TFC Toys’ Ares was a big hit at the Coffin. Sure, it has an
issue here and there, but overall it is a quality third party Predaking. One of
the low points of the Ares experience was the torso figure, Nemean, who is
lacking in so much of what makes the set as a whole great. So there is some
trepidation heading into Iron Shell, the Snaptrap-themed –or, for Masterforce fans, Turtler-themed -- torso
bot of Poseidon. But, most concerns are quickly dispelled after a few minutes
of handling.
Iron Shell is a big, imposing looking toy, and it is weighty
as well. Where Nemean was large but looked and certainly felt light, Iron Shell
feels every bit a giant mechanical turtle monster. On the first gloss it is
easy to think that this prodigious weight comes simply from the backpack shell,
and while that part is big and hefty, the figure in general is solid and thick.
Most of the figure does materialize through twisting and flipping hollow
forearms and lower legs around, with the said hollow parts being filled in by the
small (comically so) turtle appendages, but that’s largely to be expected with
a figure that is not only an animal in its alt mode but also a torso. Iron
Shell’s joints are thick, strong ratchets, clicking and clanking with every
movement, providing a lot of hope that the combined mode of Poseidon, which is
going to be enormous, will also be strong and stable. 
The hands have jointed fingers, mainly so as to be able to
hold the blaster, which is a blaster. Honestly, as a set, the TFC Seacons
aren’t all that impressive with their accessories, and while Iron Shell’s
blaster is probably the best of the bunch, it’s basically a generic blaster.
Probably because the figure is the only one of the group that does not have a
weapon mode itself, but the blaster doesn’t integrate into the alt mode or
anything, as some of the smaller figures’ parts do. Iron Shell also has a
sword. I haven’t been too keen on taking pictures of these figures with their
swords because again, as was the case with the Ares team, the individual swords
are really just there to be combined into the huge sword that Poseidon will
wield. By themselves, they aren’t much to get worked up over. The big cool
weapon news for this figure is that the back mounted cannons can be extended
and bent over the shoulders, giving Iron Shell a hefty amount of artillery
that’s already built in to the figure.
The head sculpt is again great, and the robot chest again
incorporates hints of the sea monster head into it, which honestly has become a
real cool theme of the figures on the team. Posing is pretty good here, with
double jointed elbows and a fairly regular knee bend. The toy is very back
heavy, for one pretty obvious reason, but it balances very well and rarely
presents any problems with standing. Overall, Iron Shell is sturdy and solid,
an imposing robot with some decent posability, thanks to very strong joints.
Monster mode is really, really big.
 |
| Good boy. |
The turtle legs are stubby, something that was pretty openly
mocked when the toy first released, some people attempting to paint this as a
negative for the figure in general. Let’s try looking at this matter with a
little bit of perspective: 1) it’s a turtle, an animal not really known for its
long legs, 2) the beast mode can’t really be posed anyway, as it is a turtle,
which could generally be said to be known for having a rigid, hard shell on its
back, which limits the movement of the animal in the first place. Again present
are the large back mounted cannons, which each move independently and can be
pointed in a few different directions. Also present are the blades at the back
of the shell that will form a pretty distinctive part of Poseidon’s chest, and
these can be moved around in the monster mode as well. The head is excellent
and really full of personality, and features an opening jaw. The entire robot
folds up beneath the shell very nicely, doing a better job of hiding a robot
beneath something than a lot of toys do. 
And the monster mode is really the more interesting of the
two, being characterful and aesthetically strong. The robot mode does its job
but is pretty much “just” a robot, and a pretty straight up one at that. In a
similar vein to Big Bite, there is nothing wrong or bad about Iron Shell’s
robot, but it is sort of plain-ish. Beast mode is menacing, arresting, and
comical at turns, but the robot always just sorta is what it is. This could be
due to the figures’ most interesting and unique feature being mounted on its
back, visible only over the shoulder, robbing the robot of the part that I
always think of when I think of the Seacons in general: that turtle shell chest
plate, the sweeping blades on both sides, and the cannons sticking up from the
back. “Plain” here is a very loosely applied adjective, as I intend it to refer
to the general lack of things to look at, not as a judgment, for whatever sense
that honestly makes. The turtle shell and the blades and the cannons, those are
the things that make Snaptrap/Turtler,
that are his real calling card features. Aside from them, Iron Shell is, once
more, a big and hulking figure, with the best paint job of the entire team, a
total opposite number to Big Bite and that generally weak flesh tone and light
blue.
In the beginning, I’d said something about being concerned
with this figure following the general lowlight of Nemean. While it’s not a competition,
or really even a fair and just comparison, Iron Shell does everything Nemean
struggled with much, much better. The dominant theory is the Nemean is an
upscaled version of fellow Ares member Phlogeus, but you can read about that
elsewhere. Iron Shell is pretty immediately recognizable as being a totally
unique figure, sharing very little with the other five Poseidon teammates. 
And what a good, meaty figure it is. Good in both modes, but
great is beast mode, and a completely fresh figure in a set that does some
really neat transformation tricks, but does them over and over again. Insert
the same old commentary about buying this figure as a part of a combiner team
here, but Iron Shell honestly is worth the cost all by himself, just as a
figure.
Plus, I mean, look at him. It’s a transforming Gamera. You
know you want that.
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