Toy Review - Titans Return Broadside

[GoktimusPrime]

BROADSIDE
Series - Generations
Sub-line - Titans Return
Size/class - Voyager
New/remould/redeco - New
Released here - February, 2017 (http://otca.com.au/boards/showpost.php?p=549401&postcount=6776)
Approximate Retail Price – $50
Approximate Size - 17cm
Allegiance - Autobot
Alt-modes - aircraft carrier, jet
Main Colours - Dark grey, light grey, red
Main Accessories - gun, "Blunderbuss" Titan Master component

Robot Mode

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Titans%20Return/TR_broadside07_zpsefswskpb.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Titans%20Return/TR_broadside06_zpsivbwv6g0.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Titans%20Return/TR_broadside08_zpsosblmsry.jpg

A pretty decent figure. The robot mode is now a suitably imposing looking hulking mass, as one would expect a robot to be if it transformed into a freakin' aircraft carrier! :D It looks a lot more gargantuan than the basic block of a figure that the G1 toy is. I like how just 1/3 of the cockpit forms the chest. It's a lot less goofy looking than the G1 figure and also helps to sell the titanic look of the robot overall.
Points of articulation: 15

Jet Mode

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Titans%20Return/TR_broadside03a_zpsmhxdmgcu.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Titans%20Return/TR_broadside05_zpswahpg95o.jpg

The cockpit and mid-section look quite nice and the arms look alright resting along the side, but the legs are an awkward mess. Being mediocre at best, this would have to be this toy's weakest mode. Not terrible but nothing to really write home about. The cockpit window is also really tight on mine and hard to open. Although I must admit that having Blunderbuss sitting in the cockpit as a pilot does looks pretty cool and helps to make the jet look not gargantuan (if you imagine Blunderbuss as being human sized).

Aircraft Carrier Mode

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Titans%20Return/TR_broadside01_zpsgoqregqx.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Titans%20Return/TR_broadside02_zpsgg716ml2.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Titans%20Return/TR_broadside03_zpsiukqr90p.jpg

I quite like this mode! :D Okay, it's pretty much just a lump of a table, but honestly, that's all an aircraft carrier needs to be. :) I have a soft spot for aircraft carrier TFs cos they're just so much darn fun - starting with Flattop in 1989, then Tidal Wave in 2003 (although I got Micron Legend Shockwave) - I just like the idea of these mobile fortresses. Broadside has taken this to a whole new level. The Voyager size figure dwarfs both Flattop and Shockwave's carrier components, but another dimension to this toy's play pattern comes in the form of the Combiner Wars Aerialbot figurines included with the toy! These Aerialbots are tiny and are more or less in scale with Broadside as an aircraft carrier (whereas the Flattop Micromaster and Armada Ramjet Mini-Con are oversized). This again helps to make Broadside look massive - as it should, because aircraft carriers are effing huuuge! (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c4/USS_Independence_%28CV-62%29_and_Kitty_Hawk_%28CV-63%29_at_Pearl_Harbor_1998.JPEG/800px-USS_Independence_%28CV-62%29_and_Kitty_Hawk_%28CV-63%29_at_Pearl_Harbor_1998.JPEG) These tiny Aerialbots also remind me of the little Valkyries that came with this 1980s Macross SDF toy (http://www.macrossworld.com/macross/toys/taka_sdf2.jpg). :) Okay, there are a lot of seams on the deck, but I can easily forgive it since the robot mode isn't a blocky lump like the G1 toy. The antenna array on top of the control tower is a nice touch. ;) This mode is simple but it works. On the underside is a flip-out keel with the jet's stabilisers and flip out struts acting as supports, allowing the boat to remain upright for display purposes. Okay, the underside doesn't look as nice as say Flattop's or Tidal Wave's, but remember that this is a Triple Changer. :o

Overall

On the whole this toy isn't as good as Generations Springer or Sandstorm, but on the other had it's much better than Blitzwing. I suggest only using Blunderbuss as a pilot for the jet mode (he just looks like he's on the toilet taking a massive dump on the carrier mode :p) and the Aerialbots for the carrier (they look like parasites when attached to the jet mode) as it helps to sell Broadside's "mass shifting" between the modes as also explicitly stated in the toy's tech specs bio.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/avatars/jaam_jaam.gif WRECK AND RULE!

