Oh man, some of the names they use for the Titan Masters are ridiculous. We have Xort. I get it, he is an alien, but still. That is a tough one to get behind. In the G1 continuity, he was known as Gort. No better.
Our friend Highbrow has not been seen in toy form since his Headmaster release in 1987. Since there were no alternate versions from other shows or timelines, there are no blurred lines here. This is Highbrow, from his color scheme to the fine details. This is one of the closest remakes we have seen.
29 years has treated Highbrow well. He looks really good. He looks tough and ready to take on some Decepticons. Though the Titan Masters do not have the stat gimmick that the Headmasters came with, they still gave Highbrow some movement in his chest. It does not flip down to reveal any stats, but it does fold out a bit. One thing I would like to have seen Highbrow come with is folding wings like the G1 version. Highbrow is very wide with the wings sticking out there.
Just like his G1 version, Highbrow comes with twin guns. This time around, they fit together to form the seat for Xort to command the guns. I still don’t think this was a worthwhile gimmick, and hurt so many of the guns the figures came with.
Xort looks like a reverse of Highbrow in color. He matches with the scheme, but his chest and arms are reverse colored.
Why anyone would want to have Xort sit in the gun is beyond me. Having his sit in such a precarious position is even worse. He is pretty much sitting on top of the gun. That cannot be safe.
Transforming Highbrow just backs up the great job Hasbro did with the design looking back at the G1 figure. There is no doubt who you are looking at. There are a few updates here and there with thinner propeller blades, to a more realistic looking canopy and more details in the engines.
Of course Xort gets to ride inside Highbrow’s cockpit. The canopy folds forward to give him easy access to the controls.
The guns can be mounted on the wings, using the 5mm ports. There is a little trick I will talk about later.
From the back, the helicopter is really fat in the back end. The original Highbrow was too, so this is not a deviation, but I think it would have looked better a little thinner. But with a thinner back end would mean thinner legs. And no Transformer looks good with a big top held up on skinny legs.
The directions don’t show that you can rotate the guns and stick the rectangular part that sticks out, into the 5mm port. This rotates the gun in a position to allow the landing gear to be at the bottom of the gun, and work with the fold-out gear at the front of Highbrow.
Once again, I am really happy with how these G1 figures have been reimagined. Highbrow is another success, and a welcome addition to the Autobot team.
My Life in Scale 