Transformers: Titans Return Sky Shadow Is Something That Exists

Righty, let's try an essay format article about a toy. One where I can tell a story and then chat about its actual merits. I haven't done a proper review in about five years, and I have no intention of being topical. So, let me just try this and see how it turns out, OK?

 

 

The 1989, Japanese exclusive Black Shadow toy

To properly explain what Sky Shadow is, you have to dive deep into the minuate of Transformers circa 1989. By this point the brand was still a big thing, but the cracks were starting to appear, with the American cartoon off the air, and Japan making its own animes in response. This created a vast fictional schism, as while Transformers always had a “do what you want” attitude to continuity, Takara's spin on things like the Headmasters was fundamentally incompatible with Hasbro markets. This also resulted in a number of exclusive toys, and a regrettable subset of the fandom that have the negative traits of both geewunners and weebs at once, but let's try to stay on topic. Sky Shadow's fate in this was somewhat more extreme, requiring yet more context. Originally, he was Thunderwing, a character given great prominence in the Western comics, and featured the Mega Pretender gimmick. This meant you had a small robot interacting with a much larger outer shell, which resembled a He-Man style action figure that the robot stored inside. Supposedly, this was taking the Robots in Disguise thing more literally, and yes, Thunderwing wasn't immediately recognisable as a robot, but he weren't exactly blending in either, so the comics treated the shell like power armour. The “mega” bit, came from the fact that Thunderwing's shell could transform into a jet like the inner robot could, both segments combining, effectively granting him and his casemates 5 modes. It was a fairly noteworthy toy of its day. When Takara decided to release Thunderwing however, they opted to retool the shell to be more robotic along with a black paint job, prompting the name Black Shadow. The name Sky Shadow would come much later. If you're familiar with Thunderwing, or just looked at the image below, you might find yourself a little bemused. Thunderwing had Japanese oni visual elements for his shell, and would not have looked out of place in a Tokusatsu production. It probably needed less explanation in Japan than it needed elsewhere, as it would have dovetailed nicely with the Masterforce version of Pretenders. So why the change? Maybe they found it vulgar, I dunno? Thunderwing was by no means the only toy this happened to as the brand fragmented, however, with the Pretender Monsters and Dinoforce being another good example.

The 1989 Thunderwing toy 

 

Whatever the logic, Black Shadow would then go on to appear in Transformers Victory, the last proper animation of G1. No, Zone doesn't count. I don't want to get too far into that anime, as it would quickly become about the show is an ancestor of Gaogaigar, but he was only in 1 episode. I don't know what actually happened, but this feels like a lot of extra effort for a character that they just didn't do much with. Retooling is a decidedly non-trivial expense, especially if the toy was not planned from the start to do that, like something we'll talk about in a second. Black Shadow would then go onto do basically nothing. It became one of the aforementioned Japanese exclusives, prized for its rarity and obscurity more than anything else. It would ultimately be Western media that brought him back. First, Fun Publications used him in a Trans Tech prose story in 2008. Then, Black Shadow would get notable cameos in the IDW comics continuity in the early 2010s, via fans-turned-professionals like James Roberts and Nick Roche. He was basically there as Thunderwing was unavailable, and died unpleasantly in 2013, but he was a big thing. A "Phase Sixer" to be specific, a person of mass destruction, no less. More importantly, in 2011, Hasbro was doing some comic inspired toys and decided to do both Thunderwing and Black Shadow on the same deluxe class mould, though renaming the latter to Sky Shadow for trademark purposes. This was famously revealed in Thunderwing's instructions, which happened a few times back then. While always a feature of Transformers, retooling and pretooling was coming become more and more common, to the point of ubiquity in with the Prime Wars Trilogy of collector-oriented toy lines. So, perhaps inevitably, Sky Shadow came back. In 2017 as part of Prime Wars, we got another Sky Shadow, this time as a pretool of Titans Return leader class Overlord. As this was also a Japanese exclusive character made (more) prominent by Roberts & Roche, and a fellow Phase Sixer, this completed some vast circle of nerdish obscurity. Takara, now TakaraTomy, was however less interested. They eventually shuffled the deluxe into Transformers Adventure, and never released the Titans Return version. They instead retooled it further into Dai Atlas, another Japanese obscurity that turned up in the same IDW comics, but that's a tale for another time. If you can say anything about Sky Shadow, is that he is mould mates with a select group of asskickers.

