Toy Review - Titans Return Voyager Sentinel Prime

[doublespy]

Series - Generations
Sub-line - Titans Return
Size/class - voyager
New/remould/redeco - Remold of Astrotrain
Wave - 1
Released here - July 2016


I know very little about the character in the comics, but I really like the robot design and color scheme. And although this mold was clearly designed as Astrotrain first, I don't think the armored train mode works that well for him.

SPACESHIP MODE:
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac134/scorer24/TITANS%20RETURN/sentinel_01_zpswin7sxfl.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/scorer24/media/TITANS%20RETURN/sentinel_01_zpswin7sxfl.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac134/scorer24/TITANS%20RETURN/sentinel_02_zpsihsb4n9t.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/scorer24/media/TITANS%20RETURN/sentinel_02_zpsihsb4n9t.jpg.html)
It's very well designed with some clever panel folding to make the fuselage streamlined. There's lots of sculpted detail that could use some paint to highlight them, but it's not as bad as the train mode. Conceivably you can take a Gundam marker to quickly highlight the canopy windows.

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac134/scorer24/TITANS%20RETURN/sentinel_03_zpsvss9ptki.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/scorer24/media/TITANS%20RETURN/sentinel_03_zpsvss9ptki.jpg.html)
The interactivity with 5mm weapons that can seat Titan Masters has won me over. Great fun. Although the peg holes on the grey hinge pieces seem to be a bit too big. They're made in unpaintable PVC, so maybe it's hard to control tolerance.

TRAIN MODE:
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac134/scorer24/TITANS%20RETURN/sentinel_04_zpssaebfyz4.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/scorer24/media/TITANS%20RETURN/sentinel_04_zpssaebfyz4.jpg.html)
I really like the steampunk-esque design on the train engine, with the heavy armor and artillery. A reviewer compared this mode to the train (http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac134/scorer24/MISC/Koutetsujou_zpswzbesx8a.png) in Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress. And I feel that the train mode suits Sentinel Prime a lot better than Astrotrain, who has never been a heavily armed train.

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac134/scorer24/TITANS%20RETURN/sentinel_05_zpsljj123nv.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/scorer24/media/TITANS%20RETURN/sentinel_05_zpsljj123nv.jpg.html)
Again, it could use more paint to pick out the sculpted details, especially on the train engine and the gun turrets.

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac134/scorer24/TITANS%20RETURN/sentinel_06_zps8gstzft6.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/scorer24/media/TITANS%20RETURN/sentinel_06_zps8gstzft6.jpg.html)
It is an impressive long train. The front rows of wheels on the fold out panel are inexplicably left unpainted..

TRANSFORMATION:
Very simple and effective. Both alt modes have multiple tabs that lock together very well. The overall transformation design kinda gives me a “Brave" vibe. It is also very similar to Don Figueroa's War Within design (http://s1053.photobucket.com/user/Orio1041/media/778ABA92-FCB3-4BAF-9348-B2713CE53C28_zpsvz67xwjc.jpg.html)

ROBOT MODE:
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac134/scorer24/TITANS%20RETURN/sentinel_07_zps3ntpynu5.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/scorer24/media/TITANS%20RETURN/sentinel_07_zps3ntpynu5.jpg.html)
I quote like the robot mode design. The head sculpt is very Prime-ish and the overall color scheme works well and manages to make the body look less Astrotrain. The retractable collar piece is clearly to homage Astrotrain's shoulder wheels in the cartoon, so I sometimes leave it retracted in the body.

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac134/scorer24/TITANS%20RETURN/sentinel_08_zpstcjrtmgy.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/scorer24/media/TITANS%20RETURN/sentinel_08_zpstcjrtmgy.jpg.html)
Articulation is average modern transformer level. When the collar piece is up it limits the side to side of the head, but it can rotate about 30 degrees either direction. So you still can get about 45 degrees rotation.

TITAN MASTER:
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac134/scorer24/TITANS%20RETURN/sentinel_12_zps5y46ntby.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/scorer24/media/TITANS%20RETURN/sentinel_12_zps5y46ntby.jpg.html)
His little Titan Master dude Infinitus is a just a mini version of him, with painted red face. On a small figure like this a little paint goes a long way.

