DSC_3892
With the assistance of a fellow collector, I was able to complete the Toys R Us discount set by actually finding the Titan Class entry for Earthrise line, Scorponok. At a MSRP of $249.99 CAD, that 20% off was a doozy.
So Titan class.. huh?
Well, a bit of history for the unfamiliar. In 2013, Hasbro took a chance and decided to release, for the first time in decades, a giant sized toy. The first of which was Metroplex, the Autobot City, who measured just shy of 2 ft. tall, but still the tallest Transformer figure ever made (at the time). Well, it must have sold decently, as we got a Fortress Maximus remould of Metroplex, Tripticon, Omega Supreme, and now, Scorponok, with effectively one released for every series.
I'm not sure if they are Titan releases, but also released were a giant Devestator and Predaking.
Scorponok was one of the Titan Class releases I'd been looking forward to since Titans Return with the return of the Headmasters. As Fort Max was released, it was only a matter of time before we'd see Scorponok, who is traditionally the arch rival of Fort Max. The last of the giant basebots in the American G1 continuity, Scorponok was the one that was to usurp the Decepticon leadership from Galvatron and reign supreme - or at least he would have had there actually been an animated season for it.
Going by the US continuity, Scorponok is the name of the giant robot body, where as it's head is formed by his binary bonded life partner, Lord Zarak. In the Japanese version of the universe, the head IS the character, attaching itself to giant Transformer bodies known as Transtectors.
This new Titan sized figure can go head to head with Fortress Maximus, whereas the original toy was significantly smaller. The basic concept for the figure hasn't changed (giant green and purple scorpion with a separating head), but as you can image the contents somewhat have. You now get the main robot body, the transforming head (which now has it's own separate transoforming head), two twin cannons, a shield, and some fireblast effects.
Gone are the various loose ramp and antenna pieces, along with his giant gun. Furthermore, there's no Fasttrack, the little drone the G1 toy came with, now sold separately as a Deluxe class robot that transforms into a spear for Scorponok.
So when you've got a giant toy like this, while you're being astonished at the size of the thing, you're also gonna be somewhat disappointed by how hollow the thing this - let's face it, the MSRP is a large number, but it terms of price point to size ratio, it's still comparatively low. If you're able to get over the hollow feeling, you'll be blown away by the detailing that you find on figure, ranging from various mechanical lines to practical things like boosters and wheels.
Another positive change is that the proportions of the robot mode have been updated and the Earthrise version certainly looks more menacing, undoubtedly due to the larger upper body and giant, giant claws.
No stickers to contend with on this figure.
I love how true to the G1 figure this one looks, especially the entire torso.
As stated earlier, Scorponok is now a double Headmaster just like Fortress Maximus. The original Fort Max was smaller than the current one, but still pretty big (largest Transformer, after all) and the double Headmaster gimmick allowed the robot mode to appear relatively proportionate. Now, for whatever reason, Scorponok was made a smaller toy, but at the same time, it still needed a slighly bigger head than what the standard Headmaster gave you, so he was given a battle helmet to boost the size of his noggin.
I have no idea what they're calling them these days, so I'll use my G1 naming to the best of my abilities. Lord Zarak now transforms from Scorponok head into a Deluxe sized figure (revealing Scorponok's Emerald Green eyes in the process), which itself has a standard array of articulation points (ankle tilts, ratcheting knees, hips with both rotating and pivoting joints, waist, standard shoulders, single jointed elbow, and head). The smaller Headmaster itself is like the rest of the Titan Master lineup, head can rotate, arms can move at the shoulders, but the legs are fused together.
The articulation of the robot mode itself is effectively what you get in the Deluxe Headmaster figure, albeit using pretty much all ratcheting joints (for purposes of strength). There's a thigh swivel added to the mix, and each point of his pincers can move. Overall, you'll get Scorponok into some decent action poses. If you like to photograph figures interacting with the world around it, you'll have fun time with Scorponok.
Transformation into Scorpion mode is relatively straight forward if you look at the photo of the finished product. As you can imagine, there's no way those spindly little legs can hold up the entire weight of the figure, so it rests on rollers that you can use to push Scorponok along the ground. The giant robot head now forms the admittedly cool looking bug mode head, complete with different eyes. There's also a cockpit of sorts for the small Headmaster, but it's such an after thought, it falls into "why did you even bother" territory - I mean, it's inside the chest plate and has no window!
Finally, we have base mode, which Scorponok was always meant to have. I like the little throne thing right in the middle of set, as well as the sheer number of ramps, but as a base goes it's still basically just funcational, and is a relocation of limbs into a jumble that kind of looks like a base. Granted the giant size would be neat for a kid to work with, but I find the lack of guns somewhat disappointing (and if I'm being honest, laughable) for a base of this size - at least Skylynx had his gun pods! Leaving on a positive note, I guess its worth mentioning that base mode does resemble its G1 counterpart.
Giggles around the base mode aside (those will almost never win me over). I find that this figure is definitely a worthy successor to the original G1 toy. I mean.... I have not opened Omega Supreme yet, but with the exception of Fortress Maximus, who was a remould of the Metroplex figure, all the Titans have been toys that we 80s kids wish we had back in the day. If you love Scorponok or giant robots in general, there's really no going wrong here.. other than price point and actually finding it.
Having said that, there's always that hollow feeling which, again, is understandable. But I think that if they're gonna start upping the prices, a few extra guns as loose parts or even cooler, flip out gun pods and turrets, would be interesting.
From a glow up perspective, I would have to say that Scorponok has size on its side, but Skylynx was the better engineered toy, as designers really did squeeze all they could out of the thing. Both projects, however, I could see as passion projects rather than just someone just doing their job.
With the last of the American giant robots Titan sized... whats next? The next series seems to have a mixture of G1 and Beast characters, so there's a lot to draw off of. Unicron is out of the question with the Hasbro crowdfunding one in place. Maybe Hasbro will finally open up to those zany Japanese G1 robots?
Only time will tell.
DSC_3892
With the assistance of a fellow collector, I was able to complete the Toys R Us discount set by actually finding the Titan Class entry for Earthrise line, Scorponok. At a MSRP of $249.99 CAD, that 20% off was a doozy.
So Titan class.. huh?
Well, a bit of history for the unfamiliar. In 2013, Hasbro took a chance and decided to release, for the first time in decades, a giant sized toy. The first of which was Metroplex, the Autobot City, who measured just shy of 2 ft. tall, but still the tallest Transformer figure ever made (at the time). Well, it must have sold decently, as we got a Fortress Maximus remould of Metroplex, Tripticon, Omega Supreme, and now, Scorponok, with effectively one released for every series.
I'm not sure if they are Titan releases, but also released were a giant Devestator and Predaking.
Scorponok was one of the Titan Class releases I'd been looking forward to since Titans Return with the return of the Headmasters. As Fort Max was released, it was only a matter of time before we'd see Scorponok, who is traditionally the arch rival of Fort Max. The last of the giant basebots in the American G1 continuity, Scorponok was the one that was to usurp the Decepticon leadership from Galvatron and reign supreme - or at least he would have had there actually been an animated season for it.
Going by the US continuity, Scorponok is the name of the giant robot body, where as it's head is formed by his binary bonded life partner, Lord Zarak. In the Japanese version of the universe, the head IS the character, attaching itself to giant Transformer bodies known as Transtectors.
This new Titan sized figure can go head to head with Fortress Maximus, whereas the original toy was significantly smaller. The basic concept for the figure hasn't changed (giant green and purple scorpion with a separating head), but as you can image the contents somewhat have. You now get the main robot body, the transforming head (which now has it's own separate transoforming head), two twin cannons, a shield, and some fireblast effects.
Gone are the various loose ramp and antenna pieces, along with his giant gun. Furthermore, there's no Fasttrack, the little drone the G1 toy came with, now sold separately as a Deluxe class robot that transforms into a spear for Scorponok.
