Phil's Micromaster Combiner Reviews

[Philip Ayres]

First up a pair from the Battle Squad. One arrived in a lot off eBay a few years back and I was fortunate enough to track down the other half too!

[Philip Ayres]

Fireshot

Fireshot forms the front half of the combined jet including one set of wheels. Does he work as a vehicle by himself ? No. He's not capable of supporting himself and as a vehicle leans forward on his nose, making him one of the less competent combined vehicle halves.

TF: Fold the nose back, then fold the neck of the jet forward, straightening the previously folded up upper legs. Fold the wheels forward to form the arms. Stand on the nose with the underside facing you. Raise the head.

Oooh look, non typical articulation on a Micromaster ! The legs - very thin - have the same bending but linked knees & hip. There's no shoulders on this toy however but he does have elbows instead. As well as the black of the jet mode Fireshot uses a blueish purple for his chest and a brighter purple for his upper legs.

Vanquish

Vanquish is the back half of the combined jet including the other set of wheels. As such he's not capable of independently supporting himself so instantly isn't a good stand along toy either ! (generally with the Micromaster combiners a two bad stand alone toys leads to a good combined mode, but good stand alones don't usually make a good combined toy.)

TF: Look at the underside. Fold the legs down. Simple. The wings can fold back but I think they look better folded out.

Vanquish's robot mode looks much more like a traditional Micromaster. In fact he's almost Headmaster like with the rectangular sided arms and the standard Micromaster articulation (same as Fireshot's, just swap the elbows for shoulder joints). Vanquish uses the same bright purple for his legs, while the blueish purple of Fireshot's chest turn up on Vanquish's arms and his chest & head uses a grey blue not featured on his companion. Save for the guns on Half Track's back this is the complete colour palate for the Battle Squad.

Fireshot & Vanquish Combined Mode

Like all the combined Micromasters it's a simple matter or plugging these toys together: If you look at the connector on each toy there's a hole on the left and a peg on the right. Turn them to face each other and the peg on one toy slots into the hole on the other. This allows you to connect any Micromaster combiner with any other Micromaster combiner - front piece to back piece or two fronts or even two backs - which can create some odd combinations. The same connector is found on the door of the Japanese Micromaster Trailers and the western Micromaster Combiner Transports allowing Micromaster combiners to merge with them also.

The jet is one of the better combined modes - it's an SR-71 Blackbird as any X-man fan will tell you. It's one of the more sensible combined forms in a range that exists of a lot of overlong trucks with various attachments - other sensible combinations include Oiler & Slide's petrol tanker, Powerrun & Strikedown's hovercraft and Phaser & Blast Master's Space Shuttle.

Fireshot & Vanquish are part of the Micromaster Combiner Battle Squad with Direct-Hit, Powerpunch, Meltdown & Half-Track.

In Japan Fireshot & Vanquish were released as Cybertron (Autobot) toys in C-369 Jet Tank W Team with Microtrailer #9. This team also included Meltdown & Half-track.

The other two members of the Micromaster Combiner Battle Squad, Direct-hit & Powerpunch , were released in C-368 Crane Cannon W Team with Microtrailer #8 and Stonecruncher & Excavator from the Micromaster Combiner Constructor Squad.

The remaining four members of the Micromaster Combiner Constructor Squad, Grit & Knockout and Sledge & Hammer, were released in Japan as C-367 Dump Shovel W Team with Microtrailer #7.

[The Doctor]

I must have these toys!

-Ralph

[Philip Ayres]

Do you not own them ?

All 3 pairs in the Battle Squad have reviews to come ! And that means some repaint madness.

[The Doctor]

Haven't got round to picking up most of the MM pairs yet.

-Ralph

[Philip Ayres]

Money will be involved, they don't seem to come proportionately priced to the loose 4-packs and crop up much less often. I paid £20 for my loose Constructor Squad.

[Philip Ayres]

Stonecruncher

Stonecruncher is a yellow van with a crane arm mounted on the top of it. The base of the crane arm - moulded in grey plastic - turns and the arm itself - red plastic - elevates in this base. He's one of the better looking Micromaster combiner half vehicles !

Transformation: turn the front of the vehicle over 180 degrees to form the lower legs & feet then stand with the underside pointing towards you. Raise the arms up from the sides.