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac134/scorer24/TITANS%20RETURN/sentinel_09_zpsqtv93oyt.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/scorer24/media/TITANS%20RETURN/sentinel_09_zpsqtv93oyt.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac134/scorer24/TITANS%20RETURN/sentinel_10_zpsgzztupgf.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/scorer24/media/TITANS%20RETURN/sentinel_10_zpsgzztupgf.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac134/scorer24/TITANS%20RETURN/sentinel_11_zps7wz5kuvq.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/scorer24/media/TITANS%20RETURN/sentinel_11_zps7wz5kuvq.jpg.html)
Although they claim the heads work on all size classes, I think the individual Titans Masters are designed more to interact with Deluxe figures. The head sizes do vary and hey look ridiculously small on a Voyager body.


Overall, I think it is an excellent triple changer. Astrotrain is the better execution of this mold, with more paint apps to highlight the details. But I do think the train mode suits Sentinel Prime a lot better. He's worth picking up if you like the character design, or just like armored steampunk space train with orange burning justice!

[GoktimusPrime]

This toy looks terrible. I'm only getting it because:
a/ I've known about the character since the 80s and have always wanted a toy of it (about 12 years ago I custom made my own from a spare G1 Rodimus Prime :p)
b/ Because I have Henkei Astrotrain I have no desire to get Titans Return Astrotrain, so this also gives me an excuse to own the new Astrotrain mould.
But geez... it really looks a lot worse than I anticipated... like an unfinished prototype or a cheesy KO. :eek:

[doublespy]

It does look better in person but yeah, the color is not for everyone.

[GoktimusPrime]

Got this toy today. It does look a bit better IRL as it does have some vermilion accents to supposedly offset the orange but uh... it doesn't quite work out so well. I can see that Hasbro are attempting to replicate the colour scheme on IDW Sentinel Prime, but it seems to be one of those colour schemes that looked better on paper than in plastic. :o Certainly substituting the gunmetal grey for the light and dull grey didn't help. Also, IDW Sentinel Prime does have more greys to break up all his orange.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Sentinel%20Prime/sentinelprime08_zps8iv84ayp.jpg
And IDW Sentinel Prime's colours are based off the original G1 Sentinel Prime's colours, which is still just mostly yellow, orange and red. Let's face it, Marvel never put that much effort into the design of Sentinel Prime, since he literally only appeared in one panel in a flashback in G1!
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Sentinel%20Prime/sentinelprime12a_zpscqpqx6nq.jpg

Overall I find the design of this mould to be pretty ordinary, and I honestly prefer the original Voyager Classics/Henkei Astrotrain over this. The shuttle mode is nice enough, although seeing an armed space shuttle is weird! The overall position and design of the cockpit makes it kinda look like a 1980s Lego spaceship.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/avatars/spaceship_benny_zpskrfxnuff.gif
The train mode looks daft. The two holes on the grey squares on the wings are a bit too large, and so the guns only fit in loosely and one of them is prone to "gun flop." :( The legs on my Infinitus are really loose.

On the plus side, at least Infinitus is a real word (Latin for "endless")! Take that, Furos, you angry bathtub! :p

Overall: I would only recommend this if you're a fan of the G1 Sentinel Prime character and want a toy of it. Or if you're very patriotically Dutch, or if you just want to have a giant robotic Oompa Loompa. Fans of the G1 comics have been waiting for a Sentinel Prime toy since 1988. Far from being a great toy, it's probably the nearest thing we're likely to ever get to a G1 Sentinel Prime toy... for the foreseeable future anyway.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/avatars/jaam_shoulders.gif

P.S.: The Rise and Fall of Sentinel Prime (http://otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=23230)

[GoktimusPrime]

Comparison w/ G1 and Henkei Astrotrain. :o
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Sentinel%20Prime/sentinelprime15a_zpssyx26eeg.jpg

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

Frootloopytron looks way too orange for my liking. I'll be happy to wait for super buff Astrotrain!

