Kup (G1)/toys
From MediaWiki
"Kup!"
"Well it does."
None of Kup's toys are as old as him.
Toys
Generation 1
- Kup (Autobot, 1986)
- Japanese ID number: C-82
- Accessories: "Musket laser"
- Kup transforms into a Cybertronic pickup truck (though how he is able to carry goods safely with no tailgate is a mystery). The entire front of the vehicle (including the windshield) is made out of die-cast metal. In robot mode, Kup has full shoulder rotation, though the way his elbows are set up means he cannot make full use of their joints. He (somewhat) makes up for it with swivel wrists. His legs feature no articulation whatsoever. Maybe Hot Rod left a piece out. He is armed with a blue laser rifle. Early releases of Kup had metal rear wheels, while later releases replaced them with black plastic.
- Amusingly, one of the details on the figure's chest sticker depicts a pair of 5 1/4-inch floppy disk drives. Whether that is supposed to indicate that he can store up to two extra Transformers' brains is up to anyone's guess.
- Kup (Targetmaster, 1987)
- Japanese ID number: C-113
- Accessories: Musket Laser/Recoil Targetmaster partner
- Kup (this time using all-plastic parts rather than die-cast) was slightly retooled with larger fist-holes and a mounting point on his vehicle mode back-end in order to make him into a Targetmaster. He came with his Nebulan partner Recoil rather than his original blaster.
The Transformers Collection
- Future Cybertron (Transformers Collection, 2005)
- Japanese ID number: TF-20
- Accessories: Musket Laser, Musket Laser/Recoil Targetmaster partner (you read that right)
- Targetmaster Kup was reissued in Japan, and like the Collection reissue of Hot Rod, he came with his original metal parts restored, as well as both his partner Recoil and his original gun, which was slightly retooled to fit the larger weapon-mounting points. The set also came with a redecoed Wheelie.
- This iteration of the mold was used to make Orion Pax.
Timelines
- Wings of Honor (BotCon 2009 box set)
- Accessories: Clamp attachment, hammer attachment, Earth Cyber Key
- This version of Kup is a convention-exclusive retool of Cybertron Red Alert and transforms into a Dodge Magnum emergency vehicle. Plugging a Cyber Key into the back of his car mode causes two rear side-panels to pop out and reveal two spring-forward non-firing blasters. This gimmick is retained in robot mode, where they become over-shoulder blasters. He features an unusual transformation sequence where both the front and rear halves of the vehicle mode come together to form his legs. His hood halves open to reveal storage space for extra tools (a hammer-head and an opening claw) that can be attached onto his left arm blaster.
- Kup comes in a box set with fellow Autobots Flak, Thunderclash, and Landshark, and rival Decepticon Scourge.
- The Kup tooling was also the basis of the non-toy Shattered Glass incarnation of Kup. The original version of this mold was also used to make Cybertron Cannonball, and the 2007 movie toyline Crankcase.
Generations
"Shut up."
"I've had my moment."
- Sergeant Kup (Deluxe Class, 2011)
- Accessories: "laser musket" rifle/exhaust pipe
- Part of wave 6 of Generations, "Sergeant Kup" sticks to the character's roots, transforming into an old-school (or, alternatively, "retro"-styled) Earth pickup truck. The design closely resembles a Honda Ridgeline. He comes with his signature laser musket weapon, which looks like an actual musket this go-round. Like his contemporaries, Kup is covered in 3mm rungs that are compatible with C joint clip-on weapons. There are two rungs on his backpack, plus two rungs each on his forearm kibble, and two on his lower back (these two are shown in the United version's instructions). The musket can either plug into the underside of the truck, forming a second exhaust pipe, or clip onto the roof of the truck via a C joint. Kup noticeably has a peculiar elbow setup; the top hinge moves vertically, while the bottom hinge moves horizontally. Interestingly, due to his transformation, Kup's truck mode features a working tailgate.
