General Information:
Release Date: August 2017
Price Point: $99.99 (in a boxed set with Decepticon Pounce, Magnus Prime, Tidal Wave and Thunderwing)
Retailer: Limited Release (BigBadToyStore Exclusive in the USA, Toys 'R' Us, Amazon and Walmart in Canada and BOL in the Netherlands. Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philipinnes also received general releases)
Accessories: Blasters x 2 (Metalhawk); Dual barreled Blasters x 2, Rifles x 2 (Magnus Prime), Rifle & mini-jets (Tidal Wave)
With the success of both "Combiner Wars" and "Titans Return" in mind, Hasbro looked to the example of boxed sets such as Computron and Liokaiser as inspiration to create a group of exclusive boxed sets for "Titans Return". Like those boxed set this set features exclusive redecos and retools of previous figures, but this set has the added bonus of a (roughly) Legends Class figure not available anywhere else! "Siege on Cybertron" features five characters:
- Decepticon Pounce: A new figure based on the G1 Decepticon Clone
- Magnus Prime (with Ginrai): A redeco of Optimus Prime with Diac
- Metalhawk (with Professor Go): A redeco and retool of Triggerhappy and Blowpipe
- Tidal Wave (with Fathom): A redeco and retool of Broadside with Blunderbuss
- Thunderwing: A redeco and retool of Fangry
Of all the figures in this set, Pounce is the only completely new sculpt. His fellow Decepticon Clone, Wingspan would later be sold in a two pack with Autobot Clone Cloudraker as part of a Walgreens exclusive two pack.
Packaging:
"Siege on Cybertron" is packaged in a large boxed set that is reminiscent of the "Combiner Wars" boxed sets in design. The box features striking artwork of all five characters engaged in a combat screen. The artwork is gorgeous and striking. The lower left hand section shows each character included in the set in the same style as the "Combiner Wars" sets. The back has a grey background with a grid on top. All the characters shown are renders, not actual toy photographs.
Inside the box, the figures are mostly in vehicle mode sitting in a large plastic tray. The figures are mostly held down with small plastic stretch ties. The Titan Masters are lined up along the top in robot mode. Included with the set is an 11x17" print featuring the artwork from the front of the box. The back of the print features the tech specs for each character in the set. Oddly, the tech specs do not mention the names of the Titan Masters for any of the characters. Instead, Hasbro published a list of them later on as part of their promotion for Trypticon (he can eat them you see) and the name "Professor Go" was revealed. This was later confirmed by Hasbro as Metalhawk's Titan Master. The print is similar to the prints included with the "Combiner Wars" boxed sets. Unfortunately, in what appears to be a cost saving move, the print is not in a protective envelope, so be careful how you remove the tray as it could bend the print. In the same plastic bag as the instructions you will also find a trading card also featuring the boxed set's artwork.
In the late 80's, the Transformers toy line began to experiment with all sorts of gimmicks. Unlike nowadays when three or so gimmicks dominate the toy line, at any given time there could be five or more different sub-groups on the market with different play patterns (outside of transforming). One of these sub-groups were "Clones" with the gimmick being that two "identical" Transformers would transform into different alt-forms. In the case of the Decepticons, their Clones were Wingspan and Pounce. Wingspan transformed into an eagle while Pounce transformed into a puma. In reality, it was not that hard to tell them apart. Just turn them around and it was obvious from the beast mode kibble just who was who, but it was a fun illusion from the front. Now Pounce has returned, heavily based on his G1 counterpart.
Accessories:
There were no accessories included for Pounce. The small weapons you see Pounce holding in my photos are fan creations by Nonnef Productions.
Beast Mode:
In Generation One, Pounce's beast mode was a pretty generic looking mechanical feline. The general form was right with a feline like head, a thick body and a tail. The legs were thin however and because of the way the figure transformed, the front legs were leg way lower than they should have been. Still, for its time it was a perfectly good beast mode and it worked for that figure.
With the opportunity to engineer a new, Legends Class figure the designers decided to avoid some of the pitfalls of the G1 figure design. First, the beast mode head is much wider, bringing its proportions more in line with the real life animal. Also, the front legs are set on the sides higher up towards the back instead of being set very low on the sides. The legs are also much thicker and powerful looking (like a real life puma) than the thin legs of the G1 figure. In an interesting design move, many of the smaller details from the G1 figure do not carry over to this one. Instead, it has plenty of smaller sculpted detailing all its own such as individual digits on the paws, a series of horizontal lines on the tail and line details on the sides behind the front legs and on the rear legs. Perhaps the part that most resembles the G1 figure is the head, which features thin eyes and lines on the "cheeks" meant to call back to the fur designs on a real life puma. Overall this sculpt looks like a fun update of the G1 figure. It does not follow the design 100%, but it definitely embodies the spirit of being a chunky, mechanical puma.
