Dave's Galaxy Force Rant

     GC-06: Backpack (Scattorshot)

     Okay, I hadn't planned to pick up any more Galaxy Force, especially
since Cybertron is actually in stores on this continent already, but when I
saw Backpack on sale at Image Anime while I was buying Godzilla stuff, I had
to get it.  Why?  As with Inch Up, I love the name.  Especially because...

     http://www.dvandom.com/kitbash/backpack.html
     
     Sure, no visual similarities at all, but I'm tickled that a name I used
for a fan character ended up getting used by Takara.  :)  Visually, the reuse
of Scattorshot isn't unreasonable.

CAPSULE

     Backpack: Little, blue, different.  Despite being smaller than just
about any other Basic I can recall, the key gimmick works well, and the
transformation is fresh.  It has some limits (no knees, chest not locking
down solidly, etc), but is otherwise pretty cool.  Recommended.  

RANT

CYBERTRON: BACKPACK
Code: GC-06
Planet: Earth
Altmode: Halftrack missile truck

STR 6  INT 9  SPD 6  END 8  RNK 6  COUR 5  FRB 9  SKL 8  Tot 57

     The Planet Earth key symbol looks like some kind of weird Exalted caste
mark: a stylized sun (solid circle with short lines at the 8 cardinal and
semi-cardinal directions) with a black eclipsing disc covering the lower
right quarter.  His bio note has Grand Convoy's headshot and a tiny "Convoy
File" in English in its header.

     Packaging: Same Basic style slide-card bubble as Dinoshout, with similar
stuff on the back showing off both modes and the gimmicks.  Held into the
bubble by two twist-ties, and two rubber bands make sure that the key gimmick
doesn't pop open in shipping.  
     See http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/BW/Japan/GD0608 for a more detailed
description of the packaging for this line's Basics.

     Planet Key: The Earth key is dark blue clear plastic, with generic tech
detailing around the outside painted silver.  The Earth castemark is in the
center, chromed.  Unlike Dinoshout or Inch Up, the key can stay inserted
without looking too stupid, and does not automatically trigger the gimmick
while snugly in place.

     Vehicle Mode: My guess is that this is a composite vehicle.  It's a
halftrack missile truck, but searching around the various military vehicle
websites indicates that there aren't many halftracks left in use, and they're
all old models like the M-3 used by Israel.  Additionally, the front half
looks familiar, I think it's from a 6-wheeled APC, or maybe 8-wheeled (it's
not the Stryker, I checked that).  It's very similar to the front end of the
Mini-Con Knock Out.
     Ignoring missiles and key, the vehicle is 3" (8cm) long and 1.75"
(4.5cm) wide, very small for a Basic.  Without knowing what the real vehicle
mode is (if any), I can't be certain of the scale, but it looks to be about
1/72 scale.  Yep, to scale with Hot Wheels cars and Spychangers.
     The main body is a bright blue plastic.  The turret, secondary weapon,
wheels and tracks are a dark navy blue.  There's some ick-yellow panels on
the sides, and the missiles are light gray.  The ick-yellow and light gray
are used more extensively in robot mode, and are visible when you look at the
bottom of the halftrack.  The hubcaps and inside-the-treads wheels are
painted dark bronze, as are the headlight cowlings.  The lights themselves
are painted neon yellow.  There's silver details on the hood, roof, and under
the front prow.  The "windows" in front are painted black.  When you activate
the key gimmick, you see neon yellow missiles set in bronze plates.  There is
no Autobot symbol visible in this mode.
     The wheels roll well (there's dark navy wheels under the treads).  A
double barreled navy blue gun pegs onto the roof of the cockpit with a 5mm
peg that has a powerlinx hardpoint shape (so it could plug into a Mini-Con's
ports, I suppose).  The rear half has a large turret that spins around
(although when the forward guns are plugged in, there's some interference),
but does not elevate.  There's a missile on either side, fired in the
Cyberjet "marble shooter" style (they don't go very far).  At the rear of the
turret is the Planet key slot.  Inserting the key makes the front end of the
turret pop up to reveal a 9-rack of rockets on top and two 5-racks on the
bottom, all slanted at about a 45 degree angle.  These rockets are only
molded on.  You can leave the key in place pretty solidly while backing it
off just enough to let the turret remain closed.
     Everything holds together solidly in this mode.

     Transformation: Unlike any other I can recall, which is pretty
impressive for a Basic.  Well, the front end folds down like a Spychanger
hood, but the arms and legs are new.  One problem, though...the chest doesn't
lock into place, at least on mine.  In fact, it ends up in a stressed
situation that causes it to pop up a bit if you look at it funny.  A VERY
little filing on some projecting bits where the chest meets the spine fixed
that. 
     One nifty thing is that the front axle splits into a pair of quad-barrel
guns that are on ball mounts out from the shoulders.

     Robot Mode: A shrimpy 3.75" (9.5cm) tall at the head.  The spine,
abdomen, pelvis, thighs, shoulders and forearms are that ick-yellow color.
The upper arms and the shoulder cannons are light gray.  There's a small
Autobot symbol painted on the left forearm.  The head is a bit confusing at
first, since the eyes are dark navy or black underneath the helmet, but
there's bright neon yellow circles on the helmet (searchlights) that look
like eyes at first.  Kinda like how Strongarm's forehead details look like a
visor at first.  There are bronze paint applications on the forearms near the
elbows, and on the hip joints.
     Leg poseability is minimal.  The hips swing out to the sides, and the
toes can swing through about 90 degrees, and that's it.  The transformation
joint at the knee is sideways, and blocked by the treads when they're folded
into place.  The toes can fold up just a bit up from level, which combine
with some heel blocks to lean the figure forward a bit to compensate for the
backpack being deployed.
     Upper body poseability is much better.  Each shoulder has a swivel and a
hinge (although you'll have to hold onto the chest to keep it from swinging
up in some cases), and the elbows are ball joints.  The head can turn, and
the backpack can swing up to point its missiles forward.  Also, the
quadbarrels are on ball joints, so they can target independently.
     This is one heavily armed Basic.  Rifle, twin missile launchers, twin
quadbarrels, 14-shot rocket bank.  And it looks like the character gets even
MORE upgunned when he becomes Backgild later on in Galaxy Force (maybe he
joins D.I.C.E. and gets a Gild Suit?).

     Overall: As mentioned in the Capsule, the lack of leg poseability and
the fact the chest doesn't hold together are minuses.  But it's an
interesting design, looks good (aside from the choice of ick-yellow) and is a
credit to its size class.

     Dave Van Domelen, for once has a toy where it would be out of place to
complain about the robot mode having a big backpack....