Phil's Targetroids Optiaim vs Megashoton And Hot Flame vs Screamer Review

Targetroids

As I've said before, Targetmasters are in at the moment. First we have Fansproject Sidearm, then the Transformers United Targetmaster Micron repaints. Now we get the Targetroids, which are very much a toy built around a concept namely "What if small versions of famous Transformers turned into Targetmaster guns?". It's a concept you either get or you don't. The Targetroids are sold as Vs packs with each pack coming with a character with a handgun and one with arm mounted weapons. Each legends sized toy has ball jointed knees, hips, shoulder & elbows plus a turning head. The ball joints look a lot more solid than those on Shadow Warrior, who's hip I recently broke. However the ball joints on all of them are showing signs of quick wear and are a little loose already. All Targetroids can be held by a 5mm peg that forms their gun mode handle.

Optiaim vs Megashoton

This first two pack pits new versions of the original Autobot and Decepticon leaders against each other.

Optiaim

Optiaim is the Targetroid version of Optimus Prime. The version of the robot mode used here has three windows on the chest: 2 smaller ones at the side and a larger third in the middle, reminiscent of the design used for God Ginrai. His body & arms are moulded in red plastic, with the head & lower legs in blue and the upper legs & gun in grey. The gun has a 2mm peg handle and can be held by any of the Targetroids. There's probably some older Transformers out there that use that size of peg hole in their fists that could borrow the weapon. In addition to the standard articulation described the shoulders fold back courtesy of a ball joint. In fact it's this ball joint which provides the shoulders turning motion, the joint within the shoulder itself is pinned just allowing the arm to rise to the sides. Get over the large middle window, which I think could do with having it's lower half painted red, and you've got a decent mini Optimus.

Transformation: remove the gun & straighten the arms to the sides. Fold the head forward 270 degrees so it's in the robot's back and the gun handle has been folded out through his chest. Pull the legs out to the sides and fold each half of the gun barrel out from the inner sides of the lower legs. Bring the legs back together locking the gun barrel together. Peg the gun into the back of the robot's waist. Rotate the lower arms in 90 degrees. Fold the arms onto the robot's back pegging the hand onto the back of the hips.

The gun mode has a wide but short barrel at the business end making it look like it's straight out of a 90s comic. The handle pivots back making this an ideal weapon to be used as a vehicle or base mounted cannon. A pair of them might look good as shoulder cannons on Powermaster Optimus Prime. Because he has a 5mm peg handle virtually every Optimus Prime toy ever made can hold him. Unfortunately Optiaim's dual colour scheme works against him in this mode where a more monochrome colour scheme would have helped him: I expect a White Ultra Magnus or Black Scourge/Nemesis Prime to look much better in this mode.

Megashoton

Megashoton is the Targetroid version of Megatron, and the robot mode looks like a slightly dark version of Megatron's robot mode. The torso and arms are coloured a dark gunmetal grey with the waist, lower legs and gun barrels black. There's red panelling on most of the surfaces of the toy. The cannon is held onto the outside of the arm by a 5mm peg and is removable so you can take it away and mount it on Minicon posts, and if you've got a Minicon with no central peg, like Pinpoint, you can mount that on the arm instead. Unfortunately the missiles on Screamer's arms have slightly too big a peg hole to mount on Megashoton's arm peg. The elbow is a ball joint so it's easy to rotat the lower arm so the gun is on top of the arm as Megatron is usually pictured. If you rotate each forearm 180 degrees at the elbow you'll find a 5mm peg hole allowing Megashoton to hold Minicons, other 5mm peg weapons and other Targetroids.

All seems good so far. Unfortunately the waist won't hold together on mine, the body keeps separating into two halves and the head tends to want to fold forward. And I've not even got to gun mode yet!

Transformation: fold the head forward 90 degrees, each arm up and out to the sides and the waist back 180 degrees. Raise each leg out to the sides turning the knee so the front of the leg faces up and the tab on the back of the shoulder locks into the knee. Rotate the gun forearm so the cannon is on top of the weapon. Fold the 5mm peg handle down from one leg and the gun barrel out from the other. Rotate the sight so it faces forward.

Now Megatron turns into a gun. So a Targetmaster version of him has to be good doesn't it? No. It isn't. It's the robot with it's arms and legs folded out to the sides and it's absoloutely obvious that that is what the mode given in the instructions is. A HUGE disapointment compared to Optiaim's gun mode. For my money Megashoton is massively improved by removing the sight, placing it on the handle and holding him the other way up by the 5mm peg for the gun mode sight. That way up can also be mounted on 5mm posts if you rotate the forearms so the 5mm peg holes show.

Hot Flame vs Screamer

This second two pack takes two prominant characters from each side.

Hot Flame

Hot Flame is the Targetroid version of Hot Rod. Hot Flame is a pretty good, if a little squared off version of Hot Rod even down to carrying a small version of Hot Rod's Photon Laser which he can hold in either hand courtesy of the 2mm peg hole and handle.

Transformation: remove the gun. Bend back the gun barrel on his back slightly and fold the head forward 270 degrees. Fold the fins on his back backwards towards each other and point each arm up. Fold the legs out to the side, then rotate the knee till the lower leg can be folded over the upper arm. Bend each elbow and swing the forearm out top the sides. Fold the gun barrel down and peg the robot's hand gun into the underside.

Hot Flame's gun mode is a red box, with fins on top and a gun sticking out the front. That's it. It's not the most imaginative of weapons designs. Like Optiaim the handle pivots so this might make a good base mounted weapon. Like the other Targetroids he can be held by any Transformer with a 5mm peg hole but the makers have very cannily guessed that what you're most going to want to do with him is a attach him to Hot Rod or Classics Rodimus so they've made his handle two step with the upper portion having a size of 5mm while the lower portion is 4mm allowing your Hot Rod/Rodimus to hold it.... unless you've got an early classics Rodimus with the non standard peg hole and gun. Hot Flame can also be plugged into Classics Rodimus' back, but with the same caveat.

Screamer

As you might be able to guess, Screamer is the Targetroid version of Starscream and very good it is too carrying over most of the details of the original robot. The guns on the arms are a little large proportionately but .... Like Megashoton's cannon they are held on by 5mm pegs so they can be removed, placed on Minicon ports and shared around while Scream can use 5mm pegs to attach Megashoton's gun mode to him.

Transformation: Fold the head forward into the body bringing the handle out of the robot's back: you may need to use some form of lever on the handle to get it to move properly it's very stiff on mine. Raise the arms up and turn the forearms so the guns face forward. Move the arms towards each other above the head. Rotate each lower leg 180 degrees at the knee so they face backwards and fold over the chest so the slot in the heel goes over the tab in the rear of the guns.

Screamer's gun mode is reminiscent of an old fashioned Targetmaster with it's dual barrels and legs folded over the body. The only real difference is the wings sticking out the sides. Not a bad weapon.

Overall

These are a bit of a mixed bag. I think Optiaim and Screamer are probably the best which is fortunate as I can see White Ultra Magnus or Black Scourge/Nemesis Prime repaints of Optiaim and Black Skywarp, Blue Thundercracker, Yellow/Orange Sunstorm and Green Acid Storms appearing at sometime in the future.

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