Robot mode exposes more grey on the upper legs with the body & head being cast in orange plastic. He's got standard Micromaster articulation of turning shoulders and bending but linked knees & hips. The crane arm on his back can be tucked in behind the legs or rotated and folded over the top of the Micromaster to match his partner.

Decent enough Micromaster by himself.

Excavator

Stonecruncher's partner is Excavator, a yellow 4 wheeled vehicle with a red elevating L-shaped crane arm sticking out of one end. He's got no cab of any description so he's pretty useless by himself even though he does support himself (unlike Fireshot & Vanquish from the Battle Squad)

TF: Fold the connector side of the vehicle - the "front" forward 90 degrees to become the legs. Stand with the underside facing forward. Raise the arms up.

Again we have grey upper legs but this time Excavator has a purple chest. The red hook hangs over the top of the toy or can be folded back to stick out of his back.

Stonecruncher & Excavator Combined Mode

Stonecruncher & Excavator combine in vehicle mode to form that favourite of the designers in 1990 the eight wheeled over long truck. Of the 14 Micromaster Combiner pairs, eight are like this and two more are close variations on the theme. Yes they're construction yellow here - colour hit dead on by the way unlike so many other TFs. We get crane arms at both ends. This sort of vehicle just looks odd !

Stonecruncher & Excavator are part of the Micromaster Combiner Constructor Squad along with Grit & Knockout and Sledge & Hammer.

In Japan Stonecruncher & Excavator were released with Direct-hit & Powerpunch, from the Micromaster Combiner Battle Squad, as part of the Cybertron (Autobot) C-368 Crane Cannon W Team with Microtrailer #8 .

The rest of the Micromaster Combiner Battle Squad Fireshot & Vanquish and Meltdown & Half-Track. were released as Cybertron toys in C-369 Jet Tank W Team with Microtrailer #9.

The remaining four members of the Micromaster Combiner Constructor Squad, Grit & Knockout and Sledge & Hammer, were released in Japan as Cybertron toys C-367 Dump Shovel W Team with Microtrailer #7.

Retro & Surge

Stonecruncher becomes Retro and Excavator is re-christened Surge as these two toys become Autobots for release with the Missile Launcher Transport. The following colour swaps are used for this release:

Yellow becomes Red
Grey becomes Black
Orange becomes Sea Green
Purple becomes Orange
Red becomes Pale Blue

I like this recolour, it's a decent one making them look like emergency vehicle belonging to the Fire Brigade - you can see the Fire Brigade having heavy lifting gear. There might be a little bit of a homage to Grapple being turned into Inferno going on here too.

I'm not quite sure why the Autobots are towing a Missile Transporter though !

[Philip Ayres]

Grit

Grit is a purple armoured vehicle, a bit like a covered jeep - yes he is pure Decepticon purple, not the blue that appears in the photos on TFU.info. He's one of the better halves of a Micromaster combiners and would look great in either a green or sandy military colour scheme.

Transformation: fold down the back of the vehicle 90 degrees and stand on what's now the rear with the underside facing forward. Raise the arms.

The robotmode reveals upper legs in grey, the same as the rest of the team, and a body & head moulded in yellow, the same as Stonecruncher & Excavator'a vehicle mode. Standard Micromaster articulation of turning shoulders and bending but linked hips & knees.

So the very decent vehicle mode raises this mould.

Knockout

Knockout is a four wheeled purple truck base with grey sides, with a ca b on the top and a shovel on an arm - both red - that bends over the rear of the vehicle. While a little oddlooking it's one of the better rear halves of a combiner vehicle.

Transformation: Fold the front of the vehicle - where the combiner co0nnector is - forward 90 degrees. Raise the arms up from the side.

Robot mde exposes more grey on the arms and the upper legs as well as some orange on the chest & head which is the same as the vehicle modes for Sledge & Hammer. The shovel on his back can be folded up over the robot's head.

Better than average rear end MM combiner.

Grit and Knockout Combined Mode

Grit & Knockout's combined mode is another elongated 8 wheeled truck. It doesn't look terribly concievable as a practical vehicle.
Grit & Knockout are part of the Decepticon Micromaster Combiner Constructor Squad along with Stonecruncher & Excavator and Sledge & Hammer.

