Phil's Titans Return Scourge, Highbrow & Windblade review

[Philip Ayres]

Titans Return Scourge

Scourge hasn't had a lot of luck with updates to his character. The first was the 2006 Titanium in a not terribly well liked line. The second, the 2011 Generations Deluxe, doesn't look too much like his robot, has a new more Earth like vehicle mode and didn't get a general UK release but was grey imported in mid 2011. His brother Cyclonus has done rather better with the much admired 2009 Universe 2 version, it's 2011 Reveal The Shield repaint and 2015 Generations Voyager all making it to the UK.

Both Scourge & Cyclonus were available in 1987 as Targetmasters and while the Universe 2 Cyclonus maintains that gimmick here Scourge finds himself as a Titanmaster, effectively a Headmaster. His Titanmaster is Fracas, the same name used for his 1987 Targetmaster. Moulded throughout in blue plastic he transforms & has similar articulation to all the other Titanmasters. Like Blurr's Titanmaster Hyperfire when in head mode he has a little extendable piece on top, this time shaped like the tube seen on top of the rear of Scourge's original vehicle mode and his head.

The robot itself is quite rounded, with effectively ball like shoulders and looks a decent interpretation of the look Scourge has in the 1986 movie. A certain proportion of his spaceship mode is on his back, as it's always been, which as usual provides the hint of him wearing a robotic cloak. Articulation is good: ball jointed head, provided by the Titanmaster, shoulders that shrug, stiffly, up at the body & are ball jointed at the arm, bicep swivels, bending elbows, universal hips, thigh swivels and bending knee. He comes armed with two guns, a short single barrelled one, little more than a detailed pipe, and a larger double barrelled one, which contains a seat for a Titanmaster in front of which is a peg hole so the guns can be combined into a triple barrelled weapon. The two barrels on the dual cannon both end in a 3mm peg hole which lets you plug Cyberverse weapons into it.

Transformation: pop the Titanmaster head off and unfold it into robot mode. Remove all weapons, fold the hands into the forearms and straighten the arms at the sides. Shrug the shoulders up and lock the arms onto the body courtesy of a tab on the body fitting a slot beneath the bicep joint. Now we get something a little innovative: pull down on the legs, revealing the spine. Fold the feet & heel spurs together so they point down out the bottom of the leg, Open the doors on the leg fronts, folding them round onto the inside of each leg. Rotate the legs round 180° via a waist joint on the spine, previously locked off inside the body. Rotate each leg in 90° at the thigh joint. Bend each hip joint up 180°, bringing the upper legs alongside the extended spine, and at the same time fold the knees down 180°covering the legs up and forming the front of the spaceship. Fold the "cape" panels down to the sides tabbing into the shoulders & what was the rear of the leg. By default the Titanmaster sits in the cockpit at the rear of the vehicle, the small gun mounts on the cockpit and the large double gun mounts in front of the cockpit but, as we'll see, all three are up for negotiation!

Scourge's vehicle mode is his classic Spaceship/Hovercraft/Soapdish design with a few extra fins and details on it. It's a pretty good update of the original design done in blue and pale blue. The illusion is only really broken when you turn the vehicle over and you see the folded back leg doors and exposed robot chest. But even then the leg doors have moulding on them for guns while the shape resembles landing gear.

One of the real joys of this mode is the ability to customise it's look. Both the dual cannon and smaller gun mount on 5mm peg holes so they can be swapped round or even combined onto the same post. There's two 5mm peg holes on each side of the vehicles which can also take the weapons. The Titanmaster is tucked away at the moment inside the cockpit but can be seated outside the vehicle on dual cannon. Finally if you look at the 5mm socket on top of the cockpit you'll see it's a slightly odd shape, square at the front. This enables you to plug the Titanmaster in head mode into the top of the Spaceship just like cartoon Scourge extending his head in spaceship mode.

I'm quite taken with Scourge: both modes are fun, and the interchangeability & combination of weapons & Titanmaster add significantly to it's play value

[The Doctor]

All these millimetres put me off. Does that mean it has holes for the guns?

-Ralph

[Philip Ayres]

Yes. And holes on guns for other guns.

[Philip Ayres]

With friends









Spaceship Underside



Gun Fun

[The Doctor]

Bad Phil! Now I see those three together I have to have a TR Galvatron and re-acquire Universe Cyclonus too!

