Phil's
Energon, Superlink & Movie Signal Flare
and
Energon Offshoot
Review

Signalflare

Signal Flare's vehicle mode should be familiar to any Transformer fan who's seen a Godzilla movie - he's one of those Laser trucks that's inevitably wheeled out to stop Godzilla's latest rampage through downtown Tokyo. He's mainly painted light blue in the laser truck mode which makes him looks a little like the European Stalker toy. The light blue would later blight many a toy including a Strongarm repaint but here it just about works. There's some darker blue green forming the underside of the front with clear red windows at the front while the bumpers (with guns projecting from them), wheels and mid section of the cannon are black. His cannon and back of the vehicle are made from a sort of sandy greenish plastic which clashes rather with the rest of the toy. When the cannon is turned on it's pivot - it can elevate too - the barrel revolves.

As well as an Energon Star, Signal Flare comes with three other clear red Energon pieces. Two of these are solar panels which can be attached to the base of the weapon's barrel either flat against it for transportation or out to the sides to power the weapon. The other Energon part is a clear red disc which spins on it's mount. This attaches to the end of the gun barrel by the 5mm hole in the end - some fun can be had inserting other weapons into it and causing them to rotate.

TF: Fold the bumpers down, swing the sides of the vehicle forward to become the legs, and then fold the ends up to the outer sides to form the lower legs. Rotate the remainder of the back 90 degrees so you can see the robot head peering out above the spark which has been hidden under the gun. Fold the arm down to the side and push the back of the vehicle down to form the chest. Quite interesting TF as very little ends up in any relation to the bits they started near.

The domineering colour for the robot is the light blue on the legs and chest with all the sandy green ending up on the arms and the blue/green being hidden apart from where it's used for the head. The articulation includes rotating hips that bend out to the sides, knees that are far too low, a ball jointed shoulder & bending elbow on left arm and a rotating shoulder on the gun arm which also moves to the side a little.

The Energon combines to form a Pizza Cutter style buzzsaw weapon (red energon) - the disc from the gun barrel attaches to one of the solar panels for the gun barrel, and the other solar panels connects into the back of it's partner. I'm hearing a tip about the Pizza Cutter looking good on Landmine so must get mine out and try it......

A mild disappointment after the wonder of Skyblast and Strongarm but still OK.

Signal Flare was available in Japan as Superlink toy SC-12 Signal Flare.

Several promotional versions of the "Pizza cutter" were issued in various colours and a pinky orange version was included with Superlink toy SC-23 Hotshot Fire.

Offshoot

Here's our Signal Flare recolour going for something vaguely like Headmaster Hardhead in a colour scheme. Offshoot - Signal Flare's recolour - looks better than I thought, but not wildly impressive. The light blue becomes an olive green, the blue/green becomes a sandy grey and the black becomes green. All good so far. Unfortunately once again the cannon and the arm lets us down being moulded in bright blue ! The Sandy grey used before (and elsewhere here) or some darker green would have been much better. Come to think of it the blue here might work better on the original Signal Flare..... Hmmm, possibly time for a parts swap !

The Energon pizza cutter is a bit of a lighter red on this version - some green Energon may have been better.

Signalflare

Signal Flare is a Wave 1 Movie Sector 7 Basic Repaint exclusive to Target. These *may* have been imported by Woolworths into the UK but I've not seen them personally.

This version swaps olive green - with brown camo patterns - for the light blue, black for the darker blue/green, brown for the sandy green arm & cannon and grey for the black and the Energon. This gives us a near perfect Signalflare in the G1 Hardhead colours, starting a trend for G1 repaints in the sector 7 line.

My only quibble would be the Energon but that's because I like clear plastic ! A clear black - like Strogarm - would be great.

If you need one version of this toy then buy this one.

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