Thanks to a post from the twitter page of Takara designer Hisashi Yuki, we are reminded today of the 15th anniversary of Car Robots (know as the original Robots In Disguise in North America). Yuki tweeted out an initial draft sketch of what would become Fire Convoy (Optimus Prime) and it shows off some very cool design cues that were not carried over to the toy, most notably being the Maximal insignia on his chest. Yuki designed the Fire Convoy / Optimus Prime toy, be sure to follow his Twitter page today as he’ll surely be sharing more great Car Robots history.
Car Robots as a series falls between two bigger continuities, the Beast Era and the Unicron Trilogy, and it was not very successful in its native Japan. However, when imported to the US as the first Robots in Disguise line, it reinvigorated the Transformers line after the lackluster performance of Beast Machines. More importantly, after five years of beasts dominating the line, it brought back realistic cars and other vehicles as alternate modes!
Car Robots / Robots in Disguise has a very rich history here at TFW2005, so in celebration of the anniversary please enjoy another look at some things that celebrate this great time in Transformers history.
Lucky Draw Black Super Fire Convoy High Res Gallery More Car Robots / Robots In Disguise Galleries RIDForever.info Happy 15th Car Robots!
Altered Prime
in Japan, I do not believe Care ROBOTS WAS INTENDED AS A TRUE REBOOT.
Afterburner
Me too. Fingers crossed.
Ejector369
I still want Shout! Factory to release RID 2001 on DVD.
Afterburner
He should definitely be proud of designing maybe the best non-Masterpiece TF of all time. I have that line in my display cases right now and have been asked more than once if they are models or TFs.
Automorpher
Do we need updates to Car Robots 2000/RID lines?
I personally felt that the answers could be yes & no…
Yes to Indy Heat, Wreckerhook & Spychangers team.
The rest of the figures are already accurate enough as it is, unless we're talking about pushing the Destrons towards modernized vehicular forms.
Strike Creamsicle
Well, we kind of got "tribute" figures in the Prime toyline. Hot Shot, Kup and Prowl make for a pretty convincing Sideburn, X-Brawn and Prowl. Although Kup would need gray vehicle panels for it to really work.
Autovolt 127
I'm not…I prefer durability over style.
I agree with you with on Black Fire Convoy.
Wow that is crazy.
Predakwon
Couldn't take the show, but man, I LOVED the figures. Some of the best. At the time I bought 2 of each to support the line as much as possible.
Although through time I sold my MISB ones for a heavy discount since most were hard to sell except Brave…..
nobleboivin
Nice design.
15 years already. Wow.
Shizuka
It's a shame that engineering trends we won't get some of the figures we got from this line. I can't imagine how they'd do Side Burn with the bumper on the shoulder. Maybe it would be fake.
Star Saber
Man time flies! I remember coming here to watch low-res videos of each new episode! This series will always hold a special place in my heart for bringing me back to TF collecting. As many have said, the engineering on several of the toys released in this line were just astounding – especially Super Fire Convoy!
peteynorth
Bring back the Fire Convoy mold as Pyro, bring back the CR/RiD Magnus mold as Overload, and together they merge to form Apotheosis (who just so happens to be the same size as the CW gestalts).
VictoryLeo19
I remember watching RiD the morning of September 11th. Crazy that it's been that long.
I also liked Beast Machines much more than RiD, but I still enjoyed RiD in it's day. That firetruck prime mold was amazing.
combaticonsfrvr
My first Transformer was Beast machines Rattrap. The first Transformers series I ever watched was RID though, and it remains one of my favorites.
GPTF01
I really need to get a brave max its the only deco I like of the fort max molde
Mightion
What I wouldn't give for a set of new tires for both RID Optimus and Ultra Magnus :/
RiD was what really got me back into following TFs again… starting with Brave Maximus; my first Japanese TF. Second was 15th anniversary Hot Rod, which started a habit of giving lots of money to BBTS.
shifty02
Car Robots is what got me importing Japanese Transformers. Loved the toyline, loved the show! Happy Birthday Car Robots!
Dinobot Snarl
my favorite moment as a Transformers fan. Just Magic!
LegoTFGuy
So that's technically only 14 years of RiD, since it aired a year later.
Regardless, it's nice to see that the series that got me into the franchise is still appreciated!
soybean56
RiD is my favorite series of toys/designs. I absolutely love asymmetry and this line has quite a bit of it.
Omega Prime, the Rail Racer team, and the autobot car brothers are timeless, great toys! I've never understood some of the grief this line gets for its transformations. I found them very enjoyable and fun.
Great set of toys and a fun, light-hearted TV show. Happy 15th RiD!!