Sixshot Showdown: Hasbro's Titans Return Leader Class Sixshot vs Iron Factory Legends Scaled Shadow Tengu

Yes, I know, this should be a review of a Tamagotchi, but I got one of the Iron Factory one in recently, and wanted an excuse to review it and the official one from last year. Two bots, six modes each, I'm sure it'll be fun, right? Want to see who the better Phase Sixer is?

I'll start off with one flaw they share. They share it with each other, they share it with the G1 toy, it will be a problem Sixshots will have so long as they look anything like this and do the six-changer gimmick (the one exception I can think of was that one time in Energon he was a Shockblast repaint, "Who in itself was totally not meant to be Shockwave, totally different character, ignore the similarities!"... it was something Hasbro did back then if they couldn't get the name rights again. At least it's better than Shockwaveblast). The problem is a problem the gimmick has built into it. See, Sixshot's whole gimmick is that he is a Six changer, a toy that officially has six modes. In the case of Sixshot, we have a robot, a car, a tank, a gun, a jet, and a wolf mode. The problem is that with any Transformer, the more modes you have in a toy, the worse each mode gets. Generally, a Sixshot's best mode is his robot mode, with any others being hit or miss at best. On the plus side, this means that this character is far more playable than any other Transformer toy, and the multiple modes encourage fan mode finding like the now infamous flying wolf mode, but if you're looking for a feasible looking car, or tank, or jet, or gun, or wolf, you might want to go get a Transformer that only turns into one of them.

Who here better lives up to the legacy of this guy?

First of all, we should start with the one thing unique to the Hasbro toy, the Titan Master. Meet Revolver, a paint less, though well sculpted, green and white Titan Master that has Sixshot's upside down face on his back. Titan Masters are what current Prime Masters are based on in terms of engineering, so anything the Prime Masters can do, a Titan Master can do. He’s about as poseable as the Prime Masters, ball jointed head, ball jointed arms, though this one cannot go all the way up due to sculpting, hinge at the hips, and hinge at the knees that can go 90 degrees forwards and backwards. What makes Revolver interesting though is his integration into Sixshot. Every single Titans Return toy had to be compatible with the Titan Masters, they were the heads in robot mode, and could act as a driver or passenger in most alternate modes (the exceptions mostly coming from Fort Max, Trypticon, Blaster and Soundwave). Revolver can integrate into every mode Sixshot has in some form. However, Sixshot's one of a few toys that don't really require you to integrate him. There is one mode that does suffer if you don't, but two modes that benefit if you do ignore the gimmick, and leave Revolver in the helmet. If you don't like Sixshot with an interchangeable head, you can easily ignore it, because options are always a good thing.

Starting off in Jet mode, and most of the time it’s a mode that Sixshot pulls off. It's a mode that is plausible thanks to it looking so futuristic, it’s easy to think of it more as a space plane rather than being any plane that could work in earth's atmosphere. However, this is one of the cases where size does matter, as it allows for better proportions. The Jet mode on the Iron Factory (at least I hope it is as the person I got this from does call it a knock off, but it has the paint and tolerances of the real one. They share the same engineering so even if it is the knock off, criticisms still apply) looks awful thanks to how bulky the front half of the jet looks. The Titans Return one looks far more feasible, going for a longer, sleeker look that could be aero dynamic. My biggest problems with the Titans Return one is what you're supposed to do with some of the tank treads, it feels like they didn't properly accommodate the fake wheel the treads have for tank mode so it pushes against the wings, and what you're supposed to do with Revolver. In Jet mode, Revolver is supposed to sit in the cavity where the helmet goes for the rest of the modes, and the helmet is left to stick out the back. It just looks ugly, this is one of the modes I mentioned earlier that benefit if you ignore the Titan Master functionality. On the plus side, you do have a single landing strut for this mode... if it helps... regardless, point 1 goes to the Leader Class!

