Titans Return Triggerhappy & Blowpipe

Back when it first emerged that the Titans Return toyline would largely comprise remakes of G1 HeadMasters and TargetMasters, all of which would come with tiny Titan Master figures (HeadMasters by any other name), and feature the enhanced articulation of contemporary figures, I honestly didn't see a great deal to get excited about. My initial plan was to get Takara Tomy's version of Blurr just to complete my '86 animated movie Autobots set (Classics Hot Rod, Kup, Wreck Gar and Grimlock, Thrilling 30 Springer, along with Legends Arcee & Ultra Magnus), but several other figures turned out to be fairly interesting and, almost before I knew it, I'd nabbed a whole bunch of the new Deluxes and Voyagers.

One such figure was Triggerhappy, a remake of the G1 TargetMaster who's no longer a TargetMaster unless you waited for the Legends version. G1 Triggerhappy was a bit of a train wreck, engineering-wise, and among the weirder designs that was deliberately not a terrestrial vehicle, so I was all set to not bother with it... Until I started hearing/reading comments from folks who'd gone out and bought him, to the effect that it was an awesome figure with a unique and surprising transformation.

Does it live up to all the hype?

Vehicle Mode:
One of the reasons I started to give up on TransFormers toys from about 1987 onward was that the aesthetic changed so dramatically after the animated movie. Gone were the unlicensed-but-accurate, part die-cast model cars that magically transformed into decent-looking robots and, in their place, we had unconvincing blocks of plastic masquerading as vehicles, which transformed into clumsy, poorly-articulated robots. Gone was the idea of 'robots in disguise' in favour of an underachieving sci-fi aesthetic, where the vehicles were basically all sci-fi, with the occasional excuse that they were Cybertronian forms... and the original Triggerhappy was a fine example of this. His unwieldy vehicle mode could easily have been based on rejected Star Wars concept art, but the end result was a set of boxes with stubby wings, large guns and a cockpit. Thankfully, things have moved on quite a bit since then so, while the 'Star Wars reject' vibe is still there, he now looks like a sleek and very well armed spacecraft - something out of an old school shoot-'em-up, perhaps.

That's not to say vehicle mode is perfect - the back end is as questionable as that of the G1 version, and you basically have to assume that the four coppery-gold booster-things on the back of the main gun sections provide all the propulsion it needs. There's also a weird squarish hole just in front of the cockpit which serves no discernible purpose other that reducing plastic usage by a tiny amount. This update is vastly more detailed, and features such things as angled fins at the back. It doesn't really compensate for the visible robot crotch and thighs, but it certainly helps him look less boxy. Probably the biggest surprise, detail-wise, is the underside of the vehicle. Triggerhappy has one fold-out landing wheel at the front, and the typical pair of rounded bumps to represent wheels at the back. Unfortunately, the robot's crotch protrudes downward just a fraction further than these pseudo-wheels, so they're not especially successful. However, the same panel has features that look like they may be intended to represent vents and a VTOL fan, roughly in the middle of the craft. This shows quite a lot of effort and thought on the part of the designer, though it seems a little wasted considering it's on the underside of the vehicle and covered over in robot mode...

Molded largely in blue plastic, with translucent blue cockpit windows along with off white guns and drive sections, Triggerhappy comes decorated with painted cyan/grey wing/fin stripes and miscellaneous upper surface details painted in silver and coppery-gold. In vehicle mode, most of the paintwork seems to be in the central section of the craft, behind the cockpit and on the wings/fins. There are surprisingly few paint applications overall, but they're effective and, having seen the Takara Tomy version of Triggerhappy, I think I prefer Hasbro's choice of colours... for a change.

The canopy opens to  reveal a nicely detailed interior to accommodate Blowpipe, though I find it difficult to place the Titan Master into the cockpit without first bending the nose down, as the area the feet slot into ends up beneath the dashboard, and tricky to access any other way. There's no additional paintwork on the interior, which is understandable yet disappointing, and at least gives Reprolabels some more to work with.