In Japan four members of the Micromaster Combiner Constructor Squad, Grit & Knockout and Sledge & Hammer, were released as Cybertron (Autobot) toys C-367 Dump Shovel W Team with Microtrailer #7.

The remaining two members of the Micromaster Combiner Constructor Squad , Stonecruncher & Excavator were released with Direct-hit & Powerpunch , from the Micromaster Combiner Battle Squad , as part of the Cybertron C-368 Crane Cannon W Team with Microtrailer #8 .

The rest of the Micromaster Combiner Battle Squad Fireshot & Vanquish and Meltdown & Half-Track. were released as Cybertron toys in C-369 Jet Tank W Team with Microtrailer #9.

Pipeline and Gusher

The Decepticon Grit & Knockout are repainted as the Autobots Pipeline & Gusher and packaged with the Tanker Transport.

For this release the following colour swaps are used:

Yellow becomes Red
Grey becomes Black
Orange becomes Sea Green
Purple becomes Orange
Red becomes Pale Blue

The same swaps are used on the other four members of the Constructor Squad when Stonecruncher & Excavator are packed with the Missile Transport and Sledge & Hammer are packed with the Cannon Transport.

We end up with a team cast mainly in bright orange plastic. Very bright !

[Philip Ayres]

Sledge

Sledge is an orange truck, forming the front half of a combined vehicle. He *almost* looks like a proper tipper truck by himself, the problem being the truck bed at the back is far too short.

Transform: Turn the cab & tipped bed front round 180 degrees. Fold the rear of the vehicle back 180 degrees then return the cab & tipper bed to their original position. Stand with the underside of the vehicle facing forward.

In this mode we get grey on the upper legs, like the rest of the squad, but we also get grey on the arms. The chest & head are yellow, the colour used for Stonecruncher & Excavator's vehicle modes. He's got standard Micromaster articulation of turning shoulders and bending but linked hips.

Decent enough robot but can't quite pull of being a stand alone vehicle. The name Sledge has endured on many Decepticon construction vehicles and will soon be used on a Power Core Commander figure.

Hammer

Hammer is a 4 wheeled tipper truck bed. The bed itself is sealed at it's connector end so although it doesn't make much sense by itself it works well towed, especially by one of the more sensible front end Combiner Micromasters. Stonecruncher is especially good as his crane hook can be rotated round to reach into the truck.

Transformation: Fold the front (connector) end of the truck forward 90 degrees to form the legs. Stand. Raise the arms.

Again, like his partner Sledge, we get grey on the upper legs and arms but this time the chest is Decepticon Purple like the vehicle modes for Grit & Knockout. Standard Micromaster articulation again here.

One of the better back end Combiner Micromasters by virtue of being a good trailer attachment.

Sledge & Hammer Combined Mode

Like all the combined Micromasters it's a simple matter or plugging these toys together: If you look at the connector on each toy there's a hole on the left and a peg on the right. Turn them to face each other and the peg on one toy slots into the hole on the other. This allows you to connect any Micromaster combiner with any other Micromaster combiner - front piece to back piece or two fronts or even two backs - which can create some odd combinations. The same connector is found on the door of the Japanese Micromaster Trailers and the western Micromaster Combiner Transports allowing Micromaster combiners to merge with them also.

Sledge & Hammer's combine mode actually has a decent name by concatenating the names together - it's the Sledgehammer truck. A tipper truck is what we get here, but it's a little bit of a stretched out truck with the wheels in totally the wrong places. It's a variation on the theme of the stretched out truck seen with many combined Micromasters and it's nearly plausible..... just not quite.
Sledge & Hammer. are part of the Decepticon Micromaster Combiner Constructor Squad along with Stonecruncher & Excavator and Grit & Knockout

In Japan four members of the Micromaster Combiner Constructor Squad, Sledge & Hammer and Grit & Knockout , were released as Cybertron (Autobot) toys C-367 Dump Shovel W Team with Microtrailer #7.

The remaining two members of the Micromaster Combiner Constructor Squad , Stonecruncher & Excavator were released with Direct-hit & Powerpunch , from the Micromaster Combiner Battle Squad , as part of the Cybertron C-368 Crane Cannon W Team with Microtrailer #8 .