-Ralph

[Philip Ayres]

Legends LG-26 Scourge

Now I hadn't intended to obtain both the Japanese and western version of every Titans Return so far but through a series of impulse buys and mistakes and mistakes I have. However I intended to get both Titans Return & Legends Scourge from the moment I first laid eyes on him. They're differently coloured enough that one can sold as Scourge while the other can be a sweep.

They've pulled an interesting trick with the head: the arms of the Titanmaster are now done in a very pale blue, as opposed to the same colour as the rest of the head, which makes the whole head look a lot thinner like you're use to with Scourge. The light blue is extensively used elsewhere on the upper legs, upper arms and hands making the robot look significantly different to the western version.

Since Scourge wasn't an original Headmaster in Japan he, like Blurr, isn't deemed worthy of an extra Titanmaster accessory.

Top toy, well worth getting even if you have the western version.

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Titans Return Highbrow & Xort

The 1987 Highbrow was my favourite of the original Headmasters when I was younger yet of the Four Warriors From The Sky he's the only one not to have a real attempt of updating. His only name reuse is with Hunt For The Decepticons Highbrow, who looks nothing like him, while a pair of toys that do, Beast Machines Obsidian and, to a slightly lesser extent, Movie Incinerator, have never been re-released in the correct colours.

In the run up to release a number of parts were noticed to be similar to Scourge including the Titanmaster Xort, previously known as Gort, which has changed from all blue to blue, with off white chest & upper legs. Otherwise that's exactly the same figure with a new faceplate for robot mode that looks very close to Highbrow's US Animation model.

If you said "Give me an articulated version of Highbrow" then what you'd imagine would look pretty much like the deluxe robot you get here, so we're off to a good start. The colours are in the right place and, glory be, he's got twin guns! It's bigged me through the initial Titans Return releases that the Autobot Headmasters, who original had two matching guns, now have on or non matching weapons. Highbrow's don't match exactly, they're mirror images of each other and we'll see why later. His chest folds down slightly to simulate the missing tech spec readout. It's not essential, but a nice feature. About the only thing that slightly bugs me here is the wings don't fold back and are stuck out to the sides.

Articulation: a match to Scourge, so I'll copy & paste! ball jointed head, provided by the Titanmaster, shoulders that shrug up at the body & are ball jointed at the arm, bicep swivels, bending elbows, universal hips, thigh swivels and bending knee.

It's in robot mode that Highbrow shares the most parts with Scourge with the hands, shoulder joint, hips, thighs and heel spurs, previously Scourge's feet, being the same. However the most obvious connection between the two toys is only revealed during the Transformation!

Start by removing the Titanmaster and the weapons. Fold the hands back into the forearms and straighten the arms. Fold the heel spurs in. Pull down on the waist revealing an extending spine, another shared part identical to Scourge's. Rotate each thigh swivel 90° out to the side. Gold each leg up 180° at each hip while folding back 180° at each knee, locking the lower legs over the upper legs and round the spine so that in the same manner as Scourge's legs form the the front of his vehicle Highbrow's form the rear of his. Fold the helicopter's cockpit up off the robot's back and into the space vacated by his head. Swing the arms back along the Helicopter's body so that tabs on the body meet slots in the arms & the knee pads recess into the space the hands have folded into. The rectangular tabs on the guns' sides fit into the hex holes under the wings with the 5mm pointing towards each other. Moulding on the guns provides rear landing wheels while the front landing gear folds down under the cockpit. Fold the cockpit canopy forward and sit the Titanmaster inside.

In vehicle mode Titans Return Highbrow is almost like holding a slightly smaller version of the original Highbrow toy if it wasn't for one thing: the designers in their wisdom have decided that Highbrow needs only two rotors on each wing instead of the three he originally had. The blades spin freely and look like they were originally intended to fold away for storage in robot mode.

Should you wish to vary how the guns are mounted, or tool Highbrow up further, there's a 5mm port under the edge of each wing and a further pair on each side of the cockpit. The guns themselves can be removed completely to slide together to form a dual barrelled cannon for the Titanmaster to ride in. The 5mm handles now stick out the sides of the combined unit allowing it to be pegged into the sides of the cockpit, or any other toy you want to mount it. Sadly there's no 5mm peg underneath so it can't really be mounted as a traditional gun emplacement.

