Greatshot and The Super Robot Factor

- Ben Watson


I'm now the proud owner of a glorious Takara LG EX Greatshot and I felt it time to tackle a particular concept that he and very few other Transformers come hand-in-hand with: the idea of "The Super Robot". 

It's widely accepted Transformers are a breed of super robots, the term even acting as descriptor of what they are in the original Japanese series' title - but to what extent in this space year 2018? In the past thirty years (probably more like forty if you want to properly chart the rise of the Super Robot) many franchises have flared to life and faded away within the stable of the concept. Some much more noticeably "super" than others that - at least in my mind - contribute much more to the overall nebulous mental image than Transformers ever has. So let's explore the concept through my admittedly novice experience (Bowing to RRCo colleague Dan as Master) and see how it's intersected and influenced the long standing brand we're all here for down the years. 

To begin, what qualifies Greatshot as a Super Robot to me? If I had to put it into words, this figure exemplifies it more than most by its particular set of colours first. The heroic staple of red, white and blue sings its debatably dated song of freedom to the eye but this isn't necessarily any different to any Optimus Prime or Ultra Magnus - two robots who in my headspace aren't capital S Super (Unless we're talking about a super mode...). What really brings the *clench fist* oomph to Greatshot is - and I'm sure your eyes have already been drawn to it - his big gold on black chest motif. In a better age it would have been glittering chrome but that right there is what elevates Greatshot to greatness. That extra layer of bombast and over-the-top styling incorporating an oddly mixed visual message. Does he turn into a bird like the big insignia across his pecs? Hell no, but it looks cool and that's what the Super Robot is all about. 

Standing proud as an ultimate force for good, swathed in red and gold and generating a silhouette dominated by upper body spikes, the spirit of other Super Robos is conjured in my mind. GaoGaiGar, Thunder Gridman, Gurren Lagann, uh... one of the Gundams (hey that's a lot of G's) Greatshot joins the pantheon of these most mighty mecha and in doing so, kind of does himself a disservice... 

All of those "OG's" I listed are the central, most powerful and righteous robots of their respective series. The be-all-and-end-all of the protection of the innocent and spectacular destruction of evil. Is that Greatshot? Really? Arguably one of the most obscure Transformers characters of all time, one that I had no idea existed until about two years ago, he hardly fits the bill. Add to that a shady heritage (this figure's pack-in manga says he's just Sixshot? What?) and in terms of portrayal, Greatshot is really only a pretender to the mantle of Super Robot. 

But hold! Perhaps a redemption arc is in the cards for our hero, because like most of those G-men I named, I haven't actually taken in any of Greatshot's appearances in fiction. Yeah ok, I'll go and watch Brave but this is another facet of the Super Robot vogue for me. A veiling in mystery, a cladding of awe. Knowing that this particular robot I'm looking at right now looks really damn cool and I love what I'm seeing even though I know practically nothing about it. That's the only reason I bought Greatshot. I don't give a monkey's about... *checks the wiki* Victory or what he did in the episodes of it he appeared in. All I need to know is I want this robot in my house because he exemplifies all of that forceful aesthetic that only Japan could provide. 

Right now I'm realising how much that aesthetic really gets to me. If it transforms and powers up in a lengthy and detailed motion-line abundant stock sequence, I want to know about it. I'd go as far as saying I'd watch a show that was just that and thankfully, there does exist an animated short commemorating Gridman that I've watched over and over. Nothing quite like that distillation of pre-21st century mecha stirs the blood quite so. I could have been hunting for missing Armada figures on ebay recently but instead chose to track down every listing for Gridman toys because by god, Zenon is a robo I need in my life. But in the west such paragons of power are hard to come by in plastic. (Unless you're blessed with wherever sells those chrome-tastic KO's in the US... Like Dan is.) So to be present to watch a release come to fruition in the line my eyes are seldom not trained on, I simply couldn't pass up Greatshot, by virtue of everything I imagine he could be, rather than anything he probably is. . 

