days, Alternators was a precursor to the now-endless neo-G1 lines, the modern (not-)masterpiece scene, and the endemic East versus West fandom disputes of the 00's and 10's. I was around at the time, but never actually had one before this article. The alternators were pitched as modern updates to G1 characters with then-modern car altmodes, but car modes of the highest possible fidelity and officially licenced. Hasbro provided them without fiction, but Takara did a Takara, adding diecast metal to the toys, as well as tie-in fiction. This of course made the Takara Binaltech versions more desirable to certain collectors, and I can see where they are coming from, but diecast is a mixed blessing. Alternators and Binaltech eventually faded away, replaced by smaller and more accessible toys, but not before Takara revamped the line. And I am still too angry to talk about that, so you can read up on that abomination on your own time. More generally though, Alternators was pulled in several different directions, the car manufacturers being difficult, Takara being Takara, Hasbro being Hasbro, and an often inexplicable character selection. One notable example of this was Ravage, one of Soundwave's chest tape minions, whom somehow ended up with two distinct toys. As opposed to literally anyone else who could turn into a car already.

 

The other Alternator Ravage, circa 2004

I have two somewhat contradictory opinions on Ravage. The first off is that he is a cat, and therefore I'm predisposed to love him as a precious murder-baby whom can do no wrong. The other is that Ravage was the focus of possibly the best example of geewunner pandering ever animated, the Beast Wars episode "The Agenda (Part 1)". Built up as a badass special agent, the lad turns up and basically ends the beast wars in ten minutes. Arguably the least physically capable of the original Decepticons, which the cartoon depicted purely as an animal, is so overwhelming as to reset the series. By comparison, when Starscream's Ghost made an appearance, they remembered what a walking failure he was. I mention this as that episode as Takara used it to justify the first Ravage toy in this line, a headswap/convertible retool of Tracks. Via time travel weirdness and deep cut lore too convoluted to quickly recount here. In fairness, that may very well have been the original design intent, but I should mention that Japanese fiction is absolutely riddled with continuity porn like that. My research did not turn up a similar explanation for the second Ravage toy, our subject, as it was a 2007 example that never had a Japanese release. What I believe however, is that this toy exists as fortuitous result of licencing, where somebody said something like "Jaguars are cool cars, and we have somebody who is also a Jaguar.". That's too good an idea not to use.

Ravage's first toy was a Micro Change Micro Cassette Robo Jaguar, geddit?

So, the car mode. It's a Jaguar XK in 1:24 scale, part of the famous British Jaguar brand. Its a fairly memetic brand, one associated with style, wealth, and being a bit of a cad. They are viewed as luxurious and capable with a price to match, especially in running costs. Top Gear had strong opinions about these, before Clarkson had his mardy. I can imagine them not liking the brand's recent turn towards electric. Anyways, I wasn’t previously familiar with the XK, but its something very much in that vein. A stylish thing in black, a car for Englishmen to covet and occasionally squee over. The toy comes packaged like this, in a fancy bubble box. I'd imagine your average gearhead would be quite onboard and its not immediately obvious that this is actually a transforming toy, something the Alternators was consistently good at. It achieves this by avoiding anything in the transformation that would break the lines of the car, and adding all the little details commonly omitted from Transformers toys, both then and now. We're talking rubber wheels with visible break disks, actual wing mirrors, numberplates, translucent lights and an actual interior with opening doors. As a collectable model its very on point, if you look at it properly outside of that display bubble you will find robot bits, like the back window for example, but Its otherwise nicely done. Getting the car right was clearly the focus of the enterprise. That said, actual play features aren't here, yes it rolls, but that's about it, and it is not in right-hand drive. Boo.

