Better looking than I hoped!

Thanks bro... You just made me start having a nervous twitch because I can't replicate this yet!  

 

There are missiles filled with foam for putting out forest fires that helicopters use, which would make more sense for a "Protectobot"

 

Link pls, would love to see it.

 

I mean that's clearly the story he tells everyone, right up until they hit someone and "Oh, sorry Hot Spot! Turns out I accidentally reloaded the normal missiles, oopsie daisy. But hey, Blast Off's on fire now so all's well, right?"

Hot Spot just sighs and keeps rethinking if he should call Rook, Heatrock or Skyfeather back

 

Yeah, I feel a bit funny about Groove, Slightshot and uh, whichever Stunticon it was. Part of me just wants Hasbro to commit and not mess us around a bit more. Naive, I know!
Anyway, Stunticons!
Much like the Aerialbots, I always (and still) struggle to differentiate the Stunticons. As the dyed in the wool TF:UK'er there were few memorable appearances by them. The more I think about it, the moodier I get about how under used the much hyped Special Teams were. Aside from Buster and Prime's shared dream/vision my only other distinctive memories of any of the Stunticons was the scene where the Predacons take potshots at him and the scene where Menasor tries to bush in the door as Shockwave and Death's Head fight. It's no wonder I can't remember the names of most of them.

I didn't get to see any of the Decepticon Combiners until the spring of 1987, when I met a friend whose parents seemed to get him EVERYTHING. He was crazy about comics like I was and we had a close, strained and often weirdly intense friendship that goes on up to this day. By the time I got to hold the Combaticons and Stunticons in my grubby little hands the novelty of the Special Teams had worn off. A year is a long time when you're still in single digets.

Arguably there is a little more variation in these guys than there was in the Aerialbots but there's still not much to hold my attention. As with the Protectobots, more attention seems to have gone into making them convincing vehicles and functional limbs, with the robot mode seeming like a perfunctory afterthought. It's been illuminating to find out, as an adult browsing TFwiki, about 'Scramble City' and 'Jizai Gattai/Free Combination' and see the Special Teams in a whole new light. Transformers was the exception to all the other toylines I loved as a kid. All Masters of the Universe figures were meant to be Masters of the Universe Figures, likewise Action Force, Thundercats and M.A.SK. There were no weird scale problems with any of these. But Transformers was just this massive hodge podge of half a dozen unrleated lines. Taken as an entity unto themselves the Special Teams, and by extension Metroplex, are a much more staisfying expereince.

But as much as the Stunticon limbs bored me, I was fascinated by Motormaster. He has a Menasor mask? Why did he unfold in such a weird way? None of that has any relationship to either his truck, robot or torso modes? He was my first hint that all the team leaders had a base mode. Having never owned these first hand, I never saw the instruction books and my friend had to explain that he had a base mode. A base mode that didn't quite launch that little chest trolley thing. And the truck cab for feet? Is that like having rollerskates? With Motormaster's innate boxiness Menasor stands out as one of the most solid looking of the '86 combiners and he came with one of the collest weapons; the bloody sowrd that i don't own.

I won't say too much about Blackjack. I had no great love for the Micromasters as a kid, coming in right at the end of my interest in the toys, but I have come to love them as an adult collector. I'd love if wesaw the Micromasters properly reimagined in the CHUG line.

I got into Combiner Wars quite late, probabaly around the time that wave four was coming in, and picked most of the wave one and three figures up from ebay or amazon, often already second hand. As wave two was never officially released in the UK and I missed out on all the local online retail options i wound up having to buy a set of wave 2 from a Chinese seller on ebay, which always comes with risk. Thankfully this came through without even a customs sting. It must be said, there's often less pleasure in getting all your bots at the same time. Each figure gets a little less time and attention as it has to share the spotlight with another five or so figures.

But this isn't what made CW Menasor such a flat experience. Like most other people, I got Dragstrip before the other Stunticons and that is a real pity becasue he is easily the best of the four Deluxes in any given mode. His car looks great, his bot mode is distinctive and has just the right balance between being faithful to the original whilst being a fresh update and he's a tidy limb. By the time I got the rest I'd already seen the (goes to TFWiki to check names) Dead End and Offroad molds in the Protectobots and, despite being the original mold uses, I didn't think they were particularly inventive uses of the molds. Off Road looks seasick and Dead End has that horrible beaky looking headsculpt from the cartoon. The only 'new' Deluxe mold was Breakdown, and I struggle to find anyhting I like about this mold. The vehicle mode is good enough, I guess?