Yes, I will hold my hands up and say, it wasn't cheap. Being not only a Japanese exclusive figure but one exclusive to a particular store within Japan, Greatshot did come at a price approximately 1.5X the average Generations Leader. He is essentially just red Sixshot and I've been trying to enjoy that figure more than I do for a good year now. Greatshot does however have an advantage in-hand thanks to much better joint tolerances. Of course some parts are new and add a lot to push Greatshot far and away from his precursor, including new robot and animal mode heads and more ostentatious chest and shoulder adornments but all six of his modes (including "submarine") tell the same rote tale. While Sixshot's existence in Titans Return was an ultimate surprise, it was certainly foolish for any of us to expect a different six-changing mold anywhere in the vicinity of the next decade. At the very least however, this is of course G1 accurate and lets the figure play to that particular retro charm the original possesses in such a large amount.

Mild misgivings aside, I really feel like Greatshot will be one of the top figures of the year. Birthed in that limited foreign release mystique and filling a unique niche in my collection he's certainly a piece I'm very proud to have. Statistically speaking, few Transformers are released each year that really resonate with what I want my collection to be. Yeah, I buy em all the same but your RID Paralons and Legion Dragonstorms don't stand a chance in the wake of a release with this kind of mental heft. This robot is simply, super. 

What makes a robot "super" to you? Leave a comment and let us know!


Follow Ben on Twitter @Waspshot23 

Moving the Goal Posts

 - Dorian MacQuarrie

You are never going to finish your collection. Or at least, Takara will do their darndest to prevent it. 

Okay, maybe that should be "you are never going to be finished with collecting"?

With the recent talk (legitimate or otherwise) of a 35th Anniversary Optimus Prime on the horizon, aka MP Optimus Prime 3.0, Takara have once again moved the goal posts. Just when you felt your collection was headed towards completion, they've rebooted things and given us a new aesthetic to buy into. I think it was inevitable we would eventually see a more cartoon styled MP Prime to go along with their wonderful Megatron and other such cartoon focused releases. Some are expecting this to be a complete relaunch of the Masterpiece line and honestly, I wouldn't mind. Seeing the recent reveal of MP Prowl with animation accurate bright blue windows did cause me to vomit a little; a styles clash if there ever was one. But a brand new, cartoon accurate Prowl on the other hand? I'd be keen on that. In my Sunstreaker review I floated the idea of Takara releasing a new Sideswipe to better match his golden brother. This is something I think we will definitely see in the coming years as Takara try to change the direction of their product to keep us digging into our wallets to buy more and more toy robots. 

Be it the pressures of business or an insidious plan to keep collectors on tenterhooks, rarely does a line reach full completion. Rarely do we have the entire cast of a show or every iteration of a toy we were hoping to buy, and even with something as grand as Takara's Masterpiece line, it was always going to be the same. Once the heavy hitters are released it's time to move on to another project and release those same big name characters in ever new and updated versions. Call it the fetishisation of Generation 1 and the seeming inability for companies and collectors alike to explore new and different ideas or just call it good business sense, one way or the other, you're never going to have that complete collection of Masterpiece styled bots. Of course in this instance "complete" depends on your personal definition. Complete might mean a certain core cast or sub-group of Transformers and not necessarily every single release or member of a team. But for those who seek to have a complete Season 1-2 cast of G1 Transformers, your time is running out and it might be Takara who decide when things change. I'm sure this will leave a large enough gap for a multitude of Third Party companies to step in and complete those missing figures but regardless of how much noise a group of collectors make, I doubt it would still be financially viable once a new Masterpiece styled line is fully underway, building off the back of seminal releases such as Inferno, Sunstreaker or the aforementioned Megatron. 

We have of course seen this before. As new lines roll out, new aesthetics take over and lines can remain incomplete. Generation 1 gave way to Beast Wars, which in turn gave way to Car Robots/RiD and so on and so forth. It's easier to accept when it's off the back of a cartoon. It feels more self contained and expected. Look to the Generations line though and see how with every iteration of that particular line, Classics, Universe 2.0 and Generations itself, the goal posts were ever changing and from one wave to the next we started to drift away from aesthetics laid down in the early waves. Again, this was probably easier to accept as a Generations shelf can accommodate a varying degree of different aesthetics and toy lines given the nature of the Transformers brand and the world it presents. 

