Too small for Batman punching, punching
Shortpacked!: What you're missing.
Transformers Generation 1 reissued toys are back at Toys "R" Us! I found the Insecticons there the same day I picked up Clayface vs Batman. I've never owned Shrapnel, so I was already a little interested in the set. Plus, hey, the three of them for $35 isn't actually a bad price, all things considered.
The guy in the middle is Bombshell (renamed Hardshell due to trademark loss reasons), who was my first Transformer ever. (Well, tied with Twin Twist.) You'd think I'd have a bigger affection for him as a result, but I don't really. I guess I wished he were a car or something. Despite this, when my brother and I played Transformers over the next few years, he was one of the two only important toys we owned. I primarily used Bombshell because his Cerebro-Shells could mind-control my brother's guys into being on my team. Meanwhile, my brother preferred Blurr, who could travel "faster than light" and therefore I couldn't ever shoot him with anybody because he was Just That Damn Fast.
A lot of our Transformer fights ended in stalemate.
I've actually owned a pair each of Bombshell and Kickback over the years, since our grandparents bought them for us as well, not realizing we had them. Of all of those, I think I still only have one broken Kickback. But now that I have all three of them, I have to say that Bombshell is probably the weakest of the three. His legs are hollow and ugly, and his transformation is the least interesting. Cover his head, fold his arms down, and fold his legs up, and you're done. Ain't nothin' special.
Kickback (on the left) is a lot better, but I've known that for decades. The way his arms transform into insect legs is pretty neat, and I've always liked how his final pair of grasshopper legs fold out of the back of his robot legs. He looks better in both modes, as well. There's no weird cavities. I liked him a lot more when I was a kid, and that still holds today.
Shrapnel, as I noted above, was new to me. (He's Sharpshot now, again due to trademark loss issues.) He's like a more complicated Bombshell. His face hides similarly, but he rotates at the waist and his feet fold down. And, yeah, no weird cavities. I think I'd rank them best-to-least-best as Kickback, Shrapnel, and then Bombshell.
But, man, I have no idea if this is widespread, but the stickers that came with mine were absolute shit. Several of them just aren't sticky enough. They won't stay on, especially the stickers that wrap around corners. I had to use superglue to keep the stickers that wrap around Bombshell's feet on, and I may have to do the same with the sticker around his "horn" and the two that wrap around Shrapnel's arms. It's all kind of maddening.
Transformers Generation 1 reissued toys are back at Toys "R" Us! I found the Insecticons there the same day I picked up Clayface vs Batman. I've never owned Shrapnel, so I was already a little interested in the set. Plus, hey, the three of them for $35 isn't actually a bad price, all things considered.
The guy in the middle is Bombshell (renamed Hardshell due to trademark loss reasons), who was my first Transformer ever. (Well, tied with Twin Twist.) You'd think I'd have a bigger affection for him as a result, but I don't really. I guess I wished he were a car or something. Despite this, when my brother and I played Transformers over the next few years, he was one of the two only important toys we owned. I primarily used Bombshell because his Cerebro-Shells could mind-control my brother's guys into being on my team. Meanwhile, my brother preferred Blurr, who could travel "faster than light" and therefore I couldn't ever shoot him with anybody because he was Just That Damn Fast.
A lot of our Transformer fights ended in stalemate.
I've actually owned a pair each of Bombshell and Kickback over the years, since our grandparents bought them for us as well, not realizing we had them. Of all of those, I think I still only have one broken Kickback. But now that I have all three of them, I have to say that Bombshell is probably the weakest of the three. His legs are hollow and ugly, and his transformation is the least interesting. Cover his head, fold his arms down, and fold his legs up, and you're done. Ain't nothin' special.
Kickback (on the left) is a lot better, but I've known that for decades. The way his arms transform into insect legs is pretty neat, and I've always liked how his final pair of grasshopper legs fold out of the back of his robot legs. He looks better in both modes, as well. There's no weird cavities. I liked him a lot more when I was a kid, and that still holds today.
Shrapnel, as I noted above, was new to me. (He's Sharpshot now, again due to trademark loss issues.) He's like a more complicated Bombshell. His face hides similarly, but he rotates at the waist and his feet fold down. And, yeah, no weird cavities. I think I'd rank them best-to-least-best as Kickback, Shrapnel, and then Bombshell.
But, man, I have no idea if this is widespread, but the stickers that came with mine were absolute shit. Several of them just aren't sticky enough. They won't stay on, especially the stickers that wrap around corners. I had to use superglue to keep the stickers that wrap around Bombshell's feet on, and I may have to do the same with the sticker around his "horn" and the two that wrap around Shrapnel's arms. It's all kind of maddening.