Toy Review - Titans Return Leader Sixshot
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by doublespy
Something similar to what I did when I used MS Paint to make my one First Edition Vehicon look like there were many. 
Holy crap, this was over 5 years ago?! 
