General Information:
Release Date: October 2022
Price Point: $24.99 (depending on retailer)
Retailer: Walgreens Exclusive (with limited quantities sold on Hasbro Pulse)
Accessories: Blasters x 2, Lightbar
Official images and text below in italics are from Hasbro Pulse: Exclusive to Walgreens with limited quantities available on HasbroPulse.com. Harness the power of Energon with the Transformers: Legacy Deluxe Autobot Minerva robot toy! Minerva is one of the most highly skilled medical officers in the field.
Universes collide! Transformers: Legacy brings together fan-favorite characters from across the Transformers multiverse. Figures feature deco inspired by their universe with an updated Generations design. In honor of the almost 40-year legacy of Transformers entertainment, the fandoms come together from across the Transformers multiverse, all in one toy line. Transformers: Legacy action figures are great kids’ toys and exciting collectibles for fans of all ages. Includes: figure, 4 accessories, and instructions.
- TRANSFORMERS G1-INSPIRED DESIGN: This Transformers: Legacy 5.5-inch Autobot Minerva robot toy is inspired by the animated series, Super-God Masterforce, updated with a Generations-style design
- UNIVERSES COLLIDE: Universes collide with Transformers: Legacy! This epic line of Transformers toys brings together fan-favorite characters from across the Transformers multiverse
- 2 EPIC MODES: Action figure converts from robot to ambulance car mode in 14 steps
- HARNESS THE POWER OF ENERGON: Gear up with the most powerful substance on Cybertron, Energon! This Transformers Autobot Minerva figure comes with an Energon rifle accessory that attaches in both modes
- AWESOME ACCESSORIES: Comes with blaster and lightbar accessories that attach in both modes. Blaster and Energon rifle accessories combine to form a larger weapon accessory
- Ages 8 and up
- Warning: Choking Hazard - Small parts. Not for children under 3 years.
Background:
In 1988 the Japanese exclusive series Super-God Masterforce introduced the character of Minerva. This human would eventually join the Cybertrons (aka Autobots) as one of the Headmaster Juniors, a team of three kids who each had a Transformers-made "Transtector" body that allowed them to stand toe to toe with their Destron (aka Decepticon) adversaries. The Minerva action figure used the same body as the Headmaster Nightbeat, but she was exclusive to Japan. For many years after her initial release, Minerva commanded high dollars on the collector market (a loose one can easily command $800+ USD!). Despite the character having been recognized here and there, the closest thing she got to a transforming figure was a Titan Master/Headmaster figure released exclusively in Japan in 2017. Eventually, In Demand Toys in the UK would reveal the existence of a Legacy version of the character with Hasbro following up weeks later with a confirmation. Limited quanitites were put up on Hasbro Pulse and sold out within a day. While Walgreens does have a listing for this figure at the time of this writing (late November 2022) the figure has yet to actually be available to order on the Walgreens site.
Legacy Minerva is a redeco and retool of the Legacy Elita-1 figure. Check out that review for detailed thoughts on this design. This review will focus on the changes made to the figure for this release.
Packaging:
Autobot Minerva is packaged in a standard Legacy Deluxe Class box featuring an angle on one side and an open window with no plastic window. Minerva has two pieces of art. One is her vehicle mode, shown with both weapons attached and firing at an unseen enemy. On the angled side of the box is artwork featuring part of her chest and head. The back of the box shows Minerva in both modes, calling out a 14 step transformation. Unlike most Legacy boxes there is no QR code to scan for a tech spec on the box. Inside the box, the figure sits in a cardboard tray in robot mode. Her accessories are wrapped up in tissue paper so be careful not to throw them out!
Accessories:
Minerva includes three accessories:
- Lightbar: Instead of the "cap" from Elita-1, Minerva features a lightbar. In G1, the character was an emergency vehicle and did have a lightbar on the top of her vehicle mode. Since the area it attaches to has a generic 5mm port it was not hard for the designers to swap out Elita-1's "cap" for the lightbar on top of the vehicle mode. The lightbar has a 5mm port in the center, allowing you to attach a weapon to it. This piece is made of translucent red plastic with white painted in the middle, matching the colors of G1 Minerva's lightbar.
- Blaster 1: The is not the official name of the weapon but since Minerva has two blasters featuring two distinct designs I'm commenting on each separately. The one I'm calling "Blaster 1" is based on the pistol Elita-1 used in the G1 cartoon. The most distinctive feature is a bar that goes from the back to the front of the weapon, forming a handle. The pistol has been turned into something resembling a rifle or shotgun featuring additional details from front to back. The bottom and sides feature 5mm pegs and the sides have 5mm ports. The front of the barrel allows you to attach a Blast Effect. This weapon is made of clear plastic.
