Here we are – up to Wave 4 of the Titans Return toys already!  Today we will be looking the Autobot Deluxe figures from that wave; three figures which featured heavily in the IDW comic ‘Last Stand of the Wreckers’ – namely Perceptor, Kup and Topspin.  The two former will be known to fans of the original 86’ move and associated cartoon but for those not in the know, this is a Topspin based on the 1985 G1 toy rather than the DOTM movie version.  As you will see, he is awesome!

Kup – Robot Mode

No backpack, hollow arms and his colour scheme is too light.  He is a lot more G1 accurate than the previous Generations Kup toy but looks inferior in every way.  His Titan Master (Flintlock – originally a name given to one of G1 Landfill’s Targetmasters) partner is sculpted well to look like a grizzly old coot and the cockpit on the chest and proportions aren’t bad.  It’s just had to get past those awful arms and the substandard colours.  He is just… just too plain.  That said, if the arms were grey he would be an almost perfect representation of how Kup looked in the old Marvel comics!

Kup – Vehicle Mode

Very faithful in shape and style to the G1 concept.  It’s a shout out to your nostalgic membrane to see Kup done like this, much in the same way that TR Blurr gave us that same tingly feeling (for a review of Blurr see HERE).  His guns can be placed in the tray of his Cybertronian-ute mode (that’s what I’m calling it anyway) much like the 87’ Targetmaster version of the toy did.  His Titan Master partner fits snugly inside the cab. I would have liked the cab to be a whiteish-opaque rather than clear but what can ya do – at least the cab seems to be on the requisite angle.

Perceptor – Robot Mode

Nicely proportioned and well articulated.  The microscope cannon on his shoulder is a tad big but t’was the same with the original toy and for the required alt-mode there is nothing much you can do about it.  The colour scheme is spot on as is the transparent plastic on his chest.  He has the hollow forearms which is a shame but what I really like is that he comes with his sniper gun that he toted for a while in the IDW All Hail Megatron comics – very cool!  One minor flaw I found with mine was the socet to attach his Titan Master was very stiff – quite hard to connect and disconnect.

Perceptor – Microscope Mode

Yeah maybe the Generations version had a bit more playability with a firing missile and a vehicle mode, but for those purists it’s great to get another Perceptor that turns into a microscope!  The proportions are great but a real letdown is that the  the microscope lenses barely work in comparison to the original toy and it’s a shame that its 32 years later and the new toy actually has less functionality than the original, though at least the knob is useable.  Still, a nice looking Perceptor for the purists.

Perceptor – Cybertronian Tank Mode

Was never shown in the cartoon and rarely in any comic but the original Perceptor could turn into a weird tank (hence the tank tracks on the back of his calves) and this one is no different.  Though it’s not listed in the instructions, if one examines the toy you will find some black tank tracks that serve no purpose in his microscope or robot modes.  It looks kinda cool and you can attach his sniper rifles on the side as well as giving Convex somewhere to sit, rather than him just being a specimen for study in the microscope mode.

Topspin – Robot Mode

Bloody excellent!  What a great looking robot!  Colour scheme and proportions are a big shout out to the original toy whilst making him look as cool as he did in the comics.  The Titan Master head is great – everything about this toy is great, including his two guns (though they could have stood to not be hollow).

Topspin – Cybertronian Hovercraft Mode

There are not many Generations characters where you think ‘this is all the original toy should have been’ but Topspin encapsulates this sentiment.  They have taken the essence of the original toy and expanded it to be a brilliant looking alien vehicle repleat with guns, cockpit and a bunch of huge thrusters on the back.  This is to my mind the definitive Topspin – certainly makes me glad I skipped that awful FOC version of him released a few years ago.

Flintlock, Freezeout and Convex

All do their job well as Headmasters (sorry – Titan Masters).  Each looks sufficiently like the heads of their counterpart robots to complete their assigned task.  Convex looks like Perceptors cartoon model rather than his toy model, Flintlock looks old and grizzled for Kup and Freezeout has a great  sneer going on for Topspin.  Like the three main toys, I find Freezeout to be my favorite the same as Topspin is.  I would put up photos of their robot modes but its not worth it – very little detail and the faces are the same colour as the rest of the body so you can’t even see any definition.

Overall

Not a bad wave at all.  I haven’t touched on the Titan Master component of these figures much as it’s all par for the course now – you can swap their heads.  I will say that Kup is worth getting if you want a new version of his G1 alt-mode. Perceptor is worth getting for pretty much the same reason but Topspin is an absolute must have!

Got an opinion about these three Autobots?  Would love to read it in the comments section below!