Zob's Thoughts on Titans Return Slugslinger

[New and Improved Zobovor]

After I heard that this wave was shipping to retail stores, I took a chance and ordered a couple of cases of Deluxe-class toys. I already have a big display of Deluxes in my store, so I figured worst-case scenario, I'd just be able to fill it up with more Misfires and Windblades. As it happens, I got two cases of the new assortment. (Slugslinger is generously packed three to a case, with a couple of Kup and Hot Rod toys, and a single Hardhead, rounding out the assortment.)

So! When I was a kid, I tried to collect as many of the Transformers toys as I could. I really did. Unfortunately, I was a kid. I had little disposable income (my monthly allowance was kind of pathetic) and I had to pick and choose. Generally, my strategy was to pick my favorites out of a given toy assortment (Headmaster, Pretender, etc.) and get one or two that appealed the most to me, so I could at least experience the play pattern.

The 1987 version of Slugslinger wasn't even my first choice, truth be told (I had originally selected Triggerhappy but he was missing parts). Slugslinger turned out to be pretty cool, though. He had the same kind of problem with his leg that Jetfire did with his arm, namely the rotation of the joint tended to loosen the screw holding it in place. The Decepticon Targetmasters were manufactured cheaply compared to the Autobot Targetmasters, though, with their legs held in place with fragile plastic clips instead of metal pins and hinges. In time, the clip designed to hold Caliburst's legs in place broke. It was a sad day.

Slugslinger got to play a small role in "The Rebirth," though he made out better than characters like Weirdwolf or Skullcruncher who never got name-checked and didn't even get dialogue. Peter Cullen voiced him in a British, aristocratic tone that suited the swaggering show-off personality described in his toy package biography. Johnny Haymer provided the voice of his Targetmaster partner, Caliburst, sounding exactly like Swindle (which isn't necessarily inappropriate). Slugslinger's brief argument with Caliburst (who claimed he'd never missed a shot in his life; this was only technically true in that he'd also never actually taken a shot in his life) is one of the most memorable exchanges in "The Rebirth." You could argue that all the new 1987 characters get at least a brief moment to shine, but I've always had a special fondness for Slugslinger because I actually own the G1 toy!

In robot mode, Slugslinger is a vibrant teal color with light grey accents. (In the Sunbow cartoon, he was colored such a dark teal color that it looked black on-screen, obscuring the pen lines used to draw him. Usually, Marvel Comics was the one to get the colors so wrong! I've never liked that he was colored this way in animation, so I'm definitely okay with the Titans Return toy being colored closer to the G1 toy.)

He shares more parts with Misfire than either of them does with Triggerhappy. Specifically, the shared parts between Misfire and Slugslinger are the upper and lower legs, feet, pelvis hinge, fists, elbow connectors, the connectors and hinges for the shoulders, and the connectors that hold the jet nose in place. It sounds like a lot, but aside from the unique profile of the lower legs and their shared stabilizer fins, the rest is hardly noticeable. The fact that Slugslinger gets a unique robot chest, shoulders, forearms, pelvis, and wings very much makes him his own toy, despite the shared engineering. (Of the three Targetmasters, Triggerhappy is the only one who isn't really supposed to have the stabilizers on his legs. He's the only one of the three G1 toys whose legs don't end up on the top of his jet mode.)

Slugslinger is decorated with a lot of paint applications that mirror the consumer-applied stickers on the G1 toy; they're present on his shoulders, chest, and lower legs. The wings, which were immobile on the G1 toy, are on hinges this time and adjustable to some extent. The only thing I don't really like about the robot design is the locking tabs on his forearms, which protrude quite a bit and are necessary to mount his arms in place when he's in jet mode.

His handheld weapon is styled to resemble the machine gun that Caliburst transformed into back in 1987. It even has the removable grey gun barrel, just like the G1 version. The folded-up arms and legs of the Targetmaster exo-suit are loosely suggested by the details of the sculpt. When you take the gun apart, it serves as two weapons; the instructions note you can mount them to the sides of his shoulders.

Slugslinger transforms into a jet with two cockpits. His transformation is identical to that of Titans Return Misfire, in terms of which parts go where. The wings plug into his forearms, and his forearms plug into the fuselage, resulting in a really solid vehicle that locks together nicely. His dual cockpits are too small to accommodate Caliburst, so he has a third, functional cockpit in the center of the jet. His guns can separate to mount underneath each wing. He lacks landing gears of any kind, a feature that was present on the G1 toy, but not here.

Caliburst shares a mold with the Titan Master mini-figure that came with Misfire and Triggerhappy, the only difference being Slugslinger's robot face. For the cartoon, a lot of liberties were taken with the designs of many 1987 character faces. The G1 Slugslinger toy actually had a face design that looked like it had come right out of the cartoon, but it was redesigned anyway, his goggles replaced with a pair of squinting eyes and his elaborate helmet simplified down to a strange, almost trapezoid-shaped head. That look is duplicated faithfully for the Titans Return toy.

I'm delighted, but surprised, that this toy line gave us all three original Decepticon Targetmasters. It's a little strange that they were given priority over the Autobot Targetmasters, but perhaps we'll see Crosshairs and Sureshot and Pointblank in some form for Power of the Primes. It seems unlikely they will be Headmasters, though, which makes me wonder what Hasbro is planning.

Titans Return has been great! Thanks to this toy line, I've been able to own representations of 1987 characters that would have been ten times as expensive if I'd tried to hunt down the G1 editions (you can get headless Headmasters and weaponless Targetmasters for pretty cheap; it's the heads and guns that are expensive). I'm really looking forward to Power of the Primes and continuing to collect some even more obscure Transformers characters!


Zob (has Arcee coming in the mail, so Grotusque is the last one of these guys that I anticipate hunting down)

[MWG]

One of the two Walmarts within a half hour drive of me got Slugslingers wave in last week. They hadn't received the last two deluxe waves though, and I don't think they received either legends case that has Gnaw or Kickback (one case includes them with Brawn and the red Bumblebee repaint). Oddly enough, a few stores around here seem to get a deluxe revision case that has Krok and Quake (still priced at $9.88) with Hot Rod, Twinferno, and maybe Triggerhappy. Perceptor seems to have a very hard time getting stocked or staying on shelves (found him at Target over the summer, never saw him at Walmart). Overlord is also hitting, and hopefully the Clones set hits Walgreens soon. I could care less about Ramhorn, but if I see it for normal retail I might pick it up.

I'm content with Slugslinger. I do wish we'd got Cyclonus in this line, Windblade seems like a pre-mold for him (some depictions even show him using swords, maybe something in IDW, and Windblade has that 5mm port behind her jet cockpit door, easy Targetmaster integration). Cyclonus goes into both the Unicron heralds and original Targetmaster jet groups, both of which were otherwise completed in this line. Some point to the existence of CW Cyclonus, but Galvatron got redone for TR, so did (arguably) Hot Rod, and the yearly Optimus & Megatron.

[New and Improved Zobovor]

On Tuesday, October 10, 2017 at 8:46:55 PM UTC-6, MWG wrote:

> One of the two Walmarts within a half hour drive of me got Slugslingers wave
> in last week. They hadn't received the last two deluxe waves though, and I
> don't think they received either legends case that has Gnaw or Kickback (one
> case includes them with Brawn and the red Bumblebee repaint).

My Walmart never got Brawn or Roadburn/Chase. We got a few cases of the Gnaw wave, went through a dry spell, then jumped right into the Seaspray/Cosmos assortment.

> Perceptor seems to have a very hard time getting stocked or staying on
> shelves (found him at Target over the summer, never saw him at Walmart).

Perceptor's interesting to me. I would have thought he'd be much less popular than the exciting toys that turn into cars and planes. At the same time, though, he was a major character that straddled the second and third seasons of the cartoon, making him a star player during 1986 when a lot of other 1985 toys faded into obscurity.

Maybe I'm overanalyzing. Are there adult fans who absolutely wanted Perceptor but have no interest in Twin Twist or Slugslinger? I would think that if people are collecting Titans Return, it would pretty much be all-or-nothing.

> Overlord is also hitting, and hopefully the Clones set hits Walgreens soon.