The rest of the Micromaster Combiner Battle Squad Fireshot & Vanquish and Meltdown & Half-Track. were released as Cybertron toys in C-369 Jet Tank W Team with Microtrailer #9.

Terror-Tread and Cement-Head

The Decepticon Grit & Knockout are repainted as Terror-Tread and Cement-Head and packaged with the Cannon Transport. These are the only members of the team to be repainted and remain Decepticons

For this release the following colour swaps are used:

Yellow becomes Red
Grey becomes Black
Orange becomes Sea Green
Purple becomes Orange
Red becomes Pale Blue

The same swaps are used on the other four members of the Constructor Squad when Stonecruncher & Excavator are packed with the Missile Transport and Sledge & Hammer are packed with the Cannon Transport.

So for this release we end up with two Decepticon Construction vehicles in green. Unfortunately the green is too dark to be a decent Constructicon green which would have been really nice.

[Philip Ayres]

Sadly this series is now going to have to take a rest - I've run out of Micromaster combiners in hand to review (see why)

But we'll be back..... someday !

[The Doctor]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

-Ralph

[Philip Ayres]

The remaining teams were won off eBay tonight ! Look out for more in this series soon !

[The Doctor]

I await with anticipation.

The Cannon Transport is nice, but hard to come by alas.

-Ralph

[Philip Ayres]

How are you enjoying your MM Combiners ?

[The Doctor]

They-com-bine-in-hun-dreds-of-com-bin-atiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiions!

-Ralph

[Philip Ayres]

This thread is now back in business !

[Philip Ayres]

Meltdown

Meltdown is a purpley blue 4 wheeled jeep. He functions perfectly well on his own without his partner attached.

Transformation: Fold the back of the jeep back 180 degrees to form the legs. Stand with the underside facing you. Raise the arms.

A pretty standard looking Micromaster with the normal Micromaster articulation. He's got purple upper legs and a pale blue body and head.

No complaints but he does work as a stand alone Micromaster which is good even if by the standards of older Micromasters he's really nothing special.

Half-Track

Ha! The funny thing about Half-Track is he's a full tracked vehicle. There aren't many tracked Micromasters so this makes a nice change.He's a purpley blue tracked tank whose motion is provided by two wheels at the sides on his front (connector end) and a pair of wheels next to each other in the middle at the back. On top of the tank you'll find a rotating grey/blue turret and a pair of linked elevating red cannons on mounted on either side of the top of the turret. The vehicle mode is pure win all round and probably the best back end Micromaster.

Transformation: Fold the back end down 90 degrees to form the legs then fold it back 90 degrees at the hip. Stand with the underside facing forward. Fold the middle of the front of the vehicle back and then fold the sides down to form the arms.

The robot mode exposes a black body with purple upper legs and traditional Micromaster articulation. It's a shame the guns & turret are on his back and can't really be used in this mode.

Exceptional vehicle mode makes this toy. Be careful of that fold back panel behind the head as it easily pops off!

Meltdown & Half-Track Combined Mode

Plug the back of Meltdown into the front of Half-Track forming an elongated half track vehicle. While this is the first Transformer to be a Half Track (is there another apart from Energon's Snowcat and Power Core's APC Drone?) it's a bit of a cheat as most only have one set of wheels at the front. Half-Track's turret and guns are still operational in this mode which is a big plus and he doesn't look too ridiculous.

Meltdown & Half-track are part of the Decepticon Micromaster Battle Squad along with Direct-hit & Powerpunch and Fireshot & Vanquish.

In Japan Meltdown & Half-Track were released as Cybertron (Autobot) toys in C-369 Jet Tank W Team with Microtrailer #9. This team also included Fireshot & Vanquish.

The other two members of the Micromaster Combiner Battle Squad, Direct-hit & Powerpunch , were released in C-368 Crane Cannon W Team with Microtrailer #8 and Stonecruncher & Excavator from the Micromaster Combiner Constructor Squad.

The remaining four members of the Micromaster Combiner Constructor Squad, Grit & Knockout and Sledge & Hammer, were released in Japan as C-367 Dump Shovel W Team with Microtrailer #7.

[Philip Ayres]

Direct-Hit

Direct-Hit is a pale blue armoured vehicle. Pretty plain if truth be told.

