Quintesson High Commander [Transformers One/Prime Changers]

The Quintessons are some of the villains from Transformers that have remained interesting and cool ever since their introduction in the 1986 movie. While I haven't seen Transformers One as of this writing (but will have by the time you read this), the trailers have portrayed them to still be quite a threat. It's nice to see that they've managed to not only stick around all this time, but essentially remain the same threat that they've always posed. I've been a fan of the Quintessons ever since the 3rd grade when I first saw them in the theater. They're cool villains, you know? This figure, Quintesson High Commander (well call him QHC for the rest of the post, that's a lot of words) is another excellent toy in the Prime Changers price class.

I said above that Quintessons haven't changed much since their introduction, however their appearance sometimes does depending on the medium. QHC reflects a new look for the classic baddies while still somewhat similar. For the record, he's not a Judge. Those are the five faced Quintessons that people are the most familiar with. I say that as it's probably a question that several have by this point. The other Quintessons tend to have a singular face with tentacles. Similar to Alpha Trion, QHC feels like an unused Beast Machines design that was recently discovered. It's a really unique toys that thanks to it's alien design that comes off really bizarre compared to a normal Transformer.

QHC is a mass of tentacles attached to a torso with a base formed from the vehicle modes kibble. Vehicle mode is a Quintesson spacecraft that looks both weird and neat. I don't know if any of the Quintessons transform in the movie yet, but am sure this is for the sake of the toy. QHC comes with a tiny Energon Cube that can be stored within his body in both modes. Energon Cubes are forever neat, so this is a welcome addition. Transformation is relatively simple, though I did fiddle some with a few spots to get everything in the right place.

QHC is fairly articulated, though obviously not to the degree of a more traditional figure. Overall it's a pretty neat toy. To my understanding it's exclusive to Walmart here in the states, not sure about other countries though. I like his weird alien looks and overall creepiness. Hopefully more Quintessons from the movie will make their way to the toy line.

Much thanks to Hasbro and Paramount Pictures for providing Zone Base with this review sample. It's an honer and a privilege. Thank you.

Bios: Overcharge

 

Function: Spaceborne Trooper

In the distant past, "military hardware" robots were furnished and traded to numerous planetary nations and interstellar organizations as tools of the Quintessons' malevolent business dealings. These autonomous weapons would become the prototypes of the Decepticons. The newest model of this line, the Overcharges, were produced as all purpose combat units, ones incorporated with the Decepticons' distinctively evolved military technology and more than sufficiently endowed with the offensive strength necessary for global domination.

Bios: Sky-Byte

 

"Flash of metal fins. Sharkticons tear foes to shreds. Die quick, Autobots."

Sky-Byte is a Predacon by design, but, like his Quintesson creators, works with the Decepticons from time to time when it's profitable to do so. He leads the new-generation Sharkticons into battle, ruthlessly shredding all cars and robots on his way. He sees himself as a sophisticated warrior poet, the self-proclaimed "greatest shark around," composing haiku about the robots in disguise he's about to deactivate. Exposure to forestonite has given Sky-Byte a devastating new ability; he can unleash a "Tsunami Blaster" freeze attack from his chest, paralyzing his foes. Combined with an already impressive arsenal, air speed, and his Sharkticon hordes, he's a menace to everything in the air, land and sea. Were he more competent and less given to overblown theatrics that leave him vulnerable, he'd be one of the Autobots' greatest threats.

Deseeus Army Drone

There are some really good characters in the Transformers universe. This isn't one of them. I'm not being sarcastic, for you see the Deseeus Army Drone are literally just Drones used under the command of the Quintessons. This one specifically works for Deseeus, though I'd like to think the other judges have some as well. Going by the original cartoon creation story that the Transformers were created by the Quintessons before miraculously gaining sentience, it only makes sense that they'd have some non-living ones still in use. Not to mention, drones make for good generic soldiers and this literally is just that. If it looks familiar, that's because the Drone is a straight repaint of Siege Ironhide.

The Drone is a silver/grey robot with a lot of black undercoat. Clearly the War for Cybertron has caused some paint damage. The Cybertronian vehicle makes for a cool sci fi alt mode and with the gun mounted on top, it looks like a solid military grade vehicle form. Several of the Siege molds had that Diaclone flair and it works pretty good here. Really, I can't think of a better mold to use for this idea. I liked the Siege Ironhide mold a lot. I liked Siege a lot in general so it's nice to revisit it. The rifle can convert into a sledge hammer for some melee combat. Really, this is just a solid Transformers toy. The mold has gotten a lot of use and each time felt fresh. There's plenty of articulation and it looks the part. Deseeus Army Drone may have a funny name, but it's a great idea.

