Transformers Titans Return Sentinel Prime review

Sentinel Prime may have been a recurring TF element in the 21st century, but the 80s didn't really have any version of him to begin with. The cartoon retconned the "U-Haul Robot" as a version of him via Ask Vector Prime, and Marvel Comics would share the first proper G1 iteration. You already know him best for being a jerk store Tick in Animated as well as the time Spock went nuts in Dark of the Moon, but when IDW used to do its version of G1, they initially had him as somewhat of an anti-hero with beliefs that were closer to what would eventually be refined by Optimus, only to be killed by Megatron during the Megatron Origin comics. Turns out he wasn't actually dead, nor was he Sentinel, but instead Infinitus. From there, we go from turning Sentinel into a flawed yet well-intentioned Autobot leader into someone who was totally not written in response to the toxicity of 2016 politics, right? Seriously, it's almost like the IDW crew went "Y'know, we don't really wanna give credit to DOTM or Animated for this Sentinel concept, so how do we make this feel interesting?" while writing Titans Return. I think IDW 2.0 treated him a bit better, but then again, who even bothered reading it? Anyways, Titans Return is now a decade old, and we're revisiting a figure that may still be better than Studio Series Astrotrain. Let's see how Sentinel Prime holds up!

Here we have Sentinel Prime in his train mode. This is meant to be one of those massive Cybertronian transports that would almost take up the entire station. You look at the ladders near each end, as well as some of the windows, and if they're meant to be human-scaled like the ones on Combiner Wars Long Haul and Ultra Magnus, this could almost be the size of a warship! Seriously, this looks like something you'd see as a boat or a flagship in the skies instead of a train! Not saying trains can be this big, but it's wild to imagine how huge this would be in real life. That said, while the front and backs are similarly proportioned, the middle section is always swept back thanks to those pieces representing the rear stabilizers. Then the scale is ruined by the scale of Titan Master Infinitus, who sits in the cockpit like Omega the Headmaster would in the Energon Omega Supreme set. 

Transforming him into his shuttle mode is fairly straightforward, as you're folding the ends together once the wings and the rear assembly can attach behind the legs, with their panels now folded in place once the train ends are replaced with the giant nose cone. Generally speaking, shuttle mode is very Cybertronian, and I could see less of an Astrotrain look in this mode thanks to the radically different proportions (though the arms being under the wings could be reminiscent of the train halves on top of the wings on the Classics version. That said, the details are still washed out all throughout thanks to the neon orange and red combo, and it doesn't help that there are very few paint apps present beyond the few bits of yellow and silver. On the flipside, the front section feels kind of like Scourge's altmode. The weapons can be combined together so any other Titan Masters can man a double-cannon wherever you peg it, which is one of the common playset features of the line as a whole.

Transformation is very simple, mostly relying on the panels folding away to reveal the thighs while the wing assembly with the backpack can be attached to the back, not to mention requiring that the hands are brought out as well as doing the Headmaster trick. Very basic yet at least the robot mode feels appropriately heroic for a design usually associated with a Decepticon. Sentinel's design is meant to match the way he appeared in the IDW comics, yet the colors are prominently orange instead of yellow, likely because the designers misinterpreted the dramatic lighting in one of his more accessible comic panel photos as the definitive source for reference art. As a result, he doesn't match the concept art from the days of Megatron Origin, deco-wise. Kind of says a lot too when the yellow bits on him would have been more suitable instead of orange, but I also have to complain about the grey plastic used. I know those are for structural support, but it ends up clashing with the colors on the rest of him. It'd be like if you have a modern Nemesis Prime repaint with metallic black and teal, yet any silver is replaced with beige. Maybe the grey plastic would look better if the orange was yellow. That said, he does remind me of the Sentinel Knight from Operation Overdrive; if you recall, there was a knight who turned into a sword for that season of Power Rangers. Hell, between the colors, the vaguely similar transformation, and the use of the name Sentinel, someone at Hasbro must have been a PR fan before they owned the franchise. Also, one cool thing I like is that the backs of the lower legs have their wheels in different elevations so they wouldn't clash with each other during transformation.

Head sculpt is very reminiscent of the more dynamic comic style of the IDW comics at the time, though once again, without any paint to break it up, he ends up looking more like a prototype in this state than if he had a more refined deco. That, or the plastic color shouldn't make the sculpted details so hard to look at without going very up close. Articulation is standard for the time period, with ball-jointed necks, shoulder rotation, outward arm movement, bicep rotation, single-jointed elbows, hips with ratchets implemented throughout, thigh swivels, and hinged knees. This was before the WFC trilogy made waist rotation, wrist swivels, and ankle rockers generally common, but he does a fine job at posing.