[Jellico]

Do thw Aerialbots have to be removed between modes or can they be permanently glued down? If I get him Broadside will have to serve a few years as a toy and I would hate to lose the jets.

[GoktimusPrime]

The Aerialbots plug in really tightly and you kinda need to jiggle them to remove them, so they don't need to be glued into place. They can be left on between modes, although it looks silly in jet and robot mode. You could store the Aerialbots inside the cockpit.

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

Man I really want this guy and you know why? Because of those little Aerialbots. They close the deal!

I like the look of the robot mode and carrier mode looks cool too. The jet, hrm.... I think I saw on the interwebs some way to make the back fit a bit more flush, but not having the toy, I just glanced upon them.

Did Broadside get released in Japan? I really do hope that TT release this guy.

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Did Broadside get released in Japan? I really do hope that TT release this guy.Not yet, no announcements yet either.

[GoktimusPrime]

Did Broadside get released in Japan?
He most certainly did! (http://blog-imgs-44.fc2.com/h/i/g/higekumatoytoy/201206031620138b8.jpg) :D

I really do hope that TT release this guy.
If I were Takara Tomy I would release Legends Broadside with a whole new Headmaster that resembled G1 Broadside's alternate head design (http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/5/54/Broadsidecharactermodels.jpg) as briefly seen in the G1 cartoon (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLpnnRZL_5g) and frequently used in the G1 comics (http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/c/c6/Survivors_wolf_in_the_fold.jpg). And I would call this new Headmaster unit "Wrecker (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Wrecker)" just for that extra level of fan service :D

P.S.: I've made a photocomic featuring Broadside here (http://otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?p=560173#post560173). :)

[canofwhoopass_87]

He looks fantastic, thanks for sharing your thoughts and photos.

Those mini aerialbots - they look tiny! I haven't seen accessories that small since G1 :p

[shockNwave]

Not a fan of the second ugliest feet in the TR series (as previously shown by the Alpha Trion toy) but I understand they're necessary for transformation into carrier mode which is the strongest mode and it would be a bitch trying to paint those little aerialbot jets. And speaking of jets, I like the humorous jet mode but it doesn't have the hilarity of the voyager OP jet mode.

P.S. I forgot to mention that Twinferno has the ugliest feet in the series.

[Lint]

I love Broadside and his bot mode finally gets some justice, however I just can't shake the opinion that 30 years later they've actually made a WORSE triple changer than the original.

[shockNwave]

I love Broadside and his bot mode finally gets some justice, however I just can't shake the opinion that 30 years later they've actually made a WORSE triple changer than the original.

For the life of me, I cannot see how the TR version is worse than the G1 version. Unless you're referring to a specific mode or modes.:confused:

[Lint]

For the life of me, I cannot see how the TR version is worse than the G1 version. Unless you're referring to a specific mode or modes.:confused:

The plane mode is a nose and cockpit with awkward tucked up legs behind it. It requires too much imagination to accept as a credible plane. This is the worst mode by far.

The aircraft carrier has giant aircraft fins sticking out of it and is generally not very clean along the hull sides in both form and colour. In comparison the G1 version is able to hide all fins perfectly and it's brickiness makes it more legit as an aircraft carrier (albeit an older model) even with the giant hinges on the flight deck. I thought the stock photos for the TR version were a classic mistransform and was very disappointed to discover it this was not the case in-hand. Finally to be REALLY petty the 'stands' for the aircraft carrier are poorly designed and keel over too easily.

The only fault with the G1 version is that the bot mode was a very unarticulate brick and the plane mode was very blocky and lazy in terms of transformation. This is one of the rare occasions where I actually wish they were lazy and just produced a G1 toy with more articulation (like they did with Sixshot).

[FatalityPitt]

Saw this guy for the first time today up close. He looks a lot better in real-life than I expected. I was expecting the head to be sculpted out of a light grey (or dirty white) plastic and left mostly unpainted, but it seemed to be painted in a metallic grey or silver colour. It looked quite shiny. Also, some of the red parts were done in a glossy red paint. Robot mode looks great and doesn't look cheap at all. I was tempted, but I'll see if the price drops lower than TRU's $40 (which is already a great price,.. but I'm stingy... Actually, I would have gotten it, but I only brought just enough cash for some other thing I wanted to buy..).

