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Meat and Potatoes; 5.0 Perks; 5.0 Homer Factor; 5.0
The newest reissue from Takara resurrects Star Convoy. The piece is a cross between Metroplex and Prime/Convoy. In ‘bot form SC is almost 12” tall and is in the usual colors of red torso, blue legs, and silver high-lights.
Instead of a separate trailer and cab Star Convoy’s vehicle form is a massive, mobile command truck with two small gun turrets at the front, a biiig gun in the middle, and a dual-cannon at the back.
SC’s ‘bot mode has the front ‘cab’ section becoming the torso and arms while the back section are the legs. The two small cannons in front are on the shoulders while the big gun becomes Convoy’s trademark laser rifle.
The final transformation into a base has the legs splitting in half. One section becoming a giant ‘runway’ and staging area for small vehicles. The other side becomes a large ‘repair’ and storage bay with a pair of holding areas for vehicles. Meanwhile the torso opens up to become a command center.
The entire piece has a motorized track that can be used in all three modes. SC also comes with a Micromaster version of Hot Rod that can be transformed from ‘bot to car mode.
Star Convoy is a blast from the past, and a sing of how Takara has always pulled out all the stops in creating neat stuff for O.P. Although in this case it almost didn’t come to be. As usual, the umpteenth ‘toon version of everyone’s robotic warriors was about to come out with ANOTHER toy line. Takara had created a few figures, most notably Star Convoy, and even released them. And then out of nowhere the series was canceled and the toy line died. Doh! However the Star Convoy pieces were still out there and became almost a Holy Grail for collectors. Flash forward and Takara is in full swing with the re-issuing G-1 Transformers! Guess what gets put out, STAR CONVOY!
So what’s the big deal about this old school version of Prime? Aren’t the more modern versions a lot better thing this clunky thing? Oh heck no!
Meat and potatoes are where detractors might get catty. Yes, this is based on an ‘80s sculpt, so it has no where the detail or articulation of the current figures. Hey, it ain’t THAT bad, either. Ok, so you don’t have the bagillion panel lines and the Yoga-esque articulation. Just the same, you DO get solid details on SC’s body, and at least his arms have elbows in ‘bot mode. Sure, it’s not stunning, but for the time it was pretty dang good. Besides, you have to love the fact when this piece is in robot mode it’s almost 12” tall! Sweet!
Besides the perks rule on this piece! First there is the massive ‘bot mode with the small cannons on the shoulders and the HUGE, hand-held laser rifle. No more puny guns, he’s packing some serious heat! In vehicle mode SC doesn’t look like a cute truck. Nope, he’s got guns all over the place to kick ‘Con tail.
The kicker is the base mode. This base mode is massive; there’ s a central tower that is the torso of Convoy. There’s a cool control panel inside and enough headroom to fit a Minicon. Then there is one section that has holding bays for MORE Micromaster/ Minicon vehicles. Meanwhile there’s the OTHER section that is like a ‘landing strip/staging area’ to hold MORE Micromaster/Minicons. Like Metroplex this piece isn’t just a small station. It’s a freaking city!
Cont. on p. 2