One of the features Titans Return Voyagers had to make their heads appear proportionate was using spring-loaded components surrounding them. These bulk up okay, though the ones here are meant to represent the toy-detailing on Astrotrain. It's nothing to write home about, but they blend in better than the ears on the Voyager Optimus mold as well as Alpha Trion, though every figure does this better than Galvatron's lousy mask.

As far as reuses are concerned, this is the Titan Force version of Sentinel with far more red and orange throughout this thing. Part of him is cast in clear plastic, and he came with Security Force logos instead of Autobot insignias. He was included in a 3-pack with special repaints of Brainstorm and Windblade.

As for the mold this figure was mostly intended for, this is Astrotrain in toy-accurate colors. Back in the day, Hasbro mostly homaged the old toys rather than the Sunbow cartoon, unlike what Takara would do. In this case, he matched the colors of his original toy, though it still fits him decently. That said, he looks like he has fake Nikes on his feet, and while the color breakup is more effective, you still get the effect of color blocking thanks to the prominent use of purple for most of the altmodes. Also, his partner is named Darkmoon, though we don't know if he has siblings known as Revengefallen, Ageextinction, Lastknight, and Risebeasts.

The Takara Astrotrain comes from the Legends line. While it may look nier than the Hasbro version, even to the point of painting the friggin windows, I heard Thew mention the tolerances have been worse for his copy at least. That's mostly in the zestless hip ratchets on the already cheap ones we got before as well as the knees being looser than on Six Shot. Still, then again, it may ring true for all copies since mold degradation can affect cheaper molds like this. Unlike what Hasbro does, all Takara Titan Masters are instead Headmaster stages of their respective bodies. That didn't stop Thew from naming him Extinctionrevenge!

For a size comparison, here he is with Siege Astrotrain and Studio Series 86 Optimus Prime. I don't mind that he's taller than the guy whose design he borrowed from if we remember he is meant to be a Prime, and he surprisingly scaled well with Optimus. Admittedly, budgets and size differences have affected many a toyline over the years, but at least this works. Still, he is lighter than Optimus.

Overall, Sentinel Prime is an okay figure to own if you've never had a version of him yet want to expand your G1 roster. He doesn't entirely match what I'd want from THE look he had in G1 media, be it in colors or design, but at least he looks mostly cool and can prove Hasbro used to make triple changers work well as Voyagers, whereas they would only do that for new Leaders. And hey, paying this figure for cheap beats paying nearly $70 for the AOTP version. Now to wonder if I can get someone to make his colors match the comics...

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Transformers Energon Powerlinx Optimus Prime vs Megatron review

Last year, I reviewed the original, Leader-sized versions of Optimus Prime and Megatron from the Energon line (the 2004 series, not the Skybound comics). While some people would clown on the former for the design and praise the latter for the G1 tribute, I found both toys to be kind of enjoyable. They weren't 100% perfect, Optimus especially given the limitations of his articulation. Still, they managed to be cool, chunky, and overall more satisfying to mess around with than most larger-scale toys meant for kids do. I bet you a kid in 2004 had more fun with at least Megatron than a kid would with the Cyberworld stuff. Now you may be as well-versed in past lines like me, and the first thing you'll be surprised by is the fact that we got smaller-scale versions of not just Optimus like on Armada beforehand, but also Megatron as well. Prime should be self-explanatory, but Megs was made in this scale because Takara opted for an Ultra-sized figure likely to stand in scale with the preceding Armada toy. The US and all other markets went for the bigger toy because bigger is better. I wish I could get insight from Aaron Archer behind the decisions made with the two sizes. Let's see if this seemingly coveted set is worth tracking down after it was either obtainable from importing or buying at your now-closed Toys R Us.

 

Here we have Optimus Prime and Megatron in their vehicle modes. I'll go over differences in a moment, but while Megatron is generally 1:1 with the larger toy in terms of overall proportions and details, Optimus Prime is a new mold built from the ground up while using the same character design. That said, it works differently, as we'll get to. Talking about the Hasbro toys specifically, the larger Optimus was mostly drab for the blues, whereas Megatron had more of a minty mouthwash hue to his color scheme; here, Optimus's blues are more saturated and look gorgeous with the chrome, while Megatron has more of a yellow-green, sky blue, and warmer grey combo than what we had previously. Prime's colors look way better than the larger toy, yet I'd argue it is the worst version of the design, whereas Megatron's pretty good in either size, color differences, and everything.

