Transformers Generations Titans Return Deluxe
Item No.: Asst. B7762 No. C1094 Manufacturer:Hasbro Includes:Tiny head robot, big robot/gator, gun, tail weapon, card Action Feature:Transforms from truck to robot, head to robot Retail:$17.99 Availability: February 2017 (official street date April 2017) Other: What a Krok!
Originally a non-transforming Action Master popularized by the More Than Meets the Eye comics, Decepticon Krok is the first new mass-released version of the character in years. The Transformers Collector's Club had a swell one a couple of years back, so I was more than a little surprised to see an update out of Hasbro at all, let alone so soon. This 2017 Krok is a redeco of Skullsmasher [FOTD #1,495], a fantastic toy design with looser-than-preferable hip joints. Krok has slightly tighter joints. If you just want a Krok toy, this is a good one - and presumably you'll be seeing it in stores for a little while. Or ordering it online.
This 1.5-inch Gatorface is a redeco of Grax - he's got a lot of neon green that lights up under a black light quite nicely. There's a new faceplate backpack, but the mini robot is otherwise unpainted with 5 points of articulation. It works just as well as all the other heads, or better if you're used to having problems.
The head mode is good - it has a silver face plate and a pink dongle in the middle of the forehead. There's not a ton of detail here, but it does resemble the original Action Master toy and its colors quite nicely. I doubt you'll have much of a reason to complain about it, since it gets the job done and looks like a solid update.
The gator mode is just as good as Skullsmasher's, but it's in more interesting colors. Clear neon greenish yellow? Yes. The teeth, mouth interior, and back hatch are all super bright and clear yellowand so are the eyes. Sadly the clear plastic parts aren't reactive under black light like the opaque parts are, but at least it looks awesome under normal lighting conditions. His four feet can all move at least a little bit, with exceptional articulation in his front legs coming courtesy of the fact that they're also the robot mode's jointed fists. The tail can move, plus there's a ball joint at the base of the neck. You'll need to plug the head in yourself, too, but it's easy to do. The black reptile is mostly cast in black plastic with some purple. Much of the purple is actually paint.
I'm impressed by how nicely the purple paint matches the plastic, and how I didn't realize at first that it was indeed just paint. The Decepticon symbol on the access hatch has a silver background and a purple face, meaning it gives you all of the warm fuzzies of a sticker without the durability issues.Transforming him is pretty easy - take the tail off, the back half of the critter becomes the robot legs. His front legs turn into the robot arms. The gator head folds back, and you plop the mini driver on the shoulders to get your head. Kroktastic.
The robot mode is pretty nifty. He's mostly black with some green and purple, plus a swell Decepticon symbol. You'll love the neon green, and I'm digging the pink boxes on the chest too. The colors are a nice departure from a lot of what we've usually seen, generally because the late 1980s and early 1990s don't get remakes as often as early G1 or Japanese characters. The neons look gorgeous and stand apart from the rest of your Decepticons quite nicely, so even though Krok doesn't look exactly like the comic books I'm fairly sure you're still going to want to get one.
Krok ships at 1 per carton - so does Quake - so I'll be curious if they'll be hard to get (because they're short) or easy to get (because they're not krok or Perceptor or Topspin.) As I write this I haven't seen them in stores yet - I bought mine from Entertainment Earth because I can - so I hope people will have a crack at Krok. But then again, I love robot animal toys, so I'm just as likely to get this again if they ever do it in one of the Zoids gator paint jobs. I'd have a hard time saying it's a great piece to buy at $20 if you already have Skullsmasher, but if you're a fan of the Scavengers from More Than Meets the Eye you probably already know that you want one.
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