Masterpiece on the other hand, the seemingly iconic representations of these characters? When that changes, it's more difficult to accept. I have written time and again about the diverging aesthetics of the line. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker encapsulate this perfectly and never was there a bigger red flag (or yellow in this case) that the line was going to change, restart, reboot, call it what you want, but the goal posts would be moved. Takara will usher in a whole new set of cartoon accurate MP toys and not just current moulds with ghastly blue windows but brand new versions of Sideswipe, Prowl, Starscream etc. It's bound to happen. It must happen. It's not in Takara's interest to allow us as collectors to finish up and complete a line. Sure, plenty of us will just find something else to collect but that might be a product from a different company altogether. Takara have captured the adult collector market as never before but with no other core product in their repertoire to keep those same adult collectors engaged, they'll just need to start all over again but in a new and interesting way. 

And on that grim note, keep it #Refined

Follow Dorian on Twitter @Vigadeath

RRCo. Reviews: MP-39 Sunstreaker

 - Dorian MacQuarrie

It's not often that we review things in the traditional sense at RRCo. but sometimes a toy comes along who demands the attention. With that in mind let's go for a spin with MP-39 Sunstreaker.  

MP-39 Sunstreaker, the toy which was both never going to happen but also completely, inevitably, was going to happen. It has been many years since his brother Sideswipe was released and while time has been very kind to the MP-12 mould, Takara and their design department have not. The face of Masterpiece Transformers has changed from a shiny example of robotic perfection to something a bit more grey, a little bit disturbing in some cases but somehow still very attractive. 

I've waxed lyrical about the MP line numerous times and with every post I end up writing about the subject, my opinion is compromised shifts ever more into a stable, more accepting position. I'm still not fully supportive of cartoon focused Masterpiece toys but the quality of toys we have seen to achieve this goal is astounding. Now, I am aware that we could have still had this quality of toy but with the earlier MP aesthetic but I'll casually ignore that thought and press ahead.......

Masterpiece Sunstreaker is a wonder to behold. My initial reaction upon opening the box and seeing that sleek, sexy alt mode was pure elation. It has been a while since I experienced such an initial excitement at opening a Masterpiece car as many of my recent purchases consisted of Diaclone repaints and as amazing as they might be, it isn't the same as a whole new mould.

From the opening hood and doors and on to the chrome intakes, the attention to detail is stunning and harkens back to the Diaclone line itself in representing a thoroughly convincing alternate mode. 

Of course there is the option to display him in a more real-world accurate manner. The mechanism to achieve this is fairly ingenious but I can't say I'll ever display Sunstreaker this way, on the times when I do indeed have him displayed in alt mode (we all like to have an alt mode party sometimes right?). Put him alongside Sideswipe and the magic is complete. Finally, after five years we have this dynamic duo in official Masterpiece form! 

Before we even get into the robot mode (and thus the transformation, oh boy oh boy), the alt mode, as is now the norm for toys of the Masterpiece line, is covered in paint. Hard wearing, glossy, luscious paint. Sunstreaker practically glows a rich golden yellow, something which could never have been achieved with base plastic and this just adds to that initial awe upon opening the box. 

So about that transformation process..........

This is really where the differences between Sunstreaker, the most recent car-bot and Sideswipe, the first, become apparent. Actually, the qualitative differences start a moment before this as the second you pick up Sunstreaker it becomes very apparent that he weighs much more than Sideswipe due to so many more parts being packed into that alt. mode.  

Weight aside... where Sideswipe had a fairly traditional transformation scheme with a few neat tricks, Sunstreaker pulls out all the stops, with bells, whistles and extra panels to boot. The first run through, while not difficult or complex, definitely took a bit of time. Maybe I was hesitant to scratch the paint (which has held up after several transformations) or maybe it was just the experience of a completely new toy as I had sworn off watching any video reviews beforehand, but still, I took my time and was careful with every port, peg and panel. Maybe I just wanted to savour the whole experience and not rush things as it's not often I get my grubby hands on a toy at the actual time of release

The legs are fairly straight forward and the outward swing from the body of the car is quite a graceful movement before all the tidying up of the inner legs occurs. The feet are surprisingly simple and I love how they look in bot mode for such an iconic design element. 

