G1 Seacons

Robot Modes: The Seacons are a pretty regular Generation 1 combiner team in that they consist of a single, large leader robot, Snap Trap, while the remaining team members are much smaller. The unusual thing here is that there are five smaller members of the team, not the usual four. See under 'Combiner Mode' how that works.

Snap Trap, the large leader of the Seacons, is a pretty well-made robot. Posability is average for a G1 robot of that time, meaning not that great, but he does okay with posable shoulders and elbows, as well as spreadable (is that a word?) legs. As befits a Decepticon officer he's mostly purple and it suits him, and the detailing on him is pretty decent as well. Snap Trap comes with two weapons, a large sword and a large gun, as well as a big shield he can mount on his shoulder. Okay, the shield doesn't really look all that great on him, but the other weapons are pretty decent. If he ever finds himself unarmed, Snap Trap can still use the two big cannons on his back. So bottom line, a pretty decent robot that could have made the cut even without the whole combiner thing behind him.

The five smaller Seacons are all pretty similar in robot mode. Small, barely posable, though the detailing on them is quite good for their size-class. The one I like best here is Sea Wing (I'm a sucker for winged robots), but they're all pretty close together. Overbite and Nautilator each come with a single handgun, the other three each come with two. Also, each of the smaller Seacons comes with a three-piece stand to use with their beast modes. The middle of the stand can also be used as a rifle. So all in all, decent little robots, but not really all that exciting on their own.

Alternate Modes: As you might guess from their names, all six Seacons transform into sea-based robotic beasts. The leader, Snap Trap, becomes a big turtle. Okay, the resemblance to an actual turtle is casual at best, but he still looks pretty decent in this mode, especially due to the two big guns on his back. They make him look like a big, walking tank and by way of the lever on his back the two big cannons go back and forward. The shield he uses in robot mode becomes the rear half of the 'turtle shell' and you can flip out the two silver blades to give him close-range weapons. The big rifle can be mounted on top. Each of the four legs is individually posable, meaning the beast mode is actually more bendy than the robot mode. Go figure.

The remaining five Seacons also become sea animals. Overbite becomes a shark, Sea Wing becomes a manta ray, Tentakil becomes an octopus, Nautilator becomes a lobster, and Skalor becomes a coelacanth. The interesting thing here is that most of these animals don't usually come with arms and legs (except for the lobster). Have you ever seen a shark or a manta ray with legs? Me neither. It's especially strange seeing as the smaller Seacons each come with a stand where the beast mode can be put on top (to better simulate them floating through the water, I guess).

Still, instead of making them look ridiculous, these 'humanizing' elements make the beast modes of the Seacons look even more interesting. Not to mention that most of them are far more posable as beasts than they are in robot mode. I like Overbite best here, I think, closely followed by Skalor. I'm not too wild about Tentakil, but then I don't like octopi very much. Each Seacon can also be equipped with their weapons in beast mode.

To sum it up, the Seacons' beast modes are far more interesting and better-made than their robot modes.

Don't go away yet, though, for each of the five smaller Seacons is actually a triple changer (sort of). They each have a third mode where they transform into a weapon. Granted, the weapons don't look all that great for the most part and don't really differ all that much from their beast modes, but still, the idea is quite nifty. You can mount the weapon-mode Seacons on their stands as well, but their Targetmaster modes only really come into play when they combine into Piranacon.

Combiner Mode: The six Seacons combine to form the mighty Piranacon. Actually, though, only five of the Seacons do the combining. In Scramble City style the larger leader figure, Snap Trap, forms the torso of the Gestaltrobot, while any four of the five smaller Seacons can serve as limbs. The sixth member of the team can either remain in robot or beast mode, or he can join his fellows in weapon mode. Piranacon's fists are such that the pegs normally used for combining also fit into it. Any of the five smaller Seacons can thus become a Targetmaster weapon for the big guy.

As you can imagine that leads to lots and lots of possible combinations, the only constant being that Snap Trap remains the Torso. The rest are completely interchangable. I hope you will forgive me for not taking pictures of all 15 possible combinations. As a Gestaltrobot Piranacon isn't any taller than most of the other combiners from that time (not counting Predaking), but he seems bigger due to his bulk. So while he stands eye to eye with Devastator, for example, he's nearly twice as wide. Like most of the G1 combiners he isn't terribly posable. He can move his arms at the shoulders and that's pretty much it. Still, his looks are quite impressive and you can store the Seacons' entire arsenal on his person (except for the stands). So all in all a very, very good-looking Gestaltrobot.

Missing Parts: I'm missing Nautilator's hand weapon and stand. Also, Piranacon's sword is missing its tip. Otherwise the Seacons are complete.

Remarks: The Seacons are the Decepticons' main strike force for all underwater missions. Sadly they never appeared in the cartoon series and their appearances in the old Marvel comics were restricted as well, the most memoriable being their brief (and unsuccessful) battle against Galvatron. The Seacons did appear in the Japanese Masterforce cartoon, even though only Snap Trap aka Turtlar was a "real" Transformer there, who merged with a number of replicable drones to form King Poseidon. The Seacons (minus Nautilator) were also recycled for the Beast Wars II cartoon series, their combined form called God Neptune, and will soon be reissued as a Transformers Collectors Club Exclusive.

As toys the Seacons are a collector's nightmare due to the immense number of parts they originally came with. Each Seacon has one or two weapons, Snap Trap has the hands, feet, head, and breast plate of Piranacon, and the five smaller Seacons each have a stand, composed of three separate parts. Which means over thirty individual parts, true believers. That's a lot of parts to lose.

Apart from that, though, I really like the Seacons. Not well enough to call them the best combiner team of Generation 1 (the Predacons remain at the number one spot here), but they come in second.

Rating: B+