So what about todays subject then? Well, Sky Shadow benefits a lot from his colour scheme of black with shiny metal and red highlights, with greys contrasting. He's not just a black repaint, he's actually very colourful, as befits a toy of his price bracket. While much is shared with Overlord, the pretooling is both intense and very localised, as while the lower-body/tank is the same, almost everything above the belt-buckle is different. The jet mode is entirely distinct from Overlord's, not featuring the detachable cockpit block, instead coming with a little drone thingy that evokes his original altmode. This mode also features a seat for his Titanmaster Ominus, probably not a fun dude at parties, and a mounting clip which allows for the tank to be carried underneath. Yes, its a little undignified, but Overlord can't do that. The base mode he gets out of this jet isn't bad either, as such things go, being tangibly different too, and the colours again being an asset. Meanwhile, the robot mode is quite satisfactory. There's a presence to it, and it poses well enough. However, a weakness common to the Titans Return leaders was acceptable, but not memorable, articulation with lots of big ratchet joints. Sky Shadow is part of that trend, the transformation and Titanmaster functionality placing limitations, and if he'd just had something more in the wrists, it would have helped a bit. Overall, there's lots of fun to be had here, Titans Return was great at that sort of thing. Its not about being absolutely faithful to the source, as with modern Generations, its about being good to play with. The only actual flaw on my example is involves the drone and its movable peg, which comes off at the slightest touch. I also note that the arms feel a bit hollow, but not to the point of being worrisome.

 

 

The oddest thing about Sky Shadow is that I actually like this toy than I did Overlord, and Overlord is much better and more memorable character. Part of that is maaayyybbbbeeee that Overlord felt like a near-miss? Fine, but not a slam-dunk? Like they updated the original toy, but didn't add the finishing touches? It would have been nice, if technically difficult, for the tank turret to turn, for example. Even the modestly retooled Japanese version feels a little off. Sky Shadow has however benefited from being a leader class pretool. Yes, he doesn't do exactly what he did before, but he's only gained play value versus all his previous versions. And it all looks unified, and does what it does well.

 

I just think he's fun.

 

 

Prototype Watch: TakaraTomy Wins The Computron War

Big news folks, the long standing Technobot/Computron saga has seemingly come to a happy end, and perhaps I can stop writing about it. TakaraTomy did it again. Like the Constructicons, they have made a set that embarrasses the Hasbro version, in this case before even the official announcement of it. Coming mainly from TakaraTomy mouthpiece and toy designer TKYuki, we've had numerous looks at the grey prototypes, not the team in its entirety, but enough to declare a winner. In addition to new combiner bits, the limbs are different, the disappointing Brawl mould being replaced by a retool of Rook for Nosecone. We also have Blast Off retooled for Strafe, and Wheeljack for Lightspeed. This was subsequently reinforced by images of Scattorshot, Afterburner, and just yesterday, Lightspeed, in their robot modes, all having different accessories, and Scattorshot having a lot of decorative retooling. At time of writing, I'd be very interested to see how Strafe turns out, as those gun fists that make no sense for Blast Off, would be very suitable for Strafe's altmode. Hopefully, the kibble will pushed to the back, too.

I haven't seen a Western company get so badly shown up by an Eastern one since Sony announced the PS4 wouldn't have any limitations on used games. Going to Rook instead of Brawl for Nosecone is a selling point in itself. Its like replacing a wooden spoon with a gold medal. Then again, to be fair, the Hasbro version hasn't been actually announced yet. Its entirely possible that the changes evident in these prototypes may in some way be present in the Hasbro version, the previously Japanese exclusive deluxe Groove is getting a release now, but it would take a lot at this point to shift things. The Hasbro version does have Scrounge, an Air Raid retool, and probably a lower price point. It is however looking rather lazy in the comparison. A remix, rather than a new song, if you will. Why did TT go this far? Well, I didn't realise this, but the Technobots are a much bigger thing in the East than West, appearing significantly more in the cartoons. Seriously, look these guys up, their only claim to fame in Hasbro media is that Grimlock made them, and no post-G1 comic has really done anything with the characters. It seems Hasbro wanted to do them, but didn't want to spend too much given their relative obscurity. While I admit I strongly favour Hasbro in my Transformers purchases, this would be a situation were I would honestly prefer Japanese, and that hasn't happened in a real long time. 

