Transformers Generations Scoop Review

Back in the mid 80's, Hasbro decided to jazz up the Transformers Toy line with the introduction of the Targetmasters.

These were toys who came with weapons that could themselves transform into small robots. Pretty cool idea huh?

The concept has been used since, with various toys such as mini cons and Powercore Combiners, but never have we had legit Targetmasters.
Until  now.

With the 30th Anniversary of the Transformers brand upon us, Hasbro have kicked it a gear with their Generations lines and given us some awesome figures. Amongst them was this gem, Targetmaster Scoop.
I was so happy!

But is he a worthy update of the original toy? Hit the button to read the review



Alt Mode

Scoop transforms into a non descript front pay loader, just like his original toy. You get an articulated bucket bucket at the front which moves up and down, and can tilted forwards or pointing up at the sky if you so wish.

With the bucket being Orange, it is something of a departure from the original toys bright yellow bucket, that also had silver stickers on the side.
This is not a negative, as it makes the figure look a touch more cohesive. I know some people may accuse of it making the toy look bland, but I don't think you are losing anything.

It's a very chunky mode, that's echoes the G1 aesthetic strongly. The wheels roll really well, so he feels a bit like a brick on wheels. In a lot of cases, that would be deemed a negative, however with Scoop it suits him. Generation figures were famous for being blocky and brick like, so its what I want to see in a homage to a toy like this.

 Whilst he is not highly detailed, or based on any specific real world vehicle, you get the point of what Scoop is supposed to be. Just a raw chunky machine that can smash things up.

I like that.

In fiction, the Transformers have often gotten into shenanigans where humans have been freaked out that the cars have no drivers, well not in this case. Scoop's head is located in the cab of the vehicle which will aid him when driving, and make any passing humans think the Elephant man is driving.

Somewhere in the world, I know at least 3 people were wondering if Scoop had an attack mode, and yes he does. Cannons a'blazing!

His body is covered in peg holes, which can be used to mount standard weapons or the Targetmasters he comes with.

The sight of a bright Orange construction vehicle, with a giant head in the cab, and two people turned into guns on top should arouse no suspicion at all.

Its a solid mode, and one of the more toy like Generations figures we have had. It feels like something you can, and will want to play with.

Robot Mode

Transforming him to robot mode is extremely easy. Hasbro have hit upon the perfect balance with this toy, in that he looks so G1, the transformation is really simple, but there is no articulation sacrificed.

Why can't all of their deluxe figures be like this?

This will sound strange, but the absence of detail works very strongly in Scoop's favour. It's not that there is no detail, its just that whoever designed it decided to leave out the hyper detailing that has become all too much of a regular feature on Transforming toys.

I think its summed up best with the thighs, as they are just flat and clean, with no unnecessary tech details. Looking at him though, you can see some nice details are present, but they never overwhelm the toy.

Traditionally, the Generations line has been high on articulation and Scoop can stand up there with the best of them. He has every point of articulation you would expect on a deluxe figure, so if you want to posing him doing a superkick-yes you can. There are even double jointed knees thrown in thanks to the transformation.

Something I did not realise at first, but Scoop's head is on a ball joint. The reason this slipped past me is because it is so freaking tight I mistakenly thought it could only swivel from side to side.

You look at the stars Scoop.

One massive problem, and that's not even slightly playing it down is the shoulders-they don't lock in for robot mode. The arms are tight on the ball joint, and the whole idea of this figure is patterned around him having smaller robots that turn into guns for him to wield. But moving the arms in any way, rotates the entire assembly and you will find yourself constantly readjusting it.

This could have been very easily solved by making the shoulders or chest lock in.

The main attraction of this set is always going to be the aforementioned Targetmasters, if for nothing only than the novelty value.

You get Holepunch and Caliburst (formerly known as Tracer, curse you trademark) and they look great.

When I saw them announced, I thought they were going to be the same mold but in other colours, there's no way Hasbro would give them their own unique molds-we aren't that lucky.

Hasbro's crack team of designers decided to fight the power and bring us two unique Targetmasters, and a million fan boys rejoiced (me being one of them!).

The little figures are great, whilst they have no leg articulation, they do have ball jointed shoulders, so they can be posed to look its furiously windy.

Transforming them into guns is very easy, and they do both have identical transformations. Once transformed they are actually different, with the blue one being double barrelled, and old yella being a single barrelled rife.

Despite their size they don't weigh much, so Scoop can get any pose holding them up without his arms slowly drooping back down.

One of the features of the original double Targetmasters, was having guns that could peg together. Faithfully recreated here, the guns lock together to give Scoop a giant hand cannon of doom. Again, despite the mass, he can still hold them up with one arm.

What is absolutely nuts, is the way they combine. It's not ground breaking, or revolutionary, it is just a simple peg. So at this point you are thinking that I have oversold it, but you would be wrong. See, the pegs for each figure are the underside of the barrels, just above the bots face, and the holes they peg into are in the middle of the butt's of each figure!

So when you combine them, the faces are in the butts. Let me repeat that THE FACES ARE ATTACHED TO THE BUTTS.

As a grown up who refuses to grow up, I find this hilarious I cannot lie.

So whats the verdict? Well, Scoop does nothing new or amazing, but I am so pleased with how they made this figure. The transformation is brilliantly simple, there's tons of articulation and he looks just like the original toy but only extremely upgraded with articulation.
The two Targetmasters are nice extra and make it a worthwhile purchase.

The question is, will Hasbro do any more?

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