Toy Review - Titans Return Leader Sixshot

[doublespy]

Shogo Hasui designed CW Devastator with a mindset that it was their closest shot at designing a Masterpiece Devastator. Titans Return Sixshot may well be another Hasui's gift to the fans in the form of a very G1 accurate, Masterpiece-styled six-changer.

Jet mode:
It is a lot less bulky and more aero dynamic than the G1 toy, and has a longer nose. The wings are smaller though, and have the notches for base mode connections, a feature for all Leader class figures (Although i bought mine loose with no instructions, so I'm not really sure if he has a seventh base mode or it's just like some pictures I've seen, basically the armored car with the wings hanging out.)

I really like that all three vehicle modes have unique pilot seat/canopy for the TMs (and yes I didn't count the "submarine" mode). The cavity that houses that robot head doubles as canopy, so the head has to chill out at the back of the jet. But it doesn't look too bad in person. Of course as it has been pointed out all over the fandom, you CAN leave the TM attached to the body for all transformations.

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac134/scorer24/TITANS%20RETURN/0615024D-7CD1-4382-9D01-F4B765B78F7A_zpsncrzdapv.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/scorer24/media/TITANS%20RETURN/0615024D-7CD1-4382-9D01-F4B765B78F7A_zpsncrzdapv.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac134/scorer24/TITANS%20RETURN/E4FA2645-3B91-4BD4-8726-754FAC85BDB7_zpsen7hi714.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/scorer24/media/TITANS%20RETURN/E4FA2645-3B91-4BD4-8726-754FAC85BDB7_zpsen7hi714.jpg.html)

Armored car mode:
It is the most solid mode, with the arms tabbed in on the sides, whereas all the other modes just leave the arms hanging, without any locking point. It doesn't have the unsightly front gap that the G1 toy had. The front dual cannons are offset to each other, and interlock when the legs are tabbed together as a quite effective additional locking point. They double as the front grille here and become the robot mode heels. A very smart little design indeed.

The two pilot seats are open so two TM dudes can ride it convertible style. Not sure if that's the best idea for an armored car but at least they get good ventilation. I like how the radar dish on the G1 toy is recreated here.

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac134/scorer24/TITANS%20RETURN/F98C2177-C01F-4ABB-A7C0-68B1FDBE9BE8_zpsrkwjipak.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/scorer24/media/TITANS%20RETURN/F98C2177-C01F-4ABB-A7C0-68B1FDBE9BE8_zpsrkwjipak.jpg.html)

Tank mode:
It has the same goofy charm that the G1 toy had. The front treads are on a double hinge and for the other modes they're in a different orientation to the back ones. It's a minor aesthetic change but it helps to further distinguish the modes. And in this position they reveal a pair of 5mm peg holes if you'd like to give the tank mode some extra weaponry.

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac134/scorer24/TITANS%20RETURN/BD9001D6-7A08-41C7-A2C4-2F08EDF57592_zpsc5kso2wk.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/scorer24/media/TITANS%20RETURN/BD9001D6-7A08-41C7-A2C4-2F08EDF57592_zpsc5kso2wk.jpg.html)

Submarine mode:
It does not exist.

Laser pistol mode:
It's actually not half bad. I wish a trigger could somehow be incorporated but oh well. It's probably the mode that people care least about. I do like the fact that the wolf head is now sandwiched in between the wings to add more bulk and stability to the handle.

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac134/scorer24/TITANS%20RETURN/BE263F7E-A1CA-4652-81F6-0DE18E47B547_zpsnui4xrfe.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/scorer24/media/TITANS%20RETURN/BE263F7E-A1CA-4652-81F6-0DE18E47B547_zpsnui4xrfe.jpg.html)

Wolf mode:
I like the head sculpt a lot. There's a cavity behind the wolf head for the robot head to fit, similar to the Titan Master Sawback's lion mode. It gives a sense of the beasts being sentient, not "piloted", which I do like. The robot head band and the Kanji "six" on it peeks through from behind the wolf head. The limb articulation is similar to the robot with the extend forearms adding some more elbow range.

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac134/scorer24/TITANS%20RETURN/F24AE9E8-6B08-455F-A75C-59B12867B203_zpsc290h5t5.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/scorer24/media/TITANS%20RETURN/F24AE9E8-6B08-455F-A75C-59B12867B203_zpsc290h5t5.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac134/scorer24/TITANS%20RETURN/93B36A3D-115B-4CAA-9A14-E97FAE65C18B_zpswf992thd.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/scorer24/media/TITANS%20RETURN/93B36A3D-115B-4CAA-9A14-E97FAE65C18B_zpswf992thd.jpg.html)

Titan Master:
I have to say Revolver is a very cool name for a six-changer's headmaster. I forgot to take a photo of him but evidently he's based off of this dude, who Sixshot killed.. His all plastic colors but the light green picks out the sculpted details quite nicely.

