General Information:
Release Date: November 2016
Price Point: $4.99 (depending on retailer)
Retailer: General (Toys R Us, Target, Wal-Mart etc.)
Accessories: Overboard Titan Master, Dragon/Dinosaur Beast
Very early on in the life of the Transformers line the toy line began to move away from the sole gimmick of transformation. Once figures like Combiners were introduced it became clear Transformers could be more than just a robot that changed from one form to another. In 1987 Hasbro and Takara took a bold step into a new play pattern by introducing Headmasters. Headmasters were Transformers whose heads detached and became smaller figures that could then pilot or ride the Transformers in beast and vehicle forms (or in a couple cases, their battle station or city forms!). Now almost thirty years after they were originally introduced the Headmaster gimmick has returned in a new form: Titan Masters!
Titan Masters focuses on the return of small robots to Cybertron that can unlock incredible power, and it is up to the Transformers to merge with them and harness those abilities and strengths. In some ways the story resembles "Armada" which had a similar conceit for the Mini-Cons. In true "Generations" fashion, Titans Return gives us characters from the Headmasters era in new forms that pay homage to the originals.
Packaging:
The Titan Master figures are packaged on a bubble card. The front of the card is universal across the assortment. It features Fortress Maximus' head floating above his body. To the side is a black bar with the "Generations" logo above the vertical "Transformers" logo. The insert in the bubble has a render of the figure in head mode. The head and vehicle are in the area under Fortress Maximus' head. The back is almost universal in that it features a diagram of the Titan Master "eco system" showing that the heads can attach to Deluxe, Voyager and Leader Classes. The difference however is in the bar code, which is specific to each character.
It is not often that you see a sculpt used three waves in a row, but with the figure originally released as Crashbash we have exactly that. This was one of the first Titan Master figures released and helped set the tone for the smaller figures in the line having a triple changing feature with a Titan Master "head/robot" figure. In the following wave the figure was given a new deco and retooled as Clobber, who served as a Grimlock reference. By the third wave this base sculpt would appear again as Overboard.
The name may be new, but the character is not. Overboard is better known to long time Transformers fans as Overkill, one of Soundwave's "cassette tape" warriors. Originally released in 1987, Overkill popped up here and there over the years in various "Transformers" sub-lines including a release in 2008's "Universe" line. This is the first time the character has popped up at mass retail since G1 however. This review will focus on the changes made to the figure for this release, so check out my Crashbash and Clobber reviews for a more thorough look at the figure.
Robot Mode:
Overboard is a straight up redeco of the Crashbash sculpt. If you look on the back he uses the same face plate (based on G1 Squeezeplay's face). This is a new take on the character since his original form was a dinosaur that transformed into a cassette so whether or not this form "fits" the character is largely up to individual taste. I will say that after three uses there do not appear to be any issues with the sharpness of the details on the figure.
The two main colors on this figure are light grey and dark blue. Dark blue makes up most of the figure while the light grey is found on the torso. There are no paint applications except for the head mode's face.
Overboard has five points of articulation. The legs are fused together so moving one moves the other at the hips and knees. The hip joints are a bit more loose on my copy of this figure than the previous two, but he can still stand. It just takes a bit more adjustment to do so.
Transformation to Head Mode:
Push the arms down. Swing the legs up at the hips, then the knees. When attaching the head to a larger figure, I recommend having Overboard's head facing the same direction as the larger face.
Head Mode:
Overboard reuses the G1 Squeezeplay based head. Again, since G1 Overkill has never had a "head mode" before there is no "G1 accuracy" to speak of. Still, the designers tried to work in his classic colors by painting the face light grey. The eyes are a bright orange-red, which contrasts very nicely with the grey and blue colors.
Dragon Mode:
The Dragon Mode features the same light grey and dark blue colors found on Overboard himself. The blue makes up most of the center section including the head, chest and parts of the tail. Light grey is used on the wings, legs and part of the tail. A bit of light grey paint is used on the tail and the dragon eyes are red. It is a pretty simple color scheme that fits the character.
All the joints on the Dragon Mode are just as tight as those on previous releases. Overboard can still stand on the back of the dragon without a problem as well.
Transformation to Dinosaur Mode:
- Bring the wings together.
- Attach the tab on the back of Overboard's lower legs to the corresponding slot on the tail (aka the dinosaur head).
- Swing Overboard's arms up and place his head in the open slot from the back section of the dragon mode.
- Swing the two wings up and together, with the robot arms sticking out from the sides and pointing forward.
- Reposition the legs so Overboard can stand on them.
Dinosaur Mode:
This mode is the one that best fits G1 Overkill. This form is chunky, clearly a mechanical dinosaur and it has the T-Rex-like appearance that G1 Overkill had. There is a missed opportunity here however. G1 Overkill had a horn on his snout, but there is none here. A simple retool of the head (or even a faux horn via a tampograph) would have been super cool to see. I mean, if you're going to ask fans to buy an iteration of this figure for the first three waves of the line, add some incentive!
This mode is a mixture of light grey and dark blue, mostly focused on light grey. These colors work perfectly for the character. He also has a Decepticon symbol on his head. The eyes are painted yellow, calling back to G1 Overkill's gold eyes.
Weapon Mode:
This is really a bit of an afterthought as modes go, but it is still an official one. If you start in dragon mode, set Overboard aside (or attach him to a larger robot body in head mode). Swing the wings together, fold the dragon head/neck down, swing the dragon legs and connect them to the tabs on the sides. Finally, swing the peg on the figure down. This 5mm peg allows larger figures to hold this figure as a weapon.
This weapon is mostly light grey with some dark blue parts on the sides and back.
Final Thoughts:
Overboard is a great use of this sculpt and a fun homage. However I think it was a bit of a misstep to reuse the same basic sculpt three waves in a row right at the beginning of the "Titans Return". Perhaps working it into a later wave would have been better. If you already have the two previous releases of this sculpt I would say you can skip this one. If you missed out on them, this is a good one to pick up.
Pros:
- The sculpt fits the character nicely.
- The colors chosen match up well to G1 Overkill.
Cons:
- No retooling at all.
- Third use of a sculpt three waves in a row.