The question is: will that Liokaiser rumour pan out? And what will TakaraTomy do to beat it?

Sources: TFW2005, TFYuki, and Snaka's Blog. Images copyright their respective owners, used under fair use provisions.

Prototype Watch: A Tale Of Two Computrons

News broke on Saturday of an official confirmation for Computron and the Technobots, a source of prolonged controversy in the fandom. As you may recall, Scattershot materialised in Combiner Wars wave 5 by himself, minus his team, as a somewhat uninspired Silverbolt retool, with a torso mode that was just Superion in red, named Betatron. Where were the rest of the Technobots, and their combined form, Computron? The disappointment was tangible, and I got it into my head that they'd never be released, but a succession of leaks confirmed the team would materialise as a boxset. What appears to be a package scan surfaced on Wednesday, and an official statement was considered a formality. Saturday's confirmation however came from the twitter account of TFYUKI, a TakaraTomy designer, rather than Hasbro. This reveal in the form of a silhouette(1), so its hard to judge at this time, but certain differences are obvious. Lets do a comparison, starting with the Hasbro.

Source: Seibertron

As you can see, its a repaint and retool job, although with some flair. Scattershot seems unchanged, aside from paintwork, although there is a lot of that. The rumoured Groove and Air Raid retools look good in arm form, although the two legs are a slight concern. I think everyone is tired of the DeadEnd/Streetwise mould, excellent as it is, and Nosecone is based on the flawed Brawl. Lets hope they fixed his waist. The famous hand/foot guns aren't present, replaced by a set of more visually pleasing if less functional bits. These seem similar to the Victorion set featuring ankle tilts and I would hope storage options. The show-stopper however is Scrounge in the Legend slot, a fairly obscure comics character and a retool of the excellent Cosmos mould, adding a UFO to a team of sci-fi vehicles. Not only have he and Afterburner been modified to dock, the shuttle/micromaster has been retained, so its now a team of seven. Lots of fun to be had there, and if this goes for a £90ish I'm seeing Combiner Wars boxsets go for, I'd be tempted. Now, lets look at the Japanese version.

Source: TFYUKI

There is only so much useful information that can be divulged from a solid black shape, but we can determine the following. 1) There's a new, and almost certainly 80's cartoon accurate, head for the combined form. 2) At least two members have new and/or additional weapons, as seen on the hips, possibly the drill, and being wielded in the right hand. 3) It looks like the hand/foot guns are retained. And 4) Scrounge isn't present, as expected, because Legend scale toys don't feature in Unite Warriors and he's not part of the original team. Otherwise, its pure speculation. Some think that the right leg is Wheeljack, and that left leg is a new mould. At this point, we just don't know, but I wouldn't dismiss these possibilities. This silhouette has however been enough to for many declare a preference for the TakaraTomy version, and in all fairness, they have a point. If TT can be trusted to do anything, its go full G1, and if they retain the hand/foot guns, functionality is going to be arguably superior to the Habro version. If you don't care about Scrounge, and the team proves to be easily obtained, its the better choice. Then again, it could be an exclusive, and therefore lot more expensive than the Hasbro, which looks fine and has more actual toys in it. Plus, we have yet to see either as individuals, so its all up in the air.


Both are better than this, mind you.

Source: Seibertron

Foot notes

1) Sigh.

Blog Update And Eight Opinions

Okay folks, I'm back. Partially. The family matter is ongoing, and I don't feel I can talk about it here, but I've been away too long. So, I'm running a Sunday service for the foreseeable future. I've no shortage of demands on my time now, and I'm going to Botcon 2016, which is gonna be something of a distraction. And a good source of material too, don't get me wrong, but JEEEEEEETTTTT LAAAAGGGG. In the meantime, here's an article touching on the varying toy, political and nerd film news that happened while I was away.

