Toy Review - Botbots series 1 (2019)

[griffin]

(Please post comments, photos or even a fully comprehensive review - these are just some brief details to start you off)

Botbots Series 1
Series - Botbots
Sub-line - (various Tribes - see below)
Size/class - n/a
New/remould/redeco - New and redecos (61 figures)
Wave - n/a
Released here - January 2019
Approximate Retail Price - AU$5 (single packs), $15-17 (5-packs), $25 (8-packs)
Approximate Size - 2-4cm
Allegiance - none?
Alt-mode - Various
Main Features/Gimmicks - everyday human items
Main Colours - Various
Main Accessories - none

Series 1 - 61 figures (early 2019)
Series 2 - ?? figures (mid 2019)
Series 3 - ?? figures (late 2019)

Series 1 - Tribes (teams)
- Backpack Bunch
Cranks, Ms. Take, Point Dexter, Professor Wellread, Slappyhappy, Snippy Snappy, Sticky McGee, Totes Magotes.

- Greaser Gang
Angry Cheese, Duderoni, Fottle Barts, Hawt Diggity, S'up Dawg, Shredder Jack, Spud Muffin, Twerple Burple.

- Jock Squad
Arctic Guzzlerush, Batsby, Fit Ness Monster, Kid Klobber, Laceface, Pucksie.

- The Lost Bots
Bonz-Eye, Burgertron, Clogstopper, Dimlit, Frostferatu, Game Over, Stinkeye Stapleton.

- Shed Heads
Cuddletooth, Fun Gus, Grit Sandwood, Major Lee Screwge, Nail Byter, Rootwing, Slobber Rock, Venus Frogtrap.

- Sugar Shocks
Cocoa Crazy, Lolly Licks, Nrjeez, The Plop Father, Remorsel, Sippy Slurps, Sprinkleberry D'uhnut, Unilla Ice Queen Cone, Waddlepop.

- Techie Team
Chilla Gorilla, Dr. Moggly, Fomo, Goob Toob, Raddhax, S.A. Cheez, Screen Fiend, Skillz Punk.

- Toilet Troop
Frohawk, King Toots, Nobeeoh, Poo Sham, Sergeant Scrubadub, Stinkosaurus Rex, Sudsbeard.

In the first Series, there are eight 8-packs, eight 5-packs, and 24 Single Packs (each with a code on the pack to know what is inside).
Each multi-pack is a set assortment - the hidden figure is not random, it is just hidden.

Note that even though there are duplicates in various packs, there are some figures that are only found once in certain packs (which also goes for the single packs - not all 61 figures are released in the single packs, but some of them are ONLY released in the single packs).
The codes and assortments can be found on the tfwiki page. They even highlight the recommended sets to purchase, to get a complete set while minimising the number of unavoidable duplicates.

Some of the 5-packs.




Some in both modes.




The checklist on the back of all of the instructions sheets ...

[griffin]

Last weekend I got the various single packs figures that weren't in the 5 or 8 packs.
And on the last weekend, picked up the four 8-packs that TFWiki said I needed to complete the 61 toys of Series 1.

From the single packs...

.

.

.

.


And four of the 8-packs (I didn't need the other four... as it was, I ended up with 19 duplicates from the 32 toys, which is more than half - if I had bought all of the
multipacks and single packs, I would have had 67 duplicates just to get the 61 toys of this series)...


The full set, in their "tribes"...


They are nice little fidget toys, and we get quite a few interesting alt-modes... most of which have never been done as Transformers, or never would in the main "warring" toylines.
The price is a bit hard to swallow though, at $5 for the singles and about $3 each in the multi-packs, it makes it worse when you end up spending twice as much money than
you need to, just to complete the set (because of the unavoidable duplicates).
I really don't get the reason for all of the duplicates either. It might look like it gives people options to only get the small number of favourites, but they are set
combinations in the packs, so it doesn't give you that many combination options.
And it also doesn't make sense to only have 24 of the 61 in the single packs... preventing you from buying the handful that you want without ending up with a
multipack of toys you don't want. I also find it misleading for the singles packaging to mention 61 different Botbots in that series, but you can only get 24 of them, which
could result in parents or kids buying heaps of them looking for the other 37, and just ending up with multiples of those 24.
It would be like having the Tiny Changers noting that there were 12 in the set, but there is only 9 in the box, with 3 only being available in a multi-pack... some of us fans
might know about the codes on the packs or that there are only 24 Botbots in the single packs, but most people won't.

[Autocon]

So what do we think of them? Some are just clam shells open and bot inside. Some are very interesting. I'll buy some on sale just to see what theyre like.


Good luck with series 2 n 3 griffin!

[Tha_Phantom]

I'm a fan of the Bot Bots. Some of them you can't tell what they are without reading the instructions, but for the most part they're great. In particular, I'm loving the food and tech ones. I am also glad that Hasbro have started this line on a completely clean slate, without trying to make the Bot Bots resemble or be any of the "classic" characters.

I took a few of them with me to my brother's house last weekend and my niece and nephew wouldn't stop playing with them. The interesting thing about this is that normally they don't care about Transformers (as unbelievable as that sounds ).

I agree with Griffin that the inevitability of getting doubles is super annoying and that you can't get all or most of them separately. Otherwise, a good toyline.

[GoktimusPrime]

Like any others it's a mixed bag. You get some really clever figures like Nrjeez, but then some absolutely bone-lazy ones like Venus Frogtrap. I really enjoy the diversity of alt modes because I'm usually appreciative of new alt modes not done in Transformers before. We now have Plantformers! They could possibly make a Botanica figure. And heck, we even have a bloody Rock Lord! Yeah, that thing that failed Go-Bots! Still no taxi or chicken (I'll take a cooked chicken!)

I wish that each pack would tell you all of the BotBots' Functions (Roles) though. Some packs provide it for a few figures but not all, and others don't provide any. The single pack ones provide Functions, but not all figures are available single pack. I'm tempted to make a post or thread where we can share our knowledge on BotBot Functions.

[KELