Phil's
Cybertron Defence Scattorshot,
Galaxy Force Backgild,
Universe Dropshot & Overload
and
Botcon Flak
Review

Cybertron Defence Scattorshot

Cybertron Defence Scattorshot is an upgrade of the basic sized toy (GF Backpack) inheriting his colours but gaining a new design and growing 2 size classes. He's now a missile array tank - basic tank body in Scattorshot's blue with a 22 missile array moulded in grey and mounted on his back. The missile array turns 360 degree, and raises and lowers. There's a pair of Minicon pegs, one on each side towards the back. There's 2 other pegs at the front but neither of them are quite Minicon size and shape - but there's no reason why they shouldn't be - we'll come back to these in the transformation later. The pegs at the back can be used to mount the robot's hand gun in vehicle mode via a hole in the back. There's a black grill/excavator shovel at the front, presumably for mine clearing.

CD Scattorshot comes with a Cybertron Autobot planet key numbered v4kt. There's 2 key sockets on the back of the missile launcher - basically one on each half - one deploys a gun and sight out of one side, while the other side has a double barrelled missile launcher. You end up with a very heavily armed tank.

To TF fold the excavator shovel down to form his feet, and the supports for this up to form the heel spurs. Unclip the back halves of the sides & treads, pull forward half way, turn and lock onto those small pegs I mentioned earlier. The sockets these rest in could quite easily have been big enough for a Minicon port ! I'd describe the next bit as clever and innovative except it's already been done on a Minicon ! You place the missile array pointing forwards and then split it down the middle and pull to the sides to form the arms. It's good, and clever but we've seen it on Oceanglide before ! Flip the hands out from the arms, and flip the head up.

You end up with a nice big chunky well proportioned robot, with a huge missile array on each arm ! Nice..... Revealed on the arms is the missing beige/bronze colour from basic Scattorshot's colour scheme as well as some more black on the elbows. Good articulation, every joint you'd expect including a waist, and an interesting head - on a bit of plastic from behind that then becomes he neck, his head can swing side to side in normal human range. The missile pods extra weapons gimmick work in this mode - the gun arm's pod can slide forward too - and they have handles which pop into his hands. There's holes and studs one the missile launchers to lock the gun onto when his hands are busy - again why not make these pegs Minicon ports ?

Overall: Very good, lots to him. Good articulation, lots of weapons. And yet..... Somehow Cybertron Defence Hotshot is the better toy by doing so much more with his size of toy than you expect. There's less of the flip out panels here than on Cybertron Defence Hotshot and you feel all his gimmick is tied up in the one place - the weapons hidden in the missile launchers. Minicon pegs are a personal bugbear of mine so I'm always going to want more - 1 size up from Cybertron Defence Hotshot and he has the same number of ports where I'd expect at least 2 more. You also feel with a little work he'd have made a great add on arm for Optimus Prime and Megatron with the shovel forming the hands and the missile array a shoulder cannon.

But I don't want to be too down, this is a *really* good toy, one of the 3 top Voyagers in a year where the Voyager class had some great toys.

So naturally when the wave containing this and his cosell Dark Crumplezone came up it was skipped for UK release, which is partially due to the previous wave having only one toy in it !

Cybertron Defence Scattorshot was released in Japan as Galaxy Force toy GC-20 Backgild where he comes with a little Rumble drone target

Dropshot

The CD Scattorshot mould went unrepainted for quite some time until it returned in Transformers Universe late in 2008. Cast as a Decepticon he uses the name of a Micromaster wheeled vehicle from the Micromaster Military patrol but takes the colours of Flak, an Autobot from the Micromaster Battle Patrol who'd a similar form of tank (Incidentally Flak has a Japanese repaint Powerbomb who's mainly blue like CD Scattorshot !) So most CD Scattorshot's blue and the grey of the launchers become a pale yellow/beige, the bronze/beige become green, the black becomes grey and the blue of the chest & weapons plus the elbow joints become brown. His planet key becomes an unpainted Earth key moulded in smoked brown clear colour.

A decent military repaint, though if they were going for a desert repaint - and I suspect the were given the colours - I'd have used a more sandy yellow.

Dropshot was a wave 2 Universe toy. I mention this because ....

Overload

.... in wave 5 we get *another* CD Scattorshot repaint, this time renamed Overload. Now Overload to me says big red combining robot (with blue truck Micromaster with grey Ultra Magnus style trailer a close second) The bio note makes it clear it's the first I should be thinking but doesn't go with the red colours. Instead we get a green repaint probably more suited to the Flak name. Most CD Scattorshot's blue and the grey of the launchers become green, the bronze/beige become an almost neon green, the black becomes dark grey and the blue of the chest & weapons plus the elbow joints become dark green. His planet key is once again an unpainted Earth key moulded in clear dark green colour.

Another good military repaint

Flak

Finally at Botcon 2009 CD Scattorshot got the Flak name. Shame the colours had been used already ! However those for this recolour are rather good: Most CD Scattorshot's blue, all of the black and the grey of the launchers become white, the bronze/beige becomes black, and the blue of weapons plus the elbow joints become red. The chest may be moulded red as well - the other repaints have it coloured the same as the previous parts - but here the main colour on display is grey. His planet key becomes a Cybertron Autobot key with a black border and red painted logo.

I've loved toys in this camouflage scheme ever since the GI Joe Urban Camo Stormshadow figure in 1988. It work great on this tank, and I'd love to have one.

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