Motormaster I liked. I suppose the descision to just make him a truck cab, instead of adding the trailer, might be seen as controversial by some and even cynical by others who were waiting for the inevitable Optimus Prime retool, but it didn't bother me. The bot mode is nicely articulated, even at at the stomach thanks to a quirk of articulation, he has a great charcterful headsculpt and looks mean, moody, and menacing. Some say he has gorilla arms, but then so do I so I'm hardly going to give him grief for that.

That said I will give him all the gried for being a lousy torso mode. It lacks the imaginative transformation of Silverbolt or even Hotspot. The head just flips up out of some back kibble. I think the headsculpt for Menasor is quite good, with it's angry expression and devil horns, but it's too small. Menasor looks pea headed. His torso is hideous. It looks like his ribs have been fused to his pelvis and all the abdomen just got thrown away. The thighs and shoulders peg in so badly that his limbs are incredibly floppy when attached. Not a good look when he's already so floppy. You get the option to peg Blackjack in , a fine little Legends class bot, but he usually just slides or pops off the pegs. How odd that he's such a poor substitute for the old school little black drone.Menasor is a delicate, hard to pose mess and it's hard not to just see him as a totally wasted opportunity and/or the result of too few resources in the R&D division.

 

here you go!

Heavy/Scratch: - Megatron Corps: Combiner v.1.0

i wish he did my suggestion of g1 gun megatron from shockwave, since the legends tank mold's mushroom peg fits in perfectly in the socket.....

 

Thanks

 

I have more than my fair share of CW/UW upgrade kits but I consider Menasor's to be the only kit that is mandatory. The new head is better proportioned and even more...menacing and the shoulder paldrons look really good. Best of all, they essentially extend the torso to make it look more proportional with the rest of the limbs and body. You lose some of that posability but like you said, he doesn't to a great job anyway due to some floppyness.

 

Whatever my inability to remember the Stunticons says about my memory and the dangers of making your little team of combiners too similar to each (Hello Torchbearers), the Combaticons are the flipside. Not only can I remember all their names and who turns into what, I even remember the personality quirks listed in their tech specs. Blast Off - the aloof one; Vortex - the headcase, Brawl - the thug; Swindle - the conman; Onslaught - the super strategist. They were the Decepticon combiners I wanted. They were hard bastards, full of attitude. I remember a kid I went to school with having the 'gift set' of them but refusing to let me see them. Arsewipe.

However, by the time I did actually get to see them, sometime in early '87, my interest in Combiners had waned. They were a product of a simpler, pre-Unicron time and I was more interested in yer Wreck Gars and your Rodimus Primes. From what I remember, 1986 seemed to happen in two waves; Combiners in the first half of the year then TF:TM figures in the second. After seeing Kup, Hot Rod, Blurr, and Scourge the 'Special Teams' seemed rather dinky. With adult eyes the limbs actually look like some of the best combiners. The paint apps on their faces seem a bit more tasteful, detailed and understated than their peers (Groove's all gold and Blade's all blue being particularly lazy offenders), with just a single, high contrast dash of colour across their eyes. Despite Swindle's pin head -and the general lack of real hands they all have- they really are a good set.

Onslaught is fantastic. Sure his articulation is surprisingly basic but he gest extra points for the head swivel. His deco is top notch. The dark blue with black camo, olive and silver really sells him as being a military vehicle in a way that's alarmingly rare in Transformers. And those cannons on his back give him a distinctive silhouette that's hard to beat within the Special Team leaders. I was never much of a fan of Bruticus though. That headsculpt always looked a bit daft to me. Like one of those old Marvel villans that had some ungainly and oversized helmet; Stiltman for the sake of argument. His torso is just that little bit too spindly and the arms in particular look...off.

