Dave's Sector 7 Transformers Rant: Wave 4 Warpath Storm Surge Crosshairs (not fully reviewed) Permalink: http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/BW/Movie/Sector7-4 See http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/BW/Movie/Sector7-2 for general stuff about the Target recolor Scouts. And for the original molds, see: http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/BW/Energon/Basic1 - Crosshairs (Strongarm) http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/BW/Cybertron/Basic1 - Overhaul (Warpath) http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/BW/Cybertron/Basic7 - Shortround (Storm Surge) Overhaul was Mildly Recommended, Shortround was Recommended, and Strongarm was Recommended but has gotten too many recolors already. Storm Surge was the only one of this wave I was actually looking forward to, but Warpath looked too good on the shelf to pass by. CAPSULES Warpath: Mediocre mold with a rather good new color scheme, and the Key gimmick suits the G1 character. The weaknesses of the mold aren't fixed, but it looks good. Mildly recommended. $7.99 at Target. Storm Surge: Good mold, and the color scheme is a bit more realistic while still being bright and kid-friendly (and still using AllSpark Blue). Recommended. $7.99 at Target. Crosshairs: Good mold, iffy color scheme, I already have two versions of this mold and wasn't impressed enough to want a third. $7.99 at Target. RANTS Packaging: They've moved to the AllSpark Power packaging deco, making these relatively easy to find on the shelf among all the older Sector 7 sets. Although several Target's I've been to tend to get the Legends versus packs mixed in with the Scout recolors, so it's not quite as cut and dried as it could be. No catalogs with these toys. As usual, the function and motto are my creations except where I decide to use the G1 versions. AUTOBOT: WARPATH Altmode: Jeep Previous Name Use: G1 (yep, first revival of the name) Previous Mold Use: Cybertron Package Callouts: "Insert key to activate features!" "Key launches weapon blast!" Planet Key: Speed in clear blue with metallic black paint Function: None of your business Motto: "I always fire at will." WARPATH isn't really into following orders. The way he sees it, if OPTIMUS PRIME was all that into freedom, he'd let the other AUTOBOTS do what they wanted instead of trying to command them all the time. For his part, WARPATH is happy to fight the DECEPTICONS, because those guys are in serious need of a beat down. But he'll do it his own way, and on his own time. STR 6 INT 6 SPD 5 END 8 RNK 3 COUR 7 FRB 7 SKL 5 Avg 5.875 They didn't reuse the G1 techspec numbers, but they definitely went for more of a "bitter loner" personality. One twist-tie around the vehicle, one around the missile. Color Swaps: Green is replaced by black, black stays black, yellow is replaced by a slightly orangey red, and the clear red plastic becomes clear deep aqua blue plastic. The Planet Key is cast in the same clear blue. Paint Apps: The hood, doors and the window trim are a dark red, with the windows themselves left unpainted black. The roof and rear are left unpainted, giving the impression of a ragtop (although the spare tire kinda runs counter to that). The hubcaps, headlights and roof lamps are silver, and there's triple stripes of AllSpark Blue on the hood and doors that really work well, visually speaking. Robot mode adds silver for the face and some accents on chest and shoulders, plus more AllSpark Blue on the helmet, shoulders and chest, balancing nicely with the bits visible from the vehicle mode. The chest is mostly the same red as the hood. A silver Autobot symbol is printed on the right shoulder. Other Notes: Well, while the vehicle mode doesn't really scream Warpath, at least they picked a toy that fires from its chest to update the little tank minibot. And the overall color balance in robot mode is just about perfect for a Warpath update, allowing for the need for AllSpark Blue. Overall: Okay, going black and red is something of a cheap shot to make a design look better, and they have to be careful not to go cliche with it. But used once in a while it's good, and it manages to take a mediocre design and really make it pop. DECEPTICON: STORM SURGE Altmode: Hovercraft Previous Name Use: None Previous Mold Use: Cybertron Package Callouts: "Snap up fusion torpedoes!" "Insert key to activate features!" Planet Key: Cybertron Decepticon in clear blue with silver paint Function: Chemical Warfare Motto: "You shoulda known better than t' stand where I was thinkin' a' aimin'." STORM SURGE is so named