(NOTE: Because this set is composed of repaints, this is not a full-blown review. This mainly covers any changes made to the set and the color scheme, and merely compares it to the original versions of these molds. For a review on Nightstick-- the mold used for Nebulon-- go here. For a review on Autoobt Alliance Special Ops Jazz-- the mold used for Stepper-- go here.)

    Stepper here is a bit of a "re-do", according to Pete Sinclair, the head "Transformers" guy at FunPub. He didn't particularly like how Shattered Glass Ricochet turned out, so here's another stab at the character-- this time using the Japanese name of Ricochet, Stepper. Stepper has-- more or less-- an "inverse color scheme" compared to the usual Stepper/Ricochet, who normally is mostly black and white with gold flames. For Shattered Glass Stepper, the white is more or less in the same places (being mostly visible in robot mode), but the amount and placement of the "gold" and black have been flipped. In place of most of the gold, however, SG Stepper has orange, likely because covering a toy in metallic gold paint would have been a bit too expensive even by BotCon paint app standards. It's a slightly paler orange than is usually used on TFs, but I don't mind it as it keeps Stepper from looking too bright. It and the black go together exceptionally well, giving Stepper a "Halloweeny" color scheme, particularly in vehicle mode. The white also goes go well with both the black (obviously) and the orange, making for a very pleasing color scheme overall. I LOVE the black flames in vehicle mode in particular, which take the place of the gold flames traditionally on "normal" Ricochet/Stepper. It has the same "gas-like" flame deco like those on Shattered Glass Rodimus, which look a bit more evil and feathery than your typical wood-flames on TFs. (Though Stepper does have that traditional flame pattern on his chest.) There is actually a decent amount of gold on Stepper as well, though it's relegated mostly to accent colors-- the wheel hubs, spoiler, headlights and front grill are all this shade of gold. It's a greenish gold, though, which was kind of an odd choice-- it still looks good, but a "pure" gold would have looked better. There's also some excellent gold lining all of his flame paint apps, which just makes the flames look even better. For light piping, Stepper has some translucent yellow, which works very well against his reverse "white head, black face" colors. As an accent color, Stepper has a little bit of dark metallic blue, used for his taillights and smaller headlights. It's a nice little addition, especially on the taillights, since there's few paint apps back there. (Why is the back window not painted? It's a BotCon toy, details like that shouldn't be overlooked!) Other than the vehicle mode rear, though, there isn't any large unpainted area on Stepper. (That said, the speakers look odd without any paint on them all, even if they're small parts.)
    Nebulon is an odd little extra, given that he doesn't naturally come with the mold and said mold was used in the boxset for the previous year. However, the original Ricochet/Stepper had a Targetmaster, so I guess SG Stepper gets one too. He can't store in Stepper's vehicle mode at all, unfortunately. That said, his mostly dark periwinkle color scheme contrasts against Stepper's very well, and the white on him ties him in with his larger partner figure. There's also a bit of gray on the shoulders as well as a silver face and red eyes, neither of which add or subtract much from the color scheme.
    No mold changes have been made either to Shattered Glass Stepper or Nebulon.
    Shattered Glass Stepper may be a redeco of a mold that Fun Pub's already redecoed multiple times, and he may not be the most original idea, but that doesn't change the fact that it's a darned good color scheme on a darned good mold, and he comes with a bonus Targetmaster to boot. In terms of color scheme, he's my favorite from the "core" BotCon 2015 boxset, and only SLIGHTLY behind Kick-Over as my favorite deco the mold has ever gotten.

Review by Beastbot

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