Toy Review – Transformers – Sergeant Kup

Sergeant Kup is the somewhat modern take on the character who first debuted in The Transformers: The Movie, over 25 years ago.  (Don’t you feel old?  I know I do.)  Back then, he was a futuristic pickup truck from the far-off future of 2005.   Yyyyeah, that’s not exactly how car design evolved, is it?  Now, he’s a nigh-modern/retro pickup with one advantage over the old design – a working tailgate.  (Tip of the hat to TFWiki.net for that bit of info.)  So, how does this new version fare in the review department?  Read on!

For the most part, Kup’s a really decent toy.  He’s got the look of the character, a vehicle mode that’s a great nod to the original, and some great usage of his weapon, a laser musket rifle, in both robot and truck modes.

My biggest complaint with Kup (other than my inability to spell Sergeant without wondering if I missed an “a” somewhere) is that he requires a lot of panel massaging to get him transformed to vehicle mode.  Once you get things lined up, it all snaps together, but you need to take a little bit of time to do that.  Also, his shoulders seem to be on an overly-tight spring assembly.  They are in perfect position in robot mode, but they don’t want to move to their position in truck mode without continual force.  So it’s a bit of a struggle to get the front end to come together.  But once you do, you’ve got a great truck mode.  The tailgate can be lowered, his wheels spin nicely, and he’s got a nice teal and grey deco going on.

In robot mode, he looks like the cantakerous old grouch that we came to know and love in the 80’s — or “The Last Stand of the Wreckers” from IDW, if you want a more modern reference.  It’s no surprise that a third-party company created a new head with a cygar for him.  His robot chest nicely references his old G1 window chest. If he only had a couple of floppy-disk stickers, he could complete the look.  Instead, you’ll have to settle for some orange highlights.  I really like how his front wheels pivot out of the way when becoming his shoulders. There’s also a clever bit where the pieces of back of the cab fold under his upper shin pieces, but they can pop out when transforming, so be careful about that.

As mentioned, his rifle can be used in various ways.  In truck mode, it stores underneath and becomes one of his two exhaust pipes.  It can also clip to one of two places on the top.  These top rungs become part of his backpack in robot mode, so you can clip the rifle there.  Or, you can clip it onto his forearms.  Or, you can have Kup hold it as an actual rifle.  Great playability possibilities there.

So, yeah, Kup’s good.  A bit frustrating, but good.  Worth your while to try to find him on the secondary market.