- Despite appearances, his musket does not have a proper 5mm peg, being slightly smaller. This makes it impossible for Kup to hold 5mm accessories without stretching and potentially damaging his hands. Coincidentally, it's about the same size as the smaller peg on Classics Grimlock's spring loaded launcher, meaning they can swap weapons. The extra, proper 5mm ring on Grimlock's weapon makes it a loose fit on Kup's open hands, though.
- He was later retooled/redecoed into Swerve, whose head was depicted in Kup's instructions before the retool was officially announced, and was separately retooled into BotCon 2013 Hoist and Autobot Electrons.
| Generations mold: Kup | ||
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- Autobot Warriors (multi-pack, 2014)
- Accessories: "laser musket" rifle/exhaust pipe
- Generations Sergeant Kup was re-released in a three-pack with Universe Ratchet and Reveal the Shield Perceptor, available from Hasbro Asia and TakaraTomy Mall. All three Autobots feature new metallic paint decoes.
| Generations mold: Kup | ||
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Platinum Edition
- Autobot Heroes (5-pack, 2016)
- Accessories: Springer's weapons (dual missile launcher, two missiles, rotor blades/sword), Arcee's weapons (2 swords), Kup's "laser musket" rifle/exhaust pipe, Ultra Magnus' 2 guns, Blurr's weapons (Sniper rifle, left & right pistols), Minimus Ambus figure
- Part of Hasbro's Platinum Edition offerings for 2016 intended to commemorate the 30th anniversary of The Transformers: The Movie, Sergeant Kup is a more "screen-accurate" redeco of his Generations Deluxe Class toy, with his primary plastic color being cast in a lighter shade of teal, the metallic gray plastic parts and paint operations replaced with cyan, and featuring additonal new paint operations (including painted rims).
- Sergeant Kup was released as part of 5-pack with Ultra Magnus (including Minimus Ambus), Autobot Springer, Arcee and Blurr. The set also included a recreation of the theatrical poster for the 1986 movie. In the United States, this set was officially a Target exclusive, but was only available via the company's website, never sold in stores. It was also released in Singapore, although it's currently unknown whether it was exclusive to any particular stores there or not. In Canada, it was available via the Canadian Walmart website but never found in sold, whereas in the United Kingdom, it was available via the UK Toys"R"Us website but was sold in some stores. In Spain, it was available via the Spanish subsidiaries of both Amazon and Carrefour, as well as the department store chain El Corte Inglés, supposedly also only avalable online. In Germany, it was available via retailer Real and specialty store Rappelkiste Ahlen, also only available online.
| Generations mold: Kup | ||
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Titans Return
"I pieced it together, mostly from sugar packets."
- Flintlock & Sergeant Kup (Deluxe Class, 2017)
- Accessories: 2 guns, Flintlock Titan Master
- Titans Return "Sergeant Kup" transforms from a robot based on the character's Guido Guidi All Hail Megatron design into a futuristic pickup truck based on his alt mode in The Transformers: The Movie, with colors based on his original toy. Kup's head is formed by Titan Master Flintlock, who can also transform into a robot and pilot Kup's vehicle mode, although the wideness of the cockpit combined with an ineffective tab recess often results in him falling out of position inside.
- Kup's two 5mm guns can combine into a larger weapon incorporating a Titan Master seat, or can be mounted separately on his truck bed, where there are also three pairs of pegs to attach Titan Masters. The guns can also be combined and mounted onto his back in robot mode.
- All copies of Kup (including his redecoes/retools) are misassembled; his leg panels' central lines between the two sculpted square details do not line up with the line extending beyond it. If you want to fix this, you have two options: You can use a small handsaw to carefully cut off the parts that connect the pieces to his wheels and swap the pieces before gluing them back. Another option involves using a soldering iron to heat the head of the pin and then pushing the wheel and the panel off. Repeat on the other side and then reattach them to the correct sides. This can be difficult and risks causing damage to the toy.
- This mold was retooled with a new face into Tribute Orion Pax. The Sergeant Kup body would have been redecoed as Dion for the attendee freebie for the BotCon 2017 that never came to be.
