"Actionmaster Elite" Backpack Kitbash
Based on the STAR Corps action figure Spector

Backpack robot mode Backpack air mode Backpack ground mode


    The idea behind the Actionmasters was that these were highly-poseable Transformers that didn't transform. In Europe, they released a small number of Actionmaster Elites, which were highly-poseable Transformers that sorta transformed. None of the transformations was convincing, and most involved clipping vehicle bits onto the toy. One day, I decided I was up to the task of creating an Actionmaster Elite from scratch.

    The base figures I used were S.T.A.R. Corps action figures, a knockoff (well, licensed) GIJoe space set sold in blister packs at places like Wal-Mart and K-Mart. The space armor was a good starting point for kitbashing. After looking over what I had left from making Roadgunner, I decided I could make a jet form out of another figure. But I could also give it wheels, thanks to a backpack that lent itself to having an axle put in it. So I did both. Two backpacks: one jet pack, one wheel pack.

    I decided not to do much with the helmet, just gluing an antenna on. I built up the chest with putty, then later decided to install a cannon for the ground mode, using a bit of plastic rod and sheet. The hands I turned into cockpits with more putty (I made pegholes on the fists, but ended up not making guns to fit in them), and I used a combination of putty, square rods and plastic sheeting to put the tail fins on the figure's feet. Taking one of the backpacks, I added plastic sheeting and tubes and a lot of glue to make a wing pack. I had to file the figure's behind flat so that the pack wouldn't make the figure's hips shift, however. The other backpack I turned into a wheel unit by closing off a gap with a piece of plastic sheeting and then inserting a spare wheel set from one of the cheap monster trucks I bought for Roadgunner.

    In painting the toy, I had to stick fairly close to the original color scheme of mainly white and gold, so I wouldn't have to worry about paint scraping at the joints. Despite this, there's still some problems at the waist and hips.

    The robot mode has the wing backpack as a default, with the wings "upside down" in this mode. Transformation to jet mode involves rotating the backpack and moving the limbs to the correct positions. Transformation to ground mode involves replacing the backpack and adding a GIJoe figure stand as a skid plate in the front. The figure does not need a stand in robot mode, as the tailfins grant a rather large effective foot size.


DECEPTICON: Backpack
Vehicle Modes: Duojet, Skidtrack
Function: All-Environment Combat
Motto: "Versatility is the key to victory!"

A victim of one of Unicron's uncaring smashes at the planet, the Decepticon who would later be known as Backpack was revived using the miraculous yet deadly Nucleon, and found that he had lost his ability to transform. Deemed unsuitable for the experiments that created the Actionmaster Elites, Backpack decided to use his technical skills to compensate for his lost transforming ability. Noting how many other Actionmasters turned to jetpacks and other external movement aids, Backpack created a jetpack that restored some of his flight ability. Then he altered his own body in small ways to enhance his aerodynamic qualities, so he could partially transform into a flight-optimized mode. But he didn't stop there. Realizing he'd hit into a good idea, he cannibalized a deceased Autobot for a ground engine and wheels, giving himself a sort of ad hoc ground mode. He's rumored to be working on submersible and spaceworthy backpacks. In all modes he projects ruby lasers from his twin cockpits. He's also recently built a small mortar into his chest, which can fire a variety of munitions in all modes. However, it is most accurate in his ground mode. In robot mode he can fly at 100mph with his flight pack. When he transforms to flight mode, his speed rises to 200mph. His ground mode is fairly slow at 50mph, but it's capable of traveling over almost any terrain that he could walk over. He stores his unused backpacks in subspace, so he can switch them at will.

STR 5  INT 9  SPD 7  END 8   RNK 6  COUR 6  FRP 7  SKL 9   Avg 7.125


TRIVIA NOTE: The mold for this toy was also used in another series of chromed figures with light-up accessories. The name applied to this mold was Circuit Breaker.


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