 

After a somewhat fiddly panel-forming transformation, the jaguar mode, sorry, robot mode is somewhat less impressive. On the one hand, its not trying to be humanoid, its a cat. Its the first and last Alternator to try that, while being one of only two unique Decepticons in the line, and thus needs to be graded differently. On the other, there's an awful lot of loose panels here. The head and paws are doing a lot of work to characterise the toy, and it looks decidedly skinny beneath the car bits. I do like how much more colourful the robot mode is versus the car, adding more accents along with the grey. Articulation is mixed; there's much in the head, and neck, although the limbs are limited at the shoulders and hips. The hips are especially worrying in that they use translucent plastic and were very tight. As there's no outward motion, Ravage looks a bit stiff, although he is quite stable. His distinctive missiles meanwhile have their own articulated arms, so you have options. Not the worst cat mode Ravage ever had, and he's had some awful ones since, but far from a triumph with all those car bits everywhere.

 

 
As my first foray into the Alternators line, Ravage is pleasant but flawed. I'm aware that this toy isn't that representative of the line as a whole, but that was part of the reason why I got it. Flawed as it is, I do like the exceptions. I suspect that the earlier Tracks-retool might possibly be better overall, going by the numbers as it were, Beast Wars etc, but this is clearly the fun one. I also suspect some of the negatives here are things I wouldn't like about the more conventional Alternators. The slavish devotion to the car mode is both a strength and a weakness, and this supposedly one of the simpler examples. That said, its far from bad. And its not often that you can say you have a jaguar that turns into a Jaguar.

 

Transformers: Kingdom Warpath is Something That Exists

OK, I went to TFNation Reading yesterday, and in all probability, I am dead right now. I'll try to have a write-up done for the end of next week, but in the meantime, here's a Tranformers review.

 

The 1985 Transformers Warpath toy.

In spite of myself, I've been belatedly drawn to the modern batch of deluxe Minibots. It must have been Beachcomber and Gears proving to be actually kinda good. I don't think I'll be a completionist or anything, but if the price is right, I'm certainly not opposed. Hence, Warpath. And who is Warpath? Well, blah blah blah blah G1 tiny dude. Diddly-do diddly-do diddly-do and so on; shallow tier 3 character with a distinct manner of speech. Tourette‘s syndrome, but with gunfire onomatopoeia. Blah blah blah, Sunbow cartoon appearances, fairly unique altmode, goto Autobot tank guy. Yada-yada-yada, memorable, but is basically a seat-filler. Look, if you've read my writings on similar vintage characters, which I admit is unlikely, you know where I stand. But is this toy any good? Let's find out.

 

At the risk of repeating myself, Warpath's altmode is a tank, although ran through three different filters. This version is aping the Sunbow Animation model, if adding more modern detailing. That model was an interpretation of an 80's toy done in the same penny racer style as the other Minibots, meaning it somewhat cutesy and simple rather than a scale model or owt. You know, the whole Super Deformed thing, but applied to a vehicle. So, peeling back those layers like an onion, what tank is it? The M551 Sheridan AA/ARV. An odd choice, even back in the 80's. Its not a tank in way as a layman might expect; its a light tank with an odd missile armament, designed to be easily transported by air. Its not really there to take hits or slug it out with other tanks, and its debut in the Vietnam War was not a glorious one. As a point of interest, the Sheridan had been retired from frontline service about 5 years before this toy was designed. One wonders if this choice of altmode was thematic in some way, given how the other Minibots are, but I suppose we'll never know. 

 

 

The real tank, as seen on Wikipedia.

I may have got sidetracked there. Moving onto the actual merits of the toy, Warpath does one very important thing right, which is have a functional turret. I.e. one that rotates. This is a pet peeve of mine; if the tank has a turret, it should turn. A lot of Transformers toys get that wrong. Warpath avoids that annoyance, and due to his character design, said turret is not an accessory either. Meanwhile, it rolls on tiny castor wheels, and has some down-played 5mm port and blast effect compatibility. Now, Warpath neither needs or likely wants additional firepower, but not putting in a few explosions or muzzleflashes was a missed opportunity. That aside, this mode's only overt flaw arises from the desire to be as Sunbow accurate as possible: the white tracks. OK, if that's what you want, I get it, but it prompts colour matching issues and reports of photo degradation. Doing them in dark or metallic tones would have made more sense and saved a lot of trouble. This complaint is however on the nitpick end of the scale, and otherwise this tank mode is on point. It looks good from most angles, does what it should, and has no small amount of surface detailing if you care to look.