Here is Optimus with his Leader counterpart. While the sizes are an obvious difference, the deco on the smaller toy looks much nicer and almost makes me wish I got the Japanese Grand Convoy instead of the Hasbro version. That said, while neither one has the best truck mode, it would be worth mentioning that the Deluxe has clear windows and they stick out less. And of course, both can store their guns from the back. 

The figure has a trailer hitch at the back as well, meaning he can haul the larger toy's trapezoid drone container much like how the smaller Armada Prime can haul the larger Super base trailer. Note that the scale will be wack.

Here he is with the aforementioned Armada Prime I owned as my rep for that series before Legacy Evolution wiped the floor with it. I know we had Armada Prime made as a trend to help kids afford a version of Optimus that can still stand on its own (super articulation, a Minicon who turns into a gun), but Deluxe Energon Optimus never got a standalone release in the US. Was the larger Energon Prime more affordable than the Armada version?

Transformation is mostly identical to the Leader toy; only the fists go inside the cavities of the back rather than retract, the head is hidden within the helmet instead of the torso, and the feet aren't flat flaps like with the larger toy. The robot mode is still just as fat and chunky as the original, though possibly moreso this time because of how much smaller the figure looks. It's one of those weird visual quirks that pops up sometimes at certain angles. While we already know the general proportions of the figure, I have to question why the helmet can't tuck into the back kibble better. Not helping is that the rear wheels are lower on his back rather than being upwards where they should be. As a result, he has more junk in the trunk than he should. One thing I have to question would be the use of translucent plastic for the biceps. I don't mind if they're used for the chest windows, but the upper arms along with the feet are cast in that kind of material, and considering the fragility people get paranoid over, along with the ankles having fairly tight hinges...there's also the fact that I have seen one of these break on an eBay listing. I believe even the knees are cast in the same kind of material, as we'll get to in a moment.

Head sculpt is absolutely teeny tiny, but at least it is sculpted and painted as well as you can get at the size. I love this shade of blue and the shade of yellow they used for this figure and would love to see it applied onto the larger toy. As for the articulation, his ball-jointed head can only turn left and right; shoulders are on ratchets moving front and back as well as in and out, elbows bend on hinges, hips are on ratchets moving front and back but move in and out without them (and barely due to the tires), thighs rotate, knees bend, and ankles kind of hinge due to transformation. His gun being cast in clear plastic makes sense since it was a common Energon thing to do, though some had missiles and others did not.

Here he is with Armada Prime, who was slightly shorter than his subsequent form. He goes from being a wide bruiser into a chunky munky between Armada and Energon, though I'm sure a better proportioned Energon Optimus is out there somewhere. Once again, I want to know what led to the existence of the smaller Energon Optimus, given how only Japan gave more attention to it and the only international release that we know of was in the US with Toys R Us (apparently, other countries sold the set, but nobody knows what retailers joined in).

Here he is with the larger Optimus. I don't really have a preference for either version of the character, but I'll be honest and say that the clear windows look way better than painted windows, especially without a small scratch revealing some white peeking through ruining the look like on the larger Energon Prime.

Surprisingly, he can combine with the Prime Force drones the same way the larger toy could. In actuality, you can fake it by using the 5mm ports as friction while wedging the forearms in the slots. Meanwhile, the legs have no stability to keep them inside the driller and submarine. He looks like he's wearing his dad's clothes when you think about it, though he can't have the chest open. We'll talk about the helmet in a little bit, but it works differently from the larger toy. This Optimus never had its own mini Prime Force, and a new gimmick was implemented for it.

So for that, we move to Energon Rodimus, who is taller than this Optimus. In fact, all of the Deluxes tower over the figure just about. And yes, Rodimus is finally reunited with his blaster. I don't have any of the other Energon Autobots with me yet, any Combat/Deluxe and Mega/Voyager figure can turn into either the upper or lower half of a super robot. Everyone else was designed to work this way from the ground up, so what happens when you implement a design who never had this ability?

What we get is a very wonky set of top and bottom modes for Optimus. Admittedly, the top mode is kind of clever with the Super Mode helmet as well as the grille for the torso and the option to use the gatling guns instead of hands; however, the chest split in half as splayed-out shoulders doesn't look that great, nor do the legs barely bulking up the body. The lower half is even worse, with the toy looking like Optimus was a victim of having his spine obliterated so badly, the upper body sags below whoever whalloped on him. At least you can rotate the parts around so the back kibble is easier to tuck away, but I can see why many would find this worse than the larger toy. At least the design was always intended to use the drones as well as combine with Wing Saber and Omega Supreme. 