Overlord doesn't really interest me, but I'm very excited about the Clones.

> I could care less about Ramhorn, but if I see it for normal retail I might
> pick it up.

I would have been happier with Ramhorn if he had been a spy tablet. His inability to interact with the Blaster toy makes him a lot less interesting to me. I don't think I will ever seek him out online, but like you said, if I saw him in a store I'd probably get him.

> I'm content with Slugslinger. I do wish we'd got Cyclonus in this line,
> Windblade seems like a pre-mold for him (some depictions even show him using
> swords, maybe something in IDW, and Windblade has that 5mm port behind her
> jet cockpit door, easy Targetmaster integration).

Yeah. Given the presence of the others in the Titans Return toy line, Cyclonus is now conspicuously absent.

I think that it would be difficult to do justice to a Headmaster version of Cyclonus due to the prominent prongs on his helmet. They would have to either shorten them even more than they did with the Combiner Wars toy, or else find a way to get them to pop up like how they designed the head sensors on Blurr and Scourge. And, really, is there any possible way to improve upon the Reveal the Shield toy?

Windblade wouldn't make a bad Cyclonus. She would need a lot of remolding, though. Just about everything except the legs, really. Hasbro designer John Warden has hinted that we might get more Headmasters in the future, since the design and engineering already exists. So, maybe Cyclonus will pop up some day.

I tend to think that there must be some alternate unfolding of the G1 cartoon universe where Zarak didn't go for Cyclonus' suggestion that "you can only have the heads of the animals," and ALL the Decepticons became Headmasters (except for Cyclonus, because he's just a jerk like that). I wonder how differently "The Rebirth" would have unfolded, given this comparatively small change?


Zob (Galvatron also becomes a Headmaster, for one)

[MWG]

On Tuesday, October 10, 2017 at 11:05:27 PM UTC-5, New and Improved Zobovor wrote:
> On Tuesday, October 10, 2017 at 8:46:55 PM UTC-6, MWG wrote:
>
> > One of the two Walmarts within a half hour drive of me got Slugslingers wave
> > in last week. They hadn't received the last two deluxe waves though, and I
> > don't think they received either legends case that has Gnaw or Kickback (one
> > case includes them with Brawn and the red Bumblebee repaint).
>
> My Walmart never got Brawn or Roadburn/Chase. We got a few cases of the Gnaw wave, went through a dry spell, then jumped right into the Seaspray/Cosmos assortment.
>

Brawn's wave mainly came to Walmarts around here in a movie "island", right in the middle of it. Seemed strange seeing a few little generations toys between tons of movie toys but it happened.

> > Perceptor seems to have a very hard time getting stocked or staying on
> > shelves (found him at Target over the summer, never saw him at Walmart).
>
> Perceptor's interesting to me. I would have thought he'd be much less popular than the exciting toys that turn into cars and planes. At the same time, though, he was a major character that straddled the second and third seasons of the cartoon, making him a star player during 1986 when a lot of other 1985 toys faded into obscurity.
>
> Maybe I'm overanalyzing. Are there adult fans who absolutely wanted Perceptor but have no interest in Twin Twist or Slugslinger? I would think that if people are collecting Titans Return, it would pretty much be all-or-nothing.
>

I wish Perceptor could get a larger-than-deluxe toy. Since he had the third mode (despite Hasbro not mentioning it), he would've been OK as a voyager. I would like to see him set up more as one of Shockwave's (who also needs bigger figures) rivals, I guess alongside Jetfire (some G1 toy commercials seemed to have them as rivals).

> > Overlord is also hitting, and hopefully the Clones set hits Walgreens soon.
>
> Overlord doesn't really interest me, but I'm very excited about the Clones.
>

I picked up Sky Shadow mainly due to finding it on sale at Target this summer (came in under $35 after tax, they had a "movie launch" sale on all Transformers and he was the only "new" Generations toy I saw). Got Overlord mainly to be leader of another Decepticon splinter group.