Bar the lack of a third rotor blade, this is a top update which I'm loving. I'm amazed at the way he & Scourge share parts & a transformation idea yet look totally different!

Highbrow is sold in Titans Return Deluxe Wave 2 where he's packed 2 per case with Chromedome, Wolfwire & Mindwipe.

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Future Repaints

The dual rotor helicopter mentioned above provide a rich vein of repaints that are possibilities for Highbrow with both Movie Incinerator and his Black Takara Repaint suggesting themselves. Beast Machines Obsidian has several versions: in addition to his original green there's the desert camo Robots in Disguise version but the blue Transformers Universe is probably a bit too close to Highbrow's colours.

Scourge's vehicle mode is a little odd but since Botcon 2009 Scourge was a repaint of Cybertron Sideways how about Titans Return Scourge in black as him? An added bonus here is that Sideways' Armada version was also a Headmaster! Sideways was also repainted as Universe Ratbat so if Ratbat isn't done as a tape for Soundwave that's another possibility.

[Philip Ayres]

Legends LG-33 Highbrow & Karugo

Titans Return and Legends Highbrows look very very similar. So similar that you really need to see them side by side as in this Legends Comparison Post on Facebook. When you get both Highbrows together you'll see the the blue on Legends Highbrow is darker while the grey is lighter, almost white. The weapons have gone from being gunmetal grey to silver. In vehicle mode he's lost the stripes down his tail and the Autobot symbol on his back. In it's place is a mass of grey/white paint attempting to make the waist of the robot the same colour but breaking up the blue on the tail. New small Autobot symbols are on each wing.

As with the other 1987 Headmaster deluxes that have reached the Legends line they've tweaked the heads and added in a new accessory. Highbrows heads look quite similar but the Japanese one is slightly more rounded and a little bit lacking definition compared with the western version. The Titanmaster now more closely resembles the 1987 original being completely dark blue with a gunmetal grey chest and added paint highlights on the head.

Highbrow's package also includes one of the Titanmaster accessories. Since Legends is following the Autobot vehicles, Decepticon animals theme he gets a vehicle: Karugo, a repaint of Loudmouth's flying car. pale grey is swapped for dark grey while the red becomes a blue which matches Legends Highbrow. a dab of red paint added to the windscreen helps the toy. Unfortunately the blue used doesn't match either blue used on Go Shooter, who was sold with Legends Wheelie but even so paired together they make a more attractive combination than the original Titans Return Loudmouth.

It's fractional but I think I prefer the Titans Return Highbrow for my Highbrow, especially on the head. However the Titanmaster robot & accessory are better than their western versions.

[Philip Ayres]

Titans Return Windblade with Scorchfire

Since Scourge had already had one major remould as Highbrow I didn't expect to be looking at the mould again except as a Sweep or Beast Machines Obsidian repaint. The first sniff of a Windblade came a few days before Toyfair 2017 when a rumour stating she was a Highbrow retool emerged, to some doubt which wasn't 100% silenced by her reveal in the Toyfair 2017 showroom.

I could spot from a distance some shared parts, notably round the upper legs, but now she's in hand I can list a whole load of parts that are the same: Scourge's feet (Highbrow's heel spurs), the spine/inner waist, the knees, upper legs, hips, shoulder joint, elbow, bellow the bicep on the upper arm, the Titanmaster connector and the Titanmaster's chest, upper & lower legs. There appears to be some mould degradation as a few of these, the spine and the upper legs in particular, look to have slightly changed shape and definition while retaining the same detail.

Her Titanmaster Scorchfire is all black with a new head and arms which helps to separate her from Xort, Fracas and the forthcoming Legends Sweep head. She, and I'm presuming a female Transformer's Titanmaster would also be female, transforms into a head with a really good representation of the Windblade face on it.

The figure itself is slightly odd: the top half is y our typical slim armed busty Windblade but the lower half looks too big for the upper half. The Upper legs, carried over parts remember, are far too square and chunky in comparison with the arms while the lower legs are similarly large in order to accommodate having the upper legs folded into them during transformation. It isn't a complete disaster by any means, and stands far far better than the original Windblade did, it just looks ever so slightly odd.

