Transformers Generations - Combiner Wars: Bombshell

The new year brings a new theme to Hasbro's Transformers Generations series. Combiner Wars. However not all the toys released under this new theme are combining toys. The Legend/Legion/Scout/Basic size class remains, however this time around these toys lack a transforming companion. Same price, less stuff. That seems to be the norm now.

While spending some time with my wife after Christmas, celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary, we did what any married couple does when they go shopping...we went our separate ways! She went to look at shoes, I went to look at toys. The area Toys R Us was still suffering from Christmas, however their Transformers selection had been restocked. Sure there were new Robots in Disguise toys I've yet to see, but I wasn't looking for those. I had hoped to find the new deluxes or voyagers, but I was happy to find the 4 new legend sized TFs.

A quick post on Facebook asking which figure should get the spotlight first yielded with Bombshell. A very good pick too as that was the way I was leaning myself. Already owning the previously released Generations Skrapnel/Shrapnel figure, I was anxious to see how these 2 new Insections looked along side each other.

The Toys R Us where I grabbed these new figures had multiples of every figure except Bombshell. This one had a crushed blister bubble and the backing card was slightly bent. After close inspection I figured the toy and the included trading card were OK.

The new packaging is great, some of the best Transformers packaging to date. I really like the dark colors used as it makes the Transformers red type really pop and stand out. The artwork used for the packaging (and the trading card) I believe comes from the online Transformers game.

The back of the packaging features a ever so subtle gray grid, a la Generation 1. The one thing that I've noticed that is predominate on the new packaging is the number of steps involved in the transformation. Some people I've heard hate how they seem to be highlight "x easy steps" while others don't mind. Personally I don't care. I don't mind a complex transformation, but I'd rather have an innovative transformation over something will two pages full of steps.

Notice how the toy lacks a real bio or tech specs? Now this bothers me probably more than it should. Part of what made Transformers so unique was the character development. Now granted his bio (if you can call it that) does mention that Bombshell can manipulate others via mind control, but that's it. One line. No other abilities listed. No strengths or weakness. No mention of the other Insections. Boo! C'mon Hasbro, you can do better than this!

Right out of the package I was in love with this figure. In recent years it seems as if the plastic quality Hasbro has been using was inferior to what most of us were used to. I'm happy to report that it seems the quality has been improved. The other thing that immediately stood out to me where his colors. They are spot on and look beautiful in hand. Notice the metallic sheen to the purple plastic? The deep, rich yellow on his chest? The colors match his G1 self really well. Now I'm kicking myself I didn't grab my G1 Bombshell and photograph the two together.

Articulation is really good for a figure of this size. He rotates at the waist, has ball jointed hips, swivel thighs and hinged knees. You'll find his shoulders and elbows are ball joints. His beetle "horn" has limited movement as well.

The head sculpt is near perfect and the paint apps look great. His waist, thighs and arms would benefit from some paint apps to bring out the sculpted detail, but overall he looks so good.

Beetle mode is a dead ringer for G1. Small, compact and sleek. The red paint apps give the insect some needed color and breaks up the purple and black. The 6 insect legs are not articulation and have very minimal movement. This is a little bit of a drawback, but doesn't ruin an otherwise great looking alternate mode.

Side by side with Skrapnel and Bombshell stands head and shoulders as the better Insecticon. Bombshell has the darker, metallic purple and the darker, richer yellow. Even the gray plastic used on Bombshell's beetle "horn" looks better than the plastic used for Skrapnel's pinchers. Bombshell has a slightly smaller alt mode, but stands taller in robot mode. I know the G1 Insections were basically all the same size regardless of mode, I'm OK with the subtle size differences.

Laugh if you will, but the inclusion of trading cards has this collector on cloud 9. I also hate this move by Hasbro as it'll get me buying toys I had no interest in buying. See Legends Windcharger. I doubt I'll review him, but you can rest assure the toy (minus the trading card) will be added to my eBay store very soon!

The cardboard used for these cards is very sturdy and thick. Almost has a matte feel to it. Nice to see in this day and age when most trading cards has that shiny, UV coating. The backside of the card just features the Autobot/Generations logo found on the front of the packaging. This may be a throw away for some, but for me it's another reason to buy the product. 

All of these new Generations Combiner Wars cards will be uploaded and added soon to my other project. the Transformers Bio Card Database.

The new Combiner Wars legends toys cost the same as their Generations predecessors, even though they lack the bundled small Transformer. However the plastic seems better and the paint apps almost seem to have a premium look to them. Overall this new version of G1 Bombshell is wonderfully delicious. Regardless if you have bought his Insecticon partner, you need to buy Bombshell. If you buy him and you aren't impressed, let me know and I'll buy yours.