TF: Fold the front forward 90 degrees to form the legs. Stand with the underside facing you. Slip your fingernail into the slot at the top of the toy and pull the head up.

The robot mode reveals bright purple/pink legs and a dark purple chest along with a black head. Standard Micromaster articulation.

Not that exciting I'm afraid.

Power Punch

Power Punch is a blocky light blue vehicle with a massive purple cannon on it's back. The cannon will elevate but be careful because it easily detaches and can be lost.

TF: Fold the back of the vehicle down & out to form the legs. Stand with the underside facing you.

The robot has the same bright purple legs as Direct-Hit but this time his entire chest as well as his head is black. Standard Micromaster articulation again.

Again nothing special.

Direct-Hit and Powerpunch Combined Mode

Plug the back end of Direct-Hit into the front end of Power-Punch. The resulting vehicle is another long truck, this time with a cannon on the back.

I'm sorry I just can't get excited about this pair in either mode. Of the Battle Squad, Meltdown & Half-track have better vehicle modes and Fireshot & Vanquish have a better combined mode. Direct-Hit & Power Punch are the weak link in the set.

Direct-hit & Powerpunch are part of the Decepticon Micromaster Battle Squad along with Meltdown & Half-track and Fireshot & Vanquish.

In Japan Direct-hit & Powerpunch were released as Cybertron (Autbot) toys in C-368 Crane Cannon W Team with Microtrailer #8 and Stonecruncher & Excavator from the Micromaster Combiner Constructor Squad.

The other four members of the Battle Squad Meltdown & Half-Track and Fireshot & Vanquish. were released as C-369 Jet Tank W Team with Microtrailer #9.

The remaining four members of the Micromaster Combiner Constructor Squad, Grit & Knockout and Sledge & Hammer, were released in Japan as -367 Dump Shovel W Team with Microtrailer #7.

[The Doctor]

I have a soft spot for Direct-Hit and Powerpunch. I think the combined mode looks quite funky.

-Ralph

[Philip Ayres]

Onto the Autobot half of the draw now (at least in terms of the western six pack squads) with The Astro Squad !

[Philip Ayres]

Phaser

Phaser is the front half of the Astro Squad's Space Shuttle both parts of which are moulded in the authentic white. His vehicle mode consists of the nose of the shuttle and by itself is completely useless slanting down at the back because there's no rear wheels to support it and act against the front wheel under the nose. The nose itself is on a hinge at the top because of the transformation and that can cause the nose to slope upwards if you pull the combined vehicle mode back. Worse still the hinge can come apart easily so you'll see many Phasers on eBay missing their nose and thus the wheel necessary to support the combined mode.

Transformation: fold the back of the Micromaster up 90 degrees to form the lower legs. Stand with the underside facing you and fold the nosecone back.

Phaser's robot mode carries the tapering look of the shuttle's nose over with a wider base and a body that gets thinner the higher it gets. There's not a lot of plastic round his shoulder joints which worries me a bit. His upper legs are moulded in light blue plastic, his chest is red and he has standard Micromaster articulation.

Not great by himself.

Blast Master

Blast Master is the back half of the Space Shuttle comprising of the wings and the tail all of which are on hinges as part of the transformation. He's got just one set of wheels towards the back so he tends to lean down at the front.

Transformation: Fold the front of the Micromaster down to form the feet. Stand with the underside facing forward. Fold the wings back if you want and raise the head up

Blast Master is taller, wider and chunkier than his companion. The robot mode reveals light blue upper legs, a grey chest and a cherry red head. Standard Micromaster articulation again.

Not great again as a single vehicle but a decent robot mode.

Phaser and Blast Master Combined Mode

Plug the back of Phaser into the front of Blaster. This forms a decently proportioned space shuttle. Ok you can see both sets of legs through the roof where the cargo bay doors would be and there's no engines on the rear but it's still decent enough and one of the better combined modes. The wheels underneath keep it level but, as I said earlier, moving the shuttle backwards raises the nosecone and it's attached wheel which isn't so good.