While Triggerhappy's vehicle mode includes two large double-barrelled cannons on either side - and potentially another gun on each wingtip - he can also have his twin handguns pegged in under the wings. They work quite well, and complement his main guns particularly effectively simply by being molded in the same colour of plastic.


Robot Mode:
Straight off the bat, in robot mode has that familiar Titans Return look of being weirdly stocky, with super-short legs. I'm pretty sure it's mostly optical illusion, and that the real problem is that we've had so many years of disproportionately long legs - and shins in particular - more realistic proportions end up looking 'wrong' somehow. Certainly, the torso is quite broad, as sections from the back of the jet peg into the sides to widen his shoulders, and the arms reach down a little below the hip joint, which would be just about the right arm length for a human...

He has a very modest backpack - the nose section of his vehicle mode folds neatly down - so the weirdest protrusions are the comparatively large wing flaps on his upper arms and the folded-back vehicle cannons on his wrists. The former are fairly low-profile from most angles, but add a touch of the traditional 'Seeker' look, while the latter... are actually quite bulky and clumsy-looking, just tagged onto the sides of Triggerhappy's arms.

Robot mode features a few more off-white plastic parts to further break up the predominant blue of vehicle mode, but there are no new paint applications that are only visible in robot mode. Thankfully, many of the vehicle mode paint applications are placed around the cockpit, which is now Triggerhappy's belly, so he actually looks quite well painted. The silver and gold applications on his legs are small, but they do make a difference, and give the illusion that more effort (or budget) was spent than is likely to be the case.

The head sculpt closely follows the look of the G1 animation model rather than the toy - he has a featureless red battlemask over the lower part of his face and beady eyes separated by a trapezoid 'nose' bar, rather than a humanoid face with a visor. Strangely, though, the paint job doesn't follow either particularly well. Sure, the battlemask is red, but the 'face' behind it is unpainted blue plastic apart from the red blob of his 'nose' and the gold eyes. It looks great, to be honest, it's just puzzling that it doesn't follow a particular aesthetic all the way - at least the Takara Tomy version tried to complete the animation-accurate look by painting his face gold and his eyes red...

While the weapons are the standard Titans Return thing of two hollowed-out handguns that combine into a weapon/vehicle that the Titan Master can ride in, Triggerhappy's feature a vague homage to the G1 original when combined. Around the Titan Master socket, there are details that resemble a G1 TargetMaster's legs, feet and arms... though not specifically those of Blowpipe. I can't quite identify which Target Master based on the sculpting of the 'legs', and it's all complicated by the doubling-up of the gun barrels at the top. Those make a decent reference to G1 Blowpipe, with one barrel being longer and wider than the other, but that's as close as it gets. The socket itself features pegs that plug into Blowpipe's feet to ensure he stays securely in place when seated. Sadly, with the 5mm pegs protruding from either side of the combined form, it looks really odd when wielded as a combined handgun, and would have to peg into another toy's base mode laterally, rather than becoming a rotating turret.

What's interesting about Triggerhappy is that, as well as the fists having the requisite 5mm ports, as you'd expect, he has new ports on the insides of his vehicle mode weapons, so the handguns can also be attached to his arms, G1 Seeker-style. But if that isn't enough for you, it's possible to simply stow his fists and flip his vehicle mode weapons back into place for some serious firepower... which is pretty much the sort of thing you'd expect of a character named 'Triggerhappy'. Of course, all things considered, I wonder if Hasbro might have been better off simply making the vehicle mode weapons detachable and transforming them into the handguns and/or Titan Master weapon/vehicle...


Titan Master Blowpipe:
Blowpipe was the name of G1 Triggerhappy's TargetMaster weapon, so it makes some sense for this Titan Master to have that name. It also follows that the biggest stat increase granted by Triggerhappy's Titan Master is to his firepower... if you're at all concerned about the four stats listed on the back of the collectors' card.

Sadly, Blowpipe is another of the unpainted Titan Masters, but at least he's molded in two different colours of plastic - the same blue and pale grey as Triggerhappy. The head sculpt is strangely reminiscent of Misfire's head, with its boxiness and squared-off visor, though it's equally reminiscent of G1 Triggerhappy's bonce for much the same reasons.