> > I could care less about Ramhorn, but if I see it for normal retail I might
> > pick it up.
>
> I would have been happier with Ramhorn if he had been a spy tablet. His inability to interact with the Blaster toy makes him a lot less interesting to me. I don't think I will ever seek him out online, but like you said, if I saw him in a store I'd probably get him.
>

I actually think Ramhorn would've been a better base for Ravage than SteelStripesJaw. Most of the rhino details could easily be hidden in that black paint.

> > I'm content with Slugslinger. I do wish we'd got Cyclonus in this line,
> > Windblade seems like a pre-mold for him (some depictions even show him using
> > swords, maybe something in IDW, and Windblade has that 5mm port behind her
> > jet cockpit door, easy Targetmaster integration).
>
> Yeah. Given the presence of the others in the Titans Return toy line, Cyclonus is now conspicuously absent.
>
> I think that it would be difficult to do justice to a Headmaster version of Cyclonus due to the prominent prongs on his helmet. They would have to either shorten them even more than they did with the Combiner Wars toy, or else find a way to get them to pop up like how they designed the head sensors on Blurr and Scourge. And, really, is there any possible way to improve upon the Reveal the Shield toy?
>
> Windblade wouldn't make a bad Cyclonus. She would need a lot of remolding, though. Just about everything except the legs, really. Hasbro designer John Warden has hinted that we might get more Headmasters in the future, since the design and engineering already exists. So, maybe Cyclonus will pop up some day.
>

As for the Cyclonus head/horns, I'd just give him a hat/hood that hides in the jet nose and could also serve as a titanmaster mini-sled/vehicle thing.

I still think the 1988 headmasters and horrorcons happen whenever Scorponok happens. Nightbeat/Siren can share a basic body (and Takara does Minerva/Go Shooter). Hosehead is a little trickier since most red firetrucks are presumed to be Inferno and thus made into Grapple, so I'd like to see either Hauler or Energon Roadblock as the Hosehead re-use. Grotusque's (who I missed on Hasbrotyoshop, have to wait on TRU to list) existence seems to mean deluxe Fangry is a lock eventually, and Horri-Bull could come from Weirdwolf (especially if they fix that breakage issue). I guess Squeezeplay would wind up sharing a base mold with an upgraded Repugnus. Toss in headmaster remakes of Springer & Sandstorm (another case of being modest remolds of each other), and you have enough product for two waves, or about six months of time.

> I tend to think that there must be some alternate unfolding of the G1 cartoon universe where Zarak didn't go for Cyclonus' suggestion that "you can only have the heads of the animals," and ALL the Decepticons became Headmasters (except for Cyclonus, because he's just a jerk like that). I wonder how differently "The Rebirth" would have unfolded, given this comparatively small change?
>
>
> Zob (Galvatron also becomes a Headmaster, for one)

Truth be told, the sides would still be balanced, since the Autobots would probably never figure out Targetmasters on their own either. Galvatron already has enough issues in his head, though we really needed Rodimus Prime to happen in this line as his rival instead of that deluxe Hot Rod.

[New and Improved Zobovor]

On Wednesday, October 11, 2017 at 7:39:25 AM UTC-6, MWG wrote:

> I still think the 1988 headmasters and horrorcons happen whenever Scorponok
> happens.

I hope you're right. There was a rumor that Power of the Primes will focus heavily on the 1988 cast. Since Titans Return was a tribute to 1987, it seems logical.

> Nightbeat/Siren can share a basic body (and Takara does Minerva/Go Shooter).

Siren and Nightbeat had pretty different transformations in G1. I guess I wouldn't hate it if they shared some engineering, though. I can't really think of any other characters who would be suitable to share designs with them.

> Hosehead is a little trickier since most red firetrucks are presumed to be
> Inferno and thus made into Grapple, so I'd like to see either Hauler or
> Energon Roadblock as the Hosehead re-use.

They're already reusing Combiner Wars Hot Spot and offering it as Inferno for Power of the Primes. I agree that we need Hosehead, but I can't think of a good way to reuse the toy. The number of times a toy's design can be recycled shouldn't be the determining factor in whether or not the character gets addressed. Hasbro has already done some crazy things with shared engineering, so I'm hopeful for the future. For example, there really aren't any other twin helicopters like Highbrow, but we were able to get the toy because they reused some of the assets from Scourge. For all we know, Hosehead is going to end up sharing shoulder connectors, upper legs, a pelvis, and knee joints with Squeezeplay. Maybe that will be enough.