Moving up to the torso, it should be a simple matter of rotating the windscreen to the back and flipping the chest over but alas, here is where we get into the few issues of this toy. The clearances allowed at every stage of this process are minimal. Were it not for the pieces involved being either clear plastic and/or painted I would feel pretty comfortable allowing them to clash and rub against each other. It is definitely the most nail biting part of the whole transformation. 

The arms thankfully, return us to the land of elegant efficiency with minimal fuss and some very nice tidying up taking place along the elbows. As for the head, it simply slides up and into place, revealing that handsome mug of Sunstreaker. 

The final piece of the transformation and probably the most fiddly (not to be confused with the most nerve-shredding mentioned previously) is the backpack. Lots of small painted parts with tight tolerances and small clearances. It's a fairly simple set of motions but I still find myself double checking to make sure everything is perfectly in place rather than relying on them to naturally fall into their designated positions of their own accord as the layers of Sunstreaker's backpack come together.

There is one more moment of nail-biting as you rotate the backpack around on what honestly feels like too-soft a piece of plastic but maybe this was intentionally used to allow a measure of flex. The very final step is the satisfying CLICK of hooking the backpack into place for maximum solidity. 

The overall motions of Sunstreaker's transformation are fairly simple, fold out the legs, pull down the arms and tidy up the backpack but there is so much more going on with every step. Initially it felt a little laborious but it's now something I really enjoy if maybe not to the same tactile degree as Ironhide or Inferno. There is less of a 'Masterpiece moment' with Sunstreaker as with the two just mentioned and I'd even say the most impressive piece of engineering is flipping the intakes back and forth but even that is met with small clearances and a lack of fluidity.

Once you have successfully navigated the transformation process you will be met with one gorgeous robot (robots can be gorgeous right?). Where Sunstreaker really succeeds is in the initial impression. From the silhouette, to the shining paint work and finally to the chest panel and headsculpt, he looks incredible. Screen accurate and quite critically, very well proportioned. But regrettably, when you look a little closer things begin to unravel somewhat. I find that there are just too many panels, hinges and separate parts on display to capture that true cartoon likeness seen by other recent Masterpiece toys. While this isn't something I necessarily lament, it feels like there could have been steps taken to tidy up some of these panel-puzzles if they could have diverged a little from the source material. 

My final criticism is the backpack. It is indeed a mighty rucksack intended for a weekend camping in the hills but honestly, in hand, it's not that bad. I don't think it's necessarily the size of the backpack which is jarring but more how much it feels juxtaposed against the sleek proportions of Sunstreaker. From some angles the figure's frame feels too small to accommodate the backpack as successfully as I would like. 

Beyond these minor issues, I think the figure is massive success. 

Keeping in line with recent releases, Sunstreaker comes with all the added articulation you would expect. From the wrist swivels allowing for more accurate gun-holding and hands-on-hip poses to the lovely double knees, double elbows, ab-crunch and shoulder joints, Sunstreaker is packed to the cyber-gills with joints aplenty. This is where, as said in a previous article, the Masterpiece line is headed and I am fully on-board. 

In the pictures for this article, I opted for more dynamic yet tighter and more expressive poses which made use of whatever head tilts, shoulder-joints and wrist swivels available. My photography game is still on Beginner mode so I hope this comes across. 

With every subsequent release I find myself treading further into this world of 'cartoon accuracy' but I can't help myself! Every dissenting notion I have had is swept aside by the in-hand experience. The dark greys replacing full black? Love it. The silver/grey paint used for the faces? Love it. The only aesthetic criticism I have for Sunstreaker is his chest. I dearly wish there was a more toy-styled display option with less of the faux hood and shrunken windows and something approaching a middle ground between this and what we saw on Omnigonix's Spinout but still, it looks great and does the job as intended. 

I'll close with this... when put aside Sideswipe exclusively, I think the time between their releases is evident. The aesthetic has changed and try as you might, squint as much as you want, the truth is Sunstreaker and Sideswipe do not go together as seamlessly as when put alongside other releases from their respective times. The solution to this is of course, for Takara to release a new Sideswipe mould altogether and not just a repaint. In the meantime, as long as you display your toys with a mind towards this shifting aesthetic, Sunstreaker can fit in to a larger group display, just fine.

