Shrapnel [Transformers Retro]

I was fortunate to find The Retro Collection version of Shrapnel at a local Ross while Christmas shopping. These types of store are generally a haven for oddball liquidation toys during the holidays and like others, I try to take advantage of it. It's jokingly called RossCon by many people online, which I find funny as I've been calling the reissues and exclusives at Walmart Great Value BotCon for years. Thankfully, I made out with some great finds this year. Shrapnel is another member of the Insecticons (and you all know I love bug robots), and painted in a cartoon accurate deco like the other recent reissues. I can't say enough good things about these cartoon accurate reissues, they look amazing and it's always good to get vintage toy molds.

When it comes to Shrapnel, aside from the variety of his toy's I've accumulated over the years, my biggest memory of Shrapnel is the one my older brother owned. He's a few years older than me and was slowly phasing out from toys. However a few managed to always stick around. Right next to his Clawtron and Zoltek was a Shrapnel and Cop-Tur on a bookshelf with a Journey carnival mirror in the background. I guess they were badass enough for an early teenage to display while listening to Cinderella. Shrapnel is decidedly badass looking, as are the Insecticons in general. The mostly black robot with purple and silver colors looks dark and plays well off each other. So much so that the yellow cockpit that makes up his chest practically glows. His insect mode is a stag beetle, which is one gnarly and threatening looking bug.

The insects  pincers display nicely behind his head creating large horns and giving Shrapnel his signature look. Included is 6 Energon Cubes and the signature Gamma Ray Detonator. You can store a cube in his chest compartment. This compartment is originally the cockpit where a pilot figure would sit in  the Waruder Insecter Robo Kuwagatrer from Diaclone, which is the original use of the toy. There is a set of Insecticons based on their original Waruder coloration who are meant to represent the Insecticon clones often seen in the original cartoon. It's a neat thing to own. Transformation from robot to stag beetle is easy, parts really just fold up and the robot is laid on his back. There's wheels on the legs to roll the insect around, another holdover from Diaclone that's a pretty fun play gimmick. It's sort of an insect tank.  Shrapnel is a really good looking toy, and especially so in these show accurate colors. For a toy of his era, there's a decent amount of articulation that I find admirable. I'm sure my admiration for Insecticons is overshadowing any objectiveness, but this is just a wonderful toy.