As far as repaints are concerned, this is the Fire SL version of the mold, casting him in red and orange so he can go well with a Black Rodimus repaint. I like that the chrome is gold on this figure, and it almost reminds me a bit of the Galaxy Force repaint Cybertron Prime later got.

The gold repaint is self explanatory, and it is one of those things Takara does all the time with their Optimus Primes. On the bright side, this is not the only gold Optimus Takara made.

As for Megatron, this is the main version Takara used for their line. He was named Galvatron the whole time because of the design, whereas Megatron went back and forth with the name changes because of the necessity to maintain copyrights for both...and people bitched about Bayverse Megatron abandoning the Galvatron name in The Last Knight (not that it saves the movie from any other issues it has). It's closer to the Mega Class figures that came out at the time, and while that means people can have a slightly smaller option if they don't like their toys big or chunky, it isn't entirely going to scale that great. Megatron is at least the height of Optimus's super mode in the show, so this downscaling would only make sense with the Optimus he came with. In fact, it's weird in general for Takara to make a figure that is out of scale with everyone else in the line, other than them dealing with their financial struggles before merging with Tomy a year later OR to match the scale with Armada Megatron. That said, the colors are easier to compare this time: greens are yellower, the greys are more saturated, the shoulder squares are colored differently, the blues are brighter, and the orange is more vibrant. Functionally, they are all the same, but the shoulder cannons on the larger toy are on separate pieces they can detach from, while the Takara version has the clips molded on the same cannons. Funny enough, including these two with the Legacy United Core Class figure results in a daddy, mommy, baby trio of a family.

As for the mold itself, it functions the same as the larger version; hyper mode is included, cannons can pivot, the articulation is not changed, the fists and feet are spring-loaded, and the tank can clip on the arm. One change other than the structure of the cannons is that the blade is colored green instead of clear plastic. On one hand, this results in better synergy with the rest of the clear plastic. On the other hand, the LED is still red. The electronics are also modified, with the cannon no longer sounding like a machine gun and the blade now making basic sword clash sounds. 

As for his repaints, this is the Black Version of Galvatron given away by TV Magazine and Tobu department stores. The mix of black, red, and clear orange almost makes him reminiscent of Black Zarak, but that is probably not intended.

As for Superlink Galvatron G, this is their version of the deco used for the powered-up Decepticon leader. He comes with an Energon Star of his own as well as a clear blade originally used by Cruellock/Dinobot. The colors are closer to the show, yet I find them to be not as nice as the Hasbro version.

The only other US release comes in the form of Shattered Glass Megatron, who was retooled with a head based on the Marvel Comics version of G1 Megatron and a color scheme more heroic than his positive-universe counterpart. The Rumbler tank is now colored to look like Megazarak yet there are no electronics.

Overall, this set is one I would recommend you get if you want to go for some of the special releases for the sake of the brand history. Optimus Prime isn't that great but looks nice thanks to the colors and chrome. That and he is an interesting smaller option for anyone wondering how he'd Powerlink with other Autobots. Megatron, on the other hand, is just as great as the larger Hasbro toy, but he doesn't scale as accurately with most of the characters in the show and is harder to get than the larger version. This set is mostly suited for anyone who wants to put these in their Optimus Prime and Megatron collections, while the larger versions are put with their Energon displays. That said, getting them complete will be very difficult, so if you want to get these two, know that they are meant for each other in the context of the 2-pack rather than the Energon line as a whole, and be ready to pay a pretty penny.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Final Round-Up of Tiny Transformers

If you've seen these kinds of reviews before, you should get an idea of what they're like by now: I cover Transformers or other toys that don't normally have much to say on their own. For example, I would rather put a compilation review on some tiny retro figures from DBZ than I would review them individually. And in this case, I normally cover Legends scale toys or anything comparable that is either without a whole wave to cover or has so little to say on its own. And as I reach closer to 1,000 reviews, I aim to retire this sub series once I reach the milestone for the TF-specific random compilations. So let's wrap things up somewhat with two Titan Masters, a Cyberverse Commander Class figure, two Bot Shots repainted for TFOne, and two Blokees blind box builds!