 

The actual conversion process invites another tangent. As you might imagine, this isn't Warpath's first remake or spiritual successor. There's been a few prior to this, including a well-liked Generations deluxe, but none have really nailed a G1 style transformation. This one has, with the turret becoming the chest, the front of the hull becoming the legs, and the back becoming the arms. There's a lot of folding panels going on here, focused mainly on the legs, but the point of contention here is the partsforming. Like a lot of the modern Minibots, Warpath has a large removable panel that completes the vehicle mode and is used as a shield in robot mode. While not exactly a plus, I do feel this is a notably subtle and inoffensive example, and nowhere near a Huffer situation, let alone Cliffjumper. This panel tabs into the underside of the tank, finishing it off, but its not actually mandatory. Its not so much an obvious cut corner, and possibly more something they added because they had room in the budget. Plus it helps that you get a Zaku II style shoulder shield out if it, which actually suits the robot mode quite well. Even with that, when it comes to complexity, Warpath is making a good case for his pricepoint.

 

Warpath ends up on the chunky and dense side in robot mode. He's not without the occasional hollow bit, and purposefully on the short side for a deluxe, but they have nailed the look. Its not purely Sunbow, the sculpt is too detailed, but I do find myself liking how the track kibble has been retained on the forearms but has been used intelligently, folding up to minimise itself. Niceties like Siege era articulation and 5mm ports are here, and thus the robot mode approaches an almost optimal of balance of form and function. Warpath looks maybe a bit dorky. Maybe a bit chubby and friend-shaped. That's the point though, that's what the previous revamps didn't really get. He's just a little guy, whom happens to be a tank. And not just any tank, a notably small and light one that was maybe a bit rubbish. So yes, the robot mode could pose a bit better. Is that something you'd really expect or need when he's built like Santa? Yes, he could have more accessories. Does he need more though? He's got his chest cannon. Its a good robot mode that does all its supposed to.

This guy could have very easily been in Earthrise, but he may very well have benefited from that extra time in the oven. Warpath has flaws, certainly. Reports of yellowing are not welcome, while the shield piece avoids strong criticism by being quite optional. Everything else though is good to great. I am not usually a fan of attempts to slavishly match the 80's cartoon, I wrote about it, but things clearly worked out here. And it does the tank bit very well. Its possibly the best of the modern Minibots. It will likely remain so until they take another swing at the character. Whatever happens: Kingdom Warpath is something that exists.

And now, Blast Effects!

 

Transformers: Kingdom Wheeljack is Something That Exists

Yes, yes. I know. Kingdom Wheeljack is just Earthrise Wheeljack in a new box. But it is how I got it, and this how it shall be titled.

The 1984 Transformers Wheeljack toy

Unlike a lot of the 80's originals, Wheeljack is a character I have some nostalgia for. I didn't have the original toy, but I did have the Actionmaster, and his evil counterpart Slicer. I did see a few cartoon episodes where he did stuff, and read a few of the later Marvel comics. Wheeljack benefited from fairly distinctive character model, and a role/personality that was simply "science/inventor guy", which meant a writer could easily find a role for him. Thus he created the Dinobots, any number of doohickeys, and most memorably to me, a comic appearence where he tended to the horrifically wounded Optimus Prime, in the minutes before his death. That last one doesn't get any nicer in context, so let's move on. While Wheeljack has definitely had his quota of new toys and tributes over the decades, he's a touch more malleable than most. The version we got in Transformers Prime was a swordfighter, not an inventor, while other versions take inspiration from Albert Einstein, Jamie Hyneman, and Steve Urkle. Part of that is undoubtedly the weak writing in 80's toy media, but the thing is, Wheeljack was very obviously replaced by Perceptor. Whom was a microscope, and thus more immediately convincing as a capital S Scientist. This left Wheeljack no unique selling point, and simply being a fast car amongst the Autobots wasn't enough. This is a bit of a shame, because if you look a bit harder, Wheeljack is not so much a nerd as a rally driver whom built his own car. While being it.

