Friday, December 23, 2016

Toy Review: Transformers Generations Titans Return Triggerhappy & Blowpipe


Review:  #352
Name:  Triggerhappy
Brand:  Transformers
Allegiance:  Decepticon
Line:  Generations - Titans Return
Year of Release:  2016
Size Class:  Deluxe (Wave 3)
Mold Status:  new

BLOWPIPE:


Triggerhappy's Titan Master is Blowpipe who is unfortunately lacking quite a bit in the paint department.  It's not that he doesn't have sculpted detailing, it's just that it doesn't stand out.


He wears the larger robot's head on his back in full view which is to be expected since Blowpipe is quite small so it would have been difficult and cost-prohibitive for some sort of mechanism to hide the face when not in use.


Blowpipe's face is well defined but again, hard to tell when it doesn't have any paint to highlight it.  He has the standard Titan Master articulation including balljointed head and shoulders, and jointed hips and knees molded in one piece.

JET MODE:


Triggerhappy transforms into a space jet with heaps of weaponry.  Not only does he has the double-barreled blasters on each side, he has guns underneath each wing.


This is one of the best jets you will find.  The rear is equally well formed with defined rear thrusters.


In terms of size, Triggerhappy is surprisingly bulky.  You can see he is much bigger than Deluxe Legends Slipstream (which is a retool of Generations Windblade).  He holds together really well.


Since Titans Return Deluxes don't carry comics anymore, he comes with a character card instead showcasing a piece of impressive artwork.


The vehicle is designed to interact with Titan Masters, more specifically Blowpipe.  The cockpit opens up for you to place Blowpipe in.


Another feature is that you can detach the guns and then combine them together to form a gun-sled for Blowpipe.


Triggerhappy has fold down front landing gear but it is a molded wheel, don't expect to roll him on a table.


Overall, this is a perfect jet.  Triggerhappy has no flaws in this mode, he looks absolutely stunning and the best space jet fighter we have ever seen.

TRANSFORMATION:


Triggerhappy comes in robot mode in packaging and converting him into jet mode for the first time without instructions is a bit tricky.  The clear surprise is the rotating torso which retains part of the cockpit for the robot chest, but places the front of the jet onto his back and the back of the jet to the front as his legs.  It's impressive engineering.  It is not complex either so he is fun to go back and forth between the modes.

ROBOT MODE:


Triggerhappy's robot mode is no slouch either, looking equally as striking as the jet mode.


He has a fair bit of kibble which can end up impeding some of his articulation.  The mode notable of which is the front of the jet on his back and the guns on either side of his arms.


This is in the official instructions and is kind of like a half-transformed robot, where you leave the guns folded over his hands, combine the gun together and peg it onto the sides of his shoulder, where you can then place Blowpipe.  It's awkward and impractical.


The headsculpt is fantastic.  The faceplate, helmet and the paint used really brings out the character.  It's also fits the proportion of the body.  This line's Deluxes can fall into the trap of having large heads for their size making them a bit of a bobble-head, this is not the case with Triggerhappy.


A quick comparison with Slipstream and Triggerhappy retains his bulkiness in robot mode, but is still very slim, particularly around the leg area.


Poseability is excellent but as mentioned earlier, the guns folded up on the sides of his arms tend to get in the way sometimes.


Thanks to transformation, his ankles are jointed which helps immensely during posing.


Triggerhappy has a multitude of weapon options, the first of which, and is the most obvious, is that you can flip the guns back over his arms for some impressive firepower.


The large guns can also double up as melee weapons too.


He comes with a pair of guns and Wave 3 of the Deluxes has yet again improved upon the Titan Master interactivity gimmick.  Instead of giving us a very hollow gun, they've designed it that you can split it into a pair of guns which look decent on their own, while when combined, provides enough space to peg in a Titan Master.


The guns can peg onto some slots on his shoulders.


On the inside of each of the longer guns is a peg where you can attach the smaller guns, although it looks fairly awkward like this.


You can have Triggerhappy wield the combined larger gun but again, it looks a bit awkward.


The most natural, and best looking configuration is still holding the guns separately, one in each hand.


The shade of blue used is very nice, and the light grey doesn't look too bad either.


A stellar robot mode that is once again one of the best robots we have had and is bordering on absolute perfection.

OVERALL:

The Titans Return toyline has given us a lot of amazing toys but Triggerhappy has got to take the cake.  He is amazing, with a gorgeous jet mode, a perfect robot mode, connected via a brilliant transformation scheme.  If you only get one toy in the whole line, Triggerhappy is absolutely the one to get, he is one of the best toys produced in recent years.

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For other Transformers reviews, have a look at this page.
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