General Information:
Release Date: August 2016
Price Point: $9.99 (depending on retailer)
Retailer: General (Toys R Us, Target, Wal-Mart etc.)
Accessories: None
Text in italics and official images below from Amazon.com:
The Transformers battle explodes into uncharted territory when the Titans Return. To control an ancient race of giant, city-sized warriors -- the Titans -- the Autobots and Decepticons must harness the power of Titan Masters, smaller bots that give bigger bots increased abilities in battle. Join the battle with Transformers Generations Titans Return figures. Laserbeak is part of a team of Decepticon spies led by Soundwave. Laserbeak is a tracker who excels at hunting down enemy targets. He’s also a fearsome interrogator who persuades captured Autobots to spill their secrets by threatening them with his laser cannons. Titans Return Legends Class figures deliver exciting Transformers conversion play in a smaller scale. This Laserbeak figure is a Triple Changer figure that converts from beast mode to vehicle mode to spy tablet mode. In spy tablet mode, the figure fits inside the chest compartment of the Titans Return Leader Class Soundwave figure. (Sold separately. Subject to availability.) The figure changes from beast mode to vehicle mode in 7 steps, and from vehicle mode to spy tablet mode in 6. Also includes a collectible character card with character art on the front and tech specs on the back. Transformers and all related characters are trademarks of Hasbro.
While other size classes in the "Titans Return" line focus on the "Headmaster" style play pattern, the Legends Class rolls forward bringing modern day versions of smaller G1 characters to life. This wave brings a fans a redeco of the "Combiner Wars" Buzzsaw figure. Appropriately this figure represents Laserbeak, leaving all but Frenzy to be released as one of Soundwave's original team of minions. Check out my Buzzsaw review as this review will focus on the changes made to the figure for this release.
Packaging:
Laserbeak is packaged in a bubble sealed on a card. The style continues the style used for the "Combiner Wars" Legends Class figures such as Powerglide. If you are facing the card, the artwork for the character is on the left while the Transformers logo is set vertically on the right. At the top is the "Generations" logo. The back features the figure in all modes along with the requisite legal information in multiple languages.
Titans Return figures come with a collector card, similar to last year's "Combiner Wars" series. However these cards are shaped differently, with corners cut out on two sides. The front features the character's artwork, giving you a better look at the full body. The back features something fans have wanted since last year: tech specs! These are not traditional specs with a full motto and so on, but instead there are four qualities reflected here (via icons). The four icons are: A robot flexing arms (strength), a character running (speed), a brain (intelligence) and a missile (firepower). These are laid out on the X axis of a bar chart with lines going across from a scale of one through ten. Since Laserbeak is not a Titan Master, there is no additional ten points of power on the scale that you would find on say, the tech specs card for Highbrow's tech specs card.
Beast Mode:
Laserbeak has the distinction of being one of the few "Titans Return" figures completely cast in black plastic. He has a good amount of color thanks in part to a generous amount of red paint used to paint the thin parts of his wings and the area right behind his neck. He also has silver on his head, beak and "tail feather" section. His eyes are painted yellow. Other details come from the stickers on his wings that carry over from the "tablet" mode (more on that below). Overall these colors match up with G1 Laserbeak well, although their actual placement is unique to this figure.
Laserbeak has eight points of articulation in this form. now, I'm going to admit I'm being really generous here. I'm counting the ability of his wings to move and the three points on his neck of course, but I'm also including the ability for the thrusters and tail section to be adjusted. Sadly he comes with no weapons either as accessories or sculpted into the figure. Like Buzzsaw, poor Laserbeak only has his speed and beak to rely on for offense and that's about it. For the purpose of his infamous interrogations, I'm going to assume lasers can come out of his eyes!
Transformation to Smart Tablet Mode:
- Push the silver wing pieces in.
- Swing the robot head down.
- Swing the feet up.
- Swing the tail section back.
- Rotate each thruster so the "feather" like pieces are pointed up.
- Push each wing in.
Smart Tablet Mode:
Like Buzzsaw, Laserbeak's "tablet" mode could easily be a "Smartphone" mode too. The general shape is rectangular with several cool "real world" details sculpted into the device including speakers in the front, a "home" button in the middle, "buttons" on the sides and even a hole on the bottom that can accommodate a real life pair of headphones! Even though this is not a working electronic device, I appreciate the extra little detail that adds to the fantasy play of this mode.
This mode is mostly black plastic. Silver is used for the speakers, home button and the buttons on the sides. A bit of purple can be found in the middle of the home button. A bulk of the details in this form come from stickers applied to the device "screen". The stickers show off a lot of different elements including a wi-fi signal icon, the time, battery charge level, a "Spyware.exe" program, a recording indicator and even a "tracking" indicator to show how close Laserbeak's target is. My absolute favorite detail however is the "Playlist Work Mix" which has a cassette icon above it that resembles G1 Laserbeak's alt form. It's always nice to get a G1 nod like this!
After transforming this figure a few times, I was very happy to see the way the stickers are cut works out a lot better than those found on Buzzsaw. I don't have stickers peeling off at the edges on this figure the way I do with Buzzsaw.
Transformation to Vehicle Mode (Starting in Smart Tablet mode):
- Swing the sides out.
- Swing the black wheel pieces out.
- Rotate the wings so the wheels face outward.
- Swing the beast mode feet down.
- Swing the thrusters out so they point forward.
- Swing each of the thrusters out to the sides.
- Push in the wing sections. The grooves on the wings should line up with the raised portion of the thrusters.
Vehicle Mode:
Laserbeak's vehicle mode looks to me like a transport for Titan Masters or maybe even supplies. It's not the most impressive looking vehicle ever, but it does add some play value to the figure. This form reveals the wheels on this figure are also black plastic. Thanks to the way the wings are designed, the red parts of the wings show on the sides, adding a nice splash of color to this form.
Final Thoughts:
If you liked Buzzsaw, Laserbeak will be right up your alley. However if the lack of weapons and bulky wings are a turn off, then definitely spend your hard earned cash elsewhere in the line.
