General Information:
Release Date: August 2014
Price Point: $46.50 (pre-order price), $59.00 (after release price)
Retailer: "Transformers Collector's Club" Subscription Exclusive
Accessories: Missile; Catgut weapon/figure
During the tail end of the Generation One toy line, a new type of Transforer was revealed: Action Masters. These were Transformers who had taken on a new power source known as Nucleon. While it robbed some of them of the ability to transform, it did make them "faster, stronger, more alive". Several classic "G1" characters appeared in the line including Optimus Prime and Prowl. However, this line also introduced a bunch of new characters into the Transformers universe. One of them was a Decepticon sharpshooter named Treadshot. Paired with a robotic feline named Catgut, this Decepticon has only made sporadic appearances in Transformers fiction over the years. His latest incarnation is an exclusive figure from the Transformers Collector's Club.
Treadshot is the fifth figure to come out in 2014 from the Club. The base sculpt for this figure is Generations Warpath. In keeping with his "Action Master" roots, Treadshot has been paired with an updated version of Catgut based on the "Arms Micron" Jida sculpt. For Treadshot, check out Warpath's review for my original thoughts on the sculpt. This review will focus on the changes made to the sculpt. For Catgut, since I haven't reviewed Jida before, I'll do a more through review of him in this review.
Beast Mode:
Like his G1 counterpart, this Catgut is a robotic feline in beast mode. Like his G1 counterpart, he has some curved sections and some blocky sections. The curved parts include sections of the legs and his tail (which is more of a tube). His head has some curved sections on it as well while the middle of the body is mostly blocky. There are spike details running along the edges of the legs and on the underside of the main body. Unlike his G1 namesake, he only has one large eye as opposed to two smaller ones. The end result is a very alien looking creature which is quite appropriate given this is an alien robot.
Using his G1 counterpart as a template, the middle of the figure is cast in black while the legs are neon orange. Unlike G1 Catgut, the tail on this figure is black as opposed to orange. The orange used on this figure is a bit lighter in tone than the one used on G1 Catgut. Clear plastic is used on the top of the figure with a silver Decepticon symbol painted on top of it. On the Arms Micron figures you would normally put a sticker under the clear plastic piece, but that sometimes caused them to get pretty scrunched up so I prefer this way of putting the symbol on instead.
Catgut has seven points of articulation. Each leg can move on a hinge at the top. He also has head and neck articulation. His tail can also move up and down. Being designed to serve as a pure weapon, he has six points where you can connect weapons with 5mm pegs. This includes two above each front leg, two on each rear leg and two on his back. It's pretty fun to mix and match weapons on him, and in a way it calls back to the way G1 Catgut connected to Treadshot's blaster in weapon mode.
Transformations and Weapon Modes:
There are no strict weapon instructions for the figure, but there are at least three distinct forms Catgut can take. The most basic is formed by swinging the legs back, moving the tail in and then the head with the peg on his neck pointed down. This forms a saw weapon. Reverse this with the tail peg facing down and the neck peg pointing forward and he becomes a blaster. For something quite different, swing each half of the body out to the sides to form a shield. I like the way the figure can vary so much. It adds quite a bit of play value.
A note about the shield mode, because of the position of the pegs on the figure, he doesn't exactly line up at a right angle when being held by Treadshot. Instead he winds up at a bit of an angle. Perhaps his best "default" weapon mode is the "saw" mode which holds firm in his hand and has plenty of attachment points for extra weapons.
Vehicle Mode:
In Generation One, it was clear what Treadshot was once able to transform into: a gun. He had a barrel on his torso, chambers for bullets and even grips on his legs (a la G1 Megatron). For his new incarnation, he has taken on a vehicle mode befitting a sharpshooter: a tank. While it's easy to associate the tank for with Warpath (or a ton of other characters really), the colors used on this figure are distinctly those of Treadshot.
The main plastic colors on Treadshot are black and grey: appropriate since these are the basic colors used on G1 Treadshot. His paint colors are also inspired by G1 Treadshot. This includes brown, which you'll find on the front tread sections and the sides of the treads. He also has orange in several spots including the sides of the turret and the middle area towards the front. There are grey Decepticon symbols set at angles on the sides of the front area. Finally, blue is found on the top of the turret, a callback to the blue used on G1 Treadshot's mouth area. There's a bit of silver around the base of the main cannon. Overall the colors look fantastic.
The missile launcher on the figure still works without a problem. The C-Clip sections above each tread still serve as a good connection point for most C-Clip weapons.
Transformation to Robot Mode:
- Launch the missile and set it aside for now (mainly so it doesn't go shooting you in the face as you transform the figure).
- On the rear tread sections, swing out the panels above the each tread.
- Swing the treads on the rear sections out to begin forming the robot arms.
- Extend the fists out and swing the panels on the forearms back in.
- Push the cannon in and Warpath's head will pop up from the middle of the turret.
- Swing the turret and the section it rests on up.
- Fold the silver piece that comes to a point in the middle down. This will swing down the waist area on its hinge as well.
- Swing down the top portion of the body, connecting the tab to the hole on the hip section.
- Pull the treads on the legs out to the sides a bit and then swing them up.
- Swing the feet on the vertical hinge to the sides.
- Rotate the legs so the feet point forward.
- Swing the weapons on the turret up so they are on either side of his head.
- Reattach the missile.
- Catgut can be attached to either hand in weapon or shield mode.
Robot Mode:
While the tank mode looks great, the robot mode is where this figure truly shines. Black and grey are still the primary plastic colors on this figure. There's a nice distribution of colors. Black is the main color, but there's plenty of grey to break it up on sections like the upper arms and thighs.
The design of this figure is different than his G1 counterpart, Fun Publications did their best to map out the colors on this figure as close to the G1 figure as they could. These details include:
- The head has neon orange painted on the forehead, calling back to G1 Treadshot's visor eyes and crest.
- The mouth area has blue painted on it, similar to G1 Treadshot.
- His fists are painted grey, matching the grey plastic and matching the color of G1 Treadshot's hands.
- The silver around the cannon barrel recalls the grey gun barrel sculpted onto G1 Treadshot's torso.
- The sides of the torso have neon orange painted on them, similar to the same areas on G1 Treadshot.
- The waist area is painted brown, which is the same color as G1 Treadshot's waist.
- While the legs on this figure don't have "gun grips", he does have several brown sections painted on the front and sides of the lower legs.
Overall, Treadshot is a great homage to the G1 figure. For those familiar with the character he's instantly recognizable. I also think it's great how the deco looks distinct enough that even without a new head sculpt the figure still looks very distinct from Warpath.
Treadshot can hold Catgut in his various weapon modes in either fist. Add on the ability to connect extra weapons to Catgut and this sharpshooter has potential to hold some amazing weapons. All the joints on the sculpt are still nice and tight (no floppiness or inability to hold his weapons up here). Given that this tool/mold has been used a few times now, it's good to see how well it's holding up.
Final Thoughts:
I really dig the way this figure came out. I also have to confess to having a particular attachment to the Action Masters in general. Sure they weren't the best Transformers ever made, but I really liked a lot of the designs that came out of the line and the infusion of new characters. To me, this is a fantastic update of one of those characters. Recommended at the Club member price!