KO Korner: Transistor Robots: Insect Robot

There was a company back in the day called Four Star.  They had a series of transformable toys called Transistor Robots.  Trying to find more solid information on the Four Star company can be tough.  Originally I had labeled many of their toys as KOs as they had some clever takes on Transformer molds, especially G1 molds.  They would take a G1 mold and alter it heavily to create a new character, yet still retained some of the G1 characteristics.  As I've searched out more info on the toys and even acquired a few, I've really grown fond of what they did with the molds.

One of the first Four Star molds I acquired was of the Transformers G1 Insecticon, Bombshell.  Originally Bombshell's insect mode was that of a boll weevil.  Four Star took the mold and added a few extra parts and turned him into a elephant beetle...or so I'm told that is what this new insect mode is supposed to be modeled after.  Looks more like a scorpion to me.

Take a look at the purple and blue areas.  Look familiar?  Those are the shoulder/arm joints on the G1 toy.  You can see the horn section has been replaced with what appears to be a scorpion like tail and the arms are newly casted pieces.  The legs are now large gold chrome die-cast metal pieces with antennae and pincher claws.

Somewhere in the shuffling around of some items I was taking to Charticon last year, one of his antennae fell off and I lost it.  Bummer.  For a off brand toy I really didn't expect to see so much die-cast metal used.  In fact, this version features more die-cast than the original Takara version!

Even with all the new casted pieces and parts, this version of "Bombshell" transformers very much like the original.  Here in robot mode you get a better look at the original mold and how it was altered.  Four Star even elected to to paint the torso purple keeping in line with the Insecticon colors...kind of.

A new robot head was given to the character as well.  Gone is the lower face plate, replaced with a mouth and what appears to be a blue goatee.  Notice the gold panel on the chest?  This opens up just like the original translucent yellow "cockpit" door that harkens back to the Microchange days of Takara.

After getting my hands on this toy I found a new appreciation for Four Star's "Transformers" and sought to find more.  Since selling this guy a few months back, I seem to find him popping up on eBay quite frequently. Maybe he always did and I just didn't notice?  If I can find another one, complete, for a decent price I may just have to snap him up as he's a pretty cool take on the original Bombshell mold.

Transformers Energon: Insecticon

The best part of Transformers Armada (in my opinion) was the introduction of Mini-Cons.  While I was excited about the entire line in general, I eventually felt a sense of disappointment with the non-Mini-Cons.  When I heard of the toy line's sequel, Energon, I wasn't sure what to expect.  Then pictures started to hit the internet and I started to get excited.  While I like bigger Transformers, I've always preferred the smaller "basic" scale.  Blame that on G1 and most of the toys I had were small to medium sized.

While the name Insecticon may not win any awards for originality and might bug (no pun intended) some long term Transformers fans, the toy I find fascinating.  I guess you would call Insecticon here a stag beetle.  He's kind of like an updated G1 Bombshell.

The front legs are on ball joints, however the back legs are connected together as part of the transformation.  The "horn" section on the front can be lifted up and down.  That is about all articulation wise you'll get in insect mode.

All of the basic sized Energon figures came with translucent weapons.  The Omnibots were able to generate weapons for the Autobots forged from Energon.  I assume these weapons would be made of Energon as well.  Insecticon comes packaged with two weapons that can be merged to form a large drill.  This can be clipped onto the front.  He also comes with a yellow Energon chip.

Things really get interesting in robot mode.  Transformation is very simple and only involves a few steps.  In this form he is very short and stout (hm, wonder where is his handle & spout?).  He sports a very odd looking robotic face and has very large fists.  I myself always liked this toy for this reason, he looked different and stood out amongst some of the other smaller Energon figures.

It's not documented in the instructions, but you can take the front insect legs and fold them up and over his shoulders.  If you look carefully at the feet of the insect legs, they look a lot like guns.

He doesn't have to rely on these pseudo shoulder guns however as his Energon weapons are that of a sword a gatling gun.  You can merge them together to form the large drill weapon, but honestly he looks better wielding two separate weapons.

Now in the Energon cartoon and comic, Insecticon here was a mindless drone and did not feature his own personality.  Like Battle Ravage and Divebomb, Insecticon was a Terrorcon and Megatron used them to do his bidding.  They basically were cannon fodder.  In Japan, this toy was also repainted in a bright shade of green, Chromhorn Forest Type, and featured translucent green weapons.  I used to own that one as well, but he ended up being a casualty when I sold off the majority of my Unicron Trilogy collection.

These days it's hard for me to suggest anyone buying toys from the Armada / Energon / Cybertron era.  There are a few decent toys to be found, but if you do decide to buy this one just don't spend more than $5.  If you really want this mold, then track down the Superlink version.