Oh Hell Gnaw

In that same spooky treat sack from the Mrs. I've talked about this week was Studio Series 86 Gnaw. While not outright spooky, a Sharkticon is delightfully monstery. Totally a Halloween appropriate robot. Honestly, they could do an orange jack-o-lantern version as a Halloween Horrorcon if they ever followed with that abandoned idea from 20 years ago. Ooh, it could be a Boglin. I'll just keep dreaming while they reward sites that steal from and shit on them instead. Actually, a Sharkticon is basically a robot Boglin... I'm super glad I just made that comparison. Now I'll never unsee it. Man... let's watch that awesome Japanese Boglin commercial again.

Man, I love that thing. I also love Gnaw, how couldn't I? He's this big round monster full of teeth with a robot mode that makes me think of a Gamorrean Guard. Considering all the Star Wars influences in the 1986 movie, that may not be coincidental. My brother got a Gamorrean Guard mask the same Halloween Return of the Jedi came out and wore it until he was too old to trick or treat. This toy is pretty damn great BTW. Full of articulation and character. Like all the other Studio Series 86 toys I've gotten, it looks like the character walked off my TV and became a toy I took bad pictures with on a TV tray in my living room. Just wonderful.

Gnaw transforms relatively easy. His arms becomes the shark monsters legs while his leg fold up behind him. There's a backpack that adjusts to cover those legs and forms the shark monsters back. The whip weapon connects to that for a tail and the robot head hides away as you fold the monsters big mouth over his shoulders. His gun can be mounted for a little beast mode fire power and the shark fin can be used as a dagger as a bot. Gnaw isn't just a show piece, but a well executed toy. To quote that guy Chet who lived across the street when I was in the 5th grade "he's pretty bad ass, Gnaw meen brah". Well, I assume that's how he talks now. It's the south and he once told me life is pretty wild when you play with madness like he does. That year I really wanted to be Eddie from Iron Maiden, but instead was Jason Vorhees with a bootleg fright mask. Am I forcing a bunch of Halloween stuff into this because it's almost here? Yep.

Tonight On Kate And Allicon

Sharkticon this, Sharkticon that. Where it's really at in on Quintessa is the ranks of the Allicons. An Allicon generally works guard duty for the Judges and other higher ranking Quintessons. They're squat little bots that turn into weird mutant alligator things. Quintessa is a weird place.

The War for Cybertron trilogy continues to deliver exactly the Transformers product I want. This new toy of the Allicon is part of the Earthrise line and might I say they did one awesome job.

In robot mode, it's a short and squat fellow with some spikey armor and trademark spear. Looking directly out of the 1986 movie and pretty well articulated to boot. I really like this toy.

 

It's not an unfair comparison to call the alt mode a robot Street Shark despite these little monsters coming first. That's where your mind will likely go to when you see that characterful sculpt. One again in alligator freak mode, the toy looks like it just hoped off my TV screen. That is awesome.

Transformation is pretty easy, but just involved enough to get everything in place. This is how most Earthrise Transformers have been and I've been thankful for that. Looks like they hired some designers who were able to get a toy from faithful mode A to faithful mode B without accidentally calling forth Pinhead. Little swivel of the waist, locking parts into place, and you've got the weird robot alien alligator mode the guards turn into. 

Quentessons are so wonderfully weird that their far out designs contrast nicely against things like a realistic truck. Groovy weirdos from space man. Dig it.

 

The tip of the space gator's tail is also an additional sword as well as the spear can store on the space gator's back. The sword blends in seamless with the tail but the spear is kinda just mounted. That's probably a strike against the toy for some, but I thought it looked like he was wearing it on his back. The spear can be mounted in either mode or held by both arms. For those moments he'd need to poke somebody. 

I wish I could find something negative to say about this toy. I'm lying, I'm glad I have nothing bad to say about this toy. It's perfectly perfect and I love it. Hasbro and Takara Tomy really nailed it this time. I'm tempted to get a few extra to troop build. The Earthrise Allicon is a great little figure that looks like the character just walked off the screen during a viewing of Five Faces of Darkness. That ain't bad y'all, that ain't bad.

Cold Slitherfang

One of the neat things about the smaller 'master' figures in recent Generations lines is their revisiting older Transformers ideas. Slitherfang his an unused concept for the Autobot Master Warriors from Headmasters. Like Titanmaster Sawback and Ramhorn, Slitherfang here found himself reborn. 

The Titanmasters were based on released toys though. This is Slitherfang's first time being an official Transformer toy after being conceived over 30 years ago. Better late than never huh?

Despite being originally designed as a Headmaster, Slitherfang now is a Battle Master. As an Earthrise Battle Master he can turn into a shield or a connector piece/dock plate for Micromaster bases.  His robot mode as you can tell is a snake. There's bound to be some generic 'beast crap' complaints about this, but animals was a somewhat regular design choice for bot mode back in G1.

I always liked it for the variety and thought it went well with the monster themed Decepticons post movie. Add in the purples and teals of that time and you've got some sharp looking robots.

Slitherfang is mostly translucent purple with a gray tail. There's some black and red detail paint in there that really makes the simple colors look great. Small touches can make a big difference. 

