I really like the direction the current Transformers: Universe toy
line is going in. I can't remember the last time Hasbro has paid this
kind of attention to the G1 characters, and it pleases me to no end.
There isn't a lot to say about Acid Storm that I haven't already said
about Classics 1.0 Starscream and Skywarp. In the grand tradition of
Sunstorm, he allegedly represents a generic background Decepticon from
the G1 cartoon, only he's decorated in completely the wrong colors.
(At least Hasbro's consistent.) He's only different from Starscream/
Skywarp in that he's got a date stamp on the inside of his leg, which
the others lack, and he got tampo-printed Decepticon symbols instead
of a heat-sensitive rub symbol. (The toy on the packaging has the
movie Decepticon symbols on his wings, with those wonky-shaped
trapezoidal eyes. I am so glad they didn't do this with the finished
toy, or I would have been complaining bitterly about it.)
Speaking of the movie, I think I've finally got the weird package art
figured out. I've been wondering why the character ****traits have
been so odd, but I suspect the idea is to draw these characters in the
same style as they might have appeared in the 2007 movie, with visible
focusing lenses in their eyes and mechanically-constructed faces with
a clear delineation for the chin, lips, etc. It's an odd look for G1
characters, but I suppose it makes marginally more
sense than magical bending metal that conforms to whatever shape their
mouths just happen to be in at that particular moment.
I would gleefully spend my money on this mold over and over again,
should Hasbro be inclined to continue producing it in multiple color
schemes. I certainly don't see them getting through all the many
generic Decepticons out there (and the tally seems to be increasing
all the time), but some of my favorites, using the names I've assigned
to them, are Twilight (so-called female Decepticon jet in light purple
from "More Than Meets the Eye" part 3) and Slaughterhouse (jet with
Onslaught colors from "Five Faces of Darkness" part 3). Obviously,
now that they've done one of the Rainmakers, though, they need to do
the blue one and yellow one to finish off the trio (I call them Blue
Moon and Goldwing, but Hasbro can, and no doubt will, call them
whatever the heck they want to). I really would buy any iteration of
this mold they came up with, though. I really would. They should
produce one in Pretender Starscream colors. That would be a
deliciously appalling homage. Hey, they should do a transforming
version of Action Master Thundercracker. Bring it on, Hasbro. Do it
for me.
Galvatron's a very neat toy. He's about three times as complicated as
I'd ever want any Transformer in my collection to ever get, but he's
fun to fiddle with, as long as you have more than ten minutes to
kill. At first, I was a little confused and disappointed at the idea
that he turns into a tank. I suppose it's approximately the closest
real-life equivalent to the cybertronic artillery piece the original
Galvatron turned into, but this isn't the Alternators toy line, so I
don't think that a slavish adherence to real-world transformations is
necessarily called for. It occurred to me several days later, though,
that his tank mode kind of reminds me of the Neutro-Fusion Tank, the
vehicle driven by Action Master Megatron. I did a comparison and it's
really not a close match at all (the missile pods on the rear quarter
is just about the only real similarity), so I'm not going to suggest
there was a deliberate design influence... which is a shame, because
that would have been the most awesome homage ever. Somebody needs to
kitbash this toy into Megatron and paint his tank mode into the same
colors of the Neutro-Fusion Tank. (That somebody is not going to be
me, because I've got way too many other projects to finish. But I
still want to see somebody do it.)
His robot mode is remarkably true to the look of the original
character. He's a bit on the smallish side (his head, in particular,
is a little too small for his body in a G1 Astrotrain-ish kind of
way), but he's got a lot of details clearly inspired by the original
character (including a very nice helmet design and some hexagonal-
shaped kneepads, which are more animation-correct than the circular
ones on the G1 toy). He's even got components designed to mimic the
appearance of his original shoulder pads, even though they're actually
mounted on his back, and they only look right if you're facing the toy
head-on.
The shoulder pads deserve further examination here since they're
highly counter-intuitive. I had thought at first that they were
actually feet of some sort, perhaps for some secret, hidden cannon
mode that Hasbro cleverly worked into the toy's design, but
purposefully omitted due to safety regulations. Maybe, I realized,
that meant the toy had a secret gun mode, too! After all, the toy
*is* laced with a lot of unnecessary fluorescent orange plastic, which
shouldn't be necessary for a toy that turns into a tank *but* would
make sense for a toy that could turn into a gun! I was very excited
over this prospect and spent some time fiddling with the toy in the
hopes of stumbling onto its undo***ented modes. I *knew* there had to
be a reason for these foot-shaped components. In the end, however, I
realized that they're nothing more than his shoulder pads. The
package photos kind of threw me off since he's not pictured with them,
but his knees are also turned 'round backwards in that picture, so I
should have known it was not to be trusted. (I checked the
instructions again and, sure enough, the shoulder pads are shown right
there in step 16. So much for undo***ented features!) Something else
interesting about the package photos is that the Decepticon insignia
on his shoulder and the GALV-25 on the tank turret are actually
stickers.
Something I think is kind of funny about the package art for all the
Classics 2.0 toys I've seen so far is that the Autobot and Decepticon
symbols on the character ****traits are separate elements that have
been grafted onto the finished art. It's particularly noticeable on
Sunstreaker's art, for example, since it's semi-transparent so you can
see the lines of his armor panels *behind* the insignia. Well,
Galvatron's artwork is this way, too. What's funny here is that his
left shoulder is sort of fading into the background, but you can still
see the entire Decepticon insignia on his shoulder because it's a
separate PhotoShop layer. (I do a lot of photo editing so I notice
stuff like this.)
I suspect that people who hated the Alternators will not like this
toy. He's highly complex (he takes me about three or four minutes to
transform from one mode to the other) and you do have to kind of
finesse pieces of his tank mode together until they fit right. I
think it's a really good, solid tank mode, with an actual rotating
turret (so rare on tank toys that turn into Decepticon leaders) and no
huge gaps or obnoxiously visible robot parts from any angle (not
counting his undercarriage, of course). I think he's about ten shades
of awesome, myself, but I get really bored with the old "stand the car
up and he's a robot" designs, so it's refre****ng to get a toy like
this that really pushes the envelope a bit.
Galvatron's profile suggests that the Decepticons have finally gotten
themselves the "real leader" alluded to in Prowl's profile. He claims
responsibility for turning the scattered Decepticons from a "loose
confederation of assassins and warlords" and organizing an "army
capable of threatening the entire Universe." It also mentions that
none of the Decepticons are really clear on his origins, just that he
showed up and "crushed all opposition to his rule." That sounds a lot
like Galvatron suddenly appearing in the animated movie and killing
off Starscream, doesn't it?
I'm really happy that Galvatron is getting so much attention of late,
since Hasbro tends to focus predominantly on the characters from
1984-85 for their G1 homages. The animated movie and third season of
G1 had a smaller main cast, which means that most of the 1986
characters got a lot more screen time. Kup and Blurr and Springer and
Cyclonus and Scourge are arguably more prominent characters than, say,
Sunstreaker or Hound or Thundercracker or Kickback, so you'd think
*these* guys are the ones who would be getting all the Robot Heroes
and Classics 2.0 love. Well, maybe one day.
Zob
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