Transformers Car Robots: Super Indy Heat (Jusco exclusive)

Ah, Car Robots (or Robots in Disguise in the west). The line that brought many back into the Transformers fold that were turned off by the "beast series". I sure can remember my excitement when I first saw the first few figures solicited online. In fact I'm pretty sure I screamed like a little girl.

One aspect of the series I enjoyed so much was the diversity of the toys. Of course you had vehicular Cybertrons (Autobots) versus the beast Destrons (Decepticons), but the toys themselves didn't share the same aesthetics. You had new molds like Speedbreaker and the train combiner, JRX, and then we had a few molds that were familiar. The Spychangers, a personal favorite of mine, had already been used in the U.S. Generation 2 line. The spring loaded "flip changers" from the Machine Wars series also made an appearance. The indy car as Indy Heat and the tow truck as Wrecker Hook. I embraced these molds originally so I importing these two new decos were a no brainer for myself. It was years later that I discovered their store exclusive variations.

Super Indy Heat is a translucent blue and white release offered exclusively at Jusco stores in August of 2000 in Japan. He actually was a freebie given away w/ the purchase of the JRX giftset. Never have I paid so much for a free toy before! Super Indy Heat comes packaged in a clear bag w/ lots of text that I can't read. At the top are 4 small and simple transformation steps. Well actually steps 2-4 just show where the gun pieces are stored and how to assemble them.

Out of the bag, this toy is really nice looking. I don't always care for translucent Transformers, so I'm glad Takara added some white paint apps to go along w/ the white plastic bits. The mold itself hasn't been altered at all, so if you are familiar with any of the other versions of this mold, then you know what you're getting here.

  

The blue and white color scheme, combined with the blue translucent plastic just scream Mirage. Wonder if the choice of blue translucent plastic was meant to homage Mirage?

One observation I wanted to make is that there were clear rubber bands around the middle of the toy. I'm sure these were put into place to safeguard the spring mechanism from popping loose. When I cut the bands off, I noticed one arm / side of the car didn't want to line up properly. I eventually got it back into place and in line with the rest of the car (I think). I also noticed the spoiler didn't want to pop loose from the back of the car for the transformation very easily. I guess those are the risks of buying 13 year old toys.

And so not to ever forget when this exclusive toy was released, Takara was kind enough to place the year right on Indy Heat's spoiler. Cheesy? Doesn't bother me much.

Lift the rear spoiler and the car basically unfolds and transforms into robot mode in one easy step. You can unpeg the legs and re-position the arms to your liking. Articulation is decent for a late 90's mold. He actually has two joints in the legs, but because the front of the car hangs over so far it limits the legs range of motion. The elbows are ball joints, but the car parts again kind of get in the way here. Just like all the other versions of this mold, his weapon is stored in two parts in the inner portion of his legs.

I always thought of this weapon being more of a pistol w/ an optional silencer the both pieces forming one larger gun. As you can see his face is a bright orange to match his '20' on his chest. The head does feature light piping which is always a welcomed touch.

Not counting this release, this mold has been 5 other times. Machine Wars Mirage & Prowl, RID Skid-Z, Robot Masters Ligier and of course the regular Car Robots release. Super Indy Heat completed the set for me. He wasn't an easy find either. Or let's say a cheap find. He would show up from time to time, but he'd always been way overpriced. Let's just say he was on my radar for the last 6-8 years and I finally found a sealed specimen with a price I was comfortable paying via a Yahoo! Japan auction some time ago. This isn't the best Car Robots toy in the series by far, but it's one I've always enjoyed and the thrill of the hunt was exciting to say the least.