Decent combined mode and one decent robot mode vs two bad half vehicles and a not so good robot mode make this a little bit of a mixed bag. But it's a Space Shuttle and Space Shuttles are great :-)

Phaser & Blastmaster were sold in 1990 as part of the Astro Squad with Moonrock & Missilemaster and Barrage & Heave

In Japan Phaser & Blastmaster were sold as part of C-364 Shuttle Rocket W Team with Micro Trailer #4 and their teammates from the Astro Squad Moonrock & Missilemaster

The remaining two members of the Astro Squad, Barrage & Heave and were sold as part of C-366 Radar Hover W Team with Micro Trailer #6 and Powerrun & Strikedown from the Metro Squad.

The remaining four members of the Metro Squad, Wheelblaze & Roadburner and Oiler & Slide were sold in C-365 Fire Tanker W Team with Micro Trailer #5.

[Philip Ayres]

Moonrock

Moonrock is a low red truck cab with a prominent light blue plastic front grill. If you were making guesses you'd say that he was probably the front half of a fire engine. But you'd be wrong. He works OK by himself but he looks like he should be towing something.

Transformation: fold the front half of the vehicle forward 90 degrees to form the legs. Stand with the underside facing you and raise the arms.

While most of Moonrock's robot mode is the red carried over from the vehicle, the upper legs are the same pale blue as the grill and his chest is white, which isn't seen elsewhere.

Adequate, but probably the least effective front Micromaster cab.

Missile Master

Missile Master is a red rectangular base with 4 wheels on it. Essentially he's a trailer you could plug into almost any decent front end Micromaster Combiner.Mounted on the base is a turntable with an elevating arm on which is a removable white plastic missile. The turntable does indeed turn which is a good thing and the arm can elevate from the horizontal to the vertical allowing you to pretend to launch the missile straight up into the air.

Phil has a little box he keeps his Micromaster combiners in, it's a former washing tablets box, they're ever so useful. To write this review he carefully removed Moonrock & Missile Master from the box..... and then had to tip the whole thing out to find Missile Master's Missile!

Missile Master is probably the missing parts king for Micromaster Combiners: Not only does the missile come off (who's bright idea was that? Plus points for play value but minus a load for the hope of keeping a complete toy) but the launcher ramp it sits on (courtesy of a slot in the missile and a corresponding piece on the ramp) also has a habit of popping off. In fact after I attached the missile I looked at the toy and thought "that doesn't look right" and realised that the previous owner had at some point in the past re-attached the missile ramp the wrong way round.

Transformation: Fold the back of the vehicle back 180 degrees to form the legs. Stand with the underside facing you and raise the arms.

A pretty normal Micromaster in robot mode with pale blue upper legs, a grey chest and standard Micromaster articulation. The missile has ended up on his back so you can't have any fun using it as a robot mode weapon.

Decent single vehicle mode livened up by moving parts and a standard but adequate robot mode.

Moonrock and Missile Master Combined Mode

Plug the rear of Moonrock's vehicle mode into the front of Missile Master's to form a long red truck with a missile on the back.

I'm sorry this is just wrong. The colours & vehicle mode are saying two different things to me: The colours are screaming "fire engine" while the vehicle mode wants something either more militaristic (Green or Sandy Beige) or starkly functional, scientific & futuristic (Black, White, Grey or Silver)

Moonrock & Missile Master were sold in 1990 as part of the Astro Squad with Phaser & Blast Master and Barrage & Heave

In Japan Moonrock & Missile Master were sold as part of C-364 Shuttle Rocket W Team with Micro Trailer #4 and their teammates from the Astro Squad Phaser & Blast Master.

The remaining two members of the Astro Squad, Barrage & Heave and were sold as part of C-366 Radar Hover W Team with Micro Trailer #6 and Powerrun & Strikedown from the Metro Squad.

The remaining four members of the Metro Squad, Wheelblaze & Roadburner and Oiler & Slide were sold in C-365 Fire Tanker W Team with Micro Trailer #5.

[blueshift]

Missile Master was ace. I had him as a kid, his missile could kill ANYTHING.

[The Doctor]

I had no idea there was a Micromaster with a detachable missile! That's amazing!

-Ralph

[Philip Ayres]

You won't think it so amazing when you get the Missile Master I'm sending you...... with no missile!

[Philip Ayres]

Barrage

No, not the Deluxe Insecticon. Barrage is an Autobot Micromaster - are he and his fellow 1990 Micromaster Sky High the first examples of name reuse in Transformers? Micromaster Barrage is a grey futuristic looking 4 wheeled vehicle with a sloped front. You can see this driving around outside your lunar colony.