Transformation:
Sixshot uses the core engineering on the G1 toy with a few modern touches. Some people may like it, but it an MP figure were to be designed today I don't think the engineering would change too much, like MP Star Saber. And to design a new six-changer from scratch would probably end up being too time consuming for a retail figure.

'Bot mode:
Personally the figure has a couple of really good mode but the bot mode is really the highlight. It capture the character so well with a killer head sculpt. The colors work really well together just like the G1 toy.

Articulation is decent, but this is where you really start to feel the limitation of a toy that retails for only US$40. The elbows bend less than 90 degrees. You can cheat a bit by extending the telescopic joint in the forearm, but that makes the arms look way too long. There's no wrist swivel. There's a strange rocker joint at the ankle, which is not used for any other mode. But it has only two clicks, and the other click other than the neutral position makes Sixshot look like he broke his ankle doing splits. Pretty much useless. For a Ninja bot, theres definitely more to desired in the articulation department but than again it's he's above your average Leader class level.

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac134/scorer24/TITANS%20RETURN/D96F1CB8-1B03-4497-AA7D-58CA414BE799_zps8wybslw3.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/scorer24/media/TITANS%20RETURN/D96F1CB8-1B03-4497-AA7D-58CA414BE799_zps8wybslw3.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac134/scorer24/TITANS%20RETURN/2075AC96-0772-42D0-BE7C-B52209D7A320_zpsvomk43tr.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/scorer24/media/TITANS%20RETURN/2075AC96-0772-42D0-BE7C-B52209D7A320_zpsvomk43tr.jpg.html)

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac134/scorer24/TITANS%20RETURN/2C2F1384-8C44-45AB-877E-9B8B10DAD830_zpsl4jtrji6.jpg (http://s893.photobucket.com/user/scorer24/media/TITANS%20RETURN/2C2F1384-8C44-45AB-877E-9B8B10DAD830_zpsl4jtrji6.jpg.html)

Verdict:
Even though it recycles the
core engineering of the G1 toy made almost 30 years ago, Sixshot is a pretty ambitious project to fit in Hasbro's strict retail price structure. Hasui delivers a perfect G1 update, and managed to make the headmaster gimmick irrelevant, for the benefits of a lot of fans that hate "making everyone a Headmaster". At the tail end of possibly one of the best years i could remember in terms of the output of quality figures (MP Ironhide, MP Primal, and UW Devastator just name a few) Sixshot has at least made my personal top 5 list.

[GoktimusPrime]

I've pre-ordered mine from PC so I'll probably receive it in July. :o

and managed to make the headmaster gimmick irrelevant, for the benefits of a lot of fans that hate "making everyone a Headmaster".
^Triggered. ;)

[Megatran]

Great review as always doublespy.

Makes me want to get him to recreate that G1 animated cartoon battle scene where he single handedly takes down the Aerialbots.

[GoktimusPrime]

I think that it's worth pointing out that any modern take on Sixshot would invariably draw heavily from the G1 toy because the cartoon model was always fairly toy-accurate. Modern toys tend to deviate more from the G1 toy where the show model differed more greatly from the toy; the greater the deviation from the cartoon, then the greater the deviation from the G1 toy (e.g. MP Ironhide & Ratchet). Toys like MP Grimlock and Soundwave are fairly similar to their G1 toys probably because the show models were fairly toy-accurate.


Great review as always doublespy.
Makes me want to get him to recreate that G1 animated cartoon battle scene where he single handedly takes down the Aerialbots.
Or when he became BFFs with (http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/transformers/images/5/50/Myfriend6shot.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20070713235043) Daniel Witwicky (http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/e/ee/Sixshot_Daniel_Daira.jpg) (it's a better choice than Wheelie). ;)
A trickier photo skit would be recreating Sixshot's Bunshin (分身) (http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/0/00/HM24_Sixshot_running_rings.jpg) Doppelgänger (http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/e/ea/Sixshot_modes.jpg) power... without buying six Sixshots (I'm not buying 6 Sixshots). :p Something similar to what I did when I used MS Paint to make my one First Edition Vehicon look like there were many. ;)
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Vehicons%20Prime/vehicons_zpsk6lxymbw.png


Laser pistol mode:
(snip)
It's probably the mode that people care least about.
I care about the gun mode! It's a gunformer which doesn't incur any legal restrictions! :D

Out of curiosity, is this toy capable of transforming into Sixshot's Wingwolf (http://rq87.flyingomelette.com/RQ/C/HM/24/Wingwolf%20Transformers%20Headmasters.jpg) mode (http://www.collectiondx.com/gallery2/gallery/d/490417-4/sixshot10.JPG)?