> Grotusque's (who I missed on Hasbrotyoshop, have to wait on TRU to list)
> existence seems to mean deluxe Fangry is a lock eventually, and Horri-Bull
> could come from Weirdwolf (especially if they fix that breakage issue).

Fangry is actually a lot like Doublecross in design and concept, so basing him on Grotusque could work. Design-wise, I actually think Horri-Bull has more in common with Skullcruncher than he does with Weirdwolf. Their transformations are markedly similar. If they're going to reuse existing assets, I'd rather Titans Return Skullsmasher be the basis for a new Horri-Bull toy, not Weirdwolf.

> Toss in headmaster remakes of Springer & Sandstorm (another case of being
> modest remolds of each other), and you have enough product for two waves, or
> about six months of time.

The last time we got toys for those characters was in 2013, so maybe it's time for a redo. I liked Springer okay, but it was more of an artistic interpretation of the character's existing design rather than a straight reading of it... and Sandstorm took the same toy design and just uglied it right the hell up. Maybe the two are just too different to be mold-mates. I would be okay if they shared some engineering assets the next time around without being a full-on redeco/remold of each other.


Zob (and where are the Battlechargers...?)

[Irrellius Spamticon of the Potato People.]

On Wednesday, October 11, 2017 at 7:27:27 PM UTC-5, New and Improved Zobovor wrote:
> On Wednesday, October 11, 2017 at 7:39:25 AM UTC-6, MWG wrote:
>
> > I still think the 1988 headmasters and horrorcons happen whenever Scorponok
> > happens.
>
> I hope you're right. There was a rumor that Power of the Primes will focus heavily on the 1988 cast. Since Titans Return was a tribute to 1987, it seems logical.
>

Ahh but will he be a headmaster or a Powermaster if he comes out in The Power of the Primes. Supposedly there are 12 Primes, so will there only be 12 Pretender shells?

> > Nightbeat/Siren can share a basic body (and Takara does Minerva/Go Shooter).
>
> Siren and Nightbeat had pretty different transformations in G1. I guess I wouldn't hate it if they shared some engineering, though. I can't really think of any other characters who would be suitable to share designs with them.
>

I'm surprised we got a Getaway from Chromedome,l I expected Siren or Nightbeat as Chromedome repaints before anyone touched Getaway.

> > Hosehead is a little trickier since most red firetrucks are presumed to be
> > Inferno and thus made into Grapple, so I'd like to see either Hauler or
> > Energon Roadblock as the Hosehead re-use.
>
> They're already reusing Combiner Wars Hot Spot and offering it as Inferno for Power of the Primes. I agree that we need Hosehead, but I can't think of a good way to reuse the toy. The number of times a toy's design can be recycled shouldn't be the determining factor in whether or not the character gets addressed. Hasbro has already done some crazy things with shared engineering, so I'm hopeful for the future. For example, there really aren't any other twin helicopters like Highbrow, but we were able to get the toy because they reused some of the assets from Scourge. For all we know, Hosehead is going to end up sharing shoulder connectors, upper legs, a pelvis, and knee joints with Squeezeplay. Maybe that will be enough.
>
> > Grotusque's (who I missed on Hasbrotyoshop, have to wait on TRU to list)
> > existence seems to mean deluxe Fangry is a lock eventually, and Horri-Bull
> > could come from Weirdwolf (especially if they fix that breakage issue).
>
> Fangry is actually a lot like Doublecross in design and concept, so basing him on Grotusque could work. Design-wise, I actually think Horri-Bull has more in common with Skullcruncher than he does with Weirdwolf. Their transformations are markedly similar. If they're going to reuse existing assets, I'd rather Titans Return Skullsmasher be the basis for a new Horri-Bull toy, not Weirdwolf.
>
> > Toss in headmaster remakes of Springer & Sandstorm (another case of being
> > modest remolds of each other), and you have enough product for two waves, or
> > about six months of time.
>
> The last time we got toys for those characters was in 2013, so maybe it's time for a redo. I liked Springer okay, but it was more of an artistic interpretation of the character's existing design rather than a straight reading of it... and Sandstorm took the same toy design and just uglied it right the hell up. Maybe the two are just too different to be mold-mates. I would be okay if they shared some engineering assets the next time around without being a full-on redeco/remold of each other.
>

I liked Sandstorm a lot. This was in my memory the first examples we got of significant retooling to change characters, before that it was occasionally a head swap.

