General Information:
Release Date: July 2019
Price Point: $34.99 (In a box of 10 Micromasters)
Retailer: Target Exclusive
Accessories: None
Official images and text below in italics are from Target.com:
- BUILD THE ULTIMATE BATTLEFIELD: The Generations War for Cybertron trilogy introduces an expansive ecosystem of collectible figures and weapon accessories. (Each sold separately. Subject to availability)
- EXCITING 10pk WITH CLASSIC MICROMASTER COMBINATION: This 10pk includes 5 teams of Micromaster toys that convert and combine to form weapon modes!
- CLASSIC G1-INSPIRED CHARACTERS: Adult fans nostalgic for the original Transformers animation and kids discovering classic characters for the first time can share and experience exciting play patterns across generations
- AWESOME CONVERSION: Each figure in this Micromaster 10pk features simple conversion to micro vehicle modes. For kids and adults 8 years old and up!
- COMPATIBLE WEAPON MODE WORKS WITH ALL OTHER FIGURES: War for Cybertron: Siege figures have multiple weapon ports that enable fans to attach the weapon mode of Micromaster figures
- Build the ultimate battlefield with Transformers War for Cybertron: Siege collectible figures, featuring classic G1 characters. (Each figure sold separately. Subject to availability). Siege plunges fans into the epic fight to survive on the final day of the Autobot and Decepticon battle to control Cybertron. The Decepticon resistance army and the Autobot counter-resistance fighters gear up with the universe's most advanced modular weaponry, including the weapon modes of Micromaster figures - sentient bots that become weapons!
Micromaster figures combine to form weapons to equip other Siege figures (sold separately)!
- WFC-S58 Ricon and Irontread form Dual-Port Scrapgrinder
- WFC-S59 Road-Police and Wheel Blaze form Powershot Plasma Cannon
- WFC-S60 Overair and Ground Shaker form Ultra-Sonic Shredder Blade
- WFC-S61 Slyhopper and Nightflight form Dual-Edged Soundbreaker Sword
- WFC-S62 Cratermaker and Fireline form Gravatronic Rubblemaker Cannon
- Includes 10 Transformers Generations War for Cybertron: Siege Micromaster figures and instructions.
- Figure scale: 1.5 inches
- Ages 8 and up
- Warning: Choking Hazard - Small parts. Not for children under 3 years.
-Transformers and all related characters are trademarks of Hasbro.
As part of the burst of new products at Target in late July/early August 2019, Target carried an exclusive ten pack of Micromaster figures. A majority of this set featured redecos and retools of previously released figures. Two of the figures in the pack (Irontread and Ricon) were redecos of the Off-Road Patrol, which was not readily available online (via Amazon) until about two weeks after this set was released. Instead of featuring the "missing members" of the previously released patrols, many of these figures represented characters who originally came with transforming bases in Generation One or Japanese exclusive Micromaster homages.
Ground Shaker falls into the category of characters who came with a Micromaster base in Generation One. This figure is a redeco of Visper from the Air Strike Patrol so check out that review for my first and detailed thoughts on this sculpt.
Packaging:
The Micromaster 10 Pack is packaged in a box with a large window in the front. This allows you to see all ten Micromasters inside. The Micromasters are packaged in robot mode and roughly divided between Autobots and Decepticons. The left side says "Autobots" while the right says "Decepticons", but Ground Shaker and Overair (both Autobots) are near the "Decepticon side" while Nightflight is on the "Autobot side". The "Siege" logo is located towards the bottom and the side of course has the "Generations" logo along with a vertical Transformers logo on the right.
The back of the box features each Micromaster in both modes along with the number of steps to transform them. It also shows off each pair's combined weapon mode, but does not name them (they are however named in the official product description above). In the lower right hand corner is Red Alert holding the "Dual-Port Scrapegrinder" formed by Irontread and Ricon.
Robot Mode:
Generation One Groundshaker (note the way the name is spelled) was a redeco of the G1 Air Strike Patrol member, Whisper. This made using Visper's sculpt a perfect choice for this redeco. Ground Shaker features no new parts. The figure is cast in green, black and red plastic. The red plastic may seem odd to anyone familiar with the G1 character (who was mostly green and grey). This most likely due to the figure being gang molded with Overair, who has red plastic parts. Never fear G1 fans, Hasbro made sure to use paint to paint over the red parts.
Interestingly, instead of using grey paint on Ground Shaker's torso, the designers used a different shade of green from the plastic and silver down the middle. This is quite different from the G1 version of the character whose torso was grey. I would have preferred grey, but it doesn't look bad. Like G1 Groundshaker however his face is painted red. Offering some nice constrast are black arms, thighs and feet.
All the joints on this figure are just as tight as both Visper and Nightflight. Of course, manipulate the legs enough and they'll pop off at the ball joints but they can be snapped back on without a problem. Unlike Overair, he does not have any points to attach Blast Effects in this mode.
Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
- Straighten out the arms and legs.
- Swing the wings forward.
- Connect the tabs on the forearms to the corresponding slots on the underside of each wing.
- Swing the cockpit forward, connecting them to the feet.
- Swing the feet up.
Vehicle Mode:
This mode mostly shows off the green plastic. The deco takes heavy cues from G1 Groundshaker's stickers. The stabilizer fins and wings both have off-white and yellow details on them. The stabilizer fins have red Autobot symbols on them. Red is also used for the cockpit window. I love the way deco is used to recreate stickers from G1 Groundshaker. They look fantastic.
Unlike Overair, this figure does not have a ton of attachment points for Blast Effects, but he does have one. Flip the head around and reveal the attachment point for his weapon mode. Blast Effects will fit inside this, looking like he is using some type of rocket booster.
Transformation to Weapon Mode (Starting in Vehicle mode):
- Swing the robot head back to reveal the connection port for Overair.
- Attach Ground Shaker's peg into Overair's attachment point.
- Overair's peg can be used by larger figures to wield the Ultra-Sonic Shredder Blade.
Weapon Mode:
The Visper/Nightflight/Ground Shaker sculpt does not have its own individual weapon mode. Instead, you need to attach it to the Storm cloud/Slyhopper/Overair sculpt to form a sword weapon. In this case, Ground Shaker and Overair team up to form the Ultra-Sonic Shredder Blade Sword! This is the same design as the sword formed by Siege Storm Cloud and Visper. I love the way this sword looks, and it also pays homage to the swords formed by Mini-Cons in the Armada and Energon. toy lines.
The Ultra-Sonic Shredder Blade Sword has attachment points on the sides of Ground Shaker to attach the "wave" Battle Effect piece included with Siege Lionizer. It looks great and really gives the weapon some "life"!
Final Thoughts:
I love this update of G1 Groundshaker. I always had a fondness for the character since he was one of my first Micromaster base toys during my younger days. The figure looks great and the deco rocks. I do recommend this entire boxed set since it is a lot of fun all in one package. It is also quite a bargain since ten Micromasters would normally cost you about $50 USD at retail.
Pros:
- This sculpt is a great update of G1 Groundshaker.
- Excellent deco.
- Cool combined weapon mode.
Cons:
- No individual weapon mode.
