G1 Sureshot

Prelude: A little shout-out to my good friend LimeWire. I know this is one of your all-time favourite figures, buddy, so this review here's for you.

Robot Mode: Sureshot is a pretty typical robot for his time, at least in terms of design and posability. Let's start with the latter. For the late 80s Transformers he's averagely posable. He can move his arms sideways at the shoulders and bend his elbows. That's it, the rest of him is immobile. But if you're in it for the dynamic poses G1 figures aren't your thing anyway. Look-wise, though, he's doing pretty good. He's got a very nicely sculpted face and while his colours are just a tiny bit cartoony, they fit him well and look pretty good overall.

I briefly thought that I had mistransformed Sureshot, seeing as his torso is pretty long when compared to his arms and legs. He looks as if his chest is supposed to be pushed a bit further down, but that simply doesn't work. So Sureshot is a pretty long guy. He has the spoiler of his vehicle mode on his back, looking almost like a jetpack. As a weapon he carries his Targetmaster companion Spoilsport, who is one of the better-looking Targetmasters out there, at least in weapon mode. And that's pretty much it for what I can write here. A good robot with average posability (for his time) and great looks, who is not pushed down by his defining gimmick. Nice.

Alternate Mode: Sureshot transforms into a dune buggy type car with racing elements such as the spoiler sitting behind the cockpit. I don't think he's modelled after any specific model, but whatever the case he looks pretty cool in vehicle mode as well. Spoilsport can't take a seat in the car, sadly (only the Headmasters could do that), but he can fit onto the car's hood in weapon mode. He pretty much obscures the view from the cockpit when he does, but whatever, there's no one sitting in there anyway. So all in all a good-looking, solid vehicle mode, be it with or without the big gun.

Partner / Add-On: As a Targetmaster Sureshot's weapon can transform into a robot (or rather a Nebulon inside a robotic suit). This is Spoilsport. As a weapon Spoilsport is among the better-looking Targetmasters I've seen, but in robot mode he's a statue. Not a bad-looking one, as the detailing is nice considering his size, but he can't move at all. Well, he can bend over, but that's it. So leave him in weapon mode.

Remarks: Sureshot and his Targetmaster companion Spoilsport only made a brief appearance in the final three-part episode of the G1 cartoon, "The Rebirth". He didn't get any characterization worth mentioning. The comics didn't do much better, so his character is pretty much defined by his tech spec, which calls him an arrogant, but highly skilled shooter. As a figure Spoilsport is doing pretty well, though. The Targetmasters aren't as dependent on their gimmick as, for example, the Head- or Powermasters are. He'd be a good robot without any gimmick as well. From today's standpoint he is, of course, severely lacking in terms of posability, but for 1987 he's a damn good 'bot. Not a must-have, but pretty damn good.

Rating: B+