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   SIXTURBO

 

Takara re-issued its second set of Micromasters called Sixturbo in September 2002 which I picked up from BigBadToyStore.com.  Sixturbo retails in Japan for 3,600 (300 per box).  Sixturbo was originally released in Japanese as TF-03 back in 1992.  In this release, Takara decided to produce Sixturbo with US-styled lettering, tampo printing vice stickers, and follow the PVC-style box.  The box (case) is smaller the standard PVC box which measures 9.75"Lx5.75"Wx5"H.  This box contains two sets of six separate components in individual boxes.  Unlike the PVC's, an instruction sheet is inserted so that the number for each particular figure is visible through the port hole on the front of the box.  This allows you to select a figure you need before you open it.  As stated above, there are two sets of Sixturbo's per case with a couple of regular figures replaced by "Black" variants.  I received a Black Road Police and Neo-Wheel which comes with the head, chest piece, right-fist, and weapon (gun).  The case I received had the following box layout:

Left-side (Back to Front) Right-side (Back to Front)
1 - Black Road Police 1 - Road Police
2 - Glide 2 - Glide
3 - Circuit 3 - Circuit
4 - Black Neo-Wheel 4 - Neo-Wheel
5 - Discharge 5 - Discharge
6 - Sireen 6 - Sireen

The one thing I noticed about the case was that the boxes on the right-side were placed in backwards (opposite to the left-side) and the Black variants were noted on the left-side.

The following Carton/Mastercase breakdown was provided by "NTN324":

1 Carton  = 10 Cases = 120 Boxes/Figures

8 Cases contain 2 Black figures:
- 3 cases contain parts #1 & #4
- 3 cases contain parts #2 & #5
- 2 cases contain parts #3 & #6

2 Cases contain 1 Black figure:
- 1 case contains part #3
- 1 case contains part #6

Each Carton produces 3 Black Sixturbo's (18 Figures) & 17 Regular Sixturbo's (102 Figures)

The individual boxes measure 4"H (4.875"H with flap)x2.75"Wx1.625"D and is priced at 300 each which is clearly marked on the case.  I purchased my case from BigBadToyStore.com this month.  Each box contains the individual vehicles in plastic bags, an instruction sheet/catalog, and parts to create Sixturbo robot.  There are 4 panels on each side of the instruction sheet/catalog printed in black & white (instructions) and color (catalog).  The instruction sheet also includes a "character spec" which was fully translated by Doug Dlin and identified in RED below.

 


Sixturbo case (12 boxes)

 

 


Sixturbo box

 

 


Sixturbo's contents

 

Turbo Team (Sixturbo components): Road Police, Glide, Circuit, Neo-Wheel, Discharge, and Sireen

 
Micromaster Warrior ROAD POLICE
White Acura NSX "Patrol Car"

The leader of the Turbo Team, Road Police has a warm central processor and a strong sense of justice.  A gun collector without equal, he enjoys accumulating Earth handguns, though he's annoyed that they're not the right size for him.  A master of the fast draw, he's the best of the Micromasters in short-range marksmanship.

  • Road Police is packaged with the Breast & Head part for Sixturbo and is identified as figure #1 (Leader)
  • Road Police transforms into Sixturbo's chest

VEHICLE MODE:  Road Police is a White Police Car (Acura NSX) with Black trim on front and lower part of the car, and Silver painted windshields.  The joint where the hood connects to the main body is Red which also represents the Police lights on the roof.  There are 4 Black wheels which provide a smooth roll on a smooth surface.  Road Police measures 2 7/8" in length and his Autobot symbol is tampo printed on his hood.

ROBOT MODE:  To transform Road Police into robot mode, lift the front of the car up so that you can rotate the doors upward.  This allows you to flip the rear section outward 180 to create his legs and feet.  Secure the hood on his back and adjust the legs at his waist to balance him over his feet.

Road Police also stands at 2 1/8" tall in robot mode.  His color scheme includes Blue, Black, with Silver painted on his torso and stomach and face.

