Fan mode

Supertoilet.

A fan mode is an unofficial mode of transformation which adds to the playability of a figure. Fan modes vary from slight changes to drastic reconfigurations of the original transformation scheme; some can also improve the looks a figure in one respect or another.

Room for fan mode creativity generally depends on the articulation, transformation, and other design considerations of a toy. For instance, due to the autotransformation gimmick, Flipchangers have a limited amount of potential fan modes, while main-line Movie toys have many possibilities. Additionally, some fan modes may involve partially disassembling and reassembling a figure in a different configuration.

Miscellaneous examples

• Shortround has one of the more infamous fan modes: the toy can be turned into a fair approximation of a toilet. This was so popular that fans even invented a toilet mode for Titans Return Seaspray as well.
• Titans Return Sixshot has numerous fan modes including a base, a boat, and a city, among others.
• Fans also created ways to combine the Universe Darkwing and Timelines Dreadwind figures in a homage to their G1 counterparts even though the molds were not originally designed to.
  • See also this combination between the movie line's Mindwipe and Skystalker; the figures are indeed intended to join together in vehicle mode, but any combination in robot mode is purely fan creativity.
• Titans Return Broadside's legs can be left partially untransformed in aircraft mode to avoid creating a large block on top of the jet, improving what is otherwise considered one of the weakest vehicle modes in the line; the leg fins can also be detached and pointed in the opposite direction. Note that this results in a less stable product as there are no tabs or locks designed for any alternate configurations.
• Combiner Wars-style combiners are also common examples, as many fans create configurations that make the combiners look better in their eyes (although this was intended by Hasbro toy designers mean that these can only vaguely be considered fan modes). Base modes for Hot Spot and Onslaught that homage their G1 counterparts are a much more solid example.