Dave's Cybertron Rant: Deluxe Wave 5 Cybertron Defense Hot Shot Downshift Another K-Mart buy for me, their earlier drought is working in my favor. Wal-Mart's still clogged with wave 3.5 and 4 stuff locally, but K-Mart is getting stuff in. [Updated 3/14/06 with the visual content for Downshift's key code.] CAPSULES CD Hot Shot: Good vehicle mode, good transformation that is evocative of the previous Hot Shot, solid and insanely well armed robot mode. Recommended. $10.99 at K-Mart. Downshift: Sleek vehicle mode, although a little off-theme in "attack mode". Good transformation and robot mode, sort of a mini-Alternator in a good way. Strongly recommended. $10.99 at K-Mart. RANTS Packaging: Standard Deluxe packaging, with the addition of Space Camp contest pieces and sticker. Mine have the Earth Map. Co-sells are each other, of course, Crosswise on both, Thunderblast on Hot Shot and Brimstone on Downshift. CD Hot Shot had a non-winning regular Hot Shot sticker gamepiece, Downshift had a non-winning Starscream. Only one more sticker before I have the whole set, at least. I'm guessing it's Megatron. AUTOBOT: CYBERTRON DEFENSE HOT SHOT Planet: Cybertron Altmode: Combat car (M1117 likely) Prior Name Use: None in this specific combination Prior Mold Use: None Key Gimmick: Missile Pods Key Code: d1o4 HOT SHOT isn't psyched to give up his modified racer mode and the speed that went with it, but in the service of CYBERTRON, any sacrifice is worthwhile to him. His adventures on the Speed Planet taught him that speed isn't everything - true victory can only be won through a combination of wits, reflexes, and, when it comes down to it, the right weaponry. His new, heavily armed modes pack enough firepower to keep most enemies at bay, but if they get close enough, HOT SHOT is more than happy to show them the sword fighting techniques he learned from BRAKEDOWN back on the Speed Planet. STR 8.5 INT 8 SPD 7 END 7 RNK 8.5 COUR 10 FRB 9.5 SKL 9 Avg 8.31 Hot Shot Key Code Info Hot Shot is the same old Hot Shot that he was when he was a speedy sports car, with just a few more tons of weight, armor and weapons added onto his chassis! During his stint on the planet of Gigantion Hot Shot tried out some tricks on the massive structures that the giant Transformers had created. Using his missile launchers as over-glorified boosters, Hot Shot found that he could still drive around a full-on 360 degree loop-de-loop. Using his concussion grenades as to cushion his descent, Hot Shot proved to himself that no matter the form, the Spark remains the same.... (No visual content.) Packaging: 3 twist-ties hold the vehicle in the blister, 1 more holds the knife. A little plastic shield keeps a Mini-Con hardpoint from poking through the outer blister, and a rubber band keeps the turret from wandering. He's packaged a little mistransformed, with the robot feet flat so as to shorten the vehicle a little, and the turret in its forward position. Planet Key: Cybertron Autobot. Vehicle Mode: This is an armored combat vehicle similar to the M1117 Guardian (http://www4.army.mil/ocpa/uploads/large/OCPA-2005-04-08-115022.jpg) but not exactly like it. Probably a melange of several four-wheeled combat cars, with a totally fantasy turret. It's 5.75" (14.5cm) long with wheels 3cm in diameter. There are vision slits forward and to the sides of the driver's compartment, and Hot Shot's head is visible through them (although his eyes aren't high enough to look out through the slits). There's a dead hardpoint at "running board" level about halfway between the front and rear wheels on each side. On the left rear there is a sort of "drawer" that sticks out. I am told that the Japanese instructions call for this to be a holder for his combat knife in robot mode, but in vehicle mode it holds the Planet Key so well that I have to think it was designed to do so, at least in early drafts (the fit is too loose to work in robot mode, and it's rather awkward in position, so the idea was downplayed if it existed in the first place). The turret has full traverse horizontally and can elevate all the way to pointing backwards. The guns, called recoilless rifles in the instructions, elevate independently. The turret itself is a bit unstable, it doesn't really lock down into position in either mode. The bumper halves can swing