Armored Insect Batallion Beetras: Beet-Gugal

Growing up a Transformers fan I knew nothing about the history of the toys, how they got their start or where they came from. However I realize when my older brother and I got our first Deluxe Insecticon Transformer toy the Christmas of 1987 that there was something different about those toys. It wouldn't be until much, much later that I learned of Hasbro using molds from other toy lines. Omega Supreme, Shockwave and of course the Deluxe Insections. The only Deluxe Insecticon I had growing up was Chop Shop, so when I learned of their pre-Transformers existence I knew I had to own the "other" version of Chop Shop...Beet-Gugal. It took awhile before I found a boxed specimen in my price range and I quickly grabbed him.

Released by a small Japanese toy company, Takatoku Toys, the Armored Insect Batallion Beetras line was created with Japanese art studio, Artmic, to cash in on the transforming robot toy craze that was hitting Japan. However this line was a little too late as Takatoku Toys was on the verge of bankruptcy. This is perhaps why it is thought that the line of 5 robots was trimmed to 4. None the less, the toys managed a meager following in their home country before being given a second life so to speak when Hasbro struck a deal to use the 4 molds as the Deluxe Insecticons in their Transformers line.

When I finally got my hand on Beet-Gugal I was in love. The packaging used for this line is nothing short of beautiful, partly due to the awesome hand drawn artwork used for the character. The window is just big enough to show off a portion of the toy, which mirrors the toy design quite well. I'm not sure what the significance of the color stripes are that wrap the around the bottom portion of the box, but it works. Perhaps each color is meant to represent each Beetras character?

Since I'm unable to read the language printed at the top here on the back of the box, I'll have to assume it tells the story of Beetras. Below the body of text we have a nice diorama like photo of the Beetras toys. Below that is more stellar art my Artmic Studios, followed by a schematic drawing of our character, Beet-Gugal.

The sides of the box feature more art, this time including an image of a pilot (?). I like the stark difference from white being used on one end and black on the other.

The bottom of the box features a few more product shots of the toy. Mine specimen also happens to have a sticker of unknown origin...maybe Italian? If anyone reading this recognizes this sticker and can give me more info please let me know down in the comments.

Earlier I said I had to wait to find a boxed specimen in my price range...well that meant buying one incomplete unfortunately. Beet-Gugal also comes with a small trident weapon and a pistol. I did manage to find the pistol being sold individually, but I didn't have it close by when I took these photos. 

While mine lacked it's original weapons, at least the toy came with it's original instruction sheet and unused sticker sheet. To this day the stickers remain unused and I highly doubt I'll ever both trying to sticker up this toy.

Chop Shop in my opinion was an awesome toy, despite it's limited articulation. The brown and orange of the Transformers version was fantastic looking, but I gotta say I like this blue/gray and light gray design Takatoku Toys used for Beet-Gugal. His bright red eyes are slightly set inside the head sculpt which is already pretty spectacular. This makes the red really pop and stand out on a otherwise darker colored figure.

Beet-Gugal's alternate form is that of a robot stag beetle. While not a beetle I recall seeing as a child playing in the woods, hiding underneath wooden logs in the woods, it looks great. Transformation between this form and it's robot form is rather easy and straightforward. The plastic used does seem to feel lighter, almost as if its made of a cheaper plastic quality. This always had me a little concerned when transforming the legs as I was worried the plastic around the hinges could snap at any time.

As with the robot mode, the insect's eyes are also cased in red. This really stands out and gives the beetle mode a almost ominus look.

I know a lot of Transformer fans are divisive when it comes to these Takatoku molds. While they certainly aren't my favorite molds released under the Transformers banner, this particular mold I'm very fond of. When I finally acquired the original toy a few years ago was something special...even if it was incomplete. Today this toy has gotten rather expensive on the secondary market so I'm glad I was able to strike when I did. 

Transformers Generations: Megatron & Chop Shop

As part of Hasbro's "Thrilling 30" celebration of the Transformers Brand in 2014, several Legend sized two packs were released under the Generations banner. On the Decepticon front, Megatron was paired with the unusual choice of the Insecticon Chop Shop.

Click on any of the pictures for a larger view

I have always enjoyed this scale of Transformers so I was already on board, but the inclusion of Chop Shop really caught my attention. While the Deluxe Insecticon toys from the G1 era were never high on my list, I've always held an affinity for Chop Shop. Perhaps its because it was the only Deluxe Insecticon toy I owned growing up. None the less this new, smaller version of the character had to be mine.