We'll be going in order of when these toys were made rather than go by line, and that naturally means talking about the Bot Shots duo. Optimus Prime and Megatron come with their color-coded launchers, and they are based on the first versions of the characters we got early in the line. The way the gimmick of the line worked was that you and another player were using these as sort of like a rock-paper-scissors type game, where each toy has to be set with either of the three symbols on their dial (blaster, fist, sword), then rammed into each other to determine which bot is standing or which one manages to transform. If a transformed toy is not on its feet, it still loses. If it is a tie, then you determine the victor by any of the three outcomes: Blaster beats Fist, Fist beats Sword, and Sword beats Blaster. As you're about to see, these toys don't have those symbols.

On their own, they don't match the designs we saw in TF One. Optimus Prime was yet another take on a flat nose cab, only this time with a single window slit, while Megatron was much simpler of a tank design than the more WFC/ROTF look we have here. Also, for some reason, Optimus has solid blue wheels instead of making them black. Megatron at least looks generally fine. 

And for the bot modes, the torsos each have their own vague little details to make them recognizable, but given the presence of screws and the tumblers in their tummies (Tumbler Tummies? Tumblies?), but the heads at least add some kind of idea where they get their aesthetics from. Optimus Prime is clearly based on G1, and while the same could be said for TFOne, it isn't 1:1 for that regard. And as for Megatron, he is definitely closer to the High Moon games. Much rougher in shape than the pacing it took for D-16 to turn evil. Now I know that it's not easy to exactly nail the color palette of a character in this style of design, but once again Megatron manages to do it better than Optimus, whose arms are entirely blue along with the wheels. Maybe if there was black paint added on, they would look better since Megatron at least has the excuse of using his tank treads as arms.

For an example of what their original releases were like, Optimus Prime was mostly grey plastic but had paint apps to break that up. Megatron was much more muted in his shades of grey that almost border on gunmetal. While I prefer the brighter colors on Prime and the color breakup on Megatron, I can at least say that you have options to choose from.ficen all the repaints we got for the Bot Shots line while it lasted. We also had different versions that had them either jump to transform or spin attack. As pocket toys, these are more like curiosities, but they make me miss when Hasbro was trying to have some fun with any side lines that weren't eating up resources or shelf space like the Swapticons are. At least these have their own alt modes and need no stickers to convey fucking faces. And the 2-pack was sadly a bit overpriced but I'm sure it was discounted overtime; and hey, it beats paying a ticket to watch TFOne.

Up next, we have Hardshell from the original Cyberverse line, back when it was a subline meant for pocket-sized play with larger sets meant for them instead of a quick and easy trademark to use for the first Evergreen-inspired cartoon. I almost want to go back and get the old Cyberverse stuff but sadly I'm already filled for shelf space with regular figures. That said, this is the only option we have for ol' Tom Hardy. The insect mode is pretty close to the design all of the Prime Insecticons had in the show, from the general color layout (albeit more saturated and with lavender wings instead of ones colored like gunmetal/purple patina) to the general proportions meant to represent a rhinoceros beetle with a more monstrous touch. I mean, those things are already freaky little bigs, imagine seeing one the size of an M1 Abrams! We even get a bit of jaw articulation as well as ball jointed wings. The only issue with this mode would be the robot arms being visible on the pair of legs most further back, and while it's not a deal breaker for a toy of this scale, it does remind me of the robot legs still being visible for Waspinator's old toy.

For a bug mode size comparison, here we have Hardshell with the G1 Insecticon that loosely inspired him: Bombshell. I always thought Hardshell was a way better name, especially given what else Bombshell is used for at times (probably not as bad as why we don't use Slag anymore), and this is what I love most about Transformers evolution from 1984-the late 2010s at least: showing how much aesthetics have changed between different continuities, resulting in a more dynamic but mode that is almost organic in appearance than the evil Diaclone repurpose-me-do.

Transformation is not as basic as I expected, mostly thanks to the way the front of the altmode rotates before you shift the rest of the body down in an anthropomorphic look, and I especially love how the wings form what resembles samurai armor in a way. The bot mode is pretty accurate in this scale, but once again, the lavender gets in the way of the figure even more than it did in bug mode. I know Hasbro likely went with making the colors more radical for the Beast Hunters line, but I don't think it was needed for someone who hasn't had a toy in the previous line. Maybe if this was part of the 2012 Cyberverse line the wings would have been translucent while the arms would have blended in better with the grey used on the hips or feet or at least used silver paint. Still, the forest green and orange go very well together on a monstrous design, and I appreciate that the back kibble isn't as egregious. Even the head sculpt looks pretty good at this scale. 

