Tag: Autobot

Here is your Robot of the Week! Beachcomber from the Generation 1 Transformers mini vehicles. So if it looks like I am doing a run of G1 mini vehicles, you would be correct. I will probably eventually do a run of Go-Bots from Generation 2 and Machine Robos when I get around to it. So Beachcomber is a pretty cool little robot. Stands good, you don’t have to extend the legs(like Bumblebee and Cliffjumper) which can cause issues down the line if you transform these baby’s long enough. Blue and gray work pretty good colorwise for this little dune buggy. It is a simple design, but simple can take you a long way when you got a nice looking dune buggy and decent looking robot as options. The transformation is simplistic as well, but it’s nice as I have done it about 3 times while writing this little blurb. The dune buggy mode reminds me of a Lego car. The pieces mold tightly together and you would hardly know it was a Transformers robot if not for the Autobot sticker on the hood. It’s a nice Generation 1 robot that really would not cost you much to add to your collection loose.

 

 

 

 

Gears is a cool little mini vehicle is a nice design and easy to transform. Since you don’t have to extend the legs, he stands a lot easier than say Bumblebee and Cliffjumper from the same collection of G1 mini vehicles. Mini vehicles in general are simplistic robots in form and transformation, but that makes them a lot of fun. I find myself transforming them back and forth as I take pictures, write about them, and research more about these pieces. This one is in pretty good shape except for the Autobot sticker. It’s not too bad in either robot or truck form.

When these came out in the 80’s I really didn’t care much for them. I only came into them recently in auction lot of which now makes up the bulk of my G1 Transformers.  This line of robots really remind me of the Gobots or Machine Robo. I find the original Japanese Machine Robos superior in packaging and design. They transform easier, you can keep them in their original packaging, and they look good both as robots and vehicles. Because of these similarity and the fact that I don’t care if I break them, I find them just as fun. This is probably my favorite one to play with so far. =)

 

Bumblebee was always one of the more irritating Transformers characters. Always getting in trouble  and doing stupid things. Like having an little brother that keeps bugging you all the time. Usually you see him in his standard yellow as a Volkswagon Beetle. As the initial line did not have enough robots. Some of the mini vehicles came in the two colors red and yellow. My Bumblebee comes in red.  There is nothing complicated about transforming the robot to a car. It is a simple, fun design. I could see why it would be a popular toy back then and even now.

I always find these interesting tidbits as I explore my robots and Dave’s. I bought this in a lot in auction. I never would have picked this up on its own. But it is nice having these robots to fill out my Generation 1 collection as I found out I have more Generation 2, Beast Wars, Machine Wars and other later series. I have a really small G1 collection. That being said I never really cared about these robots in the 80’s.  but I enjoy them much more now as an adult and my daughter enjoys transforming them too.

 

Optimus Prime. This is the guy everyone wanted to have from this series. The robot was true to the cartoon, looked good as a robot, and looked just as awesome as a truck. You could have fun with it either way. So much the opposite of Megatron. Crappy robot, ok looking gun. I have never wanted to have the original G1 Megatron as part of my collection. I know I have a few different versions of Optimus here. I finally found I have two Optimus robots,but neither are the original G1 Optimus. After digging around, I have found a Robots in Disguise Laser Optimus Prime 1995, a Machine Wars Optimus Prime 1996, G2 Optimus Prime Hero, and Robots in Disguise Optimus Prime 2001. If I keep digging, I may find another, if not I really like the Platinum Optimus I saw at Toys R Us today, but it may have to wait for the Platinum Starscream which looks amazing!. I will post them once I manage to get some pictures. Here are a few different versions of him that are posted on the site.

 

Here’s a picture of Jetfire – the Autobot air guardian.  He looks dramatically different from the cartoon.  He’s basically the same jet as the “Macross” series as they used the same mold. My cousin lent this one to me so that I could display it with the rest of the Macross collection.  I recall he had this as a kid but I don’t know if this is the original one – he may have re-purchased this one later on.

 

Hopefully the pictures come out ok (might be some daytime glare/flash glare) but here’s my display of all of my Transformers.  To the left of the t.v. you’ll see the Insecticons, Ultra Magnus (White Optimus Prime), Shockwave.  To the right of the TV, you’ll see the 3 280ZX cars (Smokescreen, Prowl, Silverstreak), Hoist, Trailbreaker, Grapple, Inferno, and Blaster.  One the 2nd shelf, you’ll see my four Dinobots.  I’m still looking for the Swoop (the Petradactyl) and the rest of the G1 Autobot cars for my Transformers Collection.  The bottom shelf has my collection of the 6 Decepticon planes.  Evidently, there is one more called Sunstreaker (he’s yellow) but I’ve never seen him as a child but I have seen recent versions of him.

 

So my pictures were so bad, I decided to get a few more that were still pretty bad. Oh well, at least they were not as blurry!

Here’s another new one I just got and another one I never had as a kid – Perceptor – the Autobot scientist. I picked him up for 30 dollars and I’m quite happy with him as he’s mostly complete and he has very little wear. I would have picked him up as a kid but they just kept pumping out Transformers and I couldn’t keep up!