Transformers Bot Shots: Skywarp

Not to be outdone by his fellow Decepticon seeker, Skywarp too got the Bot Shots treatment and if I might say looks very nice.

The black, purple and silver look great on the mold. Just like how the three Decepticon seekers shared the same mold in G1, the same is true here. However each Bot Shots seeker did receive a new head/face. We go from Starscream's smirk to Skywarp looking like he's sitting on a Cybertronian toilet all stopped up.

The black washes out some of the detail, but there is just something about black TFs that look great.  Even when that TF is a small Bot Shots toy.

Transformers Bot Shots: Starscream

February 2012, Transformers Prime First Edition toys had just hit local Toys R Us stores in my area. I was on my way out of town for a business meeting and there just happened to be a TRU right off Hwy I-85 I was traveling. I ran inside hoping to find the new Prime figures (which I did, grabbed Arcee and Starscream that day). I also found something else that was just released, Bot Shots.

I had previously saw pictures of these toys on TFW2005, but this was my first encounter with them at retail. All I knew about them was they featured a spring loaded transformation that was activated when they were crashed. The figures were used as part of a 'paper, rock, scissors' type game. They were small, super deformed-esque and inexpensive. I grabbed a few to see what they were like. The first wave only contained a few, Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and Starscream.

These toys are small, simple and don't feature a lot of paint apps or articulation, however the designers crammed a lot of detail into each figure. I love the head sculpt of Starscream (as well as most of the other figures) as they nailed his G1 self. Even the sly little smirk on his face has been captured in plastic.

While I ended up buying a lot of the G1 character based Bot Shots from the next few waves, I ended up giving them away to children at Charticon earlier this year. I had originally planned to do a Bot Shots tournament, but my plate got full and that idea was scrapped. The kids that stopped by my table didn't seem to care however as they were able to play w/ the toys and even take a few home with them for free.

Transformers Bot Shots: Sentinel Prime (Super Bot)

When Hasbro first launched their Bot Shots line I wasn't sure what to think...so I bought everything in the first wave.  The Super Bots were meant to be a "chase" figure, meaning they were packaged less frequently as their case mates.  Turns out these so called chase figures weren't that hard to find, but at the time I didn't know that.  Even though this figure is Sentinel Prime from the Dark of the Moon movie, I bought him anyway *sigh*.

Sentinel Prime comes from the first wave of Bot Shots so his crash/transformation feels very familiar.  Push in the front of the vehicle and out pops the arms and feet.  All of the Super Bots are cast in translucent plastic giving them a distinct look, but their power rankings don't seem any more elevated versus regular releases.

My guess is Hasbro did the Super Bots to make the line more collectible because I see no advantages of using a Super Bot in the actual game.  This little guy (and a few others I have) are going to be given away at Charticon later this summer as we plan to have open tables for kids to have a pick up game of Bot Shots.

Transformers Bot Shots: Decepticon Brawl (Flip Shot)

When Hasbro unveiled the Bot Shots line I didn't know what to think about them. Small, super deformed like toys that transform when crashed together. OK, I can dig that. Figures can be used in both online battles and as part of a game to play with your friends. Mix in a paper, rock, scissors type game play. Hmm. Honestly I never thought these would get that far and here we are with Series 2 recently being released at retail.

Series 1 featured all the same style crash and transform mechanism, no matter the style of vehicle. The front of the vehicle would be depressed and release the spring. Out popped the arms from the sides and the feet would pop out from underneath, effectively launching the figure up to land on it's feet...most of the time.

Series 2 however mixes it up a bit and introduces Blitz Shot, Flip Shot and Spin Shot. Gone are the molds used in Series 1. Now you have better sculpted robots and a variation to the way they transform when crashed. Personally I was glad to see Hasbro change things up a bit because otherwise this gimmick could have gotten stale.

I haven't really played the game with anyone in person, but I am looking into creating a Bot Shots tournament for a Transformers convention coming to my hometown of Charlotte, NC (Charticon) later this summer. I don't know if kids really play with these much, but I like the concept better than Hasbro's last attempt at Transformers figure game, Attacktix.

The packaging hasn't changed much since Series 1, however the back of the blister card does a better job explaining how (in this case) the Flip Shot gimmick works. The bottom also points out that the game can be taken online at Transformers.com and there are other Bot Shots so you can "crash 'em all!".

The best thing about the different types of transformations now is that you get more unique, character specific molds. Deception Brawl here for example looks great. With his square shaped head and green color I'm going to say he is based on the G1 Combaticon character. At this point I'm only buying the G1 characters.

In robot mode Brawl has his fists up and in front of him as if he's ready to go toe to toe with Floyd Mayweather. He also has a great facial expression as if he's laughing in some mechanical tone. If you look at his legs carefully you can tell they have been sculpted as if his left leg is placed just a bit in front of his right leg. This sculpting couldn't have been done with the Series 1 Bot Shots due to the transformation. His stats are the following:

Fist - 865 | Gun - 425 | Sword - 320

Paint apps are kept to a minimal, but what do you expect from a $4 toy? I just wish Hasbro would've included some black paint or to the inside of the mouth...the exposed green plastic just looks weird.

Brawl's alternate mode is a tank, but obviously some liberties were taken here as he doesn't quite look like his G1 self. I have to say that this is one of the best looking Bot Shot alt modes released so far. Even though he has 4 free rolling wheels, the designer did a good job working in tank treads around the wheels. The toy needs the spring loaded plate on the front to trigger the transformation - hence the large "spiked" plate on the front. As for the rest of the tank there is quite a bit of detail sculpted included. You can tell Brawl was the love of some designer's labor.

Any time you have a spring loaded transformation gimmick there will be times when it just doesn't want to operate as designed. Lord knows a lot of my earlier figures wouldn't land on their feet when crashed together. This new Flip Shot gimmick however is all over the place. I crashed Brawl several times and he only landed on his feet once. Maybe it's just because the spring is still so tight since its new and perhaps with subsequent crashes this tension will improve. As you can tell from my cell phone video Brawl just didn't want to cooperate and land on his feet.

This is a great, fun little toy. I like how Hasbro has taken these to the next level. From what I've seen of Series 2 it appears some of the Beast Hunter characters will be making their introduction into the line. While I'm sure some people will be excited, I just hope they continue to release more G1 characters.