Transformation: Fold the back of the vehicle back 90 degrees to form the legs. Stand with the underside facing forward.

Barrage's robot reveals pale blue legs and a white chest. He has the standard Micromaster articulation.

Decent vehicle mode but the robot is a bit plain.

Heave

Heave is another back end Micromaster that's effectively a flat trailer. He's grey like his partner, but he comes with a red turning turntable on his roof on which is mounted a pale blue pivoting radar dish,

Transformation: Fold the front of the vehicle forward 180 degrees to form the legs. Stand with the underside facing you and raise the arms.

Like his partner, Heave has light blue legs but his chest is red adding a little colour to the toy. Standard Micromaster articulation applies.

Decent trailer Micromaster but it does need to be pulled so....

Barrage and Heave Combined Mode

Plug the back end of Barrage into the front end of Heave creating a long low eight wheeled vehicle. Like Barrage's vehicle mode you could easily see this trundling round a moon base.

So decent marks for this combined mode.

Barrage & Heave were sold in 1990 as part of the Astro Squad with Phaser & Blast Master and Moonrock & Missile Master

In Japan Barrage & Heave and were sold as part of C-366 Radar Hover W Team with Micro Trailer #6 and Powerrun & Strikedown from the Metro Squad.

The remaining four members of the Astro Squad, Moonrock & Missile Master and Phaser & Blast Master were sold as C-364 Shuttle Rocket W Team with Micro Trailer #4.

The remaining four members of the Metro Squad, Wheelblaze & Roadburner and Oiler & Slide were sold in C-365 Fire Tanker W Team with Micro Trailer #5.

[The Doctor]

Aug 1, 2010 21:51:20 GMT Philip Ayres said:

You won't think it so amazing when you get the Missile Master I'm sending you...... with no missile!

I will now spend the next 10 years hunting down that missile.

-Ralph

[Philip Ayres]

I just bought one that had it.

[The Doctor]

The quest is the quest!

-Ralph

[Philip Ayres]

Power Run

Power Run is the front half of the Metro Squad's hovercraft. He's mainly white, with a black skirt and a yellow block representing the Hovercraft's bridge on top. As such he looks a little bit like a superdeformed hovercraft. Uniquely amongst all the Micromasters Power Run has no wheels, neither visible or hidden away.

Transform: Fold the front of the vehicle forward 180 degrees to form the legs. Stand with the underside facing you. Fold the bridge up to form his head.

Mainly white again, the robot mode introduces some grey on the upper legs and more of the yellow on the chest. He's another Micromaster who looks like he's wearing a hat, in this case a Fez. "Fezzes are cool!" according to Matt Smith's Doctor Who and who are we to disagree? Power Run has the standard Micromaster articulation.

Strikedown

Strikedown is the back end of the Hovercraft, and by himself his vehicle mode looks like.....um..... well the back half of a hovercraft, but without the front you might even be struggling to identify it as that.

Transform: fold the front of the vehicle forward 90 degrees to form the legs. Stand with the underside facing you. Fold the fan up behind the head. Swing the arms up.

The blue fan mounted behind the head gives a little personality to this robot mode which features grey upper legs, a blue chest & head and standard Micromaster articulation.

Power Run & Strikedown Combined Mode

Plug the back of Power Run into the front of Strikedown to form only the third ever Transformers Hovercraft after Seaspray, Finback and Splashdown.

Decent combined mode, decent front end Micormaster with OK robot and a bad backend Micromaster with a good robot mode. Mixed package.

Power run & Strikedown were sold as part of the Metro Squad with Wheelblaze & Roadburner and Oiler & Slide .

In Japan Powerrun & Strikedown were sold as part of C-366 Radar Hover W Team with Micro Trailer #6 and Barrage & Heave and from the Astro Squad.

The remaining four members of the Metro Squad, Wheelblaze & Roadburner and Oiler & Slide were sold in C-365 Fire Tanker W Team with Micro Trailer #5.

The remaining four members of the Astro Squad, Moonrock & Missile Master and Phaser & Blast Master. were sold as C-364 Shuttle Rocket W Team with Micro Trailer #4.