The copyright marking can be found underneath the hood section.  It's printed in Black lettering in the format below:

'92 '02 TAKARA
CHINA


Vehicle Mode
 


Robot Mode


Close-up of Road Police
Micromaster Warrior GLIDE
Blue GoldWing "Bike"

Among the Cybertrons, this warrior is known to be the happiest about their coming to Earth.  When not in combat, he can usually be seen having fun tooling around, giving rides to Earthling females.  He claims it's all a part of his intelligence-gathering activities.  Though he appears frivolous, make no mistake, this fighter's got speed and strength in spades.

  • Glide is packaged with Sixturbo's waist/thigh and is identified as figure #2
  • Glide transforms and connects to Sixturbo's back

VEHICLE MODE:  Glide is a Blue, Grey, and Black motorcycle with some Black, Silver, and Gold painted sections.  There are 2 Black wheels which provide a smooth roll and is well balanced due to two tabs connected to the tailpipes.  Glide measures approximately 1 7/8" long and his Autobot symbol is tampo printed on the left saddlebag.

ROBOT MODE:  To transform Glide into robot mode, rotate the front fairing downward 180 at the joint connected to the wheel.  This step creates the base/feet.  You'll probably notice that the legs are cocked back (hips forward) and this is to provide better balance over his feet.  He can stand just fine if you extend his legs, but it looks better if his body is centered over his feet.  The next step is to rotate the saddle part downward 90 which creates his torso and exposes his head.  Now fold down the outer parts of the saddlebags to form his arms (tailpipes should be at the rear).  The arms look a little short in my opinion and his hands aren't visible unless you rotate them to the rear.

Glide stands at 2" tall and the Grey parts are more visible.  It looks like Glide is wearing a motorcycle helmet (go figure) but I noticed that there is a Honda Goldwing emblem on his forehead.  It appears that Glide is modeled after the Goldwing GL1500 but I could be wrong.  Glide is my favorite vehicle of the 6 because of its originality.

The copyright marking can be found on the right saddlebag (vehicle mode) which is printed in White lettering.


Vehicle Mode
 


Robot Mode
 


Close-up of Glide

Micromaster Warrior CIRCUIT
"F-1" Indy Racecar

Boasting of the highest speed of the Turbo Team, Circuit is often given
reconnaissance and messenger missions thanks to his impressive scouting ability.  Though unrivaled in driving technique, he is easily excited and often races around wildly.  This has earned him frequent warnings from Road Police.  Circuit has the special ability to converse with the wind(?).

  • Circuit is packaged with Sixturbo's Left Fist & Radar part and is identified as figure #3
  • Circuit transforms into Sixturbo's Left Arm

VEHICLE MODE:  Circuit is a White F-1 Indy racecar with a Grey tailfin and Red painted parts.  There are 4 Black wheels which provide a smooth roll and he measures approximately 2 1/4" long.  His Autobot symbol is tampo printed on the front/top fairing.

ROBOT MODE:  To transform Circuit into robot mode, rotate the tail section 180 at the joint closest to the wheels.  This creates his legs and feet.  Again, the legs are slightly angled towards the rear which provides better balance over his feet.  Now rotate the front fairing 90 so that it extends towards the rear.

Circuit stands at 2" tall and his color scheme is more Yellow with Silver painted parts (waist & face) as well as Blue on his torso and pelvic region.  Circuit has a racecar helmet with what looks like a Marlboro emblem on his forehead.  The vehicle color scheme sort of matches Emerson Fittipaldi's Formula 1 Indy racecar.

The copyright marking can be found underneath the vehicle, placed near each rear wheel and printed in Black lettering.


Vehicle Mode


Robot Mode
Close-up of Circuit

Micromaster Warrior NEO-WHEEL
Lamborghini Diablo "Supercar"

An aloof, nature-loving warrior, Neo-Wheel has little taste for following and participating in strategies with the rest of his team, save for those that require combining.  If anything, he is often found in the wild amongst animals.  He won't say for sure himself, but he appears to have the special ability to communicate with the animals.  Neo-Wheel is indeed a warrior of many mysteries.
 

