Slugslinger

Review by quinncat

Titans Return is officially over, and while I like Power of the Primes a lot so far, it probably won’t live up to its predecessor to me. Like any Transformers toy line, I’m never able to afford or keep up with all the releases I would like to, so I get many of them later, and one example of this is with the Decepticon Targetmasters. I’ve reviewed one before, Triggerhappy, whom I thought was a really amazing figure, so I’ve decided to seek out the other two and review them as well!

My favorite of the three aesthetically speaking, Slugslinger is modeled in light blue and white, with a myriad of different colors used throughout tampographed onto his shins, shoulders, body, and wings emulating the sticker detail on his original G1 figure. I actually like these details a lot, although as shown on the Japanese version, the color scheme looks a little more solid and unified without them. I’m not as enthralled by his color scheme as I was Misfire, but the combination of white and light blue still looks great on Slugslinger. What is most striking about his design to me, is the face sculpt, emanating pure confide and tenacity one look at Slugslinger, and you know what he is about as a character. Speaking of character, his Titan Master, like Misfire’s, could actually be one, as the white and red paint applied to his face does a lot to bring out those details, bringing the majority of ironically faceless Titan Masters back to their Wave 1 roots.

Slugslinger’s accessories are quite a bit different than his Targetmaster colleagues, as Instead of having two guns that are just mirror images of each other, he has two distinct weapons. First is a white single barreled rifle, and the second is a dual barrel gun that can accommodate a titan master. The guns can then combine into one long single barreled rifle or a slightly shorter triple barreled one. These weapons are some of my favorite in the entire Titans return line, as they are both solid on their own, and their combined form is just as strong. The awkward side handles of wave 3 are gone, and the weapons themselves are individually designed, and I really like them! Slugslinger just looks so cool holding them, I like to imagine what they would fire, maybe the white one is a grenade launcher and the double barrel one fires lasers?

Together all three Decepticon target masters look undeniably evil together. They’re just dripping with late G1 garishness, and I absolutely love that these three characters actually got classics style updates! Despite the fact that all three are great figures on their own, you really do need to get all three like this.

Slugslinger’s transformation is very solid and efficient but it really isn’t as interesting as his colleagues. The legs fold up the same way as all three, and the body and arms work exactly the same as Misfire. The wings just hang off the sides, so they don’t really contribute to the transformation much at all. Really this is a pretty good transformation, it just uses all the more pedestrian parts from the other two target masters and leaves out the parts that made them so groundbreaking and interesting.

In Jet mode, he is pretty cybertonian and futuristic in design like his compatriots except for his iconic dual cockpits, that is really the main reason people remember him at all. Really Triggerhappy reminds me of an X-Wing or an Arwing, Misfire reminds me of a late 80’s early 90’s cobra jet, but Triggerhappy only reminds me of himself, and I really like that! In terms of Titan Master integration, much like Misfire a pilot couldn’t really fit in his cockpit(s) so there is space for one just behind them, and I think it works fine. Really this is just a very good, solid an iconic jet mode and I don’t have much to say about it beyond that.

Overall, I really like Transformers Generations Titans Return Decepticon Slugslinger. He’s not the stand out surprise success that Triggerhappy was, but he is more iconic looking than Misfire, really creating a nice middle ground between the two. He lacks the interesting moments in both of their transformations, but he is also more iconic looking than both of them. He is not only a very good deluxe figure, with an eye catching color scheme, solid transformation, really good accessories and a nice head sculpt but also an iconic while obscure decepticon that would be a disservice to your ranks if they lacked his inclusion. If you have always wanted a new iteration of the character, or if you just want to complete your Decepticon targetmaster team, Slugslinger, like his two fellow teammates, is one figure you definitely don’t want to miss. Just make sure you don’t have to pay an exorbitant amount for him like some eBay sellers would want you to do! I learned that the hard way.