Top 5 Best Targetmasters Post-G1
Posted: Sat Jul 15, 2017 12:58 pmEvery two weeks, Seibertron.com brings you a Top 5 list related to all things Transformers written by me, your fellow editor. These are my opinions (just like movie or game reviews hosted by sites are still just the opinion of one person) so what matters most is what you guys think of the topic or list, and I hope to see your own lists or comments on omissions and ranking. Let's have fun! All previous lists can be found here.
Top 5 best Targetmasters since G1
While it was a bit hard to wrap one's head around the headmaster concept, and the differeing interpretation in the fiction, Target Maaters have always been more to the point. It's a simple and fun idea of a robot turning into a weapon that another robot can use. While there was a whole subgroup fo them in the 80s, they were rather similar one to the next so what I would like to focus on is what we have gotten since that era and how that concept kept being brought back to the brand, with a different take everytime. And with Titanmasters making a huge comeback this year, thanks to Takara, I thought it would be the perfect time to look back on what we have gotten in the post-G1 era. The criteria is simple, it has to be a small robot that turns into a weapon to be weilded by someone else and released after the G1 era. Let's get to it!
5. Robots in Disguise Minicon Weaponizer Tricerashot
Even the most enthusiastic Robots in Disguise fan had a tough time warming up to the new Robots in Disguise Minicons. They didn't have the original Minicon Ports and the only ports they did have only fit with either simpler toys collectors were not getting, or Takara Exclusive toys (like their Supreme Class Optimus toys which never got released through Hasbro). To add insult to injury, the only way to really play with them was to spend money on simplified transforming toys called Deployers and you needed three different Deployers to be able to deploy all the differently shaped minicons.
But then, Hasbro had the brilliant idea of bringing back the Targetmasters concept with the next itiration of these RID Minicons. And it was fleshed out well in the cartoon with these little guys really adding firepower to their friends (just as Grimlock). It also solved the problem of having to buy additional toys we didnt need just to do the gimick since anyone in the line (from one-steps and up) could use these. The real standout of these new Targetmaster-like Minicons was Tricerashot. He is a good looking triceratops that becomes a cool three barrelled lazer cannon. It wasn't a perfect rendition of the show model, but a great effort none the less at replicating the three barrels. Plus you have the option to customize him with extra clear plastic accessories in either mode. It's too bad this toy still hasn't appeared in the US as of this article's publication.
4. Cybertron Vector Prime's Safeguard (Roots)
This guy is a cross of a lot of concepts since while he is a little robot that turns into a gun but it's a gun that is also spliced with a spaceship altmode. He also has a minicon port and has a special slot just for him to complete Vector Prime's full spaceship mode. And he accomplishes everything perfectly. I love how detailed this little guy is in both modes with a very sleek bot mode. And his lower arms are on balljoints just to give that extra premium feel from a golden era we are now way past.
3. Transformers Power Core Combiners Bomb-Burst/Chainclaw
My problem with a lot of Targetmasters is how one of the modes is usually sacrificed for the other. You might have a great gun but a brick for a robot or you will get a nice robot that doesn't look that much like a convincing weapon. Well enter the Chainclaw/Bomburst mold. Firstly, it's a nice identifiable robot, with lots of poseability for a bot that size (about as much as a Legion class figure). I also love the use of clear plastic, the deco on both of these is fun. And then you get to the best part: the weapon mode. Out of seemingly nowhere you get these two huge missile launchers that now seem completely unavoidable. Its a fun trick of the designers to have the most obvious weapon detail hidden under the robot's feet. And unlike other Targetmasters, this ends up being principally for the bigger bot<s vehicle mode and becomes where it becomes a centerpiece of death and mayhem.
2. Transformers Universe - Classics 2.0 Nightstick
This is just a great update to the G1 Targetmasters. It's just nice to see a classic Targetmaster brought back and improved in every way. That gun mode is so much more convincing than the G1 version and offers more transformation steps with parts dedicated just to that mode.