  • Neo-Wheel is packaged with Sixturbo's Right Fist & Gun and is identified as figure #4
  • Neo-Wheel transforms into Sixturbo's Right Arm

VEHICLE MODE:  Neo-Wheel is a Yellow Lamborghini Diablo car with Black painted windows.  There are 4 Black wheels which provide a smooth roll and he measures 2 1/8" long.  His Autobot symbol is tampo printed in the center of his hood.

ROBOT MODE:  To transform Neo-Wheel into robot mode, lift the front of the car up so that you can rotate the doors upward.  This allows you to flip the rear section outward 180 to create his legs and feet.  Secure the hood on his back and adjust the legs at his waist to balance him over his feet.

In this mode, Neo-Wheel stands at approximately 2 1/8" tall.  His color scheme includes Red with Gold painted on his pelvis and helmet, as well as Silver at his mid-section and face.  This is probably the only figure that doesn't have a helmet related to his vehicle.

The copyright marking can be found underneath the hood closest to the joint on the roof and is printed in Black lettering.


Vehicle Mode


Robot Mode


Close-up of Neo-Wheel
Micromaster Warrior DISCHARGE
Red "Fire Truck"

Contrary to her robust outward appearance, Discharge is a female Cybertron warrior.  Few Cybertron fighters have seen her true appearance, as she is usually equipped in her heat-resistant armor.  Devoting her passion to firefighting and rescue missions, Discharge really shines, no matter how she looks on the outside.  She doesn't enjoy aggressively participating in battle, but she can be rather scary when angered.

  • Discharge is packaged with Sixturbo's Right Foot and is identified as figure #5
  • Discharge transforms into Sixturbo's Right Leg

VEHICLE MODE:  Discharge is Red Fire Truck with a White ladder on top, Black painted windows, and Silver painted panels.  There are 4 Black knobby wheels which provide a smooth roll and the ladder can rotate.  Discharge measures 2" in length and his Autobot symbol is tampo printed on the upper left side of the vehicle.

ROBOT MODE:  To transform Discharge into robot mode, rotate the front upward towards the back, then rotate the rear section 180 at the joint closest to the wheels.  The legs will also be cocked back to provide balance over his feet.

In this mode, Discharge stands at almost 2 1/2" tall.  His color scheme includes a White body with Blue painted on his pelvis and Silver painted on his mid-section and face.  Discharge's helmet conforms to a firefighters helmet and mask.  His arms are kind of odd since they are connected to the side panels which are just too big.  I think it would've looked better if the panels folded out over his arms.

The copyright marking can be found underneath his feet in robot mode which is printed in White lettering.


Vehicle Mode


Robot Mode


Close-up of Discharge
Micromaster Warrior SIREEN
White "Ambulance"

As his appearance suggests, Sireen is a doctor who conducts the
Cybertrons' health care and medical treatment.  The equipment over his
head doesn't store offensive weaponry, but rather various medical tools
and devices so he can deal with all sorts of emergency repairs.  He and
Diego of the Liner Team are old friends, and the two of them work
together as the "central processors" of the Micromasters for designing strategies.

  • Sireen is packaged with Sixturbo's Left Foot and is identified as figure #6
  • Sireen transforms into Sixturbo's Left Leg

VEHICLE MODE:  Sireen is a White Ambulance with Black painted windows, Silver painted grille, and Red painted lights and pinstripe on each side of the vehicle.  There are 4 Black wheels which provide a smooth roll.  Sireen measures almost 2" long and his Autobot symbol is tampo printed on the right door.

ROBOT MODE:  To transform Sireen into robot mode, rotate the front wheel base downward followed by the front section of the Ambulance.  Pull down the front which extends his legs then snap this section to the wheel base to create his feet.

In this mode, Sireen stands at approximately 2 3/8" tall.  His color scheme includes a Black body with a Yellow-Orange painted pelvis, Silver painted torso (right-side), waist, and face.  His helmet is kind of hard to see since it's tucked in the back.  His helmet looks sort of like Discharge's with a mask and you can see it a little better if you pull out the Grey part which appears to be cannons connected to the underside of the roof, but translations indicate these are medical tools.