For the most part the colors on this figure follow the same general pattern as the G1 figure. Both versions of the character use white plastic (though the shades are slightly different). That white can be found on the beast mode head and the robot thighs, which form part of the rear legs in this mode. The main trunk of the body has dark blue on top and teal on the bottom. The rear legs have dark blue panels that wrap around the robot thighs and knees. Unlike the G1 version of the character, the tail is dark blue (instead of pink) and his legs are white (instead of pink). The panel that connects his tail to the back is painted pink, adding a bright splash of color against the dark blue plastic. The eyes are painted orange, a callback to G1 Pounce's eyes (though the shades of orange used are different).
There are thirteen points of articulation on this figure. This is mostly concentrated in the legs, and some of the articulation points are not particularly useful (such as the legs being able to rotate out to the sides). I am also being generous and counting the ability of his head to move up and down (even though it winds up revealing the robot head). To truly make him part of the "Titans Return" line, you can have a Titan Master or Prime Master ride on Pounce's back. There he has a seat with a notch for the tab on the back of the Master figure legs. It is fun to be able to put a Master figure back there and I am glad the designers have worked to make the figures compatible across many size classes.
Transformation to Robot Mode:
- Swing the lower halves of the front legs up against the top halves.
- Swing the front legs back, which will reveal the robot arms.
- Swing the beast mode head back.
- Rotate the robot head aorund.
- Swing the tail up against the pink panel.
- Straighten out the rear legs.
- Push the lower rear legs up into the back of the lower legs.
- Rotate the legs around at the thighs so the legs/feet face forward.
Robot Mode:
The robot mode has a lot of similar detailing as the G1 version. These design elements include:
- The head has an oval shaped helmet section with a crest in the middle and a face with a pronounced chin piece.
- The chest features two rectangular indentations towards the top.
- The center of the torso has a raised section that sticks out at the top and angles downward towards the waist section.
- The shoulders have overlapping layers of detail including three lines on the outer parts of the shoulders.
- The knees have vertical armor pieces that stick out a bit over the thighs and lower legs.
- The feet each feature a curved section on top leading to a thick foot piece at the bottom.
Overall the sculpt looks great. It is instantly recognizable as Pounce (for those familiar with the character) and I appreciate how much of the original figure's design was worked into this one.
This mode features mostly white and dark blue plastic. While it looks like the torso also has teal plastic, but it appears the entire front panel is actually painted teal. The paint is nice and glossy so it looks great. The hands are painted dark blue, matching nicely with the dark blue plastic. The legs have some yellow paint in front, calling back to a sticker on G1 Pounce's legs. Matching up with his beast mode, the robot eyes are painted orange. White paint is used on the hip/waist area. The (very awesome) finishing touch to the deco is found on the torso and waist area. The middle of the chest has a circular tampograph with a puma symbol inside of it. The tampograph is square shaped and silver with a black circle inside. The symbol is a faded yellow color inside of that. The entire objective of this sticker is to call back to the heat sensitive symbols used on G1 Pounce and it looks fantastic. It looks like someone just applied heat and the sticker is in the middle of resetting back to black. I love how this looks. In the middle of the waist/hip area is a Decepticon symbol which also calls back to a sticker on G1 Pounce in the same area. While simple, the deco on this figure looks great and I am very happy with it.
There are thirteen points of articulation in this mode. This includes three in each arm and leg. The shoulder and elbow joints are ball joints, allowing for a good range of movement. Each fist has a 5mm port for weapons from other figures. In a fun bit of coincidence, the weapons from the original Pounce figure can fit in these ports!
Final Thoughts:
Pounce is a fantastic modern update of the G1 character. He manages to reflect a Generation One aesthetic while still being modern in terms of design and construction. Given that this is the only brand new figure in this set, it makes it perhaps the biggest reason to seek out this set.
Pros:
- Good sculpt.
- Great deco with some wonderful homages (especially the faux heat sensitive tampograph).
- Calls back to somewhat obscure G1 characters.
- Good articulation and fun transformation for a Legends Class figure.
Cons:
- "Siege on Cybertron" set is relatively hard to find now outside of some parts of Asia.
- No weapons included in set for this figure.
