Titans return wave one review thingy.

So its finally here.  The return of the headmaster gimmick.  And I must say, in general?  I'm impressed.  There are relatively few weak points in the line as a whole.  That said there are a few problems I want to point out before I go any further.

The first flaws go to Galvatron.  While he is still a very good toy in a lot of ways, one of his major failings is the lack of paint on his titan master head.. and absolutely shitty mask gimmick that forms his 'crown.'  It never sits flush, the mask itself will only rotate a small distance (I'm not convinced it is meant to rotate at all), and it absolutely fails to work at all with almost all the titan master heads.  That said, a little paint goes a long way to make this figure great, but even not using the mask at all and just going with the grey head can be a big plus over using the crappy mask.  I know there are a few folks who have modified the mask and glued it to the head master.. but doing so kills the headmaster gimmick... which is a no go for me.  Why it wasn't handled like the optimus prime and blaster heads.. I am uncertain.  Which brings me to the next flaw.  (No I do not see Galvatron's R-wing style Alt mode a 'flaw.'  It's a space craft.  Aerodynamics means very little to a craft that doesn't need an airfoil.  At least to doesn't look like a robot with a plane grafted to its back.)

The line prides itself on having heads that will work with EVERY titan master body.  While true mechanically, there are a handful of sticking points visually.  Namely its Twincast (blaster), Apex (Optimus Prime), and Nucleon (Galvatron).  These three sets have a key difference that sets them apart from say.. Blurr and Hyperfire.  The size of the face sculpt on the head.  While it looks good on those three, and you can switch the heads between the three and it still works, if you put these heads on the other bodies or the other heads on the larger bodies the problem becomes apparent.  The face sculpt makes their heads look far too large on smaller figures, and the other heads look far too small on the bigger ones.  While this is less of an issue on Optimus prime, with his helmet obstructing all but the eyes, on galvatron and blaster.. its.. fairly obvious.

Oh.. and Nightbeat... seriously.. he looks like he smelled something nasty or stubbed his toe... and his vehicle thing is really meh.

Outside of that, each toy of the line is filled with extra play-ability.  From tiny titan master pegs, to weapons that can be removed and 'manned' by the titan masters.  Both lead figures sport a base mode which also can connect to Fortress Maximus's ramps in his base and ship modes.  This is one of the few lines where each additional figure adds additional play value on such an exceptional scale.  And before I forget, rewind and stripes, both legends class figures have a data slug mode that works with blaster, as does the previous line's Buzzsaw figure.  Which is a neat little thing they did.  Wheelie can go frag himself tho.  I have no desire to ever own a wheelie figure.

A final note, if you always entertained that idea that combiners should look bigger than the sum of their parts.. putting them next to this line's base mode figures really sells that imagery.

On a whole I give the starting line a 9/10.  Some minor issues, yes, but the good far outweighs the bad.