The copyright marking can be found underneath the vehicle which is printed in Black lettering.


Vehicle Mode


Robot Mode


Close-up of Sireen

Jet Mode

The Jet Mode is created by combining all of the individual pieces that accompanied each figure.  The instruction sheet identifies the steps to create this mode which is fairly simple and explained below.

We'll start off by taking the chest and connecting it to the pelvic/thigh piece.  They are connected by the pegs on the chest part and the holes behind the pelvic/thighs.  Now take the Gun and slide the pegs on either side down the rails between the thighs.  The Gun now forms the nosepiece of the Jet.  The pelvic/thigh forms the fuselage and chest becomes part of the wings.

Take the left foot and connect the inner peg to the hole of the left fist which in turn connects to the peg on the left side of the chest piece.  Do the same for the right side.  Now take Sixturbo's head and connect it to the peg on the back of the chest piece (rear of the jet) and rotate the head so it's facing downward.  The peg hole behind his head should be visible.  This is where you connect the Radar piece.  The final outcome should look like the photos provided.  I've also included a couple of shots with Neo-Wheel in the "seat".

 

Reverse Evolution Sixturbo

Takara decided to include parts for a "Black" variant also known as Reverse Evolution Sixturbo.  This is a Destron Sixturbo created by a "mind-changer virus".  The catalog was graciously translated by Doug Dlin and is identified below.

The information I have received from alt.toys.transformers newsgroup indicates that two regular figures have been replaced with this Black variant per case of 12 boxes.  As you can see in the photo on the right, I only have 1/3 of Reverse Evolution Sixturbo.  The Destron emblem is tampo printed in White on each figure.  His head has some metallic Grey painted on his face and parts of his helmet.  Neon Green is also painted on his forehead (circle) as well as his eyes.

Another noticeable item is the coloration of his chest piece which is a dark Grey vice Black as compared to the other parts/figures.  The feet also have the same dark Grey color scheme and I assume it's to distinguish the variants from the standard issue parts.  Since the standard chest part has some paint applied to it, a collector can use paint thinner/remover to eliminate the Silver & Red creating one Black chest piece.  I might try this if I ever get my hands on the missing figures and extra chest piece.

Road Police's rear windshield has the same dark Grey color scheme as his chest and feet.  The back of this part is the connection piece that allows Road Police attach to a peg on the chest.  I'm guessing that all of the connection parts (shoulders, knees, and ankles) are dark Grey.
 

UPDATE:  (30 Sept 02) - Special thanks go out to Randall Barker of Robot City for an excellent trade!  This trade provided me with the missing piece to complete my Reverse Evolution Sixturbo figure.

Black Road Police with Chest & Head parts

Black Glide with Pelvic/Thigh part

Black Circuit with Radar & Left Hand parts

Black Neo-Wheel with Gun & Right Hand parts 

Black Discharge with Right Foot part

Black Sireen with Left Foot part


ENTER THE URBAN DISASTER RELIEF SPECIALISTS!!

In the course of their evolution, the Micromasters who crashed on Earth divided into heroic Cybertrons and evil Destrons and began to war among themselves.  Using a part of their crashed spaceship as a base, the Cybertron warriors resolved to stay on Earth until there was some hope of returning to their home world of Seibertron.  Wishing to co-exist with the people of Earth, the Cybertron forces made the best of their ability to transform and take action around the globe in order to smooth communication with human society.  Like the Liner Team, the members of the Turbo Team participated and blended into human society.  Already a group of specialists in urban disaster relief, when faced with even greater disasters, the Turbo Team combined and went into action as Sixturbo and faced squarely against Destron assaults.

One day, the evil manipulators of the Destrons reached out for Road Police while he was patrolling the highways.  Using a mind-changer virus, they reverse-evolved him into a Destron, and Road Police began destroying the city.  Circuit, Neo-Wheel, Glide and Discharge came charging in, but one by one, the other members were also infected and became Destrons.  The deployed Cybertrons could only stand idly by, unable to approach lest they also become infected.

