COLLECTING THOUGHTS: A new source of action! (part 1)

Full confession: I love Action Masters.

That won’t be a shock to anyone who’s already familiar with my collecting, as I’ve rarely shied away from mentioning how much I adore them. Yet still, despite attitudes to the notoriously non-transformable latter-day-G1 toys having softened substantially over the years, plenty of fans maintain they’re one of the worst things to ever crop up in the Transformers franchise.

Firstly, I get it. They’re Transformers that don’t transform. In some (alright, many) ways, it goes entirely against what should be one of the core elements of the toy line by removing its most famous gimmick. Yes, there are some (ok, ok, not many!) transformable examples in the range (known as the Action Master Elites), but let’s not kid ourselves here – these robots are very much not in disguise.

I’m sure it doesn’t help that their arrival heralded the end of the original Transformers line as it was in North America back in the day, making it seem like Hasbro had somehow torched the franchise by releasing such abominations into the world! In reality, the line was already in decline on that continent (despite surviving just fine beyond a second year of Action Masters throughout Europe). Still, no doubt the subgroup’s notoriety has been enhanced somewhat by this most catastrophic of timing.

Yet despite their often rocky reputation, they continue to have their charm for those of us in the know. More than that, Action Masters have been one of the parts of vintage Transformers I have most enjoyed collecting in recent years, with many examples proving challenging to find in mint condition and plenty of wonderful surprises along the way. Yes, they’re pretty goofy, but they’re also chock full of fun, meaning that I was actually quite sad when the journey of discovery ended and I acquired the final figure needed. No more new Action Masters; a dark day indeed.

Or so I thought. Yet thanks to the awe-inspiring work from a talented customiser known as Blueshift, we’re back in business again! You see, he’s begun producing various repainted examples of existing Action Master moulds and even retooling some of them to create entirely new designs. Oh, and the best thing? It’s all for a good cause, as Blueshift works with UK outfit Toy-Fu in support of Mary’s Meals, a charity specialising in providing school meals to children in poorer countries worldwide.

Our journey began last year alongside the release of the 2021 Transmasters UK fanzine, as Toy-Fu offered a limited run of two versions of an Emirate Xaaron Action Master, in both classic Marvel UK gold and silver and Marvel US bright yellow! For a major Xaaron fan like me (see my profile pic for evidence of that), this was a total must-have.

Both of these toys look absolutely spectacular, so it is legitimately impossible for me to choose a favourite between them. I often look at the more traditional UK-coloured version and think maybe it pips it, especially because it is easier to distinguish the details in the face sculpt. Still, there’s something so vibrant and exciting about the full-yellow take too! The best of both worlds, perhaps.

So, for those who aren’t as familiar with the character, Emirate Xaaron was an original creation for the Marvel UK storyline, first appearing in the 1985 annual storyline, And There Shall Come…a Leader! He was the leader of an Autobot underground resistance movement and became quite prominent in the comic’s run, making a name for himself in high-profile capers such as Target: 2006. When Simon Furman went on to write the remainder of the American edition of the comic, he brought Xaaron over into the native material with him. At that point, the character was reimagined with a full-yellow colour scheme.

What’s especially interesting is that Xaaron’s comic appearance was very clearly modelled after the G1 Megatron toy in several regards, with the head design being the most obvious. This close resemblance would soften a bit as the run went on, but there’s little doubt that’s where the original inspiration came from. So, when putting together an Action Master toy of the character, which mould could be better to work from than Megatron?

Yep, everything from the waist up (except for the newly-designed head) is a recast of the Action Master Megatron mould, with Blueshift recreating the design from scratch! It works exceptionally well and gives the correct blocky appearance for the character, rather expertly bringing him to life in classic style at long last.

The legs are a different story; if you’ve not spotted them already, they’re taken from Action Master Mainframe’s design! I’m somewhat proud that yours truly had but a tiny part to play here, if memory serves, as I believe I suggested using that design as a potential option. However, I don’t think I could have honestly imagined it would have worked out as well as it did! Blueshift has done incredible work at creating that new head sculpt for Xaaron, not to mention blending it all together seamlessly into a figure that could honestly pass for an official vintage specimen.

Despite having never had a toy back in the day, it’s arguably highly appropriate for Xaaron to pop up in Action Master form, too, as he never once transformed during his entire tenure in the Marvel comic! He did begin to attempt it once, in the story Meltdown!, but as he hadn’t undergone the process in many hundreds of years, it was said that the shock of doing so might be enough to kill him! It was later ascertained by a freebie pamphlet with Marvel UK #200 that Xaaron’s alternate form was that of a small combat tank, but such a thing was never glimpsed. Thus, a non-transformable toy is beyond perfect for the character.

Not only has Xaaron (both of him!) been an absolute joy to add to my collection ranks, but it’s also a mightily impressive effort on behalf of Blueshift, expertly showing off the level of ambition and craftsmanship that exemplifies the best of Transformers customising. That said, we’re only at the beginning of our journey just yet!

Now let’s turn to an example which is especially dear to me, as it was a collective present from a group of good friends for my birthday last year! They put the idea to Blueshift, who very diligently produced this one-of-a-kind Action Master Elite Black Zarak, again with a donation to Mary’s Meals as compensation. If I was impressed with Xaaron, this thing was distinctly next level in terms of its execution, even including entirely original elements such as the character’s somewhat iconic red spear and tiny little claw and blaster accessories held in place by magnets! Incredible.

The keen-eyed may have clocked this as a repainted (and slightly retooled) take on G1 Double Punch, though the level of customisation is genuinely off the charts here. Again, the use of newly-casted parts to achieve such a perfect finish amazes me, as opposed to just applying paint directly to a pre-existing figure. It makes these efforts seem like official toys, both in terms of look and feel.

Being an Action Master Elite, the toy can also transform, although it remains a relatively simple effort! Still, as a big fan of the Black Zarak colour scheme and design, seeing this tiny thing folded up into a rendition of the character’s scorpion mode brings a genuine sense of thrill, especially with how lovingly produced it all is.

It means I am now one of (I would imagine) very few collectors who can legitimately claim to have two G1 Black Zaraks in their collection! Fortunately, the little one doesn’t suffer from gold plastic syndrome, so that’s a definite plus!

Next, we come to another personal commission, as I approached Blueshift about creating an Action Master Ultra Magnus for me last year. I got the idea after I acquired the white and green Microman repaint of Action Master Optimus Prime’s large transformable truck (which was also a birthday present from the same group of friends from the year before Black Zarak!). I thought the colour scheme would be a fitting accompaniment to such an idea, especially for how in-keeping it is with the recent Masterpiece MP-711 release.

It was evidently quite challenging to reproduce, especially in terms of getting the colour scheme right, but wow, I could not be happier with the result! That classic white Prime look for Ultra Magnus has always been something I have admired, so even outside the Microman truck inspiration, this has been a true joy to see up close.

Once again, Magnus fits in beautifully with the many official toys I own and provides yet another much-needed hit for someone like me seeking a new source of action! The idea of customised Action Masters had been proving too tempting to pass up for some time already, but when they turn out this good? Well, I needed more, let’s just say that…

Fortunately, that’s precisely what happened at TFNation 2022 this month. Join us for part 2 when we look at the latest additions to the line-up!

TTFN