Transformers G1 Zone: Rabbicrater C-350

I'm not one of these Transformers collectors that has deep pockets. Not even close. However I do tend to have some good luck from time to time when it comes to acquiring some sought after Japanese G1 items. I mentioned in my Sky Garry review that I had a stroke of good luck a few months back and put together my own little haul. This is the second piece from said haul.

Your eyes aren't deceiving you...that is a VHS cassette and a single Micromaster in that box. Rabbicrater C-350, the one piece from the Zone series of toys that often gets overlooked. I can't really say this guy was on my collecting radar at all, but I ran across one for sell and I had a hard time resisting. Actually there is a funny story behind this piece.

Most of you know my good friend Arkvander from his awesome TF blog, Mostly Transformers Redux. Little beknown to each of us, we were both bidding on this item and driving up the price. I don't know who was the first to place a bid, but I'm sure each of us would have backed off if either of us knew. So lesson of the day is make sure your friends are bidding against you!

For those of you that don't know, the Zone anime takes place after the events of Victory. Victory Saber is called into action to save the planet Feminia against the demonic Violen Jiger and his Decepticon Generals. Victory Saber is unable to escape the destruction of the planet so the Powered Masters (Dai Atlas & Sonic Bomber) leave planet Zone in search of their commander. Only one episode of Zone was ever animated. The rest of the story was told via comic strips in TV Magazine. For this reason, perhaps Takara figured the one lone Zone episode would be a hard sell as is this the inclusion of Rabbicrater.

For the contents to be relatively small, this sure is a lot of packaging. Thankfully though in Takara fashion, the box is beautiful. On the back of the box we have a nice large image of the Powered Masters and the Decepticon Generals' animation models. The upper left corner shows a cool toy diorama using various Zone toys such as the Powered Masters set up as Big Powered. Below that Rabbicrater himself and his tech specs and transformation instructions.

Nice, huh?

Top and bottom of the box. Unfortunately my specimen has somewhere and a portion of the top of the box has a raised crease. It's not all that noticeable, but the anal collector in me cringed a bit when I first removed the shipping bubble wrap and saw the damage.

The contents inside the box include the VHS video in a nice black clamshell case, a pencil board and Rabbicrater himself. I don't believe he came packaged with any other paperwork outside of maybe a catalog.

I called this laminated insert a pencil board, but I'm not really sure what it's called or what it is actually. Times like these I really wish I could read the Japanese language. With all the arrows it makes me wonder if this is some sort of timeline?  The jury is still out.

The flip side of the laminated insert has some great animation models of Violen Jiger and his Destron Generals (Black Zarak, Abominus, Predaking, Overlord, Devastator, Menasor, King Poseidon, Bruticus and Trypticon). On the Cybertron side we have Rabbicrater, Moonradar, Sonic Bomber, Dai Atlas and their allies Akira Serikawa and Cain & Emusa.

For a short time I thought that Rabbicrater was still sealed in his small plastic bag, but after I opened the box I realized there was a small slit in the plastic.  Not a huge deal.  Actually I was kinda happy since I really wanted to open him up in the first place.

If Rabbicrater looks familiar to you he should. He is a simple recolored Sky Stalker Micromaster from the U.S. release. This mold was also used as Metro Bomb for the Japanese release of Metrotitan.

He's fairly plain and simple, just like a majority of Micromasters. Nothing really special here, other than the fact that he's pretty hard to come across these days.

Don't let the idea of Zone only having one animated episode make you think it's not worth watching.  In my opinion, this one lone episode offers some of the best animation I've seen in a Transformers series.  I love the story that has been set up and I really want to find a translated version of the stories continued in TV Magazine.  Plus the opening of this episode has a catchy theme song that I have a hard time getting out of my head.

Fun Fact:  Right towards the end of the episode during Dai Atlas' coronation ceremony, you can see Road Caesar, Grand Maximus and Landcross standing to Star Saber's right.  To his left are the three Cybertron Godmasters - Ranger, Road King and Lightfoot) as well as two Pretenders I'm told are Metalhawk and Lander!

All in all the C-350 release is only for the die hard Transformers collector.  After all you're getting a recolored Transformer toy and an old VHS cassette.  I ended up paying more for this than I originally had wanted to, but in the end I believe I got a good deal regardless.