>
> Zob (and where are the Battlechargers...?)

In the fan club, repainted from totally unconvincing mold reuses.

I'm wondering if we will get Seacon edition Terrorcon retools.

[MWG]

On Wednesday, October 11, 2017 at 7:27:27 PM UTC-5, New and Improved Zobovor wrote:
> On Wednesday, October 11, 2017 at 7:39:25 AM UTC-6, MWG wrote:
>
> > I still think the 1988 headmasters and horrorcons happen whenever Scorponok
> > happens.
>
> I hope you're right. There was a rumor that Power of the Primes will focus heavily on the 1988 cast. Since Titans Return was a tribute to 1987, it seems logical.
>
> > Nightbeat/Siren can share a basic body (and Takara does Minerva/Go Shooter).
>
> Siren and Nightbeat had pretty different transformations in G1. I guess I wouldn't hate it if they shared some engineering, though. I can't really think of any other characters who would be suitable to share designs with them.
>
> > Hosehead is a little trickier since most red firetrucks are presumed to be
> > Inferno and thus made into Grapple, so I'd like to see either Hauler or
> > Energon Roadblock as the Hosehead re-use.
>
> They're already reusing Combiner Wars Hot Spot and offering it as Inferno for Power of the Primes. I agree that we need Hosehead, but I can't think of a good way to reuse the toy. The number of times a toy's design can be recycled shouldn't be the determining factor in whether or not the character gets addressed. Hasbro has already done some crazy things with shared engineering, so I'm hopeful for the future. For example, there really aren't any other twin helicopters like Highbrow, but we were able to get the toy because they reused some of the assets from Scourge. For all we know, Hosehead is going to end up sharing shoulder connectors, upper legs, a pelvis, and knee joints with Squeezeplay. Maybe that will be enough.
>

There are a few Titans Return deluxes that weren't re-used, mainly Hot Rod and Perceptor (I think), but knowing Hasbro they would re-use parts from Hardhead for Hosie... I do hope they convert that rumored Inferno into RiD2001 Optimus/Fire Convoy (with a slightly modified origin/name to separate him from G1 Optimus). I know Takara is re-releasing the original Fire Convoy in a very expensive set, but the character needs to re-emerge IMO, and the three "Autobot Bros." could probably come from existing CW car designs (with Tow-Line from Trailbreaker doubling as a Hoist homage for the fourth).

> > Grotusque's (who I missed on Hasbrotyoshop, have to wait on TRU to list)
> > existence seems to mean deluxe Fangry is a lock eventually, and Horri-Bull
> > could come from Weirdwolf (especially if they fix that breakage issue).
>
> Fangry is actually a lot like Doublecross in design and concept, so basing him on Grotusque could work. Design-wise, I actually think Horri-Bull has more in common with Skullcruncher than he does with Weirdwolf. Their transformations are markedly similar. If they're going to reuse existing assets, I'd rather Titans Return Skullsmasher be the basis for a new Horri-Bull toy, not Weirdwolf.
>
> > Toss in headmaster remakes of Springer & Sandstorm (another case of being
> > modest remolds of each other), and you have enough product for two waves, or
> > about six months of time.
>
> The last time we got toys for those characters was in 2013, so maybe it's time for a redo. I liked Springer okay, but it was more of an artistic interpretation of the character's existing design rather than a straight reading of it... and Sandstorm took the same toy design and just uglied it right the hell up. Maybe the two are just too different to be mold-mates. I would be okay if they shared some engineering assets the next time around without being a full-on redeco/remold of each other.
>
>
> Zob (and where are the Battlechargers...?)

