Mastermind Creations Nitro

Prelude: In Galaxy Force he was Nitro Convoy, the finest racer on the planet Speedia. In Cybertron she was Override, the speed queen of Velocitron. Now Mastermind Creations brings us their version of this character from the Unicron Trilogy in the form of Nitro, who – according to the pack-in comic – is a she in this continuity, too. Legally she is, of course, in no way, shape, or form related to the above-mentioned characters, but she sure looks familiar. Let’s say go!

Robot Mode: Nitro uses the same mold as Calidus, so we will focus mostly on the differences here. Nitro appears as a very tall and lean robot, the main differences to Calidus being the lack of the huge spoiler wings on the back and, of course, the paint job. Nitro also got a new head, closely resembling that of the character from the TV series. The face can be seen as either male or female, so consider it whatever you want it to be. The resemblance to the Nitro Convoy figure is pretty good. It’s taller and slimmer, but they’re clearly meant to be the same gal (or guy).

The articulation of this figure is brilliant and really lends itself to running poses. It can even balance easily on one foot for running poses, as seen in several of the pictures. Nitro has a double-barreled weapon which she can store on her back or hold in either hand. The weapon also resembles the one of the original figure, only far less boxy. No slot for a Cyberkey on either figure or weapon, but I don’t really consider that much of a downside. I don’t really remember Override using her Cyberkey power much on the show.

So bottom line: an excellent reuse of an excellent mold. Two thumbs up and no complaints.

Alternate Mode: Unsurprisingly Nitro transforms into a racing vehicle nearly identical to the altmode of Calidus. The big spoiler is missing, of course, replaced by two smaller side wings, and the paint job is completely different, too. While the layout of the car isn’t quite identical to that of the Nitro Convoy figure, the paint job manages to mostly gloss that over and the two vehicles look very much alike. Interestingly enough, despite being the taller robot, Nitro actually looks smaller in vehicle mode than Nitro Convoy.

Not much more I can write here that the pictures can’t tell better. An excellent-looking race vehicle, very low, very streamlined, very powerful-looking. Not your classic race car, maybe, but neither was Nitro Convoy’s car mode. So here, too, I can only say: very nicely done. An excellent vehicle mode.

Remarks: The planet Velocitron was one of four worlds containing a Cyber Planet Key in the Cybertron series and in order to get it, the Autobots and Decepticons had to race against Override, the undisputed ruler of the planet. This led to a truly endless series of races, races, and yet more races over (I think) at least ten episodes or so until finally Hot Shot won the big finale and gained the key. Humbled, Override accompanied the Autobots on their quest to unite all four keys. In Galaxy Force the story was mostly the same, only Override was male and called Nitro Convoy. Apparently the gender switch happened because Cartoon Network, where the series aired in the US, wanted more female characters.

Male or female, Nitro is an excellent reuse of the Calidus mold. The original Galaxy Force toy was a bit of a mixed bag, but this one here is really great. With the distinct lack of Unicron Trilogy characters appearing among the 3rd Party ranks, I was very glad to see this one appear and don’t regret getting her. Still, you should probably be a fan of the Unicron Trilogy (or at least Cybertron / Galaxy Force) in order to consider buying this gal. If you are, though, then you should definitely get her. The only slight downsides are the price and the relative obscureness of the character.

Rating: A-

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