Transformers Micron Densetsu: Stepper MC-10

Today's post topic happens to be one of my favorite Transformers from the Micron Densetsu / Armada series...but I'm not sure why. Today we take a look at Stepper (MC-10) or better known as Side Swipe in the West. 

When I decided to dip my collecting toes back into the Uniron Trilogy waters, I thought I'd go after the versions of certain characters that I didn't own. While I imported a decent amount of Superlink / Energon items and dang near the whole Galaxy Force / Cybertron lines, I didn't pick up much of Takara's Micron Densetsu figures. Of course I'd be lying if one of the reasons to go for the Japanese import is for the inclusion of the bio trading card. Stepper, along with a few others from this series will be the subject of the next update to my side project, the Transformers Bio Card Database.

I've always been a fan of Takara's packaging and the layout for Micron Densetsu is a perfect example of why. The box for Stepper is very reminiscent of the style box used for the original Autobot carbots from Generation One, complete with a large logo right in the middle of the box flap. The bright red used for the majority of the packaging I'm sure helped the boxes stick out in a crowded sea of toys. Not only is there some great box art on the front of the packaging, but a large bubble to see a good portion of the toy.

On the backside of the packaging you've got a transformation sequence of sorts of the actual toy, again a throwback to the G1 days. Smaller windowed images show off some of the features of the toy as well as the included Micron figure, Cher/Char. The bottom half of the bottom of the box showcases more of the Cybertrons and Destrons in the series in a versus type layout.

On each side of the box you have either an image or a full body image of Stepper.

I'm not sure if Stepper is modeled after a real world car or not, but he's vehicle is my favorite mode. According to the TF Wiki, the car may have taken influence from a Nissan Skyline R32 or a Nissan Silvia S13. The car is cast in a beautiful shade of blue with translucent amber windows. The front grill and bumper were painted flat gray with the headlights painted silver. The Armada version's headlights were painted yellow. On the back of the car you have the large tail lights painted red with some silver paint on the top of the spoiler. The wheels are plastic and the 6 spoke wheels are painted silver and look fantastic.

Looking at the vehicle from the front you can see Stepper's head "peaking" through from the inside of the car. While this may bother some people, I'm fine with it. There are three Cybertron/Autobot insignias on the front of the car, two smaller ones above the front wheels and a larger symbol on the hood. On the back of the car you'll find a small yellow button on the left side. When pressed this activates a spring loaded section in the middle where his Micron buddy can hide (see below) via a 5mm port. When the symbol on the hood is depressed, the front portion of the car extends out. The purpose of this "mode" is one that I've yet to discover.

The one gripe I have with this mold is that some of the panels/pieces don't always want to stay clipped together very well. This seems to be a issue with the mold itself as my original Armada Side Swipe had some of the same problems. Other than that, I think this is a beautiful vehicle mode and probably one of the reasons that I'm still seeking out this toy's repaints.

Oh boy. Here we go. The transformation from vehicle to robot is fairly simple and intuitive, but as you can see the robot mode is "kibble-tastic". Stepper suffers from huge forearms, which are the front halves of the car. This limits the amount of articulation in the arms at just the shoulders and elbows via ball joints. The legs also look awkward and are virtually a brick. His waist is rather wide with the legs just hanging off the sides. Stepper can perform a pretty good split, but that is about the range of movement his legs are allowed. If the legs didn't already look weird, there are the two pieces of the car's roof section that literally hang off the side. In between his legs you also have the portion of the back window section where the Micron figure is stored.

 

One cool aspect of the robot mode is the ability for his weapon to be stored via two 5 mm ports on leg kibble bits. Stepper comes with a small pistol with a removable bayonet. It's a rather nice weapon, too bad Stepper can't really aim his weapon however!

Char (or Armada Nightbeat) is an odd Micron figure. Like with Stepper, the vehicle mode is rather nice. I'm not a motorcycle aficionado, but I do find the alt mode to be rather nice looking. Whether or not it's modeled after a real world model, I have no idea.

 Does this even count as a robot mode? While I love the majority of the Micron / Mini-Con figures that have been produced over the years, I can't say this one is my favorite. While the alt mode is pretty great, this robot mode is pretty horrible. I like how the exhaust pipes become the legs, but the whole upper body and the lack of real arms or hands just doesn't do it for me. This one will be displayed in my case in vehicle mode (same with Stepper).

This isn't the best toy in the Micron Densetsu / Armada series, however for some strange reason I still like it. The vehicle modes for both Stepper and Char are pretty great, but the robot modes do require some special love. The kibble and lack of articulation are enough to turn off most fans, but strangely enough here I am giving this toy is own dedicated post. I'm even still searching out the two repaints featured in the Universe series as well as the Armada version to round out all the versions of this mold. This one isn't for everyone, but it's just quirky enough that I like it.

Transformers Micron Densetsu: Zephyr Blade Micron X-Dimension MM-07

When Hasbro and Takara first introduced the concept of Mini-Cons and the small toys themselves, who knew they would be so popular with fans and yield so many toys and so many variations? In Japan as part of the Micron Densetsu series, the same teams of Mini-Cons released by Hasbro in the Armada series saw release. These Microns teams in Japan also had smaller production runs of variants called X-Dimension teams, as you can see below w/ the Zephyr Blade team.

In the manga fiction, X-Dimension was a universe that was composed of extreme radiation and flames. This was also the home of these teams of X-Dimension Microns.

The Air Defense Team was one of the first Mini-Con teams that I was exposed to and I immediately loved them. 1) They are jets, 2) They have good robot forms and 3) They form the Star Saber! Once I realized that these toys had been given a new color scheme I knew I had to have them. Thankfully at the time I acquired them they weren't that hard to find. If you are looking for them now, well it may be a different story when it comes to their availability and price.