 

Wheeljack's original altmode was the Lancia Stratos Turbo, in a paintjob so specific you can find model kits of it. That's a rally car, and while I'm not knowledgeable on the topic, I do understand that its a somewhat more rugged affair that takes place outside of a purpose made race track. Rather than the bleeding edge of Formula One, Rallying suggests a more rough & tumble event, often using road legal cars. This modern toy attempts to capture the look of the original, while filing off the legally actionable parts of the design. The resulting car passes the squint test most admirably, with lots of paint and in-jokey sponsorship decals. Its nearly ideal as these things go, it avoids the common flaws like unpainted hubcaps, while working in a few 5mm ports in unobtrusive places. However, this general high quality does place what flaws there are into stark relief. There's a case of Visible Head Syndrome on the underside, something begging for a concealing panel, and an odd gap beneath the spoiler. Also, it feels maybe a touch bland with respects to play value. Its not bad by any means; it rolls okay, and it has weapon storage, but Earthrise tended to downplay the 5mm port thing and that's evident here. Maybe get some blast effects so he looks like he's rocket powered? What people, well, collectors/weirdos like myself, are likely to fixate on though are the translucent windows. These are a smokey sunglasses black, an element common to more modern takes on the character but not the 1980’s. Or they were aiming for original toy, and darkened the windows as there was little to see inside, I dunno. I personally think this is just fine, and there’s no reports of breakages as such, but chunks of the windscreen end up storing in the knees, and I wonder about the long term. Despite my nitpicking, its a solid car mode favouring the original toy visually.

 

 
The robot mode does better on the play value front, and similarly scores well on the squint test. He obviously favours the old Sunbow model here, but between the vehicle bits and the greebling its a not 1 to 1 update. I'll come back to that in the conclusion, but I will say for now that the only real visual weakness is the gappy lower legs. This is noteworthy as this is the first time Hasbro really tried to strongly match the G1 look, with the previous three(!?) attempts being remolds and thus having some compromises. I like his proportions and how his chest is formed, the vibe very much being there. Functionally its a step up too, with nothing to apologise for on the articulation front, the shoulders are good due to the conversion, and a full selection 5mm ports coming into play. The spoiler is also on a 5mm peg too, so you have some options, which is nice. His actual accessory is his missile pod, which can be handheld, but has dedicated tabs for the shoulder mount. This is absolutely fine, and I honestly don't think Wheeljack was ever really associated with a sidearm, but there is an absence of something to round things out. A wrench maybe? A sword? They could have gone the Cliffjumper route, and added in a one scene accessory. The Masterpiece version had a pistol. Otherwise, its a nice robot form, that does the vast majority of things well, and only one ignorable thing badly.

 

While working on this article, I slowly came to a realisation: this was probably the best, mass market Wheeljack ever made, it wasn’t quite the G1/Sunbow love letter I expected, but it also felt somehow off by a small degree. Its a solid performer in almost all ways, with most of its flaws falling into the category of personal preference or cut for the budget. Maybe this was meant to a more generic Wheeljack than a specific one, and it ended up in the very Sunbow Earthrise. Maybe something got left out; when they did Slicer with the mould, it did come with extra guns. Or maybe this was built along the same lines as Cliffjumper etc, and it just didn’t work out as well on those terms. And there is that Generations Selects version that is full Sunbow, removing the translucent plastic, but otherwise looking like a sidegrade. Given Hasbro’s habit of releases and iterative remakes, you’d almost think this was deliberate, but I digress. Regardless of which variant you go for though, and there’s a few, you're getting a good all-rounder here. And the package variant that is Kingdom Wheeljack is definitely something that exists.

Transformers: Legacy Evolution Beachcomber is Something That Exists

 Maybe I should just call this Transformers Thursday? Make it official?