Oh. My. Goodness.

Last night several highly sought after Japanese exclusive G1 Transformers sold on eBay.  Several of us TF collectors in my local circle were closely watching where these auctions would end...and let me just say we are still in the process of picking our jaws up off the floor this morning.

If you are a die hard TF collector then you know these particular toys don't come up for auction very often, let alone listed on eBay.  One could argue that the popularity of Transformers is still at an all time high and there are more collectors competing for vintage items now.  However, these prices seem insane.  I would expect these prices for complete, boxed versions in mint condition...not loose.  Of course we'll never known how these were obtained, why they were being sold or why someone bid what they did.  Then again who knows at this point if the winning bids are legit and the seller will receive the winning amount.  For the sake of the seller I hope the back end goes smoothly.

$606.00!  I acquired a boxed Roadfire in the late 90's for $200.  I later sold it at one of the OTFCC shows in Rosemont, IL to fund my entire trip.  I believe I got around $450 for mine in the mid 2000's.  $606 doesn't see too awful all things considered.  Box looks to be in good shape, toy is complete and no yellowing.

I only know one guy that owns this toy and I don't know what he paid for his MIB specimen, but $710.00 seems like a lot for a loose toy.  At least it's complete and again it's not yellowed like so many I see.

I'm wondering if this one didn't fetch more than $415.00 because people still think he could be re-issued at some point?  It's not a stretch since Sixshot was just re-issued a second time for the Asian market.  Personally, I'm still hoping Mastermind Collectibles still tweeks Hexatron for a Greatshot release.

I so prefer this deco over Quickswitch's.  Even though he's loose, he comes with all his paperwork and even the tech spec card and still finished at $395.00.  I can't remember the last time I saw a sold Sixknight so I can't really comment on the final price.

Holy crap!  $1,406.99?!  This one stings...a lot.  Not sure if I've shared this story before or not, but I swear it's true.  I used to run a very crude Transformers database I had Tripod host.  At some point a seller in Malaysia contacted me and asked for my help identifying a Transformer be just acquired.  Take in mind this was really before digital cameras and the ease of sharing photos.  He described to me Blue Bacchus.  Complete in it's original box.  I was in shock.  I asked if he was selling it and he said yes, so I made him an offer of $50 shipped and he agreed!  I can't remember the year, but it had to be in the late 90's as I was in college still.  I held onto this guy for several years, but ended up selling him to a guy I can across at Botcon 2001 held in my home state of North Carolina.  I sold him for $800 and I was happy w/ my profit margin.  Now I really hate myself for parting w/ a toy that I'll probably never own again.  Fun fact - I believe the seller was Paul Hitchens of the famous Space Bridge.

Here's another one that surprised me.  $1,225.00!  I know that is more than a friend of mine paid for his, a lot more.  Speechless.

$971.01 for a loose Dinoking.  Man, that makes me really happy owning MIB versions of all 6.  I always thought if I had to sell I wouldn't take less than $1,250.00.

I guess it's encouraging to see that in these economic times we live in people can afford to pay that much for pieces of plastic.  I know I can't and I sure hope that prices on vintage pieces like these come back down to earth so the speak, otherwise I know that I'll never be able to afford another vintage Japanese G1 TF again! 

Transformers G1 Zone: Skyhyper w/ Deadwheeler C-346

By the time Micromasters had hit retail shelves interest in Transformers was waning. Hasbro and Takara tried to take advantage of the Micro Machine craze by shrinking the size of the Transformers. To go along with the various 4 packs several transforming play sets were created. In the U.S. there were Micromaster combiners, combiner transports and larger vehicle play sets. For whatever reason Japan didn't get a lot of the Micromaster toys and most of the ones they did get were all Cybertrons (Autobots). I believe only one 4 pack released in Japan were Destrons (Decepticons). Some of the vehicle play sets were released in Japan, but were slightly changed from the U.S. release.

Skyhyper is one of these releases. Better known as Skyhopper in the U.S., this Micromaster helicopter transforms into a decent sized battle platform / base. Not only did Skyhopper undergo a faction change on his trip to the east, but his colors were drastically altered. You probably noticed that the Micromaster included is different too. No longer a jet we now have a nice red sports car w/ blue windows - Deadwheeler. Seems an odd name for a Cybertron if you ask me. Deadwheeler is a repainted Free Wheeler.