open manually to become machineguns, and a battery of missiles is revealed behind them (8 of them, unpainted tips). The main body is the same light to medium blue seen on the previous Hot Shot (web color 99FFFF seems closest, a slightly dark cyan). The bumper, guns and some connective bits are dark red (CC0000). The wheels and the tail bits that become robot feet are black. The gun barrels and what look to be gas tanks on the flanks are painted silver. The central chunk of the turret, the access doors on the sides and some of the front armor are painted black (or a blue so dark I can't tell it apart from black). The Cybertron Defense Autobot symbol (with the V behind a regular Autobot symbol) is on top of the driver's compartment, on the driver's side. The cyan plastic is moderately UV-reactive, none of the other plastics or paints are. The central chunk of the turret is the Key slot. At least on mine, it has to go all the way in to stay in firmly. Inserting it causes the guns to open up and reveal Robotech-like missile pods, with 8 missiles per pod. In this mode, his main guns are pointed straight up, or even backwards. Weapons count: 4 guns, 24 missiles. None actually fire. Transformation: Largely the same as the previous Cybertron Hot Shot's, really. The turret flips around rather than having a roof to spin, and there's some other minor differences, but it's essentially the same, which is a nice touch. Do note that you need to pull the forearms out in order to get the elbows. Also, the combat knife stores between the robot feet. Robot Mode: 5.5" (14cm) tall at the head, the big Destroid-like shoulderpads crank his total height up to 6.5" (17cm), reminiscent of Armada Megatron. The head sculpt is similar to the previous Hot Shot, but with extra sighting displays molded into the visor. The turret guns are meant to flank the head, but don't lock down or really sit properly. The head turns, but the waist does not. The shoulders are universal joints, but the massive shoulderpads get in the way of raising the arms sideways if the turret guns are pointed forward. The elbows are hinges that will bend to about 120 degrees (60 degrees from straight). The hips are ball joints, the knees are hinges that ratchet 45 degrees at a shot, and the ankles have a two-position transformation hinge. Bending either the knees or the ankle is likely to make the knife fly off, as the Mystery Drawer isn't quite a good fit as weapon storage. Panels on the big shoulderpads open to reveal LRM15's...I mean, fifteen rockets with yellow-painted (FFFF00) tips, in an array 3 wide and 5 tall. These tips have a single slot in them, as if they were standard screw heads. Pushing on the black armor chunks on the shins will get them to rotate about a horizontal axis, revealing another missile pod on each leg. These missiles are X-cut (Phillips head) in three columns, 5-4-5. There are also a pair of unpainted missiles on each hip. Very Armored Valkyrie (Crusader) overall. As earlier mentioned, the turret guns flank the head. Additionally, he has his knife, made of dark red plastic with a silver painted blade 4.2cm long. The knife can either be held in his fists, or stuck in a hole in the forearm armor pointing along the direction of the arm. The fact that both this hole and the knife peg are the same non-circular shape (like a circle flattened on two opposite sides), I suspect this is an undocumented feature, not just an accidental thing. Especially since it's hard for him to hold the blade in his fist and have his shoulder panels open at the same time. Most of the "skeleton" of the robot mode is dark red plastic, with a black chestplate and black plastic head. The face is silver, visor bright yellow, and eyes bright blue (0000FF). The chest has yellow, silver and dark red paint apps, and the bottom of his pelvis armor is yellow. His fingers and thumbs are painted silver to give the look of fingerless gloves. No particular UV reactions. It's worth noting that the hardpoints end up on the forearms, so he can attach Mini-Cons to become even more horribly beweaponed. Weapon Count: Total possible rocket pods (15 each shoulder front, 4 each shoulder top, 14 per shin, 2 per hip, 8 per turret pod) = 86. Four possible guns, although two point straight up and the other two point up if the missile pods are opened. 