[doublespy]

^Triggered. ;)
What have I done lol


Great review as always doublespy.

Makes me want to get him to recreate that G1 animated cartoon battle scene where he single handedly takes down the Aerialbots.
Thanks. Yep a one minute special inside a 20 minute toy commercial :D




Out of curiosity, is this toy capable of transforming into Sixshot's Wingwolf (http://rq87.flyingomelette.com/RQ/C/HM/24/Wingwolf%20Transformers%20Headmasters.jpg) mode (http://www.collectiondx.com/gallery2/gallery/d/490417-4/sixshot10.JPG)?
I'm on vacation so don't have the toy with me, but pretty sure it can. It's just half way between tank and wolf mode

[GoktimusPrime]

Thanks. Yep a one minute special inside a 20 minute toy commercial :D
Poor Rebirth. It really was meant to be a better story than it turned out to be. :o But The☆Headmasters' version of Sixshot definitely outshines Rebirth's. Although I'd be curious to see if the Legends versions keeps the Decepticon logos or makes their version logoless like in anime (as Sixshot was actually a neutral assassin who happened to work for the Decepticons but wasn't actually a Decepticon).

I'm on vacation so don't have the toy with me, but pretty sure it can. It's just half way between tank and wolf mode
I'm surprised you didn't bring it with you. My United Grapple arrived just as my family was about head off to the airport. I took it out of the box and carried it with me and played with it after I was aboard the plane. ;)
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/China/th_DSCN0543_zpsekafwgsf.jpgHoly crap, this was over 5 years ago?! :eek:

[prjkt]

with Sixshot's head - you should be able to keep the TM in place, and flip the whole head/helmet into the chest

[VERT]

with Sixshot's head - you should be able to keep the TM in place, and flip the whole head/helmet into the chest

You can. You dont even have to remove the head if you dont want to.

[doublespy]

with Sixshot's head - you should be able to keep the TM in place, and flip the whole head/helmet into the chest

You didn't get Goktimus' first joke did you:p

[FatalityPitt]

Poor Rebirth. It really was meant to be a better story than it turned out to be. :o But The☆Headmasters' version of Sixshot definitely outshines Rebirth's. Although I'd be curious to see if the Legends versions keeps the Decepticon logos or makes their version logoless like in anime (as Sixshot was actually a neutral assassin who happened to work for the Decepticons but wasn't actually a Decepticon).


I'd also be interested to see what happens in the pack-in comic; and whether it'll explain why Sixshot decided to be a headmaster, and more importantly (to me), why he chose to look like Jack.

I can imagine Chromedome's reaction:

Chromedome: "Sixshot! You murderer!"
Sixshot: <head transforms>
Chromedome: "Jack??? How? You died!"
Sixshot: "That was a clone.. I am the real Jack.. It was me Chromedome.. It was me all along."
Chromedome: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSWiMoO8zNE
Daniel: "That's great! Uncle Sixshot and Chromedome can now be friends! Yayy!"
Chromedome: "Shaddup kid! You know nothing!"
Sixshot/Jack: "There there"

[prjkt]

You didn't get Goktimus' first joke did you:p

Probably not ;) was responding to the pic with the helmet sticking out the rear of jet mode, and the TM floating about in the chest cavity

[SMHFConvoy]

Found him at tru Campbelltown today. Gotta say I like him and if they retool him he'd make a halfway decent scorponok.

[5FDP]

Love him. He's big, bulky, and imposing. Fits in really well with the MP figures. Hasbro have done the best they could with this updated version IMO. Get him now!

[GoktimusPrime]

Thoughts:

* Amazing! :D It's pretty much everything you'd expect from a Classicsverse Sixshot. :) The visual aesthetics very nicely match the G1 toy. It's also indicative of this current Generations line and shows how far CHUGUR has evolved - from modern toys based on G1 characters to what appears more to be modern toy 'translations' of G1 characters. And as others have mentioned, this higher level of G1 fidelity also means that these figures can often act as surrogate MPs. :)
* The silver wings are an improvement over the grey wings on the G1 figure.
* As others have mentioned, the Headmaster gimmick is pretty superfluous and can be completely ignored. I hope that more future TR figures based on non-Headmaster characters will be designed in this way.
* Stickers - I would've preferred tampographs. The stickers don't look bad per se, but tampographs look nicer than stickers. I wonder if this was done for budgetary reasons - if so then I can forgive the stickers cos stickers are better than nothing at all. :o
* QC: A few joints on my figure are a bit floppy/loose and I noticed that another Sixshot that I left on the shelf had a piece of paint chipped off the faceplate.
* I personally would've preferred to see white thighs over black, purely for the G1 accuracy since the rest of this toy is so G1 accurate. Seeing inaccurate black thighs feels odd. Having said that, there's nothing inherently wrong with the black thighs - it's neither better or worse but just comes down to personal preference. I wouldn't be surprised if TakaraTOMY went for white thighs.
* The submarine mode is silly and is clearly Hasbro's way of giving this toy a gun mode without calling it a gun. Obviously you just turn it upside down and it's a pistol. The way that the handle forms is far more solid than on the G1 toy which is nothing more than just the wings. On this figure the wings clip onto the wolf mode's head and neck piece forming a more solid handle. No trigger though.
* Revolver is really more of a Brainmaster than a Headmaster as he basically forms the face of Sixshot rather than the head. Revolver doesn't really have a fully formed head mode and if you placed him onto the body of another TR figure, that figure would look like it had microcephaly (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microcephaly). In fact, Sixshot looks microcephalous when you flip his helmet top open... as if his stasis pod had contracted a robotic form of the Zika virus while carrying Sixshot. :p
* The two halves of the tank turret don't seem to be able to clip together. Have I missed something? Also, most of the limbs don't seem to lock in but rather just sit loosely in place. I suspect that this may also be due to budgetary constraints. This is a Leader Class Sextuple Changer after all. :eek: While the G1 toy was more solid in its alt modes it was also a complete brick in robot mode. The high degree of articulation on TR Sixshot's robot mode finally makes him feel like a ninja, which is Sixshot's Japanese function (忍者参謀).
* The tech specs bio states: "A master of all combat types, trained to take down targets in any scenario." - I find this very cool in 2 ways. Firstly it's a reference to G1 Sixshot's Anglophone function (S.T.A.G. - Solo Transformers Assault Group). Secondly it may also be a reference to IDW Sixshot's role as a Phase Sixer (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Phase_Sixer). This may not be so far fetched considering that Hasbro will be releasing a Generations Black Shadow and Overlord.

Enough talk, photo time! :D

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Sixshot/sixshot_02_zps7lf2qfx3.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Sixshot/sixshot_03_zpshbr9ietq.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Sixshot/sixshot_03a_zpsz5fggrgx.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Sixshot/sixshot_05_zpsddtzdjp2.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Sixshot/sixshot_06_zpsvun8c9ku.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Sixshot/sixshot_07_zpsscmnnaue.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Sixshot/sixshot_08_zpskwpuftvk.jpg

♪"We all live in a purple-teal submarine, a purple-teal submarine, a purple-teal submarine..."♭
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Sixshot/sixshot_09_zpskgynd5pd.jpg

Unofficial (but probably authorially intended) gun mode
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Sixshot/sixshot_09a_zpsyahiytqu.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Sixshot/sixshot_11_zpsqbuer48q.jpg
What if Revolver is actually Daniel! ;)

Click here for even more action pics of Sixshot! (http://otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?p=550927#post550927) :cool:

[doublespy]

Thoughts:

* The two halves of the tank turret don't seem to be able to clip together. Have I missed something? Also, most of the limbs don't seem to lock in but rather just sit loosely in place. I suspect that this may also be due to budgetary constraints.
No they don't. But I like that at least the folded wings give the arms a "stopping point" in tank mode.

After owning him for a while, the side to side hip swivel and knee joints have started loosening (which were already pretty loose when I bought him). This a bit of a design oversight: they are simple pinned through, not ratcheted. In robot mode he's quite top heavy so if leave him displayed in a wide stance dynamic pose, gravity will weaken the joints. Worse still, 5 of the 6 modes require engaging and disengaging the double knee joint, which puts a lot of force on the regular robot knee joint. I gave the joints a coat of clear nail polish, which made him hold poses better, but the knees are still quite weak because it's quite tricky to get the nail polish in the seams of the joint.

[GoktimusPrime]

I've done a quick 'n nasty MS Paint job to see what Sixshot would look like if the upper thigh pieces were more G1 accurately white. I suspect that TakaraTOMY might do this. I also reckon that they'd give Sixshot chrome hubcaps (I've just used light grey to approximate this). But otherwise there's actually not a lot that needs to cosmetically changed on this toy to make it more G1 accurate - it hits the mark pretty damn close (as opposed to say, TR Blurr :rolleyes:).

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Sixshot/sixshot_13_zpspeiq1257.jpg

[shockNwave]

Had to spend a lot of time to take in all the modes on this bad boy. When it comes to defining the word; "epic" in regards to the TR series, there's sheer size as shown by Fortress Maximus and Trypticon and then there's sheer versatility and flexibility as shown by Six Shot.:D

P.S. I love it how Revolver can be placed behind the wolf head to create the appearance of two pairs of sinister eyes rather than one.

[M-bot]

Terrific engineering (no mode is absolutely perfect but that is the cost of having so many alt modes). Imposing in robot mode. Great paint apps and stickers (not common traits amongst modern TFs). Epic figure!