 

 The 1985 Transformers Beachcomber Toy

Introduced in 1985 as part of the latter bunch of minibots released, Beachcomber is very much one of those crowd filler Autobots, whose fictional appearances are actually quite minimal. He's memorable, don't get me wrong, but he's memorable for but one episode, "Golden Lagoon". Therein, he finds a very nice glen, full of untouched nature, but also untouched reserves of the super metal Electrum. This leads to the area being utterly ruined. As it would. It's almost an ecological parable, but the execution ain't great. Said glen is also where the "Paradise Parakeet" name-dropped on the box comes from, but I'll come back to that. Beachcomber has not done very much else, although you see the name and colours a lot on toys with similar altmodes. There's simply a lot of Autobot cars, so he was predisposed to get lost in the shuffle, but I'd like to suggest another explanation. You've got an 80's toy advert, and this guy whose whole deal is that he's a geologist by trade and pacifist by a nature. It's not the personality profile you necessarily want in an action-oriented series, because he refutes the good versus evil conceit, doesn't want to do action scenes, and some underpaid/jobbing writer probably wouldn't want that headache. Maybe that’s why Derrick Wyatt wanted to kill him off. A fun way to treat Beachcomber, one seemingly a favoured by the fandom, is to depict him like a pot smoking hippy, but you can't really do that in kids media. Beachcomber is basically admirable, but possibly belongs in a more nuanced franchise. 

 

The 2018 Transformers: Power of the Primes Beachcomber Toy

So if Beachcomber is inoffensive but under-utilised as a character, and a memetic stoner, what's he like as a toy? Well, this is a chap whom invites discussion as to toy budgets and build quality. We've been getting minibots as short/small deluxes for a while now, so it's no shock to see Beachcomber in the deluxe pricepoint, and he's doing better than most when it comes to partsforming and such. The toy does not rely on a big chunk of the vehicle mode coming off as alleged shield, and does not have exposed hands issue Huffer had. Beachcomber is however not notably complex as say Cliffjumper was, with the transformation not being substantially different from his last toy, a small legends class in the ill-famed Power of the Primes line. This is probably the result of screen accuracy rather than (just) cost-cutting, but there's a few things about the build quality that raises questions about the budget. The toy features rubbery tires with pinned wheels as opposed to the mushroom peg style, which is something of "it's been so long, I can't remember when they stopped doing that" situation. It's chest also features a slider arrangement, a dramatic head reveal by way of that, and somewhat less of the carved out hollowness common to modern toys. Three possibilities present themselves: 1) there's been some creative accounting, so part of Beachcomber's budget ended up elsewhere, 2) fancy touches like good wheels are actually somewhat expensive, and 3) Hasbro is just padding their margin somewhat, see also Wizards of the Coast. Could be one of those things, or some combination there of, I don't know. The net result is that the toy feels nicer in hand than his stock images suggest, but not so nice as to dismiss my concerns about its value proposition. I got this for 19 quid on discount, rather than 25, and I think that was reasonable, but I wouldn't have felt great if I'd got it full price. 

 

Let's move away from the more contextual, big picture stuff, to focus more about the merits of this toy. Beachcomber's altmode is a dune buggy, specifically a 1982 M1040 Chenowth "Hellfire" Fast Attack Vehicle, which, yes, is military use. I will admit to not knowing that before looking it up, but it makes sense given Warpath & Powerglide exist. To muse for a moment, this obviously more right wing that you'd expect given his hippy persona, but I feel you could easily do a Vietnam-vet-turned-war-protester, or retired badass thing with Beachcomber. As these vehicles go, it looks good from most angles, and rolls like a dream, but there definitely angles which you don't want to look at. The head retracts into the body, but there's no panel to properly conceal it, with the torso doing little. The vehicle also has a certain gappiness around the seat area, although in all fairness dune buggies often resemble overgrown BMX bikes or industrial scaffolding, so perhaps no harm done? I do like the presence of diamond plate and how 5mm ports are worked into the sculpt around there. Play value is pretty good too, rolling better than any Transformer I've handled since Botshots, and then there is the "Evo Fusion" thing. Beachcomber features a bumper/gun accessory, a grey piece painted black, which has more going on that it looks. You can peg it on the rollbar as a weapon, something that does no harm to the look of the vehicle, but if you leave it on the front, there's additional tabs to keep straight. It's very much an optional piece too, so unlike most modern minibots, you can stick it in a draw somewhere if its not your thing.