Articulation: foot bends at the ankle, bending knees, thigh swivels, universal joints at the hips, shoulders that shrug down a bit at the body as part of the transformation, ball jointed shoulders, bicep swivels, bending elbow and a neck joint provided by the Titanmaster. As it's the same Titanmaster connector as Scourge and Highbrow some people have reported problems with it but I can't see anything major on any of the the three toys and their heads stay attached fine for me.

Weapons: because it's Windblade she needs a sword and here she has not one but two! The design differs from the curved blade seen on previous deluxe Windblade toys, she now has a pair of straight blades, cast in clear yellow plastic, and painted silver everywhere bar the handles, leading blade edge and a tab used for storing the weapons on each wing. The swords can be held individually but can be combined into a double bladed weapon which she can hold by one of the handles. The weapon by itself can also function as a Titanmaster vehicle, via a seat at the back which accomodates a Titanmaster who'se feet peg onto the front of seat area. It's not great as a stand alone vehicle to be honest and works better as a weapon though, as we'll see, it can attach to the vehicle mode too. For storing the combined weapon, fold down the landing gear on Windblade's back and place tha Landing gear's foot into the rectangular hole imediately in front of the Titanmaster's seat.

Transformation: Remove the weapons and the Titanmaster. Straighten he arms to the sides and swing each in 90° at the bicep. Extend the spine by pulling down on the legs/waist. Tab the arms into the back panel. Fold the wings forward. Fold the nose up off the back and into place. Fold the feet down. Lay the toy down on the robot's front. Fold the lower legs forward 180° at the knee so that the feet rest between the wings, Tab the weapons in under each wing, open the cockpit and sit the Titanmaster inside.

So much simpler than the T30 version to transform and so much more stable in jet mode: rock solid here compared to the floppy mess of the T30 version. The shape is broadly similar to both existing Windblades with the pivoting fans still present in the wings. She's mainly red, with black highlights so is more similar in colour to the Legends versions rather than he mainly black Generations toy. There's two individual Titanmaster footpegs either side of the body should any Titanmasters want to stand on her. Her combined sword weapon tabs in behind and projects out over the cockpit. It looks a bit odd but I can see what they were going for and if you don't like it then stor the blades under the wings. The slot for attaching the weapon is a little odd: it's cut over and through a 5mm peg hole behind the cockpit that's useless tio Windblade as she comes here. Her swords, while possessing 5mm handles, are tapered to the end and won't fit in it. I can only presume that it's present at Takara's request to accommodate a Titanmaster accessory in weapons mode or a Targetmaster. The only problem with that is Haywire, Blurr's Targetmaster, has been done with Doublecross, Fracas would be surely with a Decepticon, all the other Targetmasters have either been packed with their toys or their toys haven't been made yet and there's no real Titanmaster sword weapon! I await Takara's version with interest to see what they do!

Proportions of upper to lower body aside I think Titans Return Windblade is a decent toy. It's a far better Windblade than the original to my mind, having a jet mode that doesn't fall apart when you look at it helps there! I probably should get rid of the original but I think it will have to stay because there's a slight chance I might want to use it's sword with this toy!

Future Repaints

Windblade has Combiner Hunters and Titan Force versions this toy could be repainted into, with my preference going to a Titan Force repaint as that was already associated with Titans Return. The original Windblade was also remade as Legends Slipstream and Botcon 2016 Airazor.

[Philip Ayres]

The yellow tabs that combine to make the tab that holds the combined weapon in in jet mode have an individual function too: they can be used to store her swords on her back using the underside of the jet nose. Look for two slots on either side near the top.

[Toph]

So I have the windblade wave, and my first thought upon having the third brand new windblade mold in a row is this:

WHAT THE HELL POSSESSED HASBRO TO MAKE NAUTICA A HALFASSED REPAINT OF BLURR, INSTEAD OF FROM A MINOR RETOOL OF WINDBLADE?!?

Seriously... change the wings (keep the fans), the nosecone, and face and it'd be a much more passable Nautica than blurr ever could be!

[Toph]

More thoughts.

She's a much better and more stable jet mode than the original.
She's a much more simplistic transformation, which is to say the original wasn't a terribly complex transformation to start with.
She wears most of her alt mode as back kibble. Like... almost all of it.
I like that she's based on Sarah Stone's design.
It doesn't do her justice to call her a highbrow remold. She is even more different from Highbrow, and from Scourge, as Chromedome is from Blurr.

I like her!