The Action Figure and Toy Collecting and Discussion Thread!

I'm usually rather lazy about taking pics of my figures, but yesterday I finally received a long -awaited figure in the mail. So I'm finally ready to post some pics of one of my major scores over the past year, Generations Metroplex.

Overall, I think they did a nice job of updating Metroplex while keeping a lot of his G1 elements intact. Scamper is included, and I obtained some good third party versions of Six-Gun (Six Sigma in the case of this figure) and Slammer (Tower Tank). More on those later.

Robot mode:

This version of Metroplex is just slightly taller than the G1 version of Fortress Maximus, the largest figure in the original line. He has lights and sounds that run on two AA batteries. I tried to get a pic of his eyes and chest glowing, but it didn't work out.



Metroplex's visor can flip up or down to accommodate his animated model (which had a visor) and his original toy, which had separate eyes. There are a ton of stickers, which add a nice variety of detail.



Front view, holding black rifles. These can also mount on Metroplex's shoulders, and the one on the left has more detailing because the Six Sigma figure includes extra stickers. Unfortunately, it only includes enough for one rifle even though Six Sigma is designed to use both. Metroplex also has a large red rifle similar to the weapons carried in his G1 form, and a convention exclusive version had twin red rifles in place of the single Hasbro version. This rifle shoots a plastic missile, so perhaps the second gun was eliminated for safety as well as cost reasons.

One of the cooler features on the updated mold is the left shoulder turret. The G1 mold had a fairly simple twin cannon in this spot, but on the Generations version it's a full turret that flips open. Scamper or another Legends class figure can sit in the seat.





Back view

Moving on to Six Sigma (Six-Gun), there are some nice features. The robot mode is really well sculpted and very much an improved version of the G1 figure, who was basically a tower connected to all of Metroplex's weapons. This figure is on the Voyager scale, meaning he's about the size of a G1 combiner or a megazord, and that scale is probably more accurate since parts of him turn into weapons scaled for Metroplex. Six-Gun only made one appearance in the animated series, and his character model seemed to be scaled in the range of normal sized Autobots (way too small).



In keeping with the design, Six Sigma's legs turn into rifles similar to the G1 weapons. As seen later, the rest of Sigma turns into an artillery station that can connect to city mode. The twin turret can also attach to Metroplex's back, as seen here.





Front & back views




Six Sigma has a pretty good range of articulation, and Slammer can also serve as a weapon for him.




Metroplex's rifles can connect onto Sigma's arms, since the G1 version of Six-Gun literally had the black guns as arms. There is a version of the Sigma mold available with red arms, since the animated model used them, and I decided to go with black for more of a toy accurate feel. I find the rifles work better when attached to the lower posts, since the two possible mounting points don't completely match up.

Scamper:

The original Scamper was solid black, and it's nice that the updated version includes a little more color. I do kind of wish that the Hasbro version included the larger chest sticker that was used for the Takara version, as the instructions actually show that version instead. This Scamper has better articulation and his own weapon, although there's also some nice molded guns on the arms. The G1 version's arms were made from rifles which attached to the car roof in vehicular mode.






Tower Tank/Slammer:

Tank isn't all that different from G1 Slammer, who was basically a tower with a gun attached. The main advantage with this mold is that the tank form is a lot more defined, and he can still form a tower for Metroplex.






Tower mode



Metroplex's posse


Battle Station mode:







Missile pod, similar to the G1 version. Sadly, that one was chromed.



Repair arm

City mode:



Metroplex's right arm forms another Legends-class manned turret in this mode.







Six Sigma's turret form is something of a mixed bag. The instructions suggest it should be mounted in some smaller holes at the rear of the helipad, but I found it easier to use one of the odd red arms whose function isn't really clear. The single biggest problem with this mode is that the twin turret doesn't peg into anything for stability, as it does in robot mode; it just kind of rests on a pair of fins and relies on gravity to support it. This wouldn't be so bad if the mounting was less awkward and perhaps I just need more experience with using the two together.

One complaint I've heard is that the red leg guns can't be used as weapons in Metroplex's vehicular modes, and it's true that they're not designed for use in the fortress mode. They lack the pegs for connecting. However, I've noticed that they can be used in city mode by resting on top of the front gates, as seen in these pictures. They're the most hollow part of the Sigma mold since they have to change for legs, so it's an okay fit in my book.



Slammer connected to Metroplex



Right repair station



Left repair station



Helipad. As mentioned, no one is entirely sure what those red bars are supposed to do. They only seem accessible in city mode but don't connect to anything.



Metroplex's head forms a control station in his non-robot forms.



Control station panels



Right bay



Left bay



Heavytread guards the front left corner. I'm rather pleased with how this shot came out, considering it was probably the hardest angle to shoot.

 

I think this is the first time I realized the board has a 40 image limit per post. Usually when I post pictures, I might use half of that at the most or less. I eliminated some less important pics for that reason, mainly Metroplex's eye options (the visorless one came out blurrier than expected) and a shot of the shoulder turret's seat. While Six Sigma has a few flaws, I think he's a pretty well made figure and I don't regret the purchase at all. Having a fully functional Slammer is icing on the cake and it's nice to have a more complete modern version of Metroplex. There is at least one other third party version of Six-Gun available, but it's not as G1-accurate as Six Sigma and is more of a partsformer. It can turn into several weapons that Metroplex can hold and its parts are actually compatible with the Six Sigma figure, but it can't duplicate the tower mode the way Sigma does.