Machine Robo DX: Volkswagon 1303S Beetle

Growing up in the 80's I was familiar with the Tonka's Gobots line. While I had a few of the toys as a kid, I never owned many of the larger, Deluxe sized Gobots. One of the early releases was a yellow Volkwagon Beetle, Bugbite. I always found this odd since Transformers had their own yellow Volkswagon Beetle too, Bumblebee. I'm not sure which one came first as both toys have a history that traces back to Japan.

Recently I had the opportunity to purchase a very reasonably priced boxed specimen of the Super GoBot that would go on to be known as Bugbite. I couldn't pass it up and I'm glad I didn't. I'm told that this is the German release of the Machine Robo release. Bandai had partners all over Asia to help distribute their products so it makes sense that Germany would want to help get one of their products into as many hands as possible.

While the condition of the box shows some wear, it doesn't detract too much from the overall beauty of the packaging layout. I love the back of the box. The glossy wire grid type pictures of the car and robot against a flat black background looks nice. I'm not sure what the significance of the number in the lower right hand corner is.

For a toy nearly 30 years old, this thing is beautiful! Now I've always been partial to the old VW Beetle body style, but this is a very cool looking toy in vehicle mode. Made of die-cast metal with real rubber tires, this isn't a cheaply made toy.

 

Turns out there is a little bit of chrome wear to the front and rear bumpers, but other than that this specimen is near mint. The side decals, the VW logo decal on the roof and the license plate all look brand new.

The only included accessory is chromed double barrel gun that clips over the front windshield. This mostly fits via a friction connection. This can also be used in robot mode as you'll see later.

I tried to capture the marking stamp underneath the toy the best I could. 1984 Bandai, Popy. This also reassured me that this is an official release and not some knock off.

   

For such a compact vehicle as the VW Beetle, the robot mode is fairly tall. It measures near 8 inches tall. I wish I had thought to do a few comparison pictures. I was never too keen with these "Super GoBots" using the cab of the vehicle as the head of the robot, but the look is starting to grow on me a bit. I didn't point it out earlier, but here you can see a little chromed man sitting in the driver's seat.

Transformation is pretty straight forward. Pull the legs down from the body and rotate the back wheel wells 180 degrees. The arms are folded up just under the front of the vehicle. These fold outward, and then unfold the whole arm assembly. The cab of the vehicle separates from the body of the vehicle, allowing the front and rear sections to fold down respectively. The cab sits on a hinge that allows it to move forward into place as the robot's head.

The weapon attaches in the same manner in robot mode as it does in vehicle mode. I wish he could wield the weapon in his hand, but his little fork like hands just can hold the weapon. Overall I love this piece. I find this figure to be far more interesting than any version of Transformers' Bumblebee. I'm not sure I'll get another chance to add another pre-Super GoBots release into my collection, but I'm so glad this one "fell into my lap". Highly recommended, in any way you can pick it up.

Footnote. There is also a red version of this toy, but it was released in very small numbers and can command a big sum of money on the secondary market.

GoBots: Baron von Joy

I've blogged about Rock Lords and Machine Robo, but I believe this is my first GoBots post.  I know a lot of Transformers fan looked down upon the GoBots brand, but Bandai had some good designs.  Sadly Tonka didn't help with a lot of their decisions.  That said there are a few GoBots toys that I still like so in the near future you'll see more.  For now, let's take a look at the Super GoBot, Baron von Joy!

This box has seen better days, but I love the art work used for the box's exterior so I wanted a boxed sample.  Thankfully I found this one for a mere $5.

The front of the box opens like a book to reveal a look at the actual toy as well as the GoBots story.  I'll gloss over the story so we can get on to the meat and potatoes.

The back of the box shows the transformation instructions as well as a cross sell of the other Super GoBots available in the same series.

The included sticker sheet is rather small and simple.  One thing I like about these stickers are the fact they are printed on clear plastic.  They remind me a lot of the stickers that came with the old G.I. Joe vehicles.

  

I always liked Baron von Joy as a kid.  Maybe it was because he transformed into a Porshe.  The robot mode isn't bad, but when compared to Transformers of similar size the toy really falls short.  First off I have to address the robot head...or lack there of.  I'm sorry, but this is just silly looking.  I'm kinda surprised they even have him green stickers for the eyes.  The arms aren't too bad.  He has claws instead of hands/fists and the arms only bend at the elbow.  The lower half of the robot looks like a Transformer.  What I mean by that is the legs look normal, no funny stuff here.

Most of the Super GoBot toys didn't include accessories, in fact he is just 1 of 2 that came with a gun.  Depending on how you look at the gun, there is a peg on the top/bottom that can fit inside the side of his claw hand.  It's not that great, but at least he has a gun to wield.

  

  

Vehicle mode is where Baron von Joy really shines.  One thing GoBots had going for them was the fact that most of them were made of die-cast metal.  While I'm not the biggest fan of die-cast metal toys, there is just something about picking up a small robot that has some heft to it.  Baron von Joy is modeled after a real world Porsche 930.  What kid in the 80's wouldn't find this car appealing?  The combination of the metallic silver paint with black trim and chromed wheels is sexy.

Where as he looks goofy wielding his gun in robot mode, I like the fact that the gun fits snuggly on top of the vehicle.

While the regular Gobots were rather small, near HotWheels size, the Super GoBots were in scale with the 1984/85 Transformers G1 Autobot cars.  This I like.  However it's amazing to see Baron von Joy with this brethren Porsche, Transformers G1 Jazz, and look at the departure when it comes to transformation and robot designs.  I've always known why GoBots were referred to as the "poor man's Transformers" and this is a classic example.

Did I have fun with this toy while reviewing it?  Yes.  Would I recommend this toy.  Oddly enough, yes.  Is it a replacement for a G1 Transformers.  No.  Taking it for what it is, I like the toy and most of the others in the series.