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

 

Today…


Yes I am stuck on the Ark and Cosmos  

 

Seacon Spectacular: Seawing

 

Him again for today

 

Today's favourites are some Decepticon cars...

Legacy Knock Out
Universe Shadow Striker
Legacy Wildrider
Legacy Dead End
Selects Exhaust



Growing up I always liked Decepticon cars especially the Stunticons. However I was disappointed how small Streetwise, Lightspeed and the Stunticons were compared to the Autobot cars. This was the spark that ignited the flame of my compulsion as an adult collector to adhere to a uniform vehicle scale.

The only Decepticon cars in scale with the Autobots were the Battlechargers. Great car modes but the robot modes were a let down. Just articulating the arms would have gone a long way to redeeming Decepticon Beavis and Butthead.

Years later, while feeling I was too old to buy toys, I did collect the 5 issue UK G2 comic. I was tempted to enter the competition in issue 2 to win all 33 UK G2 Transformers.

Even during the decade between my last childhood figure and my first purchase on the road to collecting, I would on occasion look at the photo of the G2 Stormtroopers on that competition page and lament not having them.

Anywho in the current Golden Age, uniformity of vehicle scale has largely improved though it's not perfect. It's nice to have Stunticons and Battlechargers in scale with Prowl and Co along with newer characters like Knock Out and Exhaust. Universe Shadow Striker doesn't look out of place with them either.

I also like how the Legacy Stunticons homage the large car mounted cannons of their G1 counterparts.

 

I have waited a while to get this guy back
Everything happened at the right momment, picked up the weijiang, love it much more than the potp. And his sword is coming soon so yay

 

Yes looks like it

 

Legacy menasor and stunticons

 

Beebots Beebots what'cha gonna do?



BeePrime gets the favevote, but am rather fond of all of these rude mechanicals, even Cliffjumper and Bumblebee (who were alive in the 60s so they enjoy wearing flares).  

 

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!

 

The custom paint job on these figures just blow my mind  

 

Big green today.

 

Wrist swivels for razor claw, divebomb, and rampage,
-head movement for rampage
-jaws and leg fillers for tantrum and headstrong
- more connection points for divebombs head, his waist assembly for robot mode, and the leg bots have a new tab to tab in the massive leg in beast modes between the robot mode legs
- fillers for the bots of course.
- the hands
- bigger lion Mane for razor claw which isn’t too bad in person looks like armor
- overall it’s lighter( cause it’s a ko)
-Ball jointed feet and a heel extension ? Or front foot piece added for divebomb?
-head movement for predakings head
-the led( if it works)
CONS:
- simplified razor claw head which at a distance doesn’t look too bad
- you have to use the combiner handle for divebomb to hold his gun in Robo mode
-shortened weapon handles razor claw cannot hold his weapon upright
-non 5mm weps
- It’s a ko don’t overpay for it bc the potp definitely does feel more solid but it’s not that bad compared to it
- Led doesn’t work on some copies but it was fixed after the first batch from what I read
-soft shoulder ratchets( could be bc mine is second hand) there is a upgrade for it tho out there and I think it comes with the sword or maybe the single release of a bot I would have to find out

so ya it’s entirely up to you, me personally it was cheaper 120$ I got this second hand
If you have the dna kit for the original then I would say if your happy with it then keep that, I hated the wings from dna bc they were so big for divebomb main reason I tried to find this set and I’m happy with it even with its minor flaws. Just keep in mind it is a ko, it’s not that bad quality but still

BTW Robotoybase has this set in stock for 108$ if it’s correct. not a bad price.

 

Rumble will help me shake up things at work today.

 

Very very nice. my sword will be here in a month.

 

The ghost of Starscream today!