United
- Autobot Kup (Deluxe Class, 2011-02-26)
- Japanese ID number: UN-17
- Accessories: "Musket gun"/tailpipe
- United "Autobot Kup" is a redeco of Generations Autobot Kup in metallic paint. Other changes include silver paint on his stomach, painted rims, and a smaller Autobot symbol with a silver border. Surprisingly, Kup is presented with his cy-gar attached to his mouth at the back of his package.
| Generations mold: Kup | ||
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"What did he say? Put on our tuxedos?"
- Autobot SET (3-pack, 2011)
- Accessories: Rifle/tailpipe
- Dubbed "Autobot Kup Damage Version", this redeco of the 2010 Kup mold (see above) is cast in brighter teals, with silver "scrape" paint marks (as well as other additional paint applications), giving him a more weathered look (despite his more saturated color palette). Official photography depicted this Kup as bright blue, but that was a case of photography having trouble with his shade of teal.
- This version was only available in an e-HOBBY exclusive 3-pack with a clear-blue Hot Rod and Scrapheap. Preorders for the set were opened on December 13 of 2010 and closed on January 11 of 2011, and shipped in April.
- This figure was available with a Hot Rod pin and Macrocosmic Seekers booklet directly from e-Hobby, he was also released in Asian countries outside of Japan without said pin and booklet.
| Generations mold: Kup | ||
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Bot Shots
- Scourge / Sergeant Kup / Blitzwing (Multi-pack, 2013)
- Series: 2
- Number: BP006
- Fist strength: 762
- Blaster strength: 598
- Sword strength: 260
- Part of the second wave of Series 2 three-packs, "Sergeant Kup" is a redeco of Spin Shot Ironhide in cyan in homage to Generation 1 Kup and thus turns into a pickup truck with a massive spoiler. As a Spin Shot toy, an impact to his front bumper will cause him to autotransform while his top half spins around.
- The second wave of Series 2 three-packs didn't reach mass retail in the United States, only showing up in discount stores like Ross.
Kre-O
- Autobot Kup (Kreon Micro-Changer, 2014)
- Bag number: 33501 39
- Accessories: Stand-brick, small pistol
- Part of the fourth full series of blind-packed Kreon Micro-Changers, Kup can be rebuilt from a robot to a pickup truck. His deco is based on his Generation 1 namesake, although his grey plastic is lighter than usual.
- He uses the very popular Hound style helmet.
Legends
*sproing!*
"How long was that?"
- Targetmaster Chear (Targetmaster Kup)[1] (Deluxe Class, 2017-09-30)
- Japanese ID Number: LG46
- Accessories: Headmaster, Recoil Targetmaster
- Legends "Targetmaster Chear" is a redeco and retool of Titans Return Sergeant Kup, featuring new arms, a new face on the Headmaster and a color scheme based on his appearance in the animated series. Also, instead of the two guns the original version had, he comes with Recoil, a completely newly molded Targetmaster who transforms from robot to gun.
- Early stock photography of Legends Kup showed him in a color scheme so desaturated that he was entirely grey, but later images reflected his cartoon-accurate dark-green-grey colors. This figure is also plagued by the leg panel misassembly from the original mold.
Notes
- Kup's appearance in the Takara Kre-O online manga pre-dates his reveal as a Micro-Changer. Given wave-mate Rodimus also appears in the story but doesn't actually use the same parts as the toy version, it's a safe bet that this was a coincidence.
- Two almost-realized BotCon exclusives from Fun Publications included a redeco of Generations Sergeant Kup into Generation 1 Crosshairs and Machine Wars Hubcap (utilizing a Hoist/Electrons head).[2][3]
- A post from Pete's Robot Convention Facebook page reveals the unused head piece that was intended to be used with the Thrilling 30 Orion Pax mold.[4]
References
- ↑ The Japanese text on the packaging is チャー / "Chear", but the English subtitle says "Kup".
- ↑ BotCon 2014 attendee report
- ↑ Tweet by Jesse Wittenrich, 2017/03/20
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/PetesRoboCon/posts/569672986709925
