Transformers: Unite Warriors Computron

Right now, I’m unsure about a lot of things. Things aren’t making sense the way they should. I don’t know what to do, or where to start doing things I that I know I need to do.

So I figure Unite Warriors Computron might be a good review to work on. This review is long overdue, as this isn’t even a new release any more, having been in my possession since September. I don’t know, even as I sit down to write this, how I want to proceed: should I do individual figures; should I just do the whole thing as a whole? I didn’t know; I don’t know even as I sit to start working on it. I think I’m just going to wing it. I'm just going to sit down and try, because that is how I figure things out.

Unite Warriors Computron is another entry in the long list of toys in the “That Figure Will Never Happen” Hall of Fame. Like two years ago, a Combiner Wars Scattorshot was announced at SDCC, and the idea immediately took hold that Combiner Wars Technobots were on the way. By Botcon of that year, Hasbro had denied this idea, citing the ever accurate, iron clad “No Plans At the Moment” defense. Naturally, a portion of the fandom took this to mean Never. Of course, there are two Computrons on the market currently.

First time this piece was ever taken out of the MP Grimlock box

I went with the Takara version for a number of reasons, paramount being that this looks better than the Hasbro version, which is mostly plain repaints that look rushed and weak. The Unite Warriors line proved itself to be a winner for me with the spectacular Grand Galvatron, so I knew what I was getting my second foray into it. Another gorgeous box, and a really cute picture inside showing the Technobots throwing a party for Grimlock, their father.

The other major reasons I went Unite Warriors for this release are the new details or modifications to figures, and the inclusion of a totally new (for me) mold in Strafe. The nature of this line is one such that every toy in it has been reused and repainted and slightly or drastically remolded, so I've covered all of the base molds found in this set before, except for Strafe. But let’s take a look at each of the bots individually, starting with the one that is the least different from previous releases.

And that would be Lightspeed. Using the Combiner Wars Breakdown/Sunstreaker/Wheeljack figure and sporting a new head, that’s pretty much all there is to Lightspeed here. Apparently, and I didn’t know this until I was taking pictures of the figure, Lightspeed is the Wheeljack version of this mold, which has some remolded parts that Breakdown and Sunstreaker don’t. The rear section of the car is flared out a bit; the front end of the car and the robot chest piece are slightly different; the rear spoiler wraps all the way around from side to side, as opposed to the Breakdown/Sunstreaker version which has just a spoiler. Nice that the toy is different, despite being basically the same. A new head and pair of blasters completes the deal here. While Lightspeed is the dull one of the group, the Takara version is so much better than the Hasbro one. Takara’s has a beautiful, deep maroon color in spots that really makes the majority red toy pop, offering just enough difference between the colors that they both really stand out. The Hasbro version changes the name to Lightsteed because, and uses the Streetwise/Prowl/Smokescreen version of the Dead End/Wildrider mold. I don’t want to talk too much about the Hasbro Computron here, because in all likelihood if it were to drop in price the way the other Hasbro box sets all did, I would almost certainly pick it up. For now, I’m just going to say that this Lightspeed is much better than the other one. The weapons tab in poorly to the sides of the car, and while it makes for a nice look, they don’t stay on well. 

Scattorshot is the second least new (huh?) figure in the set, being as far as I can tell a really nice version of the single Scattorshot, a remolding of Silverbolt/Cyclonus. The paint on Scattorshot is really excellent, and he also has that red and maroon pairing, with a healthy dose of white all over. The jet fuselage has been replaced with a giant cannon barrel with a cockpit on the top, and the wings have been swapped out for very thin, spidery looking ‘wings’. Overall this is a futuristic jet, and it does a pretty swell job of looking kind of like the G1 spaceship thing that Scattorshot was. Scattorshot also comes with new weapons, and I will mention that, even though I didn’t do it for a picture, all of the Technobot weapons combine into a large one for Computron, a first in the Combiner Wars/Unite Warriors line. Hey, did you know they’re releasing Baldigus? Irony, huh? At this point, this mold is very familiar territory, and most of what I want to point out is actually more relevant to the combined mode than the individual robot, so we’ll just move along. But for as much as Scattorshot is 'just another Silverbolt,' this version is nice and impressive, but one that needs to be looked at to appreciate. It's not like with Cyclonus, where it was a first reuse and a pretty substantial reworking, even being 100% different in colors: Scattorshot is really just different wings and fuselage parts, but is a very different toy. It's only shortcoming is being another Silverbolt use.

 

Afterburner is a remold of Groove, and despite still being a fairly new figure isn’t all that different from Groove. A new head and weapons, and a pretty cool windshield piece on the bike mode, and there is Afterburner. The windshield piece looks very good, and it makes the bike itself look awesome, but it kind of destroys the idea that this is a motorcycle that a person could ride, because the windshield part comes down to meet the bike body while the handlebars stick out of it. Groove looked like a motorcycle a person could ride; Afterburner, I’m not even sure how a person would ride on him. The windshield is a bit problematic in robot mode, because it just sticks up behind him. The weapons are pretty G1 toy accurate, but they are too big and too flat and don’t look very good at all. Generally speaking, I think the set does a good job with Afterburner, but there wasn’t a whole lot that could have been done with the base figure. 