The generally positive vibes continue into robot mode, doing the whole Sunbow G1 look, but not in a way that's limiting or daft. Beachcomber is on the shorter side for a deluxe, but he's not Cliffjumper short, and tends towards the stocky/blocky. I'm honestly having a hard time thinking of how you could meaningfully improve the robot form without moving to a different price bracket. Its likeness is on point, there's concealing panels to fill out the calves, 5mm ports are tactfully worked in, and Legacy standard articulation is present, with wrist swivels. The only weakness of note is how the seats and rollbar become the heels, which is acceptable, but not ideal or especially functional. Yes, a paint application is a little scuffed, and there’s some cut marks, but that's just something that happens. It's a very solid robot form on multiple levels.The gun? Well, if it bothers you, it can peg into the back. Oh, and he has a bird, yes. Paradise Parakeet. This rubbery little chap is based off the blast effect system from Siege, and so can perch on Beachcomber in various places, just like in the cartoon. But, it also means, that you can have a gun that fires birds. And on that note, this article comes to a natural conclusion. 

 

As the flow and warming tone of this article might indicate, Beachcomber kinda won me over. There's certainly complaints to be made, and an open question over the value proposition, so its not flawless. But this toy gets a lot right as well. What will probably decide it for you is availability; I’m told this is hard to find in the USA for example, so if you overpay for this, you’d better really fricking love Beachcomber. Because while he is something that exists, he’s not existing quite enough for a deluxe. Assuming that the price is moot for you though? I doubt you’d be disappointed.

 

Electrum rave party! 

 

Transformers: Legacy Evolution Skyquake is Something That Exists

 

 

The 2012 Transformers: Prime Robots in Disguise Skyquake toy

If I was to nitpick the Legacy line, and I wasn't complaining about bone-headed cartoon accuracy, I'd be making criticisms of how the Transformers: Prime characters were executed. To paraphrase/misquote Thew, Prime was a middle ground between the early bay verse films and Transformers: Animated, but lacking the flair of both. It has its followers though, and the cartoon got a Daytime Emmy award, so it clearly found it's place. The toyline however suffered badly from budget cuts at the time, so you'd think a few do-overs wouldn't hurt? I mean, it's only been a decade, so the difference might not be spectacular, but the Studio Series is a thing, and that started out as a line of do-overs. Instead, what characters we've had from that bit of the brand seem to exist only as repaint fodder. 

 

The 1992 Transformers Skyquake Toy

I will admit to being modestly surprised when I looked Skyquake up, or at least the Prime iteration thereof. I'd had this guy pegged as a melange of influences and a pretool to something more famous, and that's actually not wrong. Skyquake has a twin brother, Dreadwing, whom has just been leaked at time of writing, while this toy shares a lot visually with the G1 Skyquake. The Prime iteration though, against expectations, had managed to have a lasting effect on his cartoon, even/especially posthumously. G1 Skyquake meanwhile is super obscure, and is best known for being an oddly coloured chap whom was shot in the back several pages into the (highly recommended) comic series The Last Stand of The Wreckers. So… why mix both together? Its clear which is the interesting one. It is akin to creating a James Bond tier list, and putting George Lazenby on the same level as Timothy Dalton. For the purposes of this metaphor, Dreadwing would be Roger Moore. As such, it's a little weird for them to take such obviously divergent characters and blend them together like this. The closest thing I can think of is when they put an IDW style head on something, or tried to up a bayformer in G1 colours. And given Shadow Striker, it seems be a new trend.