At Diego's instructions, Sireen arrived after completing work with Joe on the development of a vaccine program.  However, the vaccine program required a direct connection and installation time to be installed.  In order to minimize the infection damager, it was necessary to install the vaccine into all five members at the same time.  Having worked out a plan, Sireen approached to bargain with the Destronized warriors.  "What say I join you as a Destron and we become the ultimate fused fighter."
Having thus goaded them into combining, his strategy was to install the vaccine at the same time as they merged.  As Sixturbo began to combine, Sireen struggled desperately, the virus flowing through his body.  Just when it was thought that Sixturbo was totally Destronized, he regained his Cybertron self through the vaccine program.  The Cybertrons' strategy had succeeded.

Joy welled up among the Cybertrons.  Sharing a firm handclasp under the setting sun, Sixturbo and Sixliner vowed to each other to fight together for peace.  However, the Cybertrons had not yet noticed six shadows in the sunset, gazing at them with cold optics.

To be continued...
 

Sixturbo Robot Mode

Sixturbo is the robot created by combining all 6 vehicles and the additional parts included in this set.  He stands at 6 3/4" tall and approximately 4" wide (arms to side) when fully combined.

TRANSFORM TO ROBOT MODE:  I'll start with transforming the legs, torso, then arms as I did with Sixliner.  The first thing you need to do is start with Discharge & Sireen.  Both of these figures have peg holes at the rear which need to be connected to the pegs on each foot.  Discharge connects to the right foot and Sireen connect to the left.  If you're unsure which foot is the left or the right, just turn it over and you'll find either an "L" or "R".  The wheels of each vehicle should face towards the heel.  Now take the pelvic/thigh part and attach the knee pegs to the holes underneath the front of each vehicle.  The nubs on the front of the vehicles should lock into place.

Now onto the torso.  Take Road Police and transform it so that the rear section is extended.  Then fold down the front section at the mid-section joint (robots hips).  Connect the chest piece peg located in the center towards the rear to the back of the car.  Road Police is now combined to create his chest.  Now connect the chest to the legs by inserting the pegs of the chest piece to the holes on the back of the pelvic/thigh piece.

The next part will connecting Glide.  Rotate Glide's front section to expose the peg hole.  Connect him to the peg behind Sixturbo's pelvic region with Glide's windshield facing the ground.  Rotate Glide upward at the front wheel joint so that his seat is touching Sixturbo's back.

The next part to work on is the left then right arms.  Take Circuit and rotate the rear section upward 90.  Connect the left fist to the underside of Circuit (peg & hole).  Now connect the hole of Circuit's tailfin to Sixturbo's left shoulder peg.  Take the Radar part and insert the peg into the slot of Circuit's tail section.  Left arm is complete.

Moving on to the right arm, transform Neo-Wheel so that the rear section is folded upward 90.  Make sure the Grey part is rotated out to expose the peg hole.  Take the right fist and connect the peg to the hole underneath Neo-Wheel.  Now connect Neo-Wheel to Sixturbo's right shoulder peg.  The last thing is to connect Sixturbo's head to his body and gun to his fist.

Sixturbo's color scheme is made up of mostly Blue, then White, Black, Red, and Yellow.  Several Silver painted parts are visible on the Gun, thighs, parts of his torso, and parts of his helmet as shown on the right.  Sixturbo also has Yellow paint on his forehead and eyes.

As with Sixliner, Sixturbo has very little articulation in robot mode.  His head can rotate and his arm can raise/lower to the side as well as the front.  There isn't really much room to extend his arms towards the front since his chest piece extends over the shoulders.  The photo on the right gives you an idea of what I mean.

Since there aren't any stickers to this re-issue, I think that the placement of the Autobot symbols on Sixturbo are just fine as they are clearly visible in both vehicle & robot modes.


 


Close-up of Sixturbo's head

 

Overall, I really like Sixturbo over Sixliner.  He looks bulkier, the head design is sweet, and I prefer cars over trains anyways :P  So if you like Micromasters, Sixturbo is highly recommended.

So what's next...Sixwing...Sixbuilder?

** Special thanks to Doug Dlin for the translations **

 

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