The body is fairly bland and comparatively featureless, made up largely of quite boxy designs. I can understand Hasbro skimping on the paintwork for these figures, but it's still disappointing to see something so bare and boring, when Takara Tomy always liven theirs up.


Mechwarrior Fan Mode:
The thing about having an opening canopy on Triggerhappy's belly is it gets one wondering if the Titan Master can sit in there instead of, y'know, being a head. Funnily enough, the answer is "yes, sort of". He fits into that section of the cockpit but, without the socket housed in the jet's nose (now on his back) he won't stay in there except by carefully wedging him in using the canopy.

The upper half of this mode looks OK, with the handguns pegging nicely into the pin holes in the shoulders, and the wings are barely noticeable when folded back. The only problem is that, by rotating the waist to get the legs into a proper Mechwarrior-style configuration, the gaping holes in the backs of his lower legs are exposed. Of course, one isn't obliged to orient the legs like this, it's just more authentic to that style of mech...


Triggerhappy's transformation is certainly innovative - he's one of those toys where just about every part of him does something. The back end is fairly traditional, with the lower legs folding over the thighs (albeit not covering them entirely), the arms aren't especially impressive (simply straightening out and pegging into the fuselage) but part of the upper/outer torso comes with them (a little reluctantly on mine, thanks to very secure shoulder tabs on either side of the main torso chunk), and then the entire central mass rotates 180° between robot and vehicle modes, so that the nose ends up connecting to the robot's belly and the feet slot in behind the shoulders. Interestingly, neither of the retools - Misfire and Slugslinger - use this particular feature, as their vehicle mode underside becomes the robot's chest, while Triggerhappy's top side becomes his chest. The most important things, though, are that everything clips into place well so both modes are stable, and that the transformation process is fluid and fun... which is really all one can ask for in a TransFormers toy.

...Apart from awesome articulation, that is... and Triggerhappy has that by the bucketload. The most impressive thing is that, aside from the Titan Master neck join, he has only two ball joints - the hips - and the rest are all pinned hinges or mushroom pegs. Even so, they're used in excellent combinations to provide, in almost every case, a greater range of motion that one would normally get from ball joints alone. Take the shoulders - one pinned joint in the outer torso allows the arms to be raised out to the sides, while a pinned rotation joint at the other end allows full 360° rotation forwards and backwards. Coupled with the bicep swivel and elbow (which is, admittedly, only a mere 90°), this makes his arms feel like pretty much the most dynamic in the Titans Return toyline... but for one small detail. With his wings folded back on his upper arms and the main vehicle mode guns folded back from his wrists, these large parts are inclined to clash and prevent outward rotation at the bicep. While this configuration is a direct copy of the G1 toy's transformation, it didn't cause trouble on the 1987 toy because that only had articulated elbows. On this one, it's easy enough to fix simply by allowing the guns to hinge out slightly, but that obviously leaves them sticking out at an odd angle. Thankfully, from the waist down, the joints are faultless, with excellent range and stability on the hip balljoints, the mid-thigh rotation, knees which are designed to allow the legs to fold back on themselves for transformation and two-part feet. Not only do his legs have an enviable range of motion, but they can hold just about any pose, particularly thanks to feet on which the toes and heel spurs can be moved independently to ensure both remain in stable contact with the ground.

So, the end result is certainly one of the most fun TransFormers toys in the line, even though it falls firmly in the late-G1 sci-fi aesthetic rather than being true to the 'Robots in Disguise' that first started the toyline. By rights, being a remake of a terrible toy, from after the turning point in the original toyline, which turns a TargetMaster into a HeadMaster purely to ensure his relevance the current toyline, I shouldn't like Titans Return Triggerhappy... but there's something quite compelling about him. I'm particularly tickled by the TargetMaster reference in his handguns, and he's one of a very few that didn't instantly need Reprolabels' upgrade set because it's sensibly and effectively decorated as standard. Considering I normally end up with fewer Decepticons than Autobots simply because Hasbro tends to release more of the good guys, it's nice to finally have a decent selection of antagonists, so I can actually pick and choose the ones I really want... and Triggerhappy is certainly one of the good ones.