1. Transformers Arms Micron Bulkhead Knuckle
I think you have to own him to know why this guy deserves this spot. He was never released by Hasbro, as is the case with most Arms Micron microns, so I don't expect you all to have him. He's also really hard to search for online because this isn't Arms Micron Bulkhead (meaning Bulkhead from that line), nor is it the micron that comes with Bulkhead but instead this is just Bulkhead as a micron. These were available as single releases in those gashapon machines in Japan where you put in a coin and get a small capsule. All this to say that I am sorry if you cannot bask in the awesomeness that is this Bulkhead micron and I hope my words and pics will help. So here's the deal: he is a small Prime Bulkhead that turns into a literal Hulk Hand. He becomes a big green fist. I got him in a pack of microns and didn't really understand what he was even looking at the picture because he was next to a bunch of swords and guns and a disembodied fist isn't as distinguishable (as you can see here).
But then I inserted him onto a deluxe figure and bam, I saw it. It's such a perfect fit too, I don't know how Takara did it. The 5 mm peg is positioned at the perfect spot so that making any figure hold him really gives him convincing Hulk hands. It even looks better than pegging combiner fists on toys because not only is it the fist but the forearm too, making it look kinds like Hellboy or a that moment when you use a super punch in a video game. It becomes part of the figure and makes every figure you put it on look so much more badass. Extra props for being smart and finding a simple way to make him both left handed and right handed if need be. This is a very unique weapon to turn into and it could not have been done better.
Here are a couple images I found on the internet (some done by me, FireofOrodruin, Code XCDM and others) to help sell my point:
Honourable Mentions:
Transformers Generations Eclipse, Payload, Flanker
The Target Master concept came back in full force in the Generations line's Legends Class (which was basically the new name for the scout class). Each robot came with a smaller robot which could turn into a weapon. Interestingly, each of these smaller robots actually had 3 modes. An alt mode, a robot mode and a weapon mode. The two I thought were particularly well done were the Payload and Eclipse mold, the two space shuttles. I thought the robot mode on Eclipse was particularly detailed, especially the tiny face sculpt and both have fun weapon modes that actually look like weapons. You just have to love that double barrel Payload gun!
Top 5 best Targetmasters since G1
While it was a bit hard to wrap one's head around the headmaster concept, and the differeing interpretation in the fiction, Target Maaters have always been more to the point. It's a simple and fun idea of a robot turning into a weapon that another robot can use. While there was a whole subgroup fo them in the 80s, they were rather similar one to the next so what I would like to focus on is what we have gotten since that era and how that concept kept being brought back to the brand, with a different take everytime. And with Titanmasters making a huge comeback this year, thanks to Takara, I thought it would be the perfect time to look back on what we have gotten in the post-G1 era. The criteria is simple, it has to be a small robot that turns into a weapon to be weilded by someone else and released after the G1 era. Let's get to it!
5. Robots in Disguise Minicon Weaponizer Tricerashot
Even the most enthusiastic Robots in Disguise fan had a tough time warming up to the new Robots in Disguise Minicons. They didn't have the original Minicon Ports and the only ports they did have only fit with either simpler toys collectors were not getting, or Takara Exclusive toys (like their Supreme Class Optimus toys which never got released through Hasbro). To add insult to injury, the only way to really play with them was to spend money on simplified transforming toys called Deployers and you needed three different Deployers to be able to deploy all the differently shaped minicons.
But then, Hasbro had the brilliant idea of bringing back the Targetmasters concept with the next itiration of these RID Minicons. And it was fleshed out well in the cartoon with these little guys really adding firepower to their friends (just as Grimlock). It also solved the problem of having to buy additional toys we didnt need just to do the gimick since anyone in the line (from one-steps and up) could use these. The real standout of these new Targetmaster-like Minicons was Tricerashot. He is a good looking triceratops that becomes a cool three barrelled lazer cannon. It wasn't a perfect rendition of the show model, but a great effort none the less at replicating the three barrels. Plus you have the option to customize him with extra clear plastic accessories in either mode. It's too bad this toy still hasn't appeared in the US as of this article's publication.