Source unknown. Please tell me, I'd love to know.

The New York Toy Fair reveals

Yay! Chromedome! Yay! Fort Max! Yay! Almost Everything! Hang on, where's Computron and Liokaiser? Oh, there's Computron, yay!

The TakaraTomy versions of Titans Return toys, such as Hardhead

This is a complex one. The Japanese versions of Transformers tend to get lots of praise for superior paintwork and very closely following the G1 cartoon, and they've taken the step of retooling the faces for that purpose. So Hardhead has a mouth, like most of his appearances. However, purists will note that the Japanese cartoon continuity diverged from the Western version sharply in 1987, and had their own exclusive series. Which of course, does not line up with any Hasbro depiction. The whole “Takara makes stuff that reminds me of the cartoon I saw as a kid, and Hasbro don't, so its better” argument doesn't really apply here. It is however interesting to see these these come with mini-vehicles intended for release for $5 price point in the West. On a more objective standpoint, if the price is proportional, this would be a legitimate improvement. Given that I found Hardhead for preorder at $36, maybe not.

The Deadpool movie

An obvious labour of love, that deserves all the praise and money its receiving. If you like the trailers, especially the uncensored ones, go see it. Its easily the best non-Marvel Studios superhero film since 2008, both in terms of entertainment value and adaptation. I just hope Hollywood won't learn the wrong lesson from its success. You know, that Deadpool isn't popular merely because he minces people and says bad words and is from the 90's. Its because it was made by people whom cared, who did a good job, backed up with a spectacular advertising campaign.

Batman V Superman to get a “R Rated” home release

Oh god, too late. This has apparently been in works for a while, so its not Warner jumping on a trend. Its still a bloody stupid idea, regarding a film which has had seemingly nothing but stupid ideas. These characters are intended for children. Here's a more detailed rebuttal. And another.

The Venom film that doesn't involve Spider-Man

Oh god, too late.

On Donald Trump

Oh god, too late.

The new Ghostbusters trailer

Wow, what a lot of controversy. I'm almost afraid to talk about this, lest I accidentally I align myself with a bunch of misogynistic and/or entitled troll fanboys. The thing is this: I didn't find the trailer funny. I didn't find it engaging. It felt like exactly every other Hollywood comedy, possibly involving Adam Sandler, but could have been made by or starring anyone of the tinsel town standbys. Its too early too tell, humour is subjective, but I didn't like it. I'm also inclined to say that all the gender controversy is just giving the film free advertising, which it may not deserve.

And finally, the E.U Referendum

Look, whatever you decide, try to read up on the situation. I mean actually, read, don't just watch a rolling news channel. Don't use a single newspaper or website, and seek ones you normally wouldn't read. You're probably best off starting with the BBC; everybody has an agenda, but at least the beeb has impartiality in their charter. And then actually vote. And then shut up about the result, whatever it may be.

So sick of hearing about this.

Prototype Watch: Wonder Festival Febuary 2016

So, it was just Wonder Festival, a Japanese convention, and TakaraTomy attended, so its time for another episode of Prototype Watch! Yet more opinions, speculation, and premature evaluation based on pictures other people took. Let's start off with the Optimus Primal prototypes.

The buzz on this is pretty good. Fidelity to the animation is desirably high, and the gimmickry fits the on-screen action, with the possible exception of the light up eyes. I think they put that sort of thing in because they feel they need it to justify the price, not because the character really demands it. Anyway, the only cause for concern here seems to be that the Gorilla mode may not have articulation in the knee, but this is more immediately appealing than Ironhide was. One hopes for a Megatron sooner rather than never. The meat of TakaraTomy's display was however dedicated to the Unite Warriors Combaticons, and therefore giving us our first proper look at Blast Off. A.K.A the toy that inspired this series and I didn't like the look of.

Yeah.......