Nosecone is a remold of Rook, and fantastically so, and a leagues ahead of that laughable Brawl-with-Drill thing that Hasbros’ set includes. Now sporting tank treads and a huge drill bit instead of the wheels and S.W.A.T. vehicle exterior, Nosecone is practically a totally new figure. Like Swindle, the previous remolduse of the Rook base, you can see Rook all over this toy, and yet, it is totally different. The large roof of the vehicle has been removed, replaces with a jointed thin part that allows the gigantic drill accessory to attach and then be moved around. This part also sports a small silver set of windows, meant to be indicate the control section of the vehicle, which I think is a nice detail. The drill itself as a retracting point, but does not spin. It is attached via a 5mm peg, and so can be attached to Nosecone’s fists, or a wrist socket of the combined mode. He also has a new weapon, and a pair of other weapons that plug into the robot shoulder sockets. I think this is from the animation model, but I’m honestly not sure. I know the G1 Scattorshot toy came with small guns that plugged into the combination ports on his arms, and that’s what these things are making me think of, but I’m not sure of their relevance to Nosecone. I was not that hot on the original version of Rook, and the Swindle remold is not terribly impressive to me either, but this is a mold that, if shined up nicely, really grabs my attention, as the Roller from Grand Galvatron and Nosecone are absolute testaments to. Nosecone has the worst colors of anyone on the team, but the overall appearance is a total win.

One mean looking drill tank.

This leaves us with Strafe, the only 100% new figure in the set. Strafe is a reworking of the Unite Warriors Blast Off from their Bruticus set, Takara’s attempt to make a more G1 accurate Bruticus by replacing the Slingshot repaint-Blast Off. I’ve never handled this mold before, and I was excited to do so. Strafe is nice looking, making for a cool space ship/fighter kind of thing. A cool thing about the Technobots is that, being futuristic and advanced vehicles, they don’t have to be any thing, but rather enough of an approximation that you can call them by a vehicle name. Strafe has always been the one that tests this boundary the most. Anyway, the big orange shoulder cannons are here, and they fold down behind the back in robot mode, giving Strafe that look of having big, orange shoulder cannons. The figure is pretty fiddly though, and has some trouble lining up arms in vehicle or limb mode. The head is also prone to popping off during transformation or posing, and this appears to be a common issue. Strafe has a lot of moving parts for a figure this size, and things like the leg mounted tailfins fold down and turn around for transformation, but generally get in the way of poses and are fairly annoying during transformation. He is pretty poseable though if you can deal with the figdetiness, and even has ankle tilts. Strafe is all around a good figure, but is kind of like Groove, in that this figure was made on purpose to be some one that was missing from a G1 team; in Strafe’s case, it was Blast Off, who is a space shuttle and so just happens to be reworkable into a different kind of space shuttle. There were hopes that Takara Blast Off would be paired up with Groove and released in the US as exclusives, but after handling Strafe I don’t think that will happen. Even though Groove is a completely new toy, he is simple enough. This mold is too complicated for Hasbro’s Deluxe price point, and if you consider Slingshot, Wildrider and Groove were the other Takara-to-Hasbro figures, there is no comparison in terms of complexity between they and Blast Off/Strafe. 

So, here we are, the combined mode. Unite Warriors Computron is a nice looking combined robot, the same as the other Combiner Wars/Unite Warriors sets. A more unified color scheme makes the overall appearance better, as do the new pieces. There’s a new combiner head, which better resembles G1 Computron than the Superion head of the Hasbro version. This one also adds new chest pieces, doing a better job of replicating the animation model. Unite Warriors has, with the regular G1 teams, been going for an as-accurate-as-possible all around approach, which is why Hasbro noobs like Rook and Offroad were not included with their respective teams. This attention to accuracy runs throughout the line. The white on Computron is very white, and it is a good contrast to all the deep red and maroon. The colors are vibrant and strong, unlike Menasor and Bruticus which have more of a drab look. The combiner joint on Lightspeed doesn’t feel very sturdy, and this leads to some trouble supporting the weight of the combined form. It’s as if the joint part in Lightspeeds’ chest is loose, or like there’s a detent missing or isn’t being grabbed, so the knee will rock forward and backward just enough to make the large figure a bit wobbly. This is generally resolved by balancing the figure, but Computron does tend to wheel around a bit on whichever side Lightspeed is a leg on. Again, not a big deal, as a little adjustment will solve it, and I don’t know if this is a mold issue or if it’s just mine. I have Breakdown and Sunstreaker serving as legs, and neither of them are having this issue.

If you want or need a “Classics” Computron in your collection, Unite Warriors Computron is the one to buy. While the Hasbro version comes with a Legends class figure and the new hand and foot parts, for my money, there was no beating Takara’s. My Grand Galvatron experience left such a positive impression that the fairly steep price difference never even factored in to my decision. Not being a Takara Tomy Mall exclusive this time helps with the price, and probably also with availability.

 I wanted to get this review posted a long time ago, as Computron arrived at my apartment in September, but things kept getting in the way, and time kept flying by, and I just never got the chance. Here I will take another opportunity to believe that this will be my last foray into the Combiner Wars line, but I know that that won’t be true. Just last evening I ordered the Entertainment Earth Liokaiser set, and I have a preorder in on Ex-Megatronia that I keep hemming and hawing over but I know will ultimately end up in my possession. Unite Warriors Baldigus could be a possibility some day, if it goes on sale due to lack of interest, and one of these days I will end up with one of the two Devastators. And, with the G2 boxed sets showing up at T J Maxx and similar places, that opens the door of possibility for Hasbros’ Computron and Victorion doing the same, which opens the possibility of my getting them as well. Not sure yet if Baldigus will be the end of Unite Warriors, but if they kept releasing weird sets, it’d make me pretty happy to keep collecting them.