Some have speculated they could come from PoTP Jazz. Conceivable I guess. But Jazz sticks out as the lone "classic" Autobot car in thise line-up. Maybe add a general retail version of Ratchet (slightly newer molding to make it different to Botcon version and Takara version).

We also need Triggerbot/con updates, I could see those filling legends slots, Autobot Powermaster cars (more combiner limbs?) and the remaining 1988 double targetmastes (especially Spinister, Apache-style assault copters are awesome). Plus other stuff I'm probably overlooking at the moment...

[New and Improved Zobovor]

On Wednesday, October 11, 2017 at 7:14:48 PM UTC-6, Irrellius Spamticon of the Potato People. wrote:

> Ahh but will he be a headmaster or a Powermaster if he comes out in The Power
> of the Primes.

Scorponok? Not sure. There's going to be something seriously wrong with the Universe if the new Scorponok isn't a Headmaster.

> I'm surprised we got a Getaway from Chromedome,l I expected Siren or
> Nightbeat as Chromedome repaints before anyone touched Getaway.

It was an odd choice, and it makes the absence of Slapdash and Joyride all the more conspicuous. Something tells me that we'll get a Getaway do-over in the next few years. Probably around the same time they do the other two Autobot Powermasters.

>> (Battlechargers...?)

>
> In the fan club, repainted from totally unconvincing mold reuses.

Not good enough. They deserve to be mass-marketed.

> I'm wondering if we will get Seacon edition Terrorcon retools.

It would take a lot of work to turn Hun-Gurrr into a workable Snaptrap. But, Hasbro has worked similar miracles before.

The existence of the upcoming Terrorcons means I really need to hunt down the Combiner Wars Technobots, doesn't it?


Zob (leaning towards the Takara versions, in all likelihood)

[New and Improved Zobovor]

On Wednesday, October 11, 2017 at 7:21:52 PM UTC-6, MWG wrote:

> There are a few Titans Return deluxes that weren't re-used, mainly Hot Rod
> and Perceptor (I think), but knowing Hasbro they would re-use parts from
> Hardhead for Hosie...

Hosie! That's adorable.

There are actually a lot of Deluxe toys that never got reused if you think about it. Sure, Scourge shares parts with Highbrow and Windblade, but each of them is still their own distinct and unique toy. It's not like we got two hovercrafts and two twin helicopters in the line.

I honestly always thought that Hot Rod had been designed with Arcee in mind as an eventual remold. Meanwhile, somebody else posted something interesting once with really compelling evidence that the Hot Rod toy shares a lot of design features with Cyclonus.

I tend to think that Hasbro has been planning redeco versions or remolded versions of nearly every toy, but some of them just don't come to fruition for whatever reason. (Anybody else remember how the instructions for Generations Warpath included illustrations of the toy wearing Hardhead's head...?)

>> (Battlechargers...?)

>
> Some have speculated they could come from PoTP Jazz. Conceivable I guess.

That would be an odd choice. They'd have to do a major reshellification of that vehicle mode.

> Maybe add a general retail version of Ratchet (slightly newer molding to make
> it different to Botcon version and Takara version).

The existence of Inferno and Jazz suggests that they might be gearing up to do another team of classic Autobots. I'd be fine if Ratchet was one of the other three. Maybe throw Bluestreak in there. And Skids, because why the hell not.

> We also need Triggerbot/con updates, I could see those filling legends slots,
> Autobot Powermaster cars (more combiner limbs?) and the remaining 1988 double

> targetmasters (especially Spinister, Apache-style assault copters are

> awesome). Plus other stuff I'm probably overlooking at the moment...

My suspicion is that Hasbro is planning to get to all of these characters eventually. They've been really, really good in recent years about slowly covering just about every character from every year of release. I can count on one hand the number of 1984-85 characters who haven't been updated yet, which is an incredible thing to be able to say, considering how long my hypothetical Generations "wish list" used to be.

Maybe Dogfight and Needlenose could share some engineering, and have differently-shaped wings.

It would make sense to design Quake (if we got a new Quake) with the intent of making him into Guzzle as well.

Maybe Spinister could get a redeco as G2 Powerdive. I would be ALL OVER that.


Zob (has a special place in his heart for Generation 2)