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A submarine, this was one of the pleasant surprises of the set… My childhood memories of the LJN Assembler set was of this unit being just a block, but obviously in a larger size there's space for Popy to do something, with the two-tone colour scheme, transparencies and chromed motors adding to the look. There's even a conning tower covering the gaping hole in the top too, but this is a rather fragile piece, connected by two slim hooks (it moves down for the robot mode). |
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Another submarine, this unit forms one of Voltron's thighs. The Sea Team really suffered again in my childhood set, where these were once again rendered as blocks. However, Popy's full version is a lot classier, with the fin, bow details (love the chromed parts on the front), what look like torpedo tubes and a believable cockpit helping to complete the look. Even the connector socket on the back looks like some sort of powerplant outlet. The entire front section of these hinges off for the robot mode, and once more it's nice Popy went to this sort of effort. |
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The other thigh, and once more a submarine. However - as with the Advance Recon Helicopters - while the units have a similar configuration, real effort has gone into making these look different. Not only is there a different colour scheme (which handily retains the primarily white for the combined form), but the sculpt is a lot more angular, with some nice subtle differences such as a different fin piece, while the torpedo tubes are arranged in a different manner. Unlike the shoulders, these parts are interchangeable, with the connections on the front and back being identical - meaning you can still build an approximation of Voltron with two #8s and no #7s, or vice versa, or if you fancy you can just switch the legs. |
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As with the Strato Weapons Module, this seems out of place in this team, looking more like a giant futuristic transporter truck. I guess it's meant to be some sort of amphibious vehicle, but the truth is it doesn't really have much to suggest this beyond being in the Sea Team - if it was in the Land Team instead nobody would go "Hey, that'd be more at home in the Sea Team". It's not a bad looking vehicle, this aside, with the front connector flipping over to reveal something looking like a cockpit. The downside is this leaves a gaping hole behind. This is among the largest, and sturdiest, components, forming Voltron's shins. The Japanese version had a chrome radar array or similar in the small hole on top of the red part, but these - I understand - were omitted from the outset on the American release. The white section can slide out to reveal an engine on the left side of the vehicle - this looks a bit awful, and is designed for the combined Sea Team mode. |
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The other shin for Voltron, this of course follows much the same scheme as above. However, once again Popy have made an attempt to differentiate them without sacrificing a ridiculous amount of symmetry in robot form. Like the second Space Prober (which, going by the 'official' combination, it connects to in the larger modes) it's squarer than its' partner, while the topside details are sculpted differently (the Japanese version had two chrome devices this time), while the fatter cockpit makes the hole behind less obvious. The white section on this version moves out to the right - once more for the combined mode. Something worth checking when buying loose examples of the Multi-Wheeled Explorers is that the black connector is still present - it's not noticeable on the individual or team modes, but without it the feet can't be attached. It's also worth noting that these are chunky enough - and the plastic topside parts look good enough - that Voltron can display alright without feet if you're having trouble getting hold of the All-Terrain Space Vehicles... |
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Of all the team modes, this is probably the one that comes closest to any sort of success. That's all relative, though, and the impression is still one of a clumsy, mismatched machine. I guess it's a massive amphibious vehicle or something. At least the front of the Space Probers and engines popping out of the sides of the Multi-Wheeled Explorers make it slightly less obvious that these are just Voltron's legs lashed together. As a note, while the legs are interchangeable in robot mode, the Multi-Wheeled Explorer vehicles have to go on the correct sides in this form. The Space Probers can be placed on either side, though. |
