Transformers Titanium Series Robot Masters

By: John Denning
Review Date: Monday, August 28, 2006

Smaller die-cast figures are being marketed for a number of different sci-fi series these days: Star Wars, Star Trek, and Battlestar Galactica to name the most prominent. Hasbro joined the scene with their latest Transformers figures, but are overlooking the main appeal of the franchise: transformation.

Small die-cast figures in general are very cool because they can have an impressive amount of detail for their size, and have a good weight to them, a sense of durability that can be very satisfying to child and collector alike. This style of toy lends itself best to vehicles, particularly the technical designs of science fiction spacecraft. Transformers, although a very tech-oriented toy as well as passing as vehicles half the time, are meant to have moveable parts. Takara recently enhanced the market for car buffs by licensing real cars to design as Transformers, and there are also collector's editions of Optimus Prime that take the robot detail and complicated transformation process to extremes.

The die-cast figures in robot form, however, do little for either side of the equation. While its cool to have mini-Unicron sitting on your desk, it's more like a paperweight than a toy, something you might find at a souvenir shop on Cybertron. They feel like merely miniature statues on display, and for a toy series so centered on hands-on fun, a display piece seems too static. This one's a niche market, and really only for a collector's display case. For those of you looking for a more entertaining option, I recommend choosing your favorite transformer available in die-cast and gluing it to the hood of your car as an ornament.