Transformers Adventure TAV07
Item No.: No. n/a Manufacturer:Takara-Tomy Includes:Targetmaster, that's really its name Action Feature:Changes from payloader to robot Retail:2,500 yen (or $20-$25) Availability: March 21, 2015 Other: Sort of accurate to Combiner Wars comics with Scoop
In the Combiner Wars comics, Scoop gets painted green and joins the Constructicons as a part of Devastator. Even though Roadblock is a new, Japan-only toy-only release he may fit the bill as your alternate Scoop from the comics - given the import prices as I write this, he's a decent choice. He only has one Targetmaster companion instead of two, and sure its name is the horrendously goofily simple "Targetmaster," but I paid $22 shipped for the set from Japan. On one hand, it's more than the $12-$15 Scoop was... but on the other, it's cheaper than Club toys and a Deluxe goes for about $17-$20 in the stores today. I couldn't argue with that reasoning, so now I got one.
Standing roughly 5-inches tall, this figure is basically Scoop with different paint apps and some color swaps. With the exception of one piece behind the robot mode's neck, all the orange is now green and all of Scoop's yellow is now purple. The yellow of the original companion gun is now grey, though, so I don't know how that works. He's got added red paint applications on the robot mode, and the paint masks aren't exactly identical in terms of color swappage either. He's got roughly 20 points of articulation and is more or less a joy to play with save for the shoulder piece rotating when you don't want it to do so. Joints are overall more stiff than Scoop, and the silver paint on his face completely changes his personality - he really does look and feel like a Decepticon now! Even better, the ugly "Adventure" sticker is hidden on his back, so you won't even see it while he's in robot mode. It is visible as a construction vehicle, so you can't win them all.
Roadblock's buddy Targetmaster is similarly paint swapped, basically the picture explains it all - he's different now. He can still connect to the other guns to make a triple-decker blaster but gravity may not be allowing for such orgies of plastic combination. The little guy has articulated arms and not much else, other than the bits that move for his gun mode. He's cute - if Takara-Tomy put out these as blind-bagged gun accessories I'd buy a bunch more. I love these things.
Transformation is easy - fold in the hands. Rotate down the scoop. Peg the arms in place, wrap around the legs, and you've got a decent homage to G2 Autoroller Scoop. He has a whopping six places to mount 5mm accessories, an articulated scoop, and rolling wheels. Even better, you can see his head through the window of the vehicle mode - well, I find it funny. Maybe you won't. The "Adventure" sticker is on the top of his scoop and quite small. It's not really an eyesore and it looks like its removal (were you so inclined) should be pretty easy. The aforementioned purple piece of the robot mode behind the neck sort of sticks out like a sore thumb in vehicle mode, and differs from the prototype and solicitation photos. Such is life. Such is the price of love.
You've got a ton of Constructicons or figures in that color, so this is basically another one - your enjoyment should depend heavily on how much you dug Scoop. For $20 or so this is a nice toy. For $30 you need to start looking at what you've paid for in the past - for me the magic number usually comes from "This is really different, it's a new character, and it's closer to a US retail item than a BotCon priced item." I couldn't argue against buying it and I like it too, so get it if the price is right. And if for some reason you hate Targetmasters or characters with ridiculously marketingy names like Targetmaster, you're no fun anyway.
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