Toy Review - Titans Return Galvatron

[GoktimusPrime]

I just tried it... I heard a loud snap then a rattling sound from somewhere in the toy. I re-extended the legs and now the rattling seems to have stopped. I did notice that when the legs were retracted that they couldn't close together, so it seems that the toy is designed to have the legs extended and closed (as per the instructions too). Erhmm... I'm not gonna try that again.

[SMHFConvoy]

I think the toy wasn't originally intended to be part of TR because of the whopping great chest cavity that would fit Galvatron's head easily. Robot mode and canon mode is really nice though

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

I think the toy wasn't originally intended to be part of TR because of the whopping great chest cavity that would fit Galvatron's head easily. Robot mode and canon mode is really nice though

I'd concur with this as well.

It wouldn't surprise me if Ultra Magnus and Galvatron were going to be part of a line where all the TFs came with a controlling robot, but it kind of evolved into the Headmasters thing. Or something like that.

[Maruten]

The robot mode looks really nice until you get above the neck. I don't think either of the alt modes are great. I've been waiting for a great G1 Galvatron but I think this is probably the biggest disappointment for me in TR so far.

[GoktimusPrime]

I agree that simply having a fold down head instead of the Headmaster gimmick would've been MUCH better. I think the cannon mode is adequate - aside from the long rear/leg section it's reasonably G1-media accurate, which is not easy to achieve because much of Galvatron's bulk disappears in cannon mode (the legs seem to be entire absent). Strangely enough, in the G1 cartoon Galvatron's colours change between robot and cannon mode. He's purple in robot mode but toy-accurately grey in cannon mode! I doubt even a Masterpiece would be able to replicate this, let alone a much cheaper Voyager.

The spaceship mode is pretty forgettable, but appears to be something chucked in at the last minute to give the Titan Master a vehicle to pilot. Half of it is just the front fuselage kibble which sits on the back of the robot and bottom of the cannon, and the rest is the rest of the toy deformed in awkward way pretending to be a spaceship. It reminds me of the vehicle modes from the Beast Wars Transmetals. And in all fairness, this mode isn't too intrusive. I suspect that the legs might've been able to fold up (similar to the CW Aerialbots' legs) if not for the spaceship mode.

But other than the head and legs, I think that Galvatron is a pretty solid toy. The head bothers me way more than the superfluous front fuselage or legs though. If they were to re-release this mould without the Headmaster gimmick where the entire head maintains full articulation and folds into the chest, then I'd be all over that toy like Michael Bay on innuendo.

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P.S.: Here is a mod job someone's done on their TR Galvatron to improve it and make it more G1-accurate. The main differences appear to be the complete removal of the front fuselage section and modification of the head and pauldrons as shoulder pylons. The simplicity of neutering the cockpit section actually shows just how unobtrusive it is, whereas reversing the Headmaster gimmick required a lot more work. Rebuilding the pauldrons as pylons also seems laborious, but looking a pics of the cannon mode they don't seem to sit as flush as the pauldrons.

[crankcase76]

The robot mode looks really nice until you get above the neck. I don't think either of the alt modes are great. I've been waiting for a great G1 Galvatron but I think this is probably the biggest disappointment for me in TR so far.

^+1, I wish I had not bought it when I transformed it.... Looks good in Alt mode but the head master thing just sucks.

[GoktimusPrime]

Okay, I finally worked out how to transform the legs properly. The trick for me was to flip the hip panels out. But it was still tricky to get the legs to clip together properly and even caused a stress mark around one of the tabs. The cannon mode is incredibly back heavy. I hadn't noticed it before when I had the legs transformed incorrectly because the extended legs rested on the ground like a tripod, but with the legs retracted properly it makes the back heaviness far more noticeable as there's nothing to support the rear section anymore. There's a catch on the bottom which is supposed to act as a supporting strut, but it's about as useful as the second 'r' in "library." So with the arms in a normal configuration (i.e. perpendicular to the body), the cannon ends up falling over backwards like this...

Although I was able to make it stand upright but moving the arms forward, but then it also causes the cannon to aim slightly downwards.

Making Galvatron's cannon mode stand up should not need to be a balancing act!

I was making a side by side comparison between this toy and Universe Galvatron.

And in terms of value for money, the Deluxe - even with its flaws - is arguably a better toy. The main criticism towards Universe Galvatron has been its size and how it might've been a better toy if it had been a Voyager. The reverse feels true for Titans Return Galvatron; I think that this toy might've been better if it were a Deluxe. There's nothing really in this toy that could not have been achieved at the Deluxe size class, really. The way that the legs fold up is similar to what we see in many Deluxe Class Combiner Wars figures; it's definitely possible for Deluxes to have heads that can fold into their chests (heck, Fuzor Silverbolt does it and that toy came out in 1998!); the way that the fists flip is seen in Deluxes like TR Hardhead; having a detachable cannon is achievable in any size class... there's just nothing about this mould that justifies its Voyager price point (other than fanboys who would whinge that it's too small).

Universe Galvatron's tank mode is far more solid and satisfying that TR Galvatron's unbalanced space cannon mode. There are a lot of clever features in Universe Galvatron's transformation which allows him to transform from a grey tank to a predominantly purple robot, such as the way that parts of the tank treads manage to fold away, or how the arms tuck away etc.

My Nucleon also doesn't clip onto Galvatron tightly, it actually feels loose. Not so loose that it'd fall out, but there's no feeling of it clipping tightly into place. I tried swapping heads with Hardhead and it was impossible. Galvatron's head clip is too large for Furos and Nucleon's head is too large to clip onto Hardhead. So it appears that Galvatron and Nucleon aren't even cross compatible with other Titan Masters, so what's the bloody point of making him a Headmaster, then?!?

Methinks I need to downgrade my previous rating of this toy...

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

you must be doing something wrong there Gokster, the heads are cross compatible. I've swapped mine over with many figures. Well two headmasters no problem.

Labeling this guy worse than universe Galvatron is harsh I think, Look at your own picture. Uni Galvs' legs aren't working and he's just looking sad and depressed.