So when you've got a giant toy like this, while you're being astonished at the size of the thing, you're also gonna be somewhat disappointed by how hollow the thing this - let's face it, the MSRP is a large number, but it terms of price point to size ratio, it's still comparatively low. If you're able to get over the hollow feeling, you'll be blown away by the detailing that you find on figure, ranging from various mechanical lines to practical things like boosters and wheels.
Another positive change is that the proportions of the robot mode have been updated and the Earthrise version certainly looks more menacing, undoubtedly due to the larger upper body and giant, giant claws.
No stickers to contend with on this figure.
I love how true to the G1 figure this one looks, especially the entire torso.
As stated earlier, Scorponok is now a double Headmaster just like Fortress Maximus. The original Fort Max was smaller than the current one, but still pretty big (largest Transformer, after all) and the double Headmaster gimmick allowed the robot mode to appear relatively proportionate. Now, for whatever reason, Scorponok was made a smaller toy, but at the same time, it still needed a slighly bigger head than what the standard Headmaster gave you, so he was given a battle helmet to boost the size of his noggin.
I have no idea what they're calling them these days, so I'll use my G1 naming to the best of my abilities. Lord Zarak now transforms from Scorponok head into a Deluxe sized figure (revealing Scorponok's Emerald Green eyes in the process), which itself has a standard array of articulation points (ankle tilts, ratcheting knees, hips with both rotating and pivoting joints, waist, standard shoulders, single jointed elbow, and head). The smaller Headmaster itself is like the rest of the Titan Master lineup, head can rotate, arms can move at the shoulders, but the legs are fused together.
The articulation of the robot mode itself is effectively what you get in the Deluxe Headmaster figure, albeit using pretty much all ratcheting joints (for purposes of strength). There's a thigh swivel added to the mix, and each point of his pincers can move. Overall, you'll get Scorponok into some decent action poses. If you like to photograph figures interacting with the world around it, you'll have fun time with Scorponok.
Transformation into Scorpion mode is relatively straight forward if you look at the photo of the finished product. As you can imagine, there's no way those spindly little legs can hold up the entire weight of the figure, so it rests on rollers that you can use to push Scorponok along the ground. The giant robot head now forms the admittedly cool looking bug mode head, complete with different eyes. There's also a cockpit of sorts for the small Headmaster, but it's such an after thought, it falls into "why did you even bother" territory - I mean, it's inside the chest plate and has no window!
Finally, we have base mode, which Scorponok was always meant to have. I like the little throne thing right in the middle of set, as well as the sheer number of ramps, but as a base goes it's still basically just funcational, and is a relocation of limbs into a jumble that kind of looks like a base. Granted the giant size would be neat for a kid to work with, but I find the lack of guns somewhat disappointing (and if I'm being honest, laughable) for a base of this size - at least Skylynx had his gun pods! Leaving on a positive note, I guess its worth mentioning that base mode does resemble its G1 counterpart.
Giggles around the base mode aside (those will almost never win me over). I find that this figure is definitely a worthy successor to the original G1 toy. I mean.... I have not opened Omega Supreme yet, but with the exception of Fortress Maximus, who was a remould of the Metroplex figure, all the Titans have been toys that we 80s kids wish we had back in the day. If you love Scorponok or giant robots in general, there's really no going wrong here.. other than price point and actually finding it.
Having said that, there's always that hollow feeling which, again, is understandable. But I think that if they're gonna start upping the prices, a few extra guns as loose parts or even cooler, flip out gun pods and turrets, would be interesting.
From a glow up perspective, I would have to say that Scorponok has size on its side, but Skylynx was the better engineered toy, as designers really did squeeze all they could out of the thing. Both projects, however, I could see as passion projects rather than just someone just doing their job.
With the last of the American giant robots Titan sized... whats next? The next series seems to have a mixture of G1 and Beast characters, so there's a lot to draw off of. Unicron is out of the question with the Hasbro crowdfunding one in place. Maybe Hasbro will finally open up to those zany Japanese G1 robots?
Only time will tell.