G1 Series: Cartoon, Comic & Toys

[JuzMel]

Yet another topic which I decided to bring over from the old forum. The original G1, it never fails to fascinate me, what with the animations from the 1980s, the funny "disappearing acts" of characters when they transform, some crappy toys which is no way similar to what they are in the cartoon/comics it's still one of the best series ever and will always be a fav in everyone's hearts.

Some topics discussed:
1) The "Mass-Shifting" of the characters in the cartoon
2) Different story plots between the cartoon and the comic
3) About funny characters appearing out of nowhere sometimes in the cartoon
4) The Constructicons - how were they created and how did Megatron came about
5) Devcon - The Bounty Hunter where I wished appeared in more series
6) The Autobots - How new ones came and old ones disappeared without explanation
7) The portraying of female autobots

As usual, you can talk about anything relating to the G1 Series here. Ask questions about the cartoon, toys or comics. So I'll go first:

i) Does the Price and ID Guide provide the full list of G1 transformers autobots and decepticons?
ii) Does Encore Ironhide and Ratchet really have cardboard heads?! And did any of the toy range ever had a proper metal head at all?

[Paulbot]

The Price and ID Guide only covers the American toys so it excludes European toys (which were sold in Australia and are G1 Autobots and Decepticons) and the Japanese toys (which I guess aren't technically G1 Autobots and Decepticons).

The Transformers Generations book has the most complete lists of G1 toys (but isn't in English)

[TheDirtyDigger]

And did any of the toy range ever had a proper metal head at all?

Not to my knowledge. Prove me wrong someone.

[GoktimusPrime]

Metalhawk has a die-cast metal head.

[TheDirtyDigger]

Metalhawk has a die-cast metal head.

Very cool. But my bad here. I didn't quote enough of Mel's original question. She was wondering if Ironhide and Ratchet were ever released with a metal head.....I think.

[GoktimusPrime]

as far as I know, no.

[kup]

Encore Ironhide and Ratchet do come with cardboard heads but you have to pop them out of the box inner flaps.

They don't look very good and actually makes the toy look weirder than it already is because the arms are way too low based on where the head is.

The best option to make Ironhide and Ratchet more G1 cartoon like is to buy the Reprolabels Upgrade kid and substitude the weird face sticker on the driver's sit with the more cartoon accurate ones supplied. It will still look weird but not as bad as having his shoulders coming out of his waist.

Reprolabels Website:
http://reprolabels.com/main.asp

Ironhide and Ratchet Upgrade stickers:
http://reprolabels.com/Upgrades/upgrade1.asp
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Dodge diplomat history

[STL]

I'm more resigned to the fact that I know they're woefully inaccurate and really don't care for any lame attempt at making them more accurate. When I got back into collecting, I found it really hard to find the moulds were even Ironhide and Ratchet. Overtime though, it just became cold hard fact to me that that's the closest G1 toy version I'll ever get so head improvement or not,'tis still Ironhide and Ratchet

[GoktimusPrime]

They're not inaccurate. The toys came first. That's not to say that they don't look strange as sentient robots (although I personally like them - but I'll admit that I'm probably alone in this ), but it's unfair to say that they look "inaccurate." It's the other way around, although admittedly the show/comic likeness was an improvement.

It's quite unfair to criticise the design of these toys for not achieving something that they were never meant to achieve. If anything, it's Hasbro's fault for choosing these two moulds for Transformers and/or not attempting to give them better looking faces (the Powerdashers' faces were stickers too, but they look a whole lot nicer!).

But as far as the toy designs are concerned, you need to keep in mind:
1/ Car Robot mecha, like all Diaclone mecha, were non-living piloted machinations.
2/ "Ironhide" and "Ratchet" were not true mecha in the sense that we typically think of them as piloted humanoid robots (e.g.: Gundam, Macross, Dorvack et al), but rather they were power armours piloted by Diaclone pilots and they were intended as onfield reinforcements for other Diaclone Car Robot mecha - designed to deliver munitions, make repairs etc to them (hence the utility trailer that they stand on).

For those of you who may not be familiar with the concept of a power armour and how it may differ from the conventional idea of mecha, power armours are essentially more like exoskeletons rather than big robots that you drive around - although "Ironhide" and "Ratchet" were quite extreme examples... they were nearly robotic mecha, but they were still technically power armours.

Other examples of power armours include Ellen Ripley's Power Loader from Aliens...


...and the Power Manipulators from Macross Frontier (which are required to pilot Valkyries - thus making them power-armoured controlled mecha)...

(Parental Advisory: link contains animated violence/horror)

...so in its original Diaclone context, the designs of Ironhide and Ratchet are fine and make perfect sense. But they don't translate so well as Transformers, but that is not a fault with the toy design because when these toys were designed they were never (at the time) intended to be Transformers.

Hasbro really should have either skipped these moulds for Transformers or modified their robot modes - at very least give them better looking face stickers or clip on heads that would fit over the seat.

Having said all that, Ironhide and Ratchet do look really good in vehicle mode.

Onebox Cherry Vanette ("Ironhide")


Onebox Cherry Vanette Ambulance ("Ratchet")

[dirge]

Hasbro really should have left these two moulds alone, since as Goktimus has highlighted, they were simply not meant to be humanoid, and the multi-sourced Transformers line was assembling humanoid robots from several sources.

A better bet would have been to utilise the three Diaclone Car Robots moulds that ended up being cast aside.

+ The Honda City mould (which did eventually see release as a Transformer, the e-Hobby toy Crosscut), featuring a different head and chest to Skids (Honda City Turbo):



+ The Marlboro Lancia Stratos (AKA "Marlboro Wheeljack"), which has a different head to Wheeljack:



+ The Countach-LP500S/Super Tuning Policecar Type (Police Sunstreaker):



I can understand why the last one wasn't used - it's very similar to both Red Alert & Prowl, but both the Honda City and Marlboro Lancia were significantly different from Skids & Wheeljack that they could have worked.

I'm not complaining, I'm perfectly happy with Ironhide & Ratchet (and Crossbut, because I do like the Honda City!), but it was an unusual move for Hasbro - who have released few van Transformers down the years anyway.