[reillyd]

Saw this guy for the first time today up close. He looks a lot better in real-life than I expected. I was expecting the head to be sculpted out of a light grey (or dirty white) plastic and left mostly unpainted, but it seemed to be painted in a metallic grey or silver colour. It looked quite shiny. Also, some of the red parts were done in a glossy red paint. Robot mode looks great and doesn't look cheap at all. I was tempted, but I'll see if the price drops lower than TRU's $40 (which is already a great price,.. but I'm stingy... Actually, I would have gotten it, but I only brought just enough cash for some other thing I wanted to buy..).

Big W has Broadside now if you're looking

[FatalityPitt]

Big W has Broadside now if you're looking

Cheers man. I saw him at Big W and TRU today. TRU is selling him for $40 ($10 cheaper than usual, and currently $9 cheaper than Big W) thanks to the Jun-Jul sale :)

He's a good-looking figure, but I had to leave him on the shelf due to budget constraints at the time..

[SMHFConvoy]

The stickers are terrible and I wish Hasbro had done what they did to Astrotrain: make the alt modes cybetronian.

[shockNwave]

The stickers are terrible and I wish Hasbro had done what they did to Astrotrain: make the alt modes cybetronian.

The stickers are the worst I've encountered in the TR series so far. I had to use my fingernails to properly flatten them out and the number 36 sticker on the carrier bridge has been horribly applied.:mad:

[SMHFConvoy]

I just peeled walk the stickers this morning, I'll need to paint the runway back on but he looks better without the peeling metallic stickers.

[M-bot]

Overall, this guy is a bare pass due to the beefy and good looking robot mode.

That being said, mine has probably the worst QC on any Transformer I've ever had:
- The stickers are poorly sized, the cut lines are poor in spots, and my goodness, there is not one single sticker that is applied on straight. Most are peeling and the faction symbol on the robot chest actually had a tuft of fluff sticking out from under it *out of the box*. Seriously, why bother? Good thing I'm a fan of Reprolabels, they will have a set of superior replacement stickers that I can apply properly myself.
- The paint apps are sloppy, again with virtually every one showing under- or over-spray, and stringy bits of misplaced paint where there shouldn't be paint apps. The rear red find are molded with black plastic and then painted red in their entirely, which makes you wonder why they didn't just mould it in red plastic in the first place. Sadly, he paint is laid on way too thick and has scratches as well as paint rub, again *out of the box*.
- One of the niftier inclusions of the tiny Aerielbots are almost ruined by again being thickly painted white over clear blue plastic, loosing some of their detail. I'm going to try and strip the paint and repaint them in their appropriate colours.
- The hips on mine are loose and he won't stand unaided. Something else I'll need to fix that I shouldn't have to.

Hope I got a particularly bad one and it's not as bad across the board.

[philby]

take it back to the store for a refund/exchange!!



Overall, this guy is a bare pass due to the beefy and good looking robot mode.

That being said, mine has probably the worst QC on any Transformer I've ever had:
- The stickers are poorly sized, the cut lines are poor in spots, and my goodness, there is not one single sticker that is applied on straight. Most are peeling and the faction symbol on the robot chest actually had a tuft of fluff sticking out from under it *out of the box*. Seriously, why bother? Good thing I'm a fan of Reprolabels, they will have a set of superior replacement stickers that I can apply properly myself.
- The paint apps are sloppy, again with virtually every one showing under- or over-spray, and stringy bits of misplaced paint where there shouldn't be paint apps. The rear red find are molded with black plastic and then painted red in their entirely, which makes you wonder why they didn't just mould it in red plastic in the first place. Sadly, he paint is laid on way too thick and has scratches as well as paint rub, again *out of the box*.
- One of the niftier inclusions of the tiny Aerielbots are almost ruined by again being thickly painted white over clear blue plastic, loosing some of their detail. I'm going to try and strip the paint and repaint them in their appropriate colours.
- The hips on mine are loose and he won't stand unaided. Something else I'll need to fix that I shouldn't have to.

Hope I got a particularly bad one and it's not as bad across the board.