Megatron himself is a retool/redeco of the Autobot Warparth. While the mold is OK, it does tend to fit Megatron better than Warpath. The tank barrel does sit on the side of the arm similar to Megatron's original fusion cannon, but its a little too thin for my taste. I also don't care for the different gray colors used. The lower half of the tank / legs are more of a silver gray, while the tanks turret / robot's thighs and legs are molded in a different shade of gray plastic. Then the armored bits on the arms have been painted a light gray. The colors don't mesh very well, especially in tank mode. His robot mode is passable with a new head sculpt. These colors issues were fixed with the Japanese Takara Tomy release.

My reason for buying this toy is this little guy. Chop Shop is a little bigger than your average Mini-Con figure. His arms and beetle mandibles are movable, but due to his transformation that is about the extent of his articulation.

The sculpting on this figure is great. I particularly love his head sculpt as it is a dead ringer for the G1 toy. The colors are spot on and he retains a good bit of his G1 likeness, minus the gray peg found on his chest.

This version of Chop Shop is basically a quadruple changer if you will. In addition to his two standard modes, he can also transform into armor for Megatron in his tank mode as well as a Targetmaster-esque weapon. Or does he form a shield?

Starscream was released in the same series and packaged with a new version of Beast Wars Waspinator. Fitting that Hasbro would give the fans a new Starscream to go with a new Megatron. The added smaller figures were just a bonus.

Transformers G1: Deluxe Insecticon Chop Shop

The Deluxe Insecticons were never some of my favorite toys from the Generation One days of the Transformers. However in my childhood the Decepticon Chop Shop would find his way into my hands. As a kid I never quite understood why these were so different from the regular Insecticons. I even wondered why the plastic and build of the toy seemed to differ from my other Transformers. It wouldn't be until the wonders of the internet that I would realize that the Deluxe Insecticon toys weren't made by Takara or Hasbro and started off as something completely different.

picture courtesy of Seibertron.com

Created by Takatoku Toys for their Armored Battalion Beetras series, Chop Shop was called Beet-Gugal and sported a gray color scheme over his G1 brown. To this day I still haven't been able to land a nice MIB Beet-Gugal for my collection, but I did get this fairly nice MIB specimen of his G1 self.

Maybe it was the box art, or maybe its because Chop Shop was the only Deluxe Insecticon I ever owned growing up, but I've also liked this toy. As I've been trying to piece together a full G1 run of toys, I don't usually look for boxed versions. While I love the old school packaging, the boxed versions usually command more money than I want to pay and the boxes will just end up in the closet anyways (unless it's a Japanese G1 release). I can't remember what I paid for this MIB Chop Shop, but I'm pretty sure it was around $40 to $45.

Until I re-purchased Chop Shop, I don't recall his function being a Thief. I guess I always thought more of him as a body guard or front line infantry.

Did you notice the small red and white AM sticker on the front of the box? Look back at the Beetras image and you'll see the same sticker. This was for the company Artmic, or ART-Modern Ideologist for Creation. They were responsible for working on a slew of Japanese animation series. While Beetras never had it's own animated series, its quite clear why the Deluxe Insections were never used in any sort of US media.

Chop Shop came with a set of instructions, translucent label sheet, Photon Cannon and Vibro Spear.

While remove the figure from the box for this review, I found the original cash register receipt tucked away neatly inside the box. Purchased from a store called Children's Place back on January 02, 1986 for a mere $11.97. I'm guessing some kid had some Christmas money left over that was burning a hole in their pocket and convinced their mom or dad to take them toy shopping. I love finding stuff like this!

His tech specs mentioned he could fly up to 30 mph, however with these jets on his back I would think he could muster up a little more than a measly 30 mph. As you can tell my Chop Shop is "naked". I couldn't decided if I should take the unused sticker sheet and "dress" him up or not. Perhaps I'll just leave the vintage labels as is and see if Reprolabels has anything I could use.

I've always thought Chop Shop had one of the more unique and interesting head sculpts in all of G1. I love that Hasbro used orange for his mouth and antenna and the red eyes really make complete that evil look.

If you've ever held or owned one of the Deluxe Insecticons then you know these seem to have less articulation than most G1 TFs! Chop Shop can move his arms out to his sides, but that's it. He can't even aim his Photon Cannon at an Autobot and I'm assuming he is stuck trying to poke his adversary with his Vibro Spear!

It would take 28 years before Chop Shop would receive new, official toy. Packaged with Legends scale Megatron under the Generations banner, this small Chop Shop caught me by surprise. While this tiny figure lacks some of the detail his G1 self has, this new version can also double as a Targetmaster type weapon for Megatron!

Now that my G1 collection only lacks 10 or so figures from completion, I can see his pre-Transformers version starting to fall into my collection sights finally. I find this a fun and interesting mold and one of the better Deluxe Insections.