The new red and orange plastic mixed with translucent plastic and white trim makes these toys look fantastic. As you can see they still form a weapon, but instead of the Star Saber, they now form the Pyro Saber.

The molds themselves haven't been changed, so if you are familiar w/ the Armada versions then you know what you are getting here...which isn't a bad thing. Individually these are some of the best Microns in my opinion, which says something since the while combining element had to be worked in.

Mach's alternate form is that of a Concord like airplane. He forms the center of the Pyro Saber. The nice thing about the majority of the plane bits being cast in translucent plastic is it makes it hard to see the connector that hands down on his back. Normally this is easier to see hanging down between his legs and in my opinion detracts from the overlook of the robot.

Jetter's alternate form is some form of jet. It may be modeled after a real world jet, I don't know. Jetter forms the blade of the Pyro Saber. He has small feet, but you can leave the front part of the jet folded down for an extra "leg" for added stability. I like the robot form, but with the translucent chest it almost looks like his arms, legs and head are just sitting there no attached to anything!

Shuttler is perhaps my least favorite of the 3 Microns. His alternate form is a space shuttle. This form has always reminded me of the space craft from G.I. Joe. Shuttler forms the hilt of the Pyro Blade. No matter which version of this particular toy I've held in my hands, his legs always seem floppy. Perhaps this is a side effect of the transformation into the combined Saber form? It's got a great looking robot mode, just needs a little tweaking in the legs.

Collectively this is one of the best Mini-Con / Micron teams. Individually they are great toys and the combined Saber form is still pretty cool after all these years. The new orange and red color scheme looks fantastic and are probably my favorite variation of this set. Believe or it not but this set has been used several times (Armada, Armada Air Assault, Micron Densetsu, Micron Densetsu X-Dimension, Micron Densetsu Micron Booster, Micron Densetsu CD Single and Micron Densetsu Kabaya Change Micron). At one time I owned every version and they all made for quite the display in their combined Saber forms.

As you can see the Pyro Saber looks fantastic! Sadly I didn't have any of the other teams available for comparison pics. Right around the time I took these pictures I was in the process of packing up and selling 90% of my Mini-Con / Micron collection to TransformerLand. I was tempted to keep this set for my own, but then I'd want to keep the other sets and the whole purpose of selling them was to create some money and free up space. Trying to display tons of Mini-Cons and Microns isn't an easy thing to do! The unified color scheme is great and makes this version stand out over all of the other versions.

This is a fantastic set and one of the better X-Dimension sets if you can find it. I don't know how many were made, but this seems to be one of the harder sets to find. It's absolutely beautiful and sought after by many Mini-Con / Micron collectors. Pick it up if you ever have the opportunity.

Transformers Micron Densetsu: Micron Wheel (Under Groove)

We have pre-established already that the little Transformers Mini-Cons / Microns are highly collectible, and today's topic is one of the reasons why.  Takara re-painted a lot of the first wave of Microns and some of them were released in small numbers at certain stores in Japan in the early 2000's.

Wheel, originally from the Destruction Micron group, the Under Groove version was limited to Ito Yokado stores in Japan.  He was originally only available with the purchase of Micron Densetsu Convoy Super Mode aka "Super Pants Prime" as many called him in Armada.  I don't know what the original print run was for this toy, but the Under Groove editions aren't that easy to come across today on the secondary market.  In fact, I was never able to acquire the other two.

Not one of my favorite Micron molds, but at I like the Under Groove color scheme.  The "Energon" blue looks great mixed in with the darker colors.  I can only recommend this toy to the Micron completions.  If you are a casual fan then you'll want to stay away from the Under Groove Microns for the price they'll command alone and just stick with the Destruction Microns.

Transformers Micron Densetsu: Heavy Machinery Micron X-Dimension MM-09

Transformers Armada (or Micron Densetsu in Japan) ushered in a new faction of Transformers, Mini-Cons / Microns. These became highly collectible for many collectors, such as myself. Takara really capitalized on this by releasing Microns in an assortment of colors. Some of the first repaints came in the form of X-Dimension teams. Take for example the new Heavy Machinery Micron team.

The Destruction Team was never one of my favorite teams, but at least the new color scheme Takara gave the X-Dimension team was huge upgrade over their Armada versions. The Micron teams came packaged on blister cards, however I tossed the bubble in an effort to conserve space. The entire packaging was re-used from the stand Destruction Team. I'm assuming this was a cost cutting measure used by Takara as the toy images on the back of the card are of the original team.

From Left to Right: Wheel, Duster, Crush

Of these three, I only ever cared for Crush. In vehicle form the trio isn't too bad. Each of them have gears with a rubber banded wheel that when rolled, activates an action feature of sorts. Wheel's bladed wheel spins, Duster's cannons alternate back and forth moving forward; while Crush's drill spins.

These features can also be activated when attached to certain larger Unicron Trilogy era Transformers.

Wheel leaves a lot to be desired in robot mode. I don't know if it's his big bulky arms, or his wide square shaped crotch, but I just don't care for Wheel in general.

Duster looks a bit better in robot mode than Wheel.On his chest you can see the aforementioned gear and wheel that activates his pomp pomp gun feature. Duster looks more beefy and filled out.  I would think he would be more of a formidable foe in battle.

Crush is one of my favorite Microns of all time. At one time I had all but one of this mold's variants. Personally I love the big drill on his arm.  I don't often like my Transformers to have something other than a hand attached, but in this case the drill works. My only nitpick I have with this mold is the other arm. It's tinier than a T-Rex's arm! Crush also sports a cool rounded shape head...reminds me of G1 Cosmos a bit.

If you are a Mini-Con / Micron collector then I'm sure you have these guys already in your collection. They aren't super rare or expensive, yet look great in any collection.