The Alternators line has yet another character added to it and yet it seems an odd choice as the figure is Stepper (A G1 Japanese Takara only figure released in the TargetMasters line) but it seems that being resurrected in the Alternator line leaves some changes to the character from his original look and design template.
There are a ton of problems with this figure straight from the start so basically lets focus on these first and then focus on the good points of the toy. The first massive thing that seems wrong is that originally the character was called STEPPER in Japan and in the Bio/status information that came across overseas. After a few years names need to be re-registered again with companies, Takara did this and when they reissued the Original toy of Stepper he kept his name….Hasbro on the other hand named him….Ricochet…..originally that name was used for a Targetmaster Gun that belonged to a figure called Scoop. The sad thing about it is that everyone calls this Figure Stepper yet Hasbro COULD have trademarked the name and used it since Takara also managed to register the name to begin with…instead Stepper is called Ricochet by Hasbro and ends up sounding like some sort of Gay hair dresser!
The second problem with this is that originally Stepper was basically a repaint/re-tooling of G1 Jazz with sections made for him to hold a TargetMaster partner. You would expect and so did everyone else that when they heard Alternator Stepper was being made for the Alternators line that he would indeed be using the Mazda Mould and be a repaint/remold of Alternator Jazz…..instead we got the Subaru mould YET AGAIN! Well at least he looks as if he is trying to pass as a homage to G1 Stepper by the colors and golden flames on the bonnet.
Another problem is that for some reason Stepper has a gold face but white nose, this makes him look as if he has just applied sun lotion to his nose in case of sun burning! So the problem with this is that in order to make Stepper NOT look stupid everyone who purchased this figure had to then get some Gold paint+brush and fix Steppers nose so it was gold and fit in with the rest of his face just so that the figure didn’t look stupid. Maybe the production/assembly team in China were just lazy or figured it was funny maybe?
Final problem with this mold is that basically it is just shit if you don’t happen to own a few of the Alternator Shoulder Launchers that were reproduced by TransRepro ages ago. Without a shoulder launcher on the character then the robot mode just doesn’t feel like he is meant to be a homage to G1 Stepper. The original had a shoulder launcher and a TargetMaster partner but without the launcher on Alternator Stepper then he just comes across as yet ANOTHER damn repaint of the Subaru mould.
Vehicle mode looks close to how G1 Stepper looks considering there using the Subaru mould and not the Mazda one. The wheels have gold colored rims and the bonnet has the golden flames on it, the back spoiler also has golden edges painted just like how the originals were. The general look of the vehicle mode is black which is like how the original used to look but considering we have seen the Subaru mould used something like 6 or maybe 7 times now….you just feel bored looking at yet another repaint of the Subaru mould.
The vehicle mode is nice but because it has been seen so many times before it just feels wasted and unwanted that the mould is yet again the Subaru because if you look around kitbash galleries and forums you can find kitbashed versions of the Mazda mould used for the base of Alternator Stepper and it looks so much more beautiful than what Hasbro did by using the same mould for something like the 6th or 7th time.
One good comment about the vehicle mode over Smokescreen/Bluestreak/Red Alert/Smokescreen2.0/Bluestreak is that the interior of the vehicle mode for Stepper looks extremely beautiful and the red and black coloring work perfectly together.
The robot mode is rather disappointing and doesn’t even support a new head or remolding any were on the figure. Without the Shoulder Launcher (not supplied) the character just looks almost like a lazy repaint of Bluestreak/Smokescreen but just spray painted Black with a small amount of Gold paint in places. Since this is just a repaint of Alternator Bluestreak you will know what to expect when it comes to the design and feel of the robot mode. The arms do have a lot of freedom to move yet like most Alternators he can’t seem to get his hands to move sideways so that he can touch his chest or anything. So basically simple up and down movement only and nothing on the scale of Revoltech when it comes to movement.
Alternator Stepper/Ricochet comes in the newer fish-bowl design and comes along with his Instructions and the engine which transforms into his gun/rifle. Its extremely sad that considering Takara at least tried and gave us one missile launcher for Smokescreen2.0 it seems strange that given the chance Hasbro had and also considering Ricochet/Stepper only needed one launcher its real sad that he doesn’t come with a missile launcher because he would have been perfect for it as it would have added so much more to the character rather than just making him a pointless repaint to the Alternators line such as others like Rollbar.
You get the feeling that Alternator Ricochet/Stepper was rushed by Hasbro and that if Takara did there version of this character he would have been released in the Kiss Players line with a shoulder launcher and a PVC Girl to replace the TargetMaster partner, perhaps that’s why we got Autolooper instead of Takara’s version of Alternator Stepper….a real shame really because Autolooper just looked bloody stupid really…
A decent enough figure if you can get a hold of a spare shoulder launcher but aside from that it just feels like a lazy repaint and one not even in the right mould at that. An ok toy but could have been so much more if Hasbro actually tried. A real missed opportunity by Hasbro and a real disappointment to the fans of the Alternators line.