- Blaster 2: The other blaster is a completely different sculpt based on the blaster from G1 Minerva. Perhaps the most distinctive design element are the ridges running along the bottom. The blaster has a 5mm peg on the bottom and 5mm ports on the sides. The front can fit Blast Effects. This weapon is made of clear plastic with black paint to match up with the G1 Minerva's weapon.
Robot Mode:
Minerva features a new head completely different than Elita-1's. Instead, this head is based on the character's animated appearance in Masterforce. It features a high crest in the center, a somewhat human looking face with two eyes, a nose and mouth and antennae that stick up on the sides of the head. The head on the G1 Minerva/Nightbeat sculpt was rather wide while this new sculpt is more narrow and looks more like the animated character. The head is white plastic with black paint on the antennae, red on the edges of the "helmet" section and orange on the face. Her eyes are painted blue. Together, these colors match both the original G1 toy and animation model.
The biggest strike some people will hold against this figure is its lack of a Headmaster feature. The new head is just that, a head. It does not pop off and transform into a mini-figure. This is obviously due to the costs involved. Hasbro speculated that when Minerva stepped through the portal into the Legacy universe she lost her Headmaster ability (let's not think too hard about what happened to the human Minerva in this scenario). Personally, I prefer to think this represents Minerva after the events of Masterforce when her Transtector gained sentience and even went on to help rebuild Ginrai into Victory Leo!
The rest of the figure uses the same body as Elita-1 with no other bits of retooling. That said, it totall works for the character. Even the front wheel wells of the car on the "back pack" work nicely since they kind of remind me of the rather tall shoulders that were found on the G1 Minerva/Nightbeat sculpt.
The key way the designers differentiate Eltia-1 and Minerva is through plastic colors and paint apps. This figure is mostly made up of white, red, silver and black parts. White and red are the main colors while silver and black make up smaller bits. If you look mostly from the torso to the waist area, the way the designers painted the figure differs quite a bit from the deco on Elita-1. For instance, her chest panel is painted red, a callback to the chest panel on G1 Minerva. On the waist panel, instead of having the entire thing painted like Elita-1 does, the designers painted the small details inside of it blue, which is a callback to the blue stickers in that area on the G1 figure (and the blue in that area on the animation model). Overall, the deco looks great and to fans in the know, she's instantly recognizable as Minerva.
All the joints on my copy of this figure are every bit as tight as those on my copy of Elita-1. The weapons still attach to the fists and other 5mm ports without a problem.
Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
- Detach all the accessories and set them aside for now.
- Straighten out the arms and legs.
- Rotate the fists so the top of the fists face out to the sides.
- Rotate the arms so the 5mm ports face out to the sides.
- Lift the "back pack" and swing out the red part of the vehicle from under the cabin section.
- Attach the tabs that stick out the sides of the cabin section to the forearms.
- Tab the front wheel well sections in to the middle section of the vehicle mode's front end.
- Push the front part of the car back, connecting the tabs to the grooves in the forearms.
- On the inside of each lower leg, swing out the panel with spoiler parts on them.
- Swing each lower leg up over the thighs, connecting them together (they attach to the middle of the spoiler on the cabin piece).
- Swing each robot foot in.
Vehicle Mode:
Other than the lightbar accessory, this vehicle form is the same as Elita-1's in terms of sculpt/design. That said, I somehow find this vehicle more appealing as an emergency car of some sort than as Elita-1's alt-mode. I didn't dislike either one, but this one somehow appeals to me more form an aesthetic standpoint. I think part of this is due to the way the red deco and translucent blue plastic over the passenger section contrasts with the white plastic that makes up most of the vehicle. I also like the red "T" shape on the hood that kind of calls back to the cross symbol seen on the original Minerva's hood. She also has an Autobot symbol on the hood, another callback to a detail on the G1 version of the character. The red trim along the edges is a really nice touch as well. The only sad part? During a live stream, Hasbro designer Mark Maher showed off an early painted sample of the figure that featured silver deco on the headlights and red on the rear lights but both details are missing in the final product. I'm sure this was due to cost, but it is a shame that those details were thought of and discarded.
Final Thoughts:
Minerva is not a perfect figure. There is no Headmaster feature and a couple paint apps were lost along the way. That said, she looks fantastic as she is and it is amazing to finally have a G1 Minerva figure as part of Generations! Recommended!
Pros:
- Excellent new head sculpt.
- Fantastic deco (even if a couple deco points were eliminated).
- Fun play value.
- No signs of tooling degradation or quality control issues.
Cons:
- No Headmaster feature.
- A couple deco points were lost along the way.
- Walgreens makes exclusives challenging to obtain.