I'll be going in order of how many parts need to move to go to the next mode, and the fastest mode to get to from Jet mode is the Car mode, and this is another where the Legends size is not on Iron Factory’s side, though it fairs better than the Jet mode does. Sixshot's car mode is always going to look stupid, impractical, off balance, but awesome in its own way. the big thing going against Iron Factory is clearance for the wheels. When moving it along soft surfaces, its fine, it will however be an issue of you want to move it along harder surfaces. There's also a gap issue in the hood, due to the way the legs need to work, and the jet nosecone kibble does not look clean. But, like with the Jet mode, for something at this size, it'll do. When compared to the larger one though, it falls flat. As much as high end collectors might want to hate on Hasbro, they do still prioritize playability, meaning all the modes do still work as toys There's still a clearance issue with the wheels, but instead of it being because of the legs, this time it’s because of the chest of the robot, however it’s not as drastic of a clearance issue as on the Iron Factory one. the Jet nosecone kibble also connects better to the robot, which does make for the unnecessarily wide hood look consistent. You have some more variety in Titan Master use in this mode, thanks to four small and easily ignorable ports on the wing undersides, and two cavities where you can sit Titan Masters in to make it look like they're driving Sixshot. You might also notice a connection point on the side of the wings in this mode. With the exception of Sixshot (unless you fan mode him), all Leader Class toys had a base mode that could connect to the Titan Class figures, and each other. While Sixshot doesn't have a base mode, he does have the connectors to allow him to connect to the other Leaders, Fortress Maximus and Trypticon. This one is another win for the Leader Class toy though.

Iron Factory Legends (flight stands were not included)

Alternate mode number three: The Tank Mode. This is one where the Iron Factory toy is at a disadvantage, but this is the mode that I am not a fan of in general. I don't like the Iron Factory version, I don't like the Titans Return version, I don't like the Generation 1 version. What's the disadvantage? Like I said, this was second hand, and I unfortunately do not have all the accessories, I am missing the guns, which help improve this tank mode a lot. However, it can be worked around, there are two large gaps that could be used as makeshift guns. However, there are design things missing from the toy, lock a cockpit for the tank, and the Legends class proportions which make this mode look more awkward then the Jet. Even excluding the missing guns, this does not look like a good tank, there's too much mass dedicated to the guns. The Leader class toy has an advantage in that the leg engineering is more basic, and one thing I'll get into in Robot mode, sculpted slightly differently. This does allow for the guns to be further back, making it look more consistent. However, they don't lock in anywhere and it’s very easy to make the guns look like the robot legs flailing around, as the friction joints aren't very tight. Tight enough to hold it, but how long will that last? Once again, solid Titan Master compatibility thanks to a dedicated cockpit for the tank mode. I give it to the Titans Return figure more for it being the better of two bad modes, not because it's a good version of the mode.

To modes four and five on technicality. See, Hasbro can't really call Sixshot's gun mode a gun mode anymore. So, what do they do? They turn it upside down and call it a submarine mode. So, looking at the two "Submarine modes". They're both terrible. Neither one gets the point. Gun mode then, and credit where its due, they're both pretty good gun modes, though that isn't saying much as the Sixshot gun mode has always been him on his back with his arms up. They're both well sized, though I will openly admit I have moderately sized, to slightly smaller than normal hands. Out of the two, I prefer the weight of the Iron Factory one, it just feels more balanced, and far better to move around. its why out of the two, even if I'm missing the guns, I do prefer the smaller Iron Factory one, that some say could fit into standard third-party combiner hands, such as Toy world’s Devastator. As for how Revolver incorporates into this mode for the Leader class toy... he doesn't.