4. Cybertron Vector Prime's Safeguard (Roots)
This guy is a cross of a lot of concepts since while he is a little robot that turns into a gun but it's a gun that is also spliced with a spaceship altmode. He also has a minicon port and has a special slot just for him to complete Vector Prime's full spaceship mode. And he accomplishes everything perfectly. I love how detailed this little guy is in both modes with a very sleek bot mode. And his lower arms are on balljoints just to give that extra premium feel from a golden era we are now way past.
3. Transformers Power Core Combiners Bomb-Burst/Chainclaw
My problem with a lot of Targetmasters is how one of the modes is usually sacrificed for the other. You might have a great gun but a brick for a robot or you will get a nice robot that doesn't look that much like a convincing weapon. Well enter the Chainclaw/Bomburst mold. Firstly, it's a nice identifiable robot, with lots of poseability for a bot that size (about as much as a Legion class figure). I also love the use of clear plastic, the deco on both of these is fun. And then you get to the best part: the weapon mode. Out of seemingly nowhere you get these two huge missile launchers that now seem completely unavoidable. Its a fun trick of the designers to have the most obvious weapon detail hidden under the robot's feet. And unlike other Targetmasters, this ends up being principally for the bigger bot<s vehicle mode and becomes where it becomes a centerpiece of death and mayhem.
2. Transformers Universe - Classics 2.0 Nightstick
This is just a great update to the G1 Targetmasters. It's just nice to see a classic Targetmaster brought back and improved in every way. That gun mode is so much more convincing than the G1 version and offers more transformation steps with parts dedicated just to that mode.
1. Transformers Arms Micron Bulkhead Knuckle
I think you have to own him to know why this guy deserves this spot. He was never released by Hasbro, as is the case with most Arms Micron microns, so I don't expect you all to have him. He's also really hard to search for online because this isn't Arms Micron Bulkhead (meaning Bulkhead from that line), nor is it the micron that comes with Bulkhead but instead this is just Bulkhead as a micron. These were available as single releases in those gashapon machines in Japan where you put in a coin and get a small capsule. All this to say that I am sorry if you cannot bask in the awesomeness that is this Bulkhead micron and I hope my words and pics will help. So here's the deal: he is a small Prime Bulkhead that turns into a literal Hulk Hand. He becomes a big green fist. I got him in a pack of microns and didn't really understand what he was even looking at the picture because he was next to a bunch of swords and guns and a disembodied fist isn't as distinguishable (as you can see here).
But then I inserted him onto a deluxe figure and bam, I saw it. It's such a perfect fit too, I don't know how Takara did it. The 5 mm peg is positioned at the perfect spot so that making any figure hold him really gives him convincing Hulk hands. It even looks better than pegging combiner fists on toys because not only is it the fist but the forearm too, making it look kinds like Hellboy or a that moment when you use a super punch in a video game. It becomes part of the figure and makes every figure you put it on look so much more badass. Extra props for being smart and finding a simple way to make him both left handed and right handed if need be. This is a very unique weapon to turn into and it could not have been done better.
Here are a couple images I found on the internet (some done by me, FireofOrodruin, Code XCDM and others) to help sell my point:
Honourable Mentions:
Transformers Generations Eclipse, Payload, Flanker
The Target Master concept came back in full force in the Generations line's Legends Class (which was basically the new name for the scout class). Each robot came with a smaller robot which could turn into a weapon. Interestingly, each of these smaller robots actually had 3 modes. An alt mode, a robot mode and a weapon mode. The two I thought were particularly well done were the Payload and Eclipse mold, the two space shuttles. I thought the robot mode on Eclipse was particularly detailed, especially the tiny face sculpt and both have fun weapon modes that actually look like weapons. You just have to love that double barrel Payload gun!
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