Skyhyper was part of the Zone series of Transformers in the early 90's. Being released at the tale end of the line the toy can be really hard to find. I know I searched for this figure for a very long time after I learned of it's existence in the mid 90s. Collectors all have their own "white whale" they chase for their collections and for me Skyhyper would fall into that category. I had an easier time acquiring all 6 Dinoforce members! One of the issues with Skyhyper is that the helicopter is mostly white plastic. As most of you know white plastic has the tendency to yellow over time if not cared for properly. Even then slight yellowing can occur. Ask any owner of Galaxy Shuttle (i.e. Arkvander) and they'll tell you how scary owning a white Transformer can be! Thankfully my specimen was in pretty good shape and came with it's original box and was 98% complete.

Before we jump into looking at the toy let's take a moment and reflect on the beautiful box. I love the old G1 box art. There is just something so special about it and Skyhyper's art is fantastic. The whole presentation on all of the Zone toys was nicely done so I was so happy to acquire the box.

The top of the box gives a better look at the Micromaster Deadwheeler along w/ Skyhyper in both modes.

The best part in my opinion about the box is the awesome Micromaster scene created on the back of the box. I've always said I was going to try something like this with all of my TFs once I had enough. I even thought about setting up my Micromasters in a similar fashion when I moved my collection to a new room in the house...but I simply didn't have enough room. One day. One day I'll do it. I never really thought about using Metroplex w/ Micromasters before seeing this image. He actually fits in w/ the scale quite well.

Since I had everything out of the box I thought I'd go ahead and throw in pictures of the red monchrome instructions.

  

Red is my favorite color so I may be a little biased here, but is this not one sharp looking Micromaster? I love the blue windows in vehicle mode. There is a bit of rust on the wheels, but nothing too terrible. Anyone know of a good way to remove a small amount of rust without damaging the rest of the toy?

Side by side w/ Free Wheeler

If you are familiar with Skyhopper then you know what you are getting here. Nothing on the mold has been changed - only the colors. I for one love the combination of the red, white and blue. Very patriotic. Seeing how this was meant for Japanese audiences I would saw the homage to the stars & stripes was unintentional. Mine came with all the stickers applied and for the most part they look pretty good. All of the stickers have a foil like enhancement. Over time this foil can rub off and diminish the look of the stickers greatly. Sadly I don't think anyone has created a set of replacement stickers...not even ReproLabels.

I do remember seeing a Taiwanese knock-off of this toy floating around the secondary market not too long ago. From the images I saw I believe the colors are pretty spot on and comes with all the same accessories minus Deadwheeler. I'll admit I was tempted when I first saw it, but I'm glad I held out for the original.

Skyhyper transforms into a battle platform. Remove the helicopter blades from the rear of the tower portion and you really can't tell this was a helicopter. It's one of the better Micromaster bases in my opinion. The yellow seat from the cockpit can be position on either side of the tower and has a small peg to stabilize Deadwheeler or most any other Micromaster. The red rifle and missile pods can also be arranged to your liking, but these are the official placements for them.

3 yellow ramps are included. The longer middle ramp has notches allowing you to attach the opposite end to other Micromaster playsets. This is Sonic Bomber's base mode. Highly inferior to Skyhyper's, but I had him close by (hint hint).

Earlier I said my specimen came 98% complete. I was missing one small ramp and the radar dish. Now finding G1 parts can be hard and expensive, but finding G1 Japanese parts can be next to impossible. Knowing this I bought a cheap radar dish for Skyhyper and attempted to match the blue and paint it myself. It came out OK. I'll still be on the lookout for the vintage part, but I'm not holding my breath. The center sticker on the short ramp that was included was horrible. It was so faded you couldn't see any of the sticker's detail. Luckily there was a fellow TFW2005 board member that had a spare set of small ramps. After a few e-mails we worked out a trade. I waited for these ramps to come in before I did this post so I could do Skyhyper justice.

I can't begin to express how much I love this toy. It's such a relief to have finally added it to my collection. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to fit it in my Ikea display case with the rest of my Japanese exclusive G1 figures, but that is a problem I don't mind at all having!