Oh yeah and he also comes with this dumb mask.....

Until next time, keep it #Refined. 

Gorilla Gorilla Gorilla

- Ben Watson


You may have caught my recent article outlining my thoughts on Beast Wars twenty years on and now after a TFNation haul-based development, I'm going to reassess how I'm feeling about that. But before you can shout "Revisionist sentiment!" I can tell you it all comes down to three words; Masterpiece Optimus Primal. 

In my previous piece I mentioned how I was relatively unfazed by the coming of Masterpiece figures aimed, laser-like directly at me but after handling the original version of MP Primal, when met with the newer one at a good price - you bet I went for it. What we have here is the MP-38 Convoy (Beast Wars) Legendary Commander Ver. In other words; a toy accurate Masterpiece Optimus Primal. This kind of accuracy is my main concern with the wider MP line at large as I hold little desire for cartoon centric design. (But then it turns out this deco pulls double duty and is actually screen accurate to that one time Optimus appeared in the Beast Wars II anime? Go figure.) To see Masterpiece finally render that which I regard as the ultimate goal of the line - a perfect version of a toy beloved from years ago - I couldn't really say no to the boss monkey. 

Of course, on the one hand suddenly gaining a stylistically totally different MP figure only exacerbates my previous issue of design dissonance. This guy sure ain't gonna fit in with the handful of car based Masterpieces I already own and by virtue of his MP status then won't really gel with most other regular TFs either. Primal exists in a strange singularity in my collection, above and beyond all his peers. But by a little touch of convention magic, right now it simply couldn't be a problem. 

The fact this figure is a stone-cold stunner with incredible engineering and accessories obviously helps but the one thing that's letting me feel like I didn't just shell out for a random action figure is that it's part of a con haul. This is an effect I've always thought about expounding my feelings on and now is definitely the time. Nothing ever feels weirdly out of place or one of a kind when you come home from a convention with an armful of diverse delights. After spending a weekend picking up bots of all shapes, sizes and styles, these disparate pieces all have one thing in common that irrevocably links them to each other in your collection: they all came from the same con. 

For weeks now I've had all the components of the cash crater that is my TFN haul stood around the surfaces of my home in little gangs, not yet content to release them into the wild of my wider collection. And standing at the head of the pack is MP Primal. A for-the-time-being surrogate Prime leading haulmate Autobots, Omnicons, Spychangers and Mini-cons into battle upon my coffee table. Right here, right now, Primal has his place all thanks to that sentimental force surrounding and binding him to the other figures I got within hours of him. 

So what are my feelings towards Beast Wars now? I'm still very aware of that stylistic gulf but choose to wade across it at least partway because if there's one thing this figure has shown me, it's that journey is worth it. MP-38 is a true masterpiece. Perfectly realising the first Optimus I ever knew while packing in everything worthwhile from his original toy and then some. Light up eyes, a metal chain mace, pop-out cannons, different faces? Forget about it. And thanks to some factory error, I even got an extra sword! 

Masterpiece Optimus Primal has well and truly dispelled any doubts I had about my continuing love for my first Transformers series. To tell you this figure feels right is simultaneously succinct and a towering understatement. While I hugely appreciate the toy stylings of this version, I didn't get my hands on an OG (here meaning Original Gorilla obvs) Primal until I was in the swing of purely vehicle based lines. I saw the monkey man on my telly screen long, long before realising the weirdery of that spring open gun arm or spiky skull mace. 

So to have a figure which captures the best of both worlds, with proper wrist guns and a jetpack bumflap but also bright blue swords and a toothy mask face is simply sublime. This is the most complete representation of this design we are ever going to see. The rumoured Power of The Primes Optimal Optimus housing a gorilla that's on its way will surely be huge fun (and now an instant pick-up for me) but it will not come within dung flinging distance of the simian spectacle of this awesome ape. Simply put: no other Primal will ever be as #refined. 

Follow Ben on Twitter @Waspshot23