Review: #341
Name: Alpha Trion
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Autobot
Line: Generations - Titans Return
Year of Release: 2016
Size Class: Voyager (Wave 2)
Mold Status: new
SOVEREIGN:
Sovereign is the Titan Master of Alpha Trion and a suitable name for such an important character. He's mostly red with a purple torso and grey thighs.
He has Alpha Trion's head on his back and is otherwise pretty nondescript.
The head has a faceplate but lacks paint so it all just blends into the red plastic. The balljointed head and shoulders are the only meaningful articulation here.
LION MODE:
The main mode of Alpha Trion is the robotic lion mode and it looks fairly good from the front.
Where it falls apart is from the back as it is fairly gappy, and the back torso (formed by the robot thighs) do not lock into place. The sword as the tail also cheats a little bit.
This is definitely a robotic lion thanks to the all the blocky bits. He's a pretty good size for a Voyager, above is him compared to Generations Springer.
In comparison with the other recent robotic lion Transformer is Prime Thundertron and you can see Alpha Trion is much bigger is size.
One of the interesting quirks is that the robot fists form the lower jaw of the lion and this actually works better than expected. For some reason, he also has a purple horn, go figure.
There's no meaningful articulation in lion mode, he's fairly static. It's a shame that the eyes are painted in purple so they're hard to make out.
On his back is the cockpit that you can place Sovereign in. The cockpit is a bit odd as it juts out of the body but there's no other place for it so this is the best the designer could do.
Alpha Trion also comes with a character card which showcases artwork of the robot. The opposite side shows some stats.
A decent lion mode for display but look anywhere other than the front and it looks a bit dodgy.
TRANSFORMATION (TO SPACESHIP):
Transformation is quite simple even though he is a triple changer. It's fairly ingenious at how to turn the curvy lion mode into a boxy spaceship. The lion's rear legs form the front of the spaceship and panels unfold to cover up most of the pieces. The lion head then splits in half to form the sides.
SPACESHIP MODE:
The spaceship mode is a bit of a stretch but since it adds extra play value without compromising too much of the figure, it's an acceptable trade-off.
The biggest area it fails is the sides which are the halves of the lion's head. You can actually have an alternate transformation that has the head facing downwards and the spaceship won't look as awkward and makes it seem like it has wings.
You can leave the gun off the middle and the sword though if you wish to make it more streamlined.
In this mode, he's still pretty big and hefty in your hands.
There is a fold out landing gear/sled to allow it to rest on the table.
Alpha Trion is more of an aircraft carrier with the flat surface and if you find a small enough plane, it looks quite good. Above is Generations Flanker.
Once again, the cockpit lifts up to fit Sovereign inside.
The other place for Sovereign or any other Titan Master to go into is the gun turret.
There are still a lot of flaws but as long as you don't expect too much, the spaceship mode is passable.
TRANSFORMATION (TO ROBOT):
Transformation is from spaceship to robot is fairly easy as well. The front of the spaceship forms the legs and it's fun to see how it incorporates the joints for the lion mode as well. The torso is solid in order for the pop out pylons on either side of the head, so that makes it a bit boring as you're just rearranging around a central block. This also means that Alpha Trion doesn't have to include a Headmaster gimmick as there's space for a head.
ROBOT MODE:
Robot mode is the figure's strongest aspect although there are still a few aesthetics flaws here, most notably the huge torso.
Considering he is a beast-former of sort, it's impressive there aren't any limbs sticking awkwardly out. The lion's feet are neatly integrated to his shins and torso.
The headsculpt is good and he has some spring-loaded pylons on either side of his each to bulk it up (doesn't help though as the figure still looks very buff).
You can leave the bits off to free up some head movement and for a more uncluttered look.
Size-wise, Alpha Trion is perfect and he is bulky to boot.
Articulation is really good, he only lacks a waist swivel.
Thanks to transformation, his ankles can tilt up and down which allows for balancing during posing.
His two weapons are a sword and a tri-barrelled gun.
The sword's sculpting is really nice. Alpha Trion has wrist swivels to be able to utilize sword wielding poses to its full potential.
The gun is okay and while the empty gap ruins it somewhat, it's not as bad as some other Titans Return weapons.
You can fit a Titan Master onto the gun if you wish, that's the only bit of Titan Master interactivity here.
The gun can also store on his back at the same place as in lion mode.
With all being said and done, Alpha Trion does look very regal and wise. There are also an insane number of paint applications on this figure, much more than you'd expect of figures these days.
A great robot mode and while the head articulation is restricted with the pylons up, no major complaints here and does justice to the character.
OVERALL:
Alpha Trion is a fun figure. The lion mode is either love/hate, and the spaceship mode is universally criticised for it's mediocrity. With all being said, the figure is very solid and has a great looking robot mode. He is worthwhile to purchase and has great aesthetics, especially with the way his robot legs are designed.
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