Month: March 2016

Here is the Wheeljack Action Masters in 1990 from Hasbro. The Action Masters line did for the first time, what no other line had done so far. Not only did they not transform, but they also reintroduced several of the core Generation 1 robots. It was nice to see these robots again in another form.

I am a big fan of Wheeljack, but not for this figure. I really wanted to like this one, but for reason it just does not look or feel right to me. The proportions seem really off when you compare him to the cartoon. He should have a wider chest and have more bulk all the way around. He looks too skinny for me. While the Action Masters line is meant to reflect how the robots look in the cartoon, they really missed on this one. The newer figures from the Classics line do a better job of depicting Wheeljack than this one. This is still a solid representation and seems to be the style of this particular line, but this is just ok for me when I really wanted it to be amazing.

Transformers WheelJack Action Masters 1989 Hasbro Autobot Generation 1

Transformers WheelJack Action Masters 1989 Hasbro Autobot Generation 1

The Shockwave Action Masters is a robot in the line of Transformers that does not transform(weird right?) and is meant to look like the robot in the Generation 1 cartoon. The nice thing about these robots is they really do look as close as any toys to their source material. Many of the Generation 1 robots look nothing like the cartoon. The Megatron figure comes to mind. The Hero Mashers Transformers line in 2014 reminds me of the Actions Masters, except the Mashers are larger and more posable. Shockwave is about 4 inches and looks like he just jumped out of the cartoon. Some of the colors are off, but it really does not hurt this figure. This Shockwave is a bit beat up, so no poses as it can barely stand. It is leaning on the back of the cabinet. I need a nice minty new one so I can see if they can pose and stand without issues.

I picked up Shockwave at a local comic book store. They had a bunch of loose Transformers and I had never seen the Action Masters before. They looked super cool and I really liked the idea. I am surprised it took them 5 years to get around to it.

Transformers Shockwave Action Masters 1989 Hasbro Decepticons

Transformers Shockwave Action Masters 1989 Hasbro Decepticons

The MachineRobo MR-10 Fire Robo is one of my favorite Machine Robos. It is one of the most simple designs, simple transformations, the straight lines, with a red and silver color scheme and make a simple looking robot. There really is nothing special about this robot. But who doesn’t like a fire engine? I wanted to be a fireman when I was younger and I have always loved fire trucks since I was a kid. So this particular robot has a special place in my heart.  This is a cool little robot in a line of cool robots from Popy. The only criticism I have is the gun seems like such an afterthought. In the robots hand or even on the ladders seems a bit lame. It is just too small. Using the ladder as a weapon/gun seems just as bad as well based on what I see on the Tonka packaging.

It’s too bad the Gobots cartoon was so bad. I have never been able to force myself to watch a whole episode. I wouldn’t mind a reintroduction of the Gobots in a modernized revamp(like they did with other 80’s franchises like V and Battlestar Galactica(maybe they can make a Gobots movie since Transformers has made so much money!)). Since Hasbro owns the rights when they picked up Tonka, it would be awesome if they brought them back in a stand alone series instead of part of the Transformers. So Fire Robo did some time as Pumper in  Challenge of the Gobots back in 1983-1987.

More Machine Robos to come. They keep on coming. This is number 4? It’s because I have 25-30 of these robots. Sorry you are going to see more posts about these for a while. I found the box I stored them in so I will keep pumping out posts about these till I get bored or I am all done.

MachineRobo(マシンロボ) MR-10 Fire Robo (ファイヤーロボ) 1982 Popy Bandai robot front Machine Men from anime Machine Robo Revenge of Cronos(Chronos no Gyakushuu マシンロボ クロノスの大逆襲) 1988-1989 and Challenge of the Gobots 1983-1987 aka Pumper

MR-10 Fire Robo 1982 Popy aka Pumper

MachineRobo MR-10 Fire Robo aka Pumper 1982 Popy Bandai Fire Engine/Fire Truck Vehicle Form

MachineRobo MR-10 Fire Robo aka Pumper 1982 Popy Bandai

MachineRobo MR-10 Fire Robo Pumper 1982 Popy/Bandai

MachineRobo(マシンロボ) MR-10 Fire Robo (ファイヤーロボ) 1982 Popy Bandai from anime Machine Robo Revenge of Cronos(Chronos no Gyakushuu マシンロボ クロノスの大逆襲) 1988-1989 and Challenge of the Gobots 1983-1987 aka Pumper

Looks like a new set of Transformers is available online. The Transformers Generations Combiner Wars Superion Collection Pack I found on the sites for Target, Toys R’ Us, K Mart, Walmart, you name it. I haven’t seen it at any stores, but it looks pretty cool. Based on what I have read, they are sporting the Generation 2 colors. I will put up some pictures once I see it in the stores. Its nice you can pick up the whole set of Aerialbots in one fell swoop. Based on the pictures, it looks pretty badass combined but ok as individual robots.