G1 Targetmasters
Happy Holidays! I’m back home again for Christmas in SoCal. Time to dig out more treasures from my childhood. So today I think I will feature the Targetmasters.
In G1, Targetmasters came around in Season 4 and continued into Season 5. The gimmick here is the weapons of the main figure will transform into mini figures. Targetmasters came at the same time as Headmasters. I always felt that Hasbro gave the Headmasters top billing, and that Targetmasters got gypped by being the secondary citizens in the grand scheme of Master Technology. I dunno, personally I liked the Targetmasters better. I think having the weapon transform is cooler than the head transform, but that’s me.
The Autobots
Scoop with Holepunch and Tracer, Crosshairs with Pinpointer, Hot Rod with Firebolt
The Decepticons
Quake with Tiptop and Heater, Misfire with Aimless
All my Targetmasters are in great shape. They are all complete too, with the manual, but no box. The Season 4 figures (Hot Rod, Crosshairs, and Misfire) I played with extensively so I remember them well. The Season 5 figs I didn’t play with as much, probably because that’s about the time I felt that G1 figs were starting to lose their quality (not to mention the US cartoon ended). Oh yeah, the Season 5 Targetmasters are all “double” Targetmasters. That means they come with 2 Nebulan guns. Each gun transforms into a figure, and the guns can combine into a larger rifle type weapon. I know that sounds cool in theory, but in actuality the Season 5 weapon figures aren’t that good. They pale in comparison to the Season 4 weapon figs.
But as I look at them now, I’m liking the Quake figure quite a bit. He’s much better than I remembered. The rest of them is about how I remembered.
It’s too bad I didn’t have a bigger allowance back then. I probably would have bought even more Targetmasters. Come and think of it, I didn’t even buy Hot Rod and Misfire. Those were b-day presents from my cousin.
I might do a few more G1 nostalgic posts before this holiday season is over. Targetmasters… Transform and Roll Out!
I only owned Scoop, but man did I like his target masters. If I remember right, I had them far longer than Scoop, who I eventually lost or traded or whatever. I agree, I’ve never really liked the Headmaster idea too much and thought Target masters were way cooler.
Yep I’m now playing with Scoop after all these years, and I would say he’s the weakest of the figures here. I think on ebay the target master gun figures are worth way more than the main figure.
Firebolt was once a quiet scholar on the pacifistic planet of Nebulos , where he was renowned as one of its top atomic physicists. Beneath his meek and reserved exterior, however, young Firebolt yearned for a life of action and excitement. His dreams of adventure might never have come true, if not for the intervention of the Decepticons . When the call went out for Nebulans who would be willing to take up arms in defense of their planet, Firebolt was amongst the first to volunteer. Undergoing the extensive and painful procedure known as Binary bonding , Firebolt was given a special suit of black and grey armour and granted the power to transform himself into a powerful double-barreled weapon called an “electrostatic discharge rifle”.
I think the above comment is spam, but I’m leaving it here because it does seem relevant,and to my knowledge accurate.