I'm not seeing a vast amount of improvement here. He looks okay as a limb, but has the proportions of Eggman in robot mode. Its a shame the shuttle mode wasn't on display, or the leg mode. We also got to see Vortex with his retooled rotor blades, which is nice I suppose, but exacerbates the kibble problems of the base mould.

We also found out that these will be in G1 cartoon colours, which was obvious, but not so much in how far they've gone to do it. The combiner guns for Brawl and Swindle are painted to match their bodies, to better replicate the cartoon model of Bruticus. Blast Off also looks a bit off in shuttle mode, colours favouring the robot mode.

It gets odder if you zoom in on the robot modes and look at Brawl. A big chunk of his head seems to have been painted yellow/orange, as he did appear in the cartoon, although he was inconsistent in his regard. Sometimes its his whole forehead that's orange, others its a Gundam style sensor.  Its worth pointing out that there is a bit of detailing on the sculpt that would have done for the latter, but doesn't really allow for the former. Combiner Wars moulds are just are likely to be based off comics and the actual toys as the cartoon, and Brawl is not strongly cartoon. This was so baffling to me, not having seen the show for a while, I thought they'd deliberately invoked a colouring mistake, until someone corrected me.

To each their own, I suppose.

Image Source: Type-R of TFW2005.

Prototype Watch: Unite Warriors Blast Off

Today, I introduce a new, irregular format. I've done various news-related articles in the past, often based on leaks or suddenly revealed images of unfinished toys at news events. I tended to comment on such things as alternative to writing reviews, as while they age badly, its often more interesting than the old toys I tend to talk about. "Prototype Watch" will comment on newly announced toys, leaks, in so far as it can reasonably be made. With lots of speculation, and opinions. Expect the next one just after New York Toy Fair.

Now, let's talk about Blast Off. As you may recall from my recent review, there was some controversy about this guy in Combiner Wars. The original toy was, for reasons lost to time, a space shuttle in a team of military vehicles. Think about that for a moment: Tank, Jeep, Helicopter, Anti-Air Vehicle, and then fricking Orbiter. Spot the odd one out. Hasbro seemingly had an attack of common sense, and made him a Harrier Jump-jet, but were lazy with with the execution. TakaraTomy decided to do a new Space Shuttle mould in the name of G1 cartoon accuracy. This is laudable, here's how it turned out.

Source:  @nakigao_san, taken from Figure King magazine

Yeah. I don't have nostalgia goggles thick enough for this one. Compare and contrast the grey prototype with the animation model they helpfully provide. Making allowances for size, combination, and budget, they missed their target. They got the thruster feet, but the proportions are terrible otherwise, with a huge chest, huge feet, thin arms, and a tiny head. He's also go thruster hands, a major deviation from the animation, but more on that in a minute. The shuttle mode is no better, and quite unconvincing. Like Alpha Bravo, there's exposed arms, although the attempt to conceal these as thrusters is much less successful than Bravo's missile racks. These are meant to be external booster rockets, I think, but look like what they are, angular robot arms. It doesn't help they are on top of the wings, and seemingly vent an inch before the actual engines. Said engines are also massively out of scale with the rest of the vehicle, and there's only two of them, rather than three. One hopes he plays better than he looks. Maybe he just photographs badly, but then again, aren't these meant to be the best possible images for advertising purposes? Right?

Source: Knoted of TFW2005.

Still, a new mould is nice, right? Maybe not. There's some speculation as to the originality of the design, and while probably not a retool, elements of engineering seem familiar. The leg and thigh components seem similar to Rook, a feeling reinforced by the thruster hands. That may explain how his chest ended up so bulky, as Rook had a big shell backpack, just mounted on the front here. We won't know for sure until someone does a comparative photo shoot, and these moulds have to be similar for combination purposes, but would not be a surprise he resembled another toy rather closely.

I could be wrong. He may turn out to be awesome in hand. But unless you absolutely must, and really must, like take insulin or I go to hospital “must”, have a space shuttle in the Combaticons, I don't see the appeal here. If anything, you'd think more people would be complaining that they fumbled the ball on this one.

Damn shame.

Looks like you are safe in my house, mate.