Articulation consists of ball joints at the shoulders, elbows, hips, and ankles, with hinges at the knees and maybe the neck. He comes with an arm-mounted missile launcher that looks a bit wonky without the proper elbow articulation, and worse still, with this being the only option for a Hardshell figure, he is about as comparable to his G1 self when he should be bigger than Bulkhead! APC Toys/Gear Factory, do what must be done!

The sole repaint, Bombshock, is basically a G2 equivalent to the deco associated with Hardshell. He was included in a 2-pack with Shockwave for the Predacons Rising line exclusively at Target, and he curiously has a Predacon logo.

Now we go from Beast Hunters to Titans Return, with a pair of tiny dinos in the form of Clobber and Ptero. They're both cast in two colors for their plastic while including a few paint apps here and there, mostly for the faction symbols and eyes. Beyond that, they look pretty cheap compared to most other Titan Master vehicles.

The Titan Masters have the usual minimal color break up, but at least we have some black paint to break up the brown-grey plastic on Clobber's face. Ptero looks like Firedrive with red overalls, and I know this since I own Titans Return Hot Rod. However, their head modes are none other than Grimlock and Swoop! While fans were confused as to why Grimlock was named Clobber, Hasbro explained it was to avoid confusion with the RID2015 character, even though they had G1-styled Grimlock toys in some capacity next to the AOE and RID15 versions. My theory was that the explanation they used was a cover-up for the incoming announcement of the Power of the Primes Dinobots, with these two initially meant to be the partners of pre-POTP figures of Grimlock and Swoop; once Hasbro realized they can sell a combiner out of the whole team as a way to convince non-hardcore collectors (aka anyone less likely to buy the whole G1 Dinobot team), they used the Power of the Primes line as a way to do a final lap approach towards filling in any gaps for specific teams or characters prior lines didn't get to since the very first line began this concept in 2006's Classics line. As for why Grimlock and Swoop were chosen among the others, they're usually more prominent in different lines than other Dinobots normally are, whether it's due to the popularity of both dinosaurs or because they're regularly given various toys in other lines (Animated and Age of Extinction seem obvious, but this also began in the Energon line with the Mega-Dinobot set).

Their chariot modes are pretty basic, with Pteto's almost being redundant since he goes from a flying beast to a jet. Maybe he could be some sort of jet ski thing. At least Clobber goes from dinosaur to dragon.

Being Titan Master accessories, Clobber can turn into a gun while Ptero turns into a crossbow. I paired them up with the SS86 versions of Grimlock and Swoop, but now that I think about it, I should have paired Clobber with Snarl and rename the little partner as Tyrannotron. 

Clobber received the most amount of reuses, most notably originating as Crashbash, aka Squeezeplay. Then it was repainted as Overboard, aka Overkill. Why do the Titan Masters with that dragonsaur accessory have alternate names with Clobber?

Meanwhile, Clobber was repainted as Grimlock in the colors of the actual dude while Ptero was retooled as Rodimus Prime, and he is not only as nicely painted as a Takara Legends figure, but he also has partial die-cast!

And now we go from main Hasbro releases to their best licensee partner, Blokees! Assembling the head and planet form of Unicron each takes less time than a Champion Class, and the larger, chunkier parts make these Galaxy Version blind box builds easier to work with. Both of them have stands of their own, with the head even having a ball joint to work with! Both of them appear to be modeled after the HasLab version of Unicron, though I wouldn't hold your breath for a full body to be made. Still, I like the chomping feature on the planet mode.

Unicron's head has an articulated jaw so he can chew on that shuttle (because it has no display base), and the faceplate can be removed to reveal the same inner workings of the HasLab figure, with articulated eyes and unpainted teeth that are perfectly fine on a smaller, cheaper toy by a different company instead of the super expensive $500 toy from Hasbro.

Both kits have clear plastic versions of themselves that you can buy on their own, all without having to depend on luck or the aftermarket. They're pretty cool on their own, but be careful when assembling him or taking him apart!

Overall, while I don't plan to go all out with Defender or Galaxy versions of the Blokees line, I am at least happy to check out these two for reasonable prices thanks to eBay and Mercari. While I have yet to own a version of Unicron that transforms, these two join the ReAction version as the few pieces of the Chaos Bringer I own in my collection.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Bot Shots duo, Titans Return Duo)

⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Hardshell, Unicron duo)