Transformers Titans Return/Age of the Primes Slugslinger review

Slugslinger is unique amongst his G1 jet pals for having two cockpits on his altmode instead of the traditional one. It kind of gives off Cloud City vibes from the way their vehicles operated, but the similarities end there. That being said, the dude has received a Titans Return figure that holds up fine enough to be reissued in a line as current as Age of the Primes (at least while this review is relevant the time of its publication); not only that, but we have another stab at the Legacy United figure known as Sandstorm, only with a cartoon accurate head. Is it worth getting a 2-pack regardless if you own prior versions of these molds or not, or are you better off sticking with what you got in the first place?

That being said, with Sandstorm having an in depth review last year, the main focus will be on the Slugger duo, just to see who gets to win Siege Caliburst. Yes there is a Titan Master who shares the same name but who gives a fuck.

Here we have Titans Return Slugslinger in his vehicle mode. It is a Cybertronic jet with two cockpits that sadly lack any space for Titan Masters to sit inside. The rest of the jet mode, and therefore the figure, is a heavy retool Triggerhappy from a previous wave. Whether or not I will go in-depth with him and Misfire for a future review remains to be seen. Like most altmodes based on the futuristic/Cybertronic designs of G1, you have some robot parts visible and no landing gear. The color scheme is based on the old toy, which was a common thing for CHUG toys pre-Siege to homage; that being said, he looks more like an Autobot with the brighter colors and blue cockpits. Both guns can peg underneath the wings, though the designs make them a bit uneven.

Caliburst can ride behind the cockpits of his jet mode which was reused from the space Triggerhappy's Titan Master sat in and later applicable for Misfire's partner.

So while the original had a toy inspired look, the AOTP version aims to match his appearance in The Rebirth, a super rushed finale for the G1 cartoon that didn't even help it reach 100 episodes (and I don't count Season 5). The paint apps and windows are mostly the same, but the darker tint to go with the almost black on the rest of the new version makes him more appropriate for a Decepticon. One of the insignias was replaced with a Mayhem Attack Squad sigil. Not related to the old cartoon but hey, it helps give him some identity. Even the greys are a cooler share to go with the darker paint job.

Transformation is pretty straight forward, with the cockpits folding back, the legs straightening out, and the wings at the back. It gives him a sorta-Seeker influence that makes it likely Hasbro designed the Decepticon Targetmasters to work as such after retiring the Diaclone F-15 mold. Honestly, the robot mode does have more of the G1-with-knees look that some complained about with many of the figures from the Prime Wars era; looking back, I kind of want to retract that statement partially given how little room there is for a character like him to have when it comes to having a reinvention without going too far in deviation like with his Energon counterpart. Maybe it was just me preferring when CHUG used look modern instead of super accurate to the Sunbow days. I probably shouldn't have too many expectations for a nobody like Slugslinger to look as cool as Classics Prime or Universe Inferno, but then again, another part of me was mad that Beast Wars got little to no rep for the 20th anniversary. All I'm saying is that Slugslinger looks fine, if a bit hollow and cheap; it was a mid-2010s Deluxe, which was vaguely acceptable given this was before we had to pay nearly $30 for Deluxe, but still...

Despite being colored like the toy, the head sculpt.is based on his appearance in The Rebirth, making him accurate to the Marvel Comics. His articulation consists of ball joints at the neck and hips, swivel hinges at the shoulders, swivels at the biceps, waist, and thighs, and hinges for the elbows and knees. His two guns can combine into a larger gun in place of his Targetmaster.

Here he is alongside his AOTP counterpart. The darker colors make him feel less like a G2 Aerialbots reject and more like a proper Decepticon. I know there is a tendency to prefer one deco over the other, especially since some may have had Slugslinger as one of their earliest Transformers ever, but I have to go to Team Sunbow on this round.

For anyone wondering, this is what the Takara Legends version looks like. It not only matches his appearance in The Headmasters, but it also gave him a proper Caliburst Targetmaster back when Siege wasn't a thing yet. You won't need this version by now unless you were a Takara elitist.

To quickly go over Sandstorm, the differences between these two are going to be miniscule. On the left is AOTP and on the right is Legacy United. The shade of orange plastic is different on the newer version, looking less neon. Both figures have rubber tires so be careful mixing him with other toys containing crucial paint apps.

The helicopter modes appear to mostly be the same, apart from the different shades of orange mentioned above. The mini gun on the AOTP version is now black instead of grey.

The robot mode makes the distinctions more clear with a cartoon-accurate head sculpt. He also has less paint on the torso, his hands are black instead of grey, and the same applies to the base of the cage. I don't know how well the original Sandstorm sold, do packing him with a figure nearly 10 years old for an Amazon set may not have been the best idea if he is going to barely change from something we got last year. I felt a similar way with making Retro Gears since his Legacy United version was barely different from it, but maybe not everyone got him?

Overall, Slugslinger is an alright figure but not the best offering from Titans Return. I think Triggerhappy could be better, but time will tell when I get him. The jet mode's most unique thing would be the twin cockpits, but the rest of him is otherwise been-there-done-that. Transformation and bot mode also applicable for that trope, but it does the job fine enough. That being said, I don't like the toy colors much but we do have options.

Now remember when I brought up Siege Caliburst at the beginning? We're about to determine who gets to keep him and be the main version of the character on my shelf...

...and the winner is Age of the Primes! Not only is it the preferable version of the character in terms of deco, but I also think the Battlemaster goes better with the current iteration of the mold. Seriously, if you are fine with paying for another Sandstorm just to get this version of Slugslinger, you can always sell the Legacy United version at some point. You can choose any outcome you want if you never had any version of these characters, or at least half of the options selected.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