Dave's Transformers Studio Series Rant: Target MTMTE Collection

Autobot Hound (Detritus redeco)

Permalink: http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/BW/Studio/Hound

This one has a weird history. The original mold dates back to Siege,
but it was heavily modified many times, including into Legacy Evolution Detritus (a character who was originally a redeco of G1 Hound), which was itself a predeco of Legacy United "Autobots Stand United" 5-pack (Generations Select) that I had skipped at the time because most of the toys were minor redecos of characters I already had for those molds. Finally, in 2026 Target released the Hound solo as part of their More Than Meets The Eye Collection (despite having no red in it other than the Autobot symbol). I suppose it's possible the 5-pack version is slightly different from this version, but I'm okay with just getting the one.

https://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/BW/Legacy/Deluxe7 - Detritus mold, which
I reviewed mostly as a new mold, so that resets the chain. I'll be comparing directly to Detritus.


CAPSULE

$28 Target exclusive.

Autobot Hound: Detritus was Recommended. This is an okay Hound, but vehicle mode is dodgy for something trying to be G1 Hound (being Detritus
came with no such expectations). Mainly recommended if you're looking to complete a G1-style Autobot display, otherwise just mildly recommended on its own.


RANT

Packaging: Standard Studio Series window box, plus the red and yellow streaks in the background that mark it as MTMTE Collection, and a small red "MTMTE COLLECTION" in red over the character name on the top and in front. There's a 40th anniversary (of TFtM) logo on the right side. The transformation steps cartouche uses a cabover semitractor silhouette for the altmode, I guess if it's that or a sportscar it's a coin-toss.
Heh, on the top of the box, instead of the "Transformers the Movie"
logo, it has the French version, "Transformers le Film". The three other instances on the box are in English. The instructions have both side by
side.


AUTOBOT: AUTOBOT HOUND
Assortment: G2252
Altmode: US Military Jeep (unlicensed)
Transformation Difficulty: 13 steps
Previous Name Use: Classics, Uni, RotF/HtfD, GenCW, AoE (G1 was just "Hound") Previous Mold Use: Siege (sorta), Legacy
Movie: TFtM
Scene: Battle for Autobot City (sorta)

AUTOBOT HOUND prepares to take on the DECEPTICONS.

Packaging: Five ties hold the robot mode into the inner tray. A plastic bag taped in the lower right corner holds the pistol and shoulder missile (well, hologram projector).
The screenshot on back shows Hound looking like he's disembarking the Autobot reinforcements shuttle behind Optimus Prime, but he'd already been on Earth helping with Kup's barricade, so I guess they just treated his model as
a generic trooper.

Color Swaps: The weapons are very light gray plastic, the other tan plastic becomes olive green. The black plastic becomes medium-dark gray
(which means gray tires), as does most of the brown plastic. However, the forearms and toes are olive green. The clear windshield piece is completely painted over, even on the joints, so I can't tell what color the plastic is without scraping, but using a strong flashlight suggests that it's clear colorless plastic that got painted over. The pale gold plastic is very light pale green.

Paint Apps: Pale green paint (slightly darker than the plastic) on the face, chest winch, chest and fender headlights, and wheel hubs. The hologram unit core (missile launcher) is painted almost entirely gloss olive green,
just leaving the pegs unpainted. There's golden yellow on the wrists and stripes on top of the forearms, and a golden yellow (if kinda pale by comparison) star printed on the right front fender on the chest. Two thin golden yellow stripes are painted on the front belt area. There's medium-
dark gray paint on the fronts of the toes, and the eyes are painted bright blue. The windshield (mostly prominent in vehicle mode) is painted a gloss bright blue lighter in shade than the eyes. I initially thought some details were painted on the fronts of the toes, but it's just mold flash.
There's no paint that's only visible in vehicle mode. It probably could've used some in the inside of the abdomen to downplay the pale green upholstery effect the vehicle has going on.

Mold Changes and Other Notes: No changes that I noticed. Lots of mold flash, including on the tires.
I will say that while the feet as armor chunks on the sides of the
vehicle mode worked okay in the Siege mold, they stick out like sore thumbs here, and the hole in the rear bit (which was to be covered by the Hummvee- like frame in Siege) doesn't look great either. So, better in robot mode.

Overall: Definitely glad I didn't go for the five-pack just to get
this. It's okay, but not "drop over a hundred bucks on slight redecos"
levels of good.


Dave Van Domelen, thinks this would've fit better thematically with Age
of the Primes, but maybe Target's exclusivity favors Studio Series and other movie tie-ins?


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