Phil's Titans Return Terribull & Skytread review

[Philip Ayres]

Titans Returns Terribull

Terribull is another Transformer who is visible on Titan Wars Banner "accidentally" revealed at Botcon 2015. He was officially unveiled at NYCC 2015.

Terribull is the new name for the 1988 Headmaster Horri-bull. The colours have moved around from Horri-Bull's Headmaster Kreb, with the head and arms now being blue while the lower legs are grey leaving just the blue upper legs and grey chest in the same place. His head mode, mainly dark blue with a goldy brown faceplated face, is a pretty good match for the original.

Terribull's accessory, the item that was seen on the Titan Wars banner, is a small tank with a pair of double barrels on the front, reminding me of the GI Joe Armadillo. Each pair of barrels can elevate, but that's your limit of movement. Terribull can sit behind the gun barrels with his foot holes plugging into foot pegs while the tab on the rear of the leg recesses into the floor. Sadly there are no wheels on the tank.

The accessory's alternate mode is formed by removing Terribull, turning the vehicle over, folding a jet nose from the front and folding the sides down to become wings.

This jet mode is a bit stumpy, but is quite fun with the guns hanging from underneath. Sadly you can't seat Terribull in it: he's designed to be led on his back in it, head under the rear of the nosecone, legs tabbed into the slope at the rear.

From here the weapons mode is formed by folding down a handle from the rear of the vehicle. This looks a little odd with the jet nose on top and gun barrels underneath but it works.

Not the worst of the Wave 1 Titanmasters but not special like Crashbash his.

Terribull is repainted, with a new face on the Titanmaster, as Sky Tread, a new version of Flywheels, in Titanmasters wave 2. His accessory swaps sides and gets a green recolour to become an extra Weapon for Hardhead as part of Legends LG-21. We'll wait slightly longer for his Titanmaster when he appears under his Japanese name Bullhorn and is paired with Jaguar (Ravage) in LG-37, due out towards the end of 2016.

[Philip Ayres]

Skytread

Like Clobber, Skytread is another character who is known better by a different name, in this case the Duocon Flywheels. Now for a long while I've had this theory that Flywheels and Battletrap are named the wrong way round as there's no moving wheels on Flywheels while there is on Battletrap, who's name would more suit a tank & fighter jet than a van & helicopter. Flywheels is also "due"! Battletrap got a new version at Botcon 2015, a repaint of Generations Springer and at the time many felt that Springer's case mate Blitzwing would make a good new Flywheels, but that never materialised.

Although Flywheels, like wave mates Clobber/Grimlock and Brawn, wasn't initially a Headmaster he was sold in 1988 alongside the Headmasters so if anyone was going to get made a Headmaster, the Duocons, Monsterbots & Clones are prime targets and, if rumours are to be believed, the later two groups also have representatives coming in Titanmasters.

Skytread is a direct colour swap with Terribull: blue becomes a pale brown and grey becomes a raspberry pink. Gone is the paint app on the tank turret, replaced by an all over raspberry pink coating on the jet nose, mimicking Flywheel's red jet. In many ways the tank/jet makes much more sense for Flywheels than Terribull and, like Clobber/Grimlock, I'm guessing this was the original intended use for the toy.

The same colour swaps apply to the Titanmaster, they're not mixing and matching yet like they did with the repaint Powercore Commanders & Minicons yet but I can see that happening later down the line. Like Clobber again Skytread has a new face which has all the major features of Flywheel's face yet somehow looks a little different from the original.

I can see this being the shelf warmer in wave 2: it's not a new mould and it's not a big character like Grimlock. But if you're a fan of the 88 era toys pick it up: the mould is still fun and, as I said, it makes much more sense as Flywheels than Terribull.

[The Doctor]

No, Phil, no. Flywheels is Flywheels. Battletrap is Battletrap. Their names are correct.

-Ralph

[The Doctor]

Now I have them in hand, I think Skytread's colours just pop a bit more.

-Ralph