The Wolf mode, and by extension "Flying wolf mode" are where the merits of the Iron Factory one start to become really apparent, however sadly the proportions once again harm him. The rear legs on both do not look good, but because of the engineering on the Iron Factory one, they look worse on the little guy. They just look too far back, like a robot’s legs are bending the wrong way, which is true for the Titans Return one, but the smaller thighs and the joint bending through the thighs makes it look more consistent. You've also got something that could be described as a tail on the Leader class figure, thanks to two ports for the guns. However, once we get to the front of the body, that's where the Legends class figure shines above the Leader. thanks to the power of articulation. I'll go more into it in the next paragraph, but the one bit of articulation that the Legends sized Sixshot has over the leader is the ability to move the head down, something the Leader can't do thanks to the connection Revolver has to the wolf modes, turning Revolver to head mode and plugging him into a hole in the neck of the leader class figure. It's neat, but not really needed, and it’s something almost unique to this mould. The only one I can think of that does that aside from Sixshot and his repaint spawn is Trypticon. Overall though, these two are about equal, in that they're average modes that neither do right, other than be true to the source.

Titans Return Leader

Finally, the robot mode, the one mode the Iron Factory one really needed to get right as its aimed at an audience that will display him in robot mode... and they got it right. This is a really good, really well-done Legends Scaled Sixshot (in that its actually Deluxed sized because Sixshot is a giant character) in robot mode. Perfect? No, but well done. Some of the proportions are a little off, mainly the jet nosecone kibble, but in terms of raw look he's almost perfect. Moving him on the other hand... From what I have heard, Iron Factory have a problem with tolerances to the point where things can easily break. They look good, they look amazing in many cases that I've seen, but some things are very stiff, or a nightmare to move due to position, or the amount of force needed to move the piece could result in a break, sometimes even both. The worst of that on this toy is the swivels the arm assemblies are attached to. You need to move them around a lot to go from one mode to another, and they're just an absolute nightmare! Everything else though? A lot of fun to move around. You've got a ball jointed head, outward hinge arms on a swivel to allow full movement, great elbow joint that will get you anything you need along with a swivel at the elbow, waist swivel, ball joint hips with thigh swivel and knee hinges that will get you any movement you want out of the knees. Aside from guns, he does come with two katana swords that peg into the hips for storage, both really well done in paint, and goes well with the fact that the colours are inspired more from the Headmasters cartoon, a Japanese exclusive continuation of Generation 1, more so then the original toy that the Titans Return one is inspired on.

Going to the official side of the spectrum, while this Sixshot isn't as faithful to the original toy, mostly thanks to the legs, it's faithful enough to scratch that itch, in terms of collectors. However, it is plagued with many issues Hasbro has in terms of engineering. To them, if it’s not absolutely needed, it’s not included, something that really hinders the articulation of this toy. Head swivels, shoulders are a bit hindered thanks to sculpting, but you have a forward and back swivel and can go outward about 20 - 45 degrees depending on what you do with the shoulder spike assembly. Elbows can't get up to 90 degrees, no waist movement, legs can go forward on a ratchet with no issues, but will barely move backwards, and knees will get you to just below 90 degrees. You've also, for some reason, got ankle tilts, but these are on soft ratchets and won't give you a lot of range. While the sculpting detail is well done, and the paint applications here are nice to see, Sixshot, and Titans Return Wave 3 did start the use of stickers instead of Tampographs for Voyager and Leader Class figures. Thankfully on him, the stickers are small enough and placed in positions that do protect them from peeling off easily, so they'll hold up better then someone like Power of the Primes' Starscream.

If all you want is a great looking Sixshot in robot mode, and are willing to spend quite a bit for him, as third-party toys aren't cheap, then out of the two, the Iron Factory one would be better for you. If you want a Sixshot that's solid in all his modes, and are willing to settle with "could be better, but will do for the price", then the official one is the better of the two. The official one's just more fun to play with overall, whereas the Legends class one is fun to mess with while it’s in robot mode, but the other modes are either a pain to get to thanks to that shoulder assembly, or just outright not worth it due to proportion issues. Do you want something pricy for one good mode, or something proportionately cheaper for six ok modes? Hope this has been interesting, I might try and do something similar later on for some other figures. For now, I'll be off to review the fourth chapter of Digimon Adventure tri, and next week... the Tamagotchi review I promised last Wednesday... See you then!