Titans Return Alpha Trion

Robot Mode: Alpha Trion is a Voyager-sized robots in the classic Alpha Trion colors of red and purple. While the body bears little resemblance to the character from the G1 cartoon, the paint job and the face more than make up for that. The head is clearly Alpha Trion with his silvery beard. So while not a perfect character resemblance, you can clearly see who this guy is supposed to be.

Alpha Trion is a pretty broad and powerful-looking fellow and the lion-head-halves on the shoulders make it rather evident that one of his alternate modes is a beast mode. The fact that he has a third mode isn’t easily apparent here, which I like. Articulation and detailing is pretty good and the paint job does bring out a lot of the sculpted details, too. For weapons Alpha Trion carries a big orange sword and a three-barreled handgun as well. The latter can also double as a gunner seat for his Titan Master (see below).

All in all I like this robot mode very much. It has no flaws worth mentioning, nicely portrays the character without being too slavish about it, and is just a fun robot overall. So two thumbs up here, no complaints.

Alternate Modes: As a triple changer Alpha Trion comes with two alternate modes, each paying homage to one of the previous Alpha Trion toys (only one of which was actually made, mind you). His first alternate mode is a lion, harking back to a proposed Universe Alpha Trion toy that was never released. The transformation is somewhat reminiscent of Lio Convoy, but more symmetrical. The resulting lion looks pretty sleek and has fully articulated rear legs. Sadly the front legs are pretty much just lower legs, which restricts their movement quite a bit. The big sword functions as a tail and there is a cockpit for Sovereign on top. All in all the lion looks good, though it is a bit hard to stop seeing its lower jaw as the robot fists. Still, a nice lion mode. Not the best beast mode ever, but good.

His second alternate mode is a space cruiser, paying homage to the 2007 Botcon Alpha Trion. It’s basically just the robot lying on its stomach, but the result does look sufficiently space-cruiser-y, so no complaints there. The cockpit is at the back of the cruiser and the gunnery seat plugs in before it, giving Sovereign two places to sit. The big sword can be fastened to the side. So while looking a bit tacked on, it’s still a good space cruiser mode for Alpha Trion. Not extraordinary, but okay.

Partner: Alpha Trion’s head detaches and becomes Titan Master Sovereign. Sovereign is a pretty typical Titan Master figure with ball-jointed shoulders and connected legs. He is, of course, compatible with all other Titans Return Headmaster figures as well, just like Alpha Trion can use another Titan Master as head as well (see the picture where he swaps heads with Sentinel Prime).

Remarks: Alpha Trion has been a staple in Transformers since first appearing in 1985, the wise old wizard (basically) who led the original rebellion against the Quintessons and created / rebuilt Optimus Prime. More recently he has been established as one of the original 13 Primes. His Headmaster… sorry, Titan Master Sovereign is also a rather long-lived character from Transformers. The current IDW comics have established that Sovereign was a Cybertronian deep cover agent who lived on Earth under the guise of G.B. Blackrock, a millionaire inventor (think Tony Stark) who was an ally of the Transformers all the way back in the old Marvel comics.

For all that he has been around for 30 years plus, this is actually the first Alpha Trion toy that is not a convention exclusive repaint (no, I’m not counting this guy). The toy not only manages to pay homage to both those exclusives, it also manages to be a pretty decent toy in its own right. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a classic or a must-have, but for people who have wanted an Alpha Trion toy for a while, but were unwilling to fork over the money for the Botcon exclusive, this one here is definitely a good choice. Side note: a very, very extensive remold of this toy will see release as Broadside.

Rating: B+