By the time the CW Combaticons came out people were getting very bored of all the repaints. With each wave we'd get one new mold. Molds that didn't suit the character were being used. The Combaticons had two jarring examples, at least for me. Blast off wasn't a shuttle. Ok, sure. A Shuttle being the same size as a jeep has always been one of the more facepalming moments, but it's not like a jet is the same size as a jeep either. So that doesn't really ease the sting. And missing off the distinctive faceplate that every iteration of Blast Off has had really didn't help. Controversially I'm of the opinion that Swindle is a lousy use of the Rook mold. While near perfect in vehicle mode, he's just too big, buff and bulky for the character. Swindle should be a little smaller, more of a weasely little character. Maybe I'm straying into head cannon there?

Vortex is finally the perfect use of the Helicopter mode, and his deco is fantastic. He may well be the most satisfying of the CW Combaticons. Brawl while looking remarkably faithful to the collective, platonic ideal of 'Brawl', is plagued by some bad design choices, specifically in his waist connection and arms. And boy does that suck when he's the only new mold in the wave. Onslaught is a bright re-use of the Hotspot mold, with the front of the vehicle being the back and a neat weapon tower that hides Bruticus' head, but has some os the same problems with molded in hands and a too thin profile. In robot mode his headsculpt is particularly fine. Bruticus, inevitably, has some of the same flaws as Defensor but after the mess that was Menasor is pretty satisfying. His arms often look hilariously over sized, but I have to admit that I rather like that.

It's often hard to remind yourself that, as an adult collector, you're not the core customer. When I take a step back I realise some kid has probably managed to collect a full set of Combaticons, which may be their only full combiner team, and is delighted by how they looks, doesn't care about shuttles, faceplates, mold fatigue, or what size Swindle is in my imagination, I'm relieved I've still got the wit to laugh at myself for being so uptight. Objectively, The Combaticons are actually an excellent set, brimming with moody character and playability, that merge into a solid and imposing combiner. If I was going to spoil some imagined niece of nephew with two sets of Combiner Wars teams, it'd be the Aerialbots and the Combaticons. Adult fussiness be damned.

 

Bruticus is pretty awesome. He's probably my favorite 'Con combiner. The jet arm doesn't bother me in the slightest.

Have fun, mate! You didn't get Legends Shockwave, did you?

 

I actually did get him a week ago while I was on holiday with my girlfriend. £5 from TK Max. I'd already taken the photos by then and, because Shockwave is a big deal for me, I thought I'd hold back in case we get a Voyager or some such in PotP.
That said, I haven't actually used him in gun mode with Bruticus soooooo cheap excuse to get them all out again? I think so!

 

I personally love Swindle using the Rook mold. So he's bulkier than the character probably should be. He's probably lined himself with extra compartments to carry his wares on his person on the off chance he can slip away to make a shady deal or three!   But to each their own.

 

One of the nice things about writing these little things is seeing people come in with a totally different perspective that makes you take a second look at the figure. Again, objectively there's nothing wrong with Swindle. He's got great paint apps. It's a solid, chunky figure with a fun transformation, and heaps of character.

it's just that he doesn't look like my Swindle. Cue wailing sound.

 

And indeed, if it not being your Swindle bothers you (as in a general person) enough, there are a few unofficial options on the horizon - but even the Unite Warriors set of Combaticons is cheaper by far for some great Combaticon toys to relive childhood memories without taking you the better part of half an hour to flip between modes. And hey, these guys look to make great Car Robots Combatrons/RiD Commandos too! (and surprisingly slightly cheaper than the UW Combaticons despite more weapons and golden yellow CW Computron hands and feet)

I do love a good read, though, and you certainly provide that in spades!  

 

Ok, the thought of Swindle bulking up so he can have smuggling compartments is a brilliant bit of headcanon that I'm going to appropriate. Thank you for that. I always love it when someone comes up with a reason for why a toy is a certain way that works so well.

 

probably upgrades that he got by - "questionable" - means

 

Oh most likely. xD

 

I got TW Constructor about a month ago and I have newfound respect for Combiner Wars/Unite Warriors' simplicity.

 

Today I got @doomtron's boy, Alpha Bravo, well he is good.

 

Here's my contribution! Absolutely love the CW series. Sad to see it go  
These set of images is kinda old.
I've made some mods to "Grand Scourge" that brings out more of his teal.
I also added some of the TDW kits to Defensor and Bruticus.
I'll get around to take new photos a bit later