 

The merger of the two Skyquakes is most evident and most schizophrenic in jet mode. The front end is the Prime version, with it's distinctive nosecose and cockpit design. It's backend and wings are however the G1 iteration. The overall effect therefore becomes like something out of your average spaceship shooter video game from three decades ago, like R-Type, Thunderforce, Raiden and so on. It's got a very chunky, stubby winged look, but there is a definite appeal to that. The green with metallic highlights is a great colour scheme. What elevates it however a number of nice features often committed from modern toys. Yes, this has both the luxury of an opening cockpit AND foldaway landing gear. It makes the plane just that bit more compelling. The underside area isn't too bad either, it's got it's share of seams, don't get me wrong, but compared to your average modern seeker? Its trying harder. Much harder. On the downside however, placing the minigun in its dedicated spot on the underside blocks the flight stand port, and interferes with the landing gear. Boo. Play features and/or Evo Fusion? Well, in what's almost certainly functionality for a later release, you can attach Needlenose on top. It's nothing special. If anything, it highlights the difference between an imperfect but actually pretty clean jet, and one that's naff from all but one angle. Pretty much everything Needlenose got wrong, Skyquake gets right.

 

Putting things into robot mode is a non-trivial process. That's both a positive and a negative. A lot of modern leaders tend to be a bit simple, often voyagers with extra accessories, or have a toy with simple conversion as source material. Skyquake really isn't like that, he's possibly something closer to a Studio Series leader, as there's a lot of moving parts. This relative complexity is gonna be a plus for people whom like bigger toys to have more involved engineering, although a word of caution is advised. The instructions refer to a different version of the toy, which has confused the hell out of everyone. In order to get the backpack flush and tabbed in, you have to collapse the nosecone in a specific order, and feed the cockpit glass through the backpack. See this video for a demonstration. This is very much an "exactly this order" problem, with the wrong order being more intuitive. Fucksake Hasbro. In other news, I did notice with my example that the ratcheting joints alternated between "OK" and "tight to the point of concern". On the plus side however there is some welcome touches like panels to conceal gaps on the limbs, which add to the generally premium vibe the toy has. As for the resulting robot mode? Well... 

 

Oh, yeah. That's the stuff.

Skyquake's robot continues the melange of visual elements and pleasing bulk. For the most part, he leans towards the pseudo-G1 style that Bulkhead and such had, by going somewhat more boxy than the Prime iteration and having a nose. Elements inherited from the G1 version are mostly focused on the torso and backpack areas, and look like bits easily retooled for other characters. Which, TBH, was a disappointment I had with Dreadwing when he was leaked, as none of those bits had been changed. I’d been half-expecting them to mix things up a bit, before going full G1 for an exclusive of some sort. You know, Skyquake being the pretool to a more interesting release? Still, they are twins. Its not a problem as such, but there’s definitely competing elements at play here, with the overall form and play pattern being that of the Prime iteration, only for the centre mass to be very G1. That's also where some visual flaws creep in, the torso having a certain hollowness resulting from the transformation, and a big translucent chest plate doesn't help with that. This is however balanced out by the aforementioned limb panels and a general impression of mass. Skyquake is a big dude, not merely chonky like the jet mode, but thick of proportion like a bodybuilder. One imagines he has a rivalry with Jhiaxus at the Decepticon Gym, and is comfortably in the lead. The articulation supports that look quite well, he's got notably good shoulder and knee joints, if being a touch limited in the ankle. He's in high heels and doesn't have much of an ankle rocker, so there's certain poses he struggles with. What he does excel at is two-handed chaingun pose with a side order of swordplay. Few Transformers toys even attempt a two-handed pose, but they made the effort here, and if that gets boring, he's definitely got the joints to swing a sword. If, for some reason, the sword is only moulded to fit the right hand...

My point? Only that Legacy Evolution Skyquake is something that exists. And that his instructions are hot garbage. Its looking like he’s heading towards the discount rack, but I don’t think you’ll regret grabbing him there.