An old one, when AB got kicked off the team

 

SG Slicer w/ Megatron gun from Retro G1 Starscream reissue


SG Slicer w/ Megatron gun from Selects Centurion Drone set

 

Past, present, future

 

PE Jetforce revive with er trailer

btw the trailer holds perfectly and tilts and all, and u don’t need the nonnef hitch at all

 

F

 

I just imagine Hound’s looking up in sheer terror, knowing that he’ll probably be replaced as soon as Buzzworthy Hound releases.

 

He's very cool!

"Galvatron! Come on down!"
From TF:UK#119 'Fire on High'

 

Plotting.

 

“We’re just doing some routine information gathering”
From Transformers: The War for Cybertron#7 January 2024 ‘Ever Since My Accident’

 

Once I get Tarn, he will easily take the title of Best Legacy Voyager from Jhiaxus.

 

Official Green Team!
(Kup didn't wanna be bothered)
​

 

Nowhere acidstorm?

Nice

 

Brawn would've mangled him while all the rest turned a blind eye...

 

Yeah

 

One Shall Stand/One Shall Fall

 

Strika Supreme

 

Ok, this might be a short one. Goldbug is Bumblebee. But with a pullback motor. Catch you later!

46 years after their release, and I’m still wondering what was up with the Throttlebots. 49 years after their release, and I’m still wondering how anyone could look at the Battlechargers and think ‘there’s more to explore here’. 51 Years after their release and my bias still brings me to fist fights with anyone that disses the Jumpstarters. Soon death will claim me and all this pain and confusion will be over. My heart goes out to whoever winds up having to liquidate my estate.

Goldbug was, as you’re all too bitterly aware, the opportunistic but confused mechanism to keep kid friendly Bumblebee around after his toy had finally been bought by every impatient parent. The Throttlebots were the notional replacement fodder for the Minibots. Rather than have a Throttlebot named Bumblebee that’s based off the animation model, we’ll make something that has a face roughly based off the G1 toy, give him a new name, and say it’s the same person. Sometimes I wish this franchise had just had a little more self respect.

Depending on your poison, Bumblebee was either destroyed by Superion on PCP, GI Joe on speed, or Death’s Head on coke, and Goldbug was created by Quintessons in a huff, a contrite GI Joe, or Wreck- Gar on whim. If you’ve familiar with my rambling, you can probably guess my origin of choice. At least the cartoons were spared the indignation of having to kill Goldbug to bring Bumblebee back as a Pretender!

Reading through the wiki, I was surprised to come across something saying that Goldbug was meant to be the ‘grown up’ and more ‘confident’ version of Bumblebee. Imagine my surprise! My recollection of the guy from the comics was that instead of feeling sorry for himself and trying to take on all the Decepticons himself in an attempt to prove himself, Goldbug just whined at people. Blaster, Ultra Magnus, the mirror, woman on premium rate chat lines. I suppose we all mature in different ways.

I’ve written about the underwhelming, but not disappointing experience of rediscovering the Throttlebot toys, so I won’t drag you through all that again, save to say that Goldbug is BASIC, and instead focus on what’s unique about Goldbug.

His main distinguishing feature in ‘bot mode is the headsculpt. Now, I didn’t know about this design being based on the 1984 minibot version until I read it on TFWiki, and it’s notable that they’ve not linked to a source. I’ve always struggled with that a little bit. I can 100% see it on the helmet. From the side vents to the little triangular indent on his forehead, it’s all there. But if the rest of it is meant to evoke the original, it falls a little short for me. Where the 1984 head was all sharp angles on the mouthplate and visor, everything on Goldbug is a little duller and flatter. I can’t deny it, I guess, but it feels like a bit of a fail to me.

The VW is a little less chibified than the ’84 minibot, but still very kidified. The plastic they’ve used for him doesn’t do the shallow molded detail any favours, but the sculpt itself is actually quite nice and curvy. It’s funny to think that in 1987, a year with the futuristic designs of the Headmasters, Targetmasters, and Technobots, there was still some desire for fairly realistic earth vehicle modes.

I do think it’s funny that we got both Bugbite and a Shattered Glass Goldbug before we get original flavour Goldbug. Talk about tickling our trouts! What next, Staks released at mainline before a fan exclusive Optimus Prime is revealed? It was inevitable we’d get Goldbug, of course, but they did leave it long enough to start me to begin doubting a little.

Released as part of the Buzzworthy Bumblebee exclusive line, and rather hard to get in the UK until GAME seemed to misprice the Creatures Collide set, at which point everyone seemed to have a Goldbug! He is, of course, a redo of the Earthrise Bumblebee figure, who was a redo of the, at the time, controversial Cliffjumper figure (who I’ve also written about before, so won’t make you suffer my struggle to find new ways to say the same old thing).

It might just be the thrill of the new, but I think Goldbug might be my favourite iteration of the Earthrise ‘penny racer’ mold. The headsculpt is lovely. They’ve really accentuated the bug eyes on him to the point where I find myself thinking about Spider-man. They dominate the whole head and I love it. It feels so much livelier than the G1 Goldbug sculpt, and brings back a touch more of the dynamics of the ’84 sculpt. And while the paintjob on Bumblebee was truly great, with a rich almost amber yellow, you can’t beat gold! It’s been tastefully, with one tone used for all the bits that form the car shell, and another for the forearms and thighs. The blue fists are a nice touch of ‘pop’ alongside the headsculpt. My only complaint is that my copy seems to have a bit of overpaint on feet/bonnet, which looks a little smudged.

These days, when most of playing with toys seems to happen in front of a camera, I know I’m enjoying a figure when I buzz about the potential of taking photos of them. As soon as I got Goldbug out the box I was already thinking about getting him sat on SS:86 Wreck-Gar, or how he’d scale alongside Blaster. It’ telling I don’t recall such a buzz for Cliffjumper or Bumblebee.

Now can we please, finally get the rest of the Throttlebots. Completists gotta complete!

 

ZZZZzzz you are a dizzzzzapointment to Wazzzzzzzpinatorrrr!

its a jumble but put the beastly bots on the shelf for now

 

“we’ve got a few fairly simple questions”
From Transformers: The War for Cybertron#7 January 2024 ‘Ever Since My Accident’