because of his all-encompassing approach to combat. Allies and opponents alike rarely leave a fight in which he is involved without being soaked in corrosive salt acid, or bathed in jellied gasoline. During fights at sea, the water around him erupts constantly into geysers as his depth charges roll indiscriminately into the ocean. On land, he sprays the area around him with emitters housed on his arms, figuring that the more destructive power he puts out, the more likely it is he'll take out his AUTOBOT enemies. STR 8 INT 3 SPD 6 END 5 RNK 3 COUR 5 FRB 7 SKL 3 Avg 5 Heh. Warpath has a low Rank because he has no respect for chain of command. Storm Surge has low Rank because he has no respect for who's on what side. Three twist-ties on the vehicle, one on the hand weapon, and a plastic strap across the Planet Key. A rubber band keeps the torpedoes down. Color Swaps: Very light gray becomes white (with strong UV glow), dark gray becomes black, light blue becomes medium gray. As with the original, there was molding possible for a lightpiping in the eyes, but they leave it gray. Purple becomes a darkish blue. The Planet Key is cast in clear blue, a bit lighter than the clear blue on Warpath's Key. Paint Apps: A good match dark blue is used on the upper part of the hull (which becomes the top of the torso, front of boots and tops of toes), and on the fronts of the propulsion fans. Black is used to match up the rear bit of the hoverskirts (only on the sides, though, leading to the same rear mismatch as on Shortround) and for the helmet. The tips of the torpedoes, intakes for the lift fans, the tip of the hand weapon and a diagonal stripe on either side of the forehull are red-orange (with a thin blue stripe paralleling the side stripes). The Sector 7 logo is printed within the orange stripe on either side. Silver paint is on the thrust fan intakes and as trim on the Planet Key (including on the Decepticon symbol, which is the only 'Con symbol on the toy). Finally, because this is an AllSpark Power wave, the chest intakes, eyes and some trim on the lower torso are AllSpark Blue, as are the windows in vehicle mode. Other Notes: At this point, it's pretty obvious they were shooting for AllSpark Blue in the Planet Keys, even if it makes the other clear parts of both this and Warpath a little odd. I wonder why they didn't make Crosshair's Energon parts the same color, though? Ironically given the personality and mission, this has the look of a coast guard or rescue craft. The red-orange bits are kinda bright, but otherwise it looks more "realistic" than the G2-ish scheme on Shortround. Joints are pretty stiff on this version, which can be a minor problem in transformation, but is generally a Good Thing. Overall: Much as I like Shortround, Storm Surge is better. It even makes the AllSpark Blue work (it helps that it's only on windows in vehicle mode). About the only way I'd suggest improving it would be to add some black paint to the tips of the "thumb claws" and more on the rear so that the hoverskirt would be black all the way around. AUTOBOT: CROSSHAIRS Altmode: Jeep Previous Name Use: G1 Previous Mold Use: Energon, Movie Package Callouts: (didn't copy them down) Function: Weapons Supervisor Motto: "Don't shoot until you see the wires in their eyes!" Armorer and weapons master for the AUTOBOTS, CROSSHAIRS is used to dealing with some of the most dangerous technology in the galaxy. Long use has taught him to be painstakingly methodical, but has also caused him to be so entrenched in his systematic organizational methods that no other AUTOBOT could ever hope to find anything in the vast armory on CYBERTRON. CROSSHAIRS is so careful that he will not issue a weapon unless the requester fills out forms detailing - in triplicate - his need. STR 5 INT 7 SPD 4 END 8 RNK 7 COUR 5 FRB 5 SKL 9 Avg 6.25 I took the motto from the G1 Targetmaster, and they clearly based the bio note for this guy on the Targetmaster. The color scheme, on the other hand, is based on the "desert camo" Universe Ruination Combaticons (which were bootlegged as the team I lovingly call Urination). The main body color is a very light tan with orange and brown wobbly stripes pretending to be camoflage, while the secondary color (used on the torso and shoulders) is a lightish brown. His Energon pieces are black of a VERY dark clear gray, while his Energon star is clear gray. I didn't buy this, since I don't like the Universe Rollbar look and I already have Strongarm and Energon Strongarm (and passed on Sector 7 Strongarm). Dave Van Domelen, now to go stuff Overhaul and Shortround back in storage.