1 knife. Deathblossom mode = priceless. Definitely an inverse relationship between the size of a Cybertron Defense character and the (one-shot, at least) firepower. Red Alert has one (admittedly big) missile, two blasters and a variable weapon. Scattorshot has 22 non-firing missiles, 2 firing missiles, and two blasters. Maybe none of Hot Shot's weapons actually fire, but he can potentially put 90 ranged weapons on a single target. And then slice up whatever may survive. Overall: It's good to have a realistic military vehicle mode (well, realistic in mold, if not color) once in a while, and wheeled armored vehicles don't get enough love in general. Worth picking up, definitely. AUTOBOT: DOWNSHIFT Planet: Earth Altmode: Muscle Car Prior Name Use: G1 (Omnibot), Energon Prior Mold Use: None Key Gimmick: Sneak Attack Capture Claw Key Code: dm8r A few years of experience in the Energon Wars have gone a long way in DOWNSHIFT. Once an impulsive speedster, he has learned patience and consideration from his mentor HOT SHOT. Where he once would have raced straight into battle against even overwhelming odds, relying on his speed to get him out of tight spots, he has now learned to observe and enter a fight cautiously. His keen eye and quick reflexes allow him to exploit even the smallest opportunity to bring down DECEPTICONS much bigger and stronger than him. STR 7 INT 8 SPD 7.5 END 9 RNK 7 COUR 9 FRB 7 SKL 8 Avg 7.81 (Grammar nitpick: stronger than he (is). He's lost 1.5 points of SPD, but is otherwise as good or better than his Energon version.) Key Code Info: Downshift has found some new peace on Earth. When the evacuation of Cybertron took place - he was separated from his fembot lifebond partner. They had just been joined together under the covenant of Primus and were looking forward to spending some time in the Crystal Cities. The evacuation occurred and tore the two of them apart. On Earth, Downshift spent every waking hour looking through every "Robot in Disguise" staging base to locate his lifebond partner. Soon enough, they found one another and were ordered by Optimus Prime to begin their Earth assimilation in a small town south of Providence, RI. There, Downshift found a peace he never had on Cybertron during the great wars. After the struggle ended, Downshift and his lifebond partner stayed on Earth as envoys of Cybertron. (No visual content. I wonder if there's plans for an Autobot femme toy, possibly a recolor, that will be Downshift's lady. There's some speculation that the white Thunderblast DVD-exclusive from Galaxy Force might be released as this character, although that's all it is right now...speculation.) (Update 3/14/06: added a design sketch of the vehicle mode and another of his robot head.) Packaging: 2 twist-ties hold the car in, one each for his rocket launchers. The missiles are just held in by the shape of the blister. No rubber bands. The prototype on the package lacks the oversized engine of the final toy. Planet Key: Standard Earth Key. Vehicle Mode: Your basic 70s muscle car, in darkish green (669900) with clear golden yellow (FFCC00) windows and headlights, black-painted roof and hood, black and gunmetal (shiny 333333) trim on the sides. The exhaust pipes (2 on each side) and wheels are black plastic. There's silver paint on the hubcaps, grille, taillights, engine block (which extends up through the hood), and the tech details on the rear window. The main taillights are painted red (FF0000), and a 1cm tall Autobot symbol is printed on the front end of the hood. There's very little robot stuff visible on the underside, and there's even some car details molded there. The clear yellow plastic is strongly UV reactive (it glows so much it becomes opaque), but none of the other plastics or paints reacts. The car is 5.5" (14cm) long, making it about 1/36 scale. It takes elements from the Dodge Charger, Pontiac GTO and Olds 442, plus home brew muscle car mods such as an enlarged engine. There's seats molded inside the car, in the roof chunk that sort of becomes a cape in robot mode. The brake discs are visible behind the hubcaps, furthering the almost Alternators-like level of vehicle detail. The doors do open, but do not reveal an interior (and the doors bring part of the rear fenders with them). [Later note: elements from several