The ToyFair announcement of Apeface had me excited for this toy for months on end. That time flew by though and now he’s already in hand (if you ordered from Amazon.com). Apeface doesn’t disappoint.
Apeface is a Horrorcon Triplechanger Headmaster. Yeah, three categories. Deal with it. He’s also a Voyager class toy that measures the same height as the rest of the Siege Voyagers. He comes with his rifle, a shield/tailfin and his Headmaster, Spasma (or for Japanese Continuity fans, Apeface).
As a Headmaster/Titanmaster toy, Apeface also features pegs for both Siege battle effects as well as a few Titanmaster pegs.
He has solid posability and everything you’d expect from a toy of his design and size. He lacks waist swivel due to his engineering but otherwise everything is on point. However, much like his G1 counterpart, he’s a touch back heavy because of his jet bits making up his backpack.
Naturally, the Titans Return Apeface toy can also function as the head in robot mode, however, due to the unique design of the gorilla alt-mode’s head, it won’t function as his actual ape…face.
Much like the G1 toy, Apeface’s robot face is on the back of the Headmaster legs, and the gorilla face is on the back of the Headmaster’s robot mode.
His jet mode is spot on to the G1 toy, being a bit blocky, but somehow sleek looking and as a rare Siege aesthetic, he’s actually very cybertronian instead of just an Earth mode with some extra panels and such. There is a display stand peg hole at the bottom of the jet so you can utilize any of the many stands out there. You can see the gorilla head under the nose cone of the jet if you don’t attach his rifle. It’s not the best look, but you could also argue it looks a bit like the WWII shark faces painted on fighter planes as well.
Gorilla mode is kinda where Apeface shines both as a toy and as a character in general. A lot of guys are also jets. Apeface is also an ape, and aside from Beastbox, who I’m sure we’ll never see an actual update of, there aren’t a lot of robot gorillas running around. Editorial: A LOT of complaints have been seen online that he “doesn’t hold together well” in gorilla mode. I find that to be utter hogwash and likely user error. Apeface has some very specific requirements for parts to peg into place and as long as you take the time to learn how the toy works, he holds together PERFECTLY well. I’ve even picked him up by his monkey arm and shook him vigorously, nothing moved but his arms. (End Editorial)
Compared to his G1 toy, he hits all the right spots, both with transformation and, as a big plus, in robot mode, he doesn’t have half the toy hanging off his low back. PROGRESS!
Bottom Line
I don’t really see a downside to picking up Apeface. Yes, we received the character during Titans Return, but that toy and this toy are an apples to oranges comparison. I’m not super in love with the white plastic the went with for a lot of his body, but it’s more of a preference thing over quality of the toy. Otherwise he utilizes the fun headmaster gimmick, has a great transformation to all three modes and looks really great in all three.
Here’s hoping he gets his buddy down the line.
Pax Cybertron 