[Batfan007]

I really like Orange so don't have an issue with the color. But I wish they had given him some nice highlights, even some yellow lines on his arms like that idw comic art.
If I buy this I'm going to ruin it with sharpies or paint pens because he needs some highlights.
Overall I think the robot mode is lovely.

[philby]

a review of the SDCC set:
http://blacklai1979.blogspot.com.au/2016/07/review-sdcc-2016-exclusive-titans-force.html

It also looks like someone did a wash or panel lining on the regular Sentinel Prime, it shows the details more.

[Batfan007]

can anyone tell me how to get the head off of this guy? Doesn't want to budge. Galvo's head comes right off easy with one finger, Sentinel's won't come off even with a white knuckle grip. Ball joint starts hyper-extending.

[doublespy]

Sentinel's little head dude is designed very closely after his IDW look. Astrotrain's is a repaint of this.

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac134/scorer24/TITANS%20RETURN/Sentinel-Prime-Minifig-copy_zpslkvbd8yp.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/scorer24/media/TITANS%20RETURN/Sentinel-Prime-Minifig-copy_zpslkvbd8yp.jpg.html)

IDW Sentinel on tfwiki (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/File:MegatronOrigin1_Sentinel_Prime.jpg)

Then there's the armored train mode. I'd assume that Sentinel is not a simple repaint of Astrotrain with a new head. The development of these two were parallel. This makes me feel that the purchase of Sentinel is justified:p




a review of the SDCC set:
http://blacklai1979.blogspot.com.au/2016/07/review-sdcc-2016-exclusive-titans-force.html

It also looks like someone did a wash or panel lining on the regular Sentinel Prime, it shows the details more.
The panel lining brings out all the details which looks fantastic. The Hasbro Asia stickers in his other review however look atrocious though


can anyone tell me how to get the head off of this guy? Doesn't want to budge. Galvo's head comes right off easy with one finger, Sentinel's won't come off even with a white knuckle grip. Ball joint starts hyper-extending.
Try wiggle it to expend the clips

[Maruten]

I wasn't super interested in this guy, but once I had him in hand I was impressed. If you can get past the orange, he's fantastic and by far the better wave 1 Voyager. The train mode is basically stupid, but the fact that they made it happen is impressive - it's a great transformation and both other modes are fantastic. Bring on Astrotrain.

[GoktimusPrime]

Commented here (http://otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?p=531540#post531540) (re: Astrotrain)

[KingGrimlock]

Got him yesterday, only problems i've encountered were with the head (loose legs and infinitus head was turned the wrong way when placed into the body slot making it very hard to remove from the body first time around). I think this guy could be improved with a little bit of paint just to bring out some details, other than that I really dig him. I get a real 'ark' feel from the spaceship mode for some reason, possibly because of the overall flat shape to it. Train mode is alright, I want to like it more but having the titan master cockpit sitting so high up in the middle of the train just doesnt work for me It ends up looking like a submarine crossed with a sail boat, I feel like in real life a moderate breeze would tip this thing over. After seeing astrotrain in a review I'm not sure if I'll buy this mold again. In the end I think it comes down to character preference but personally im fine with sentinel as his head sculpt looks much better than astrotrains in my opinion.

[reillyd]

Comparison w/ G1 and Henkei Astrotrain. :o
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Sentinel%20Prime/sentinelprime15a_zpssyx26eeg.jpg

Is it weird that the toy looks insanely awesome in a b&w photo, but garish in real life?

[Dimi194]

Just got this guy... awesome!

The colours are super cool (but I attacked him with a silver Sharpie and it's really made a difference; just picking out things like the cockpit windows and other train wheels and crest look awesome!)

My Infinitus has super floppy legs though at the knees, so he can't stand up :(
though I like this guy's head too much to let it be a separate entity anyway :p

Overall excellent, can't wait for Astrotrain (though train mode could certainly be more... 'train' like)

[GoktimusPrime]

My Infinitus has super floppy legs though at the knees, so he can't stand up :(
Same with mine, and mine doesn't fold up tightly in head mode either.