other cars, such as the Buick GS (which has the W-shaped grille), have been found. It seems to be a chimaera formed from many 1969 model year cars. And, apparently, ONLY 1969 cars.] Unlike, well, just about every other Cybertron vehicle, the weapons are not integrated. Rather, they take after Energon Downshift, being add-ons to the vehicle or robot mode. They even plug in near the rear as with E.Downshift. Each is a dark green and black missile launcher with a gunmetal missile and trigger. They have Mini-Con hardpoint pegs on both sides, so when they plug into the 5mm holes rearward of the rear wheels, they also provide hardpoints for more stuff. Little raised bits on the launchers help them fit firmly in place pointed forward, and the triggers evoke the fins of 50s cars. There's a gap on each launcher positioned over the wheels to prevent a loss in maneuverability (and they're also the clips for attachment to the shoulders in robot mode). Oh, and the guns are called "twin heavy magnum force blasters" on the package. They have a sort of laser sight molded under the missile. The Key slot is in the rear window. But as a default, it's not exposed. The rear window is clearly a Key slot because of the silver tech greebles on it, but you have to flip the middle half of the rear window up to horizontal to get the Key in. Once inserted, a multipiece capture claw made of clear golden yellow plastic pops out from the front of the car. It does not actually close down on things that are pushed into it, though. On my copy, if I push the Key in all the way and then edge it back out about a millimeter, it'll stay in securely while allowing the claw to be stowed. Pressing the rear window down a little helps hold the Key. Transformation: Be sure to unload the magnums before trying to remove them, it's really easy to fire them accidentally. The rear end of the car turns into the feet in a fairly clever way (the heel spurs can be popped open in vehicle mode for a sort of James Bond defensive weapon dispenser). The doors become shoulderpads, with arms folding down from them. When you fold the roof down to become the back, it lifts the engine block up from where it was covering the head. The head springs up on its own, and the Wheeljack-style "ears" spring out to the sides on their own (they store pointed straight up). The head will not stay down on its own, you need to fold the engine down over it. The magnums can either be held in the hands, or clipped onto the shoulderpads. The rear view mirrors act to keep them from sliding too close to the center. Robot Mode: 5" (12cm) at the head, a bit taller counting the engine block behind his head. His shoulderpadspan is about equal to his height. His face is classic Wheeljack, which is to say it's Energon Downshift's. The head is black plastic with silver crest and face and gold eyes. His flip- down "ears" are clear yellow. His neck area is molded to look like the collar of a Nehru jacket. His arms, feet and shins are also black plastic. Hands, pelvis and upper legs are gunmetal plastic. The green car parts are the chest (car front third pointed forward), shoulderpads and boots. Silver paint details are on his shoulderpads, abdomen and shins, with a bit of pale gold paint on each kneecap. The head doesn't really turn, but it wiggles a little. No waist joint. The shoulderpads swivel and the upper arm is hinged inside the shoulderpad, for effective universal joint shoulders. The hinge elbows bend 90 degrees, the wrists bend inward on a transformation joint. The hips are ball joints, the knees are hinges, and there's a swivel below each knee. The toes and heel spurs are very adjustable for stability in different stances. The internal jointing is such that the Key gimmick still works even though the roof piece is bent 90 degrees from where it was in vehicle mode. It kinda looks like Downshift has an auxiliary Matrix of Leadership when the claw pops out. The Autobot Matrix of Bad Mutha-(Shut yo' mouth!). Just talkin' about Downshaft.... Overall: While I wouldn't go so far as to give him the title of "tiny god" that some have, I do think it's a very good toy, a worthy successor to Energon Downshift. Get it if you see it. Dave Van Domelen, about to the point where he's going to have to put away some Cybertron toys to display the new ones.