Speaking of little touches, the tank treads on his tail. I love those little old school robot toy details. He almost looks like a little Starriors toy and that's a good thing. Tomy and Takara merged in 2005. Even if coincidental, it seems intended. Did that make sense? 

His shield mode looks pretty good thanks to the cobra's hood carrying over to it's general shape. Included is one of those little blast mark things that has one place to be plugged on. If you're display minded, that's exactly where somebody should be aiming at. 

There's not much fictionally for Slitherfang as of this writing. I'm assuming he'll get worked into Takara's ongoing web manga at some point. I'd like to think it would be more related to Headmasters, but you never know. He'd make a good Selector too.

In Earthrise he's aligned with the Quintessons, which is a pretty good fit. I could see him slithering up during an attack and being used by one of the bailiffs to guard a judge when all hell eventually breaks loose. 

What if he was a Selector that aligned himself with the Quintessons? 

That'd be a neat parallel.

There's not much to say about the connector/dock plate mode. It's a ramp or connector for Micromaster bases. You can plug that blasty thing into this though for dramatic dock plate action.

In all, Slitherfang is a pretty good Battle Master. With these little guys the best part is the bot mode. The shield and dock plate are all pretty similar with small cosmetic differences. But a little purple snake sells itself.

Invasion of Faces

I talked about this briefly Thursday, but I'm so excited for it, I felt like talking about it more. This set was found at Target by popular toy reviewer Peaugh (the pics in this post are from him) and looked to be put out earlier than intended. It's not entirely known (but speculated) if this is exclusive to Target, but it scans at 29.99 on their checker, which is a pretty good price. A little earlier this year, maybe a month or two ago, first looks at the new Cyberverse packaging with additional naming on the packaging got out and this looks to follow suit. It looks nice.

I don't know if this set references an episode of the cartoon, or is just a fun thing on it's own. I don't care. I dig it. Something like a neat box set with a theme is a thing I really appreciate and it doesn't have to be confined to a big expensive thing either. Something like this is the kind of thing I like.

It's nice to have a Quintesson in the set. Some folks have pointed out his black body instead of gray, which makes me wonder if there will be multiple releases of the toy in various colors. Perhaps this is a individual Quintesson and lhey've just used one trademarked name to represent many. I'm going to call him Earl. Earl seemingly has made some neat mind control helmets that fit over reuses of the Spark Armor versions of Shockwave and Prowl. I like the idea of the Autobots and Decepticons having a mutual enemy in The Quintessons. That kind of thing is fun in a fictional setting. Maybe the cartoon will feature Decepticon focused episodes of them fighting Earl and his gang. That kind of thing is neat.

Cyberverse Quintessons!

サイバーバース：クインテッサン・インベイジョン3体セットが店頭で発見
https://t.co/JEWwuTTWV3 pic.twitter.com/Oo5dtZ92Ct

— オートベース愛知 (@autobase_aichi) December 26, 2019

Man, super looking forward to getting this set! Apparently it'll be 29.99, which considering I normally buy Cyberverse toys for around $10 at Walmart, that's a fair price for the set. Dude, I hope whenever the Quintessons show up on the show it's great. The Sharkticon episode sure was fun!

Secret Files of Teletran II: Quintessons (Japanese version)

I've always really liked the Quintessons for reasons I don't fully understand, it's one of those "I just do" kind of things. A race of ill intended aliens that are or are not behind everything (depending on who's writing today) is just kinda interesting. Add that in with far out and scary designs and you've got a deal. On my Thanksgiving break I watched a few episodes of Energon and was reminded of how much I liked Alpha Quintesson. This lead me to this direction mentally. So I knew I wanted to post something about them. That lead to finding the Japanese version of the Quintesson based Secret Files short. I liked and still like The Secret Files of Teletran II so much more than the former PSA's at the end of an episode. It was that extra bit of world building and just a touch of extra cartoon before the credits ran that made it something special. I didn't set out to post a Japanese version of the short, but when I found it... just had to use it. It's just neat seeing a variation like that.

Energon Ghost Starscream

Trans-Organic Orchestra

Innocent

Weekly Spotlight: G2 Redux Sky-Byte

Flash of metal fins. Sharkticons tear foes to shreds. Die quick, Autobots.

Sky-Byte is a Predacon by design, but, like his Quintesson creators, works with the Decepticons from time to time when it's profitable to do so. He leads the new-generation Sharkticons into battle, ruthlessly shredding all cars and robots on his way. He sees himself as a sophisticated warrior poet, the self-proclaimed "greatest shark around," composing haiku about the robots in disguise he's about to deactivate. Exposure to forestonite has given Sky-Byte a devastating new ability; he can unleash a "Tsunami Blaster" freeze attack from his chest, paralyzing his foes. Combined with an already impressive arsenal, air speed, and his Sharkticon hordes, he's a menace to everything in the air, land and sea. Were he more competent and less given to overblown theatrics that leave him vulnerable, he'd be one of the Autobots' greatest threats.