Phil's
Micromaster Combiner Battle Squad:
Fireshot & Vanquish
Review

Fireshot

Fireshot forms the front half of the combined jet including one set of wheels. Does he work as a vehicle by himself ? No. He's not capable of supporting himself and as a vehicle leans forward on his nose, making him one of the less competent combined vehicle halves.

TF: Fold the nose back, then fold the neck of the jet forward, straightening the previously folded up upper legs. Fold the wheels forward to form the arms. Stand on the nose with the underside facing you. Raise the head.

Oooh look, non typical articulation on a Micromaster ! The legs - very thin - have the same bending but linked knees & hip. There's no shoulders on this toy however but he does have elbows instead. As well as the black of the jet mode Fireshot uses a blueish purple for his chest and a brighter purple for his upper legs.

Vanquish

Vanquish is the back half of the combined jet including the other set of wheels. As such he's not capable of independently supporting himself so instantly isn't a good stand along toy either ! (generally with the Micromaster combiners a two bad stand alone toys leads to a good combined mode, but good stand alones don't usually make a good combined toy.)

TF: Look at the underside. Fold the legs down. Simple. The wings can fold back but I think they look better folded out.

Vanquish's robot mode looks much more like a traditional Micromaster. In fact he's almost Headmaster like with the rectangular sided arms and the standard Micromaster articulation (same as Fireshot's, just swap the elbows for shoulder joints). Vanquish uses the same bright purple for his legs, while the blueish purple of Fireshot's chest turn up on Vanquish's arms and his chest & head uses a grey blue not featured on his companion. Save for the guns on Half Track's back this is the complete colour palate for the Battle Squad.

Fireshot & Vanquish Combined Mode

Like all the combined Micromasters it's a simple matter or plugging these toys together: If you look at the connector on each toy there's a hole on the left and a peg on the right. Turn them to face each other and the peg on one toy slots into the hole on the other. This allows you to connect any Micromaster combiner with any other Micromaster combiner - front piece to back piece or two fronts or even two backs - which can create some odd combinations. The same connector is found on the door of the Japanese Micromaster Trailers and the western Micromaster Combiner Transports allowing Micromaster combiners to merge with them also.

The jet is one of the better combined modes - it's an SR-71 Blackbird as any X-man fan will tell you. It's one of the more sensible combined forms in a range that exists of a lot of overlong trucks with various attachments - other sensible combinations include Oiler & Slide's petrol tanker, Powerrun & Strikedown's hovercraft and Phaser & Blast Master's Space Shuttle.

Fireshot & Vanquish are part of the Micromaster Combiner Battle Squad with Direct-Hit, Powerpunch, Meltdown & Half-Track.

In Japan Fireshot & Vanquish were released as Cybertron (Autobot) toys in C-369 Jet Tank W Team with Microtrailer #9. This team also included Meltdown & Half-track.

The other two members of the Micromaster Combiner Battle Squad, Direct-hit & Powerpunch , were released in C-368 Crane Cannon W Team with Microtrailer #8 and Stonecruncher & Excavator from the Micromaster Combiner Constructor Squad.

The remaining four members of the Micromaster Combiner Constructor Squad, Grit & Knockout and Sledge & Hammer, were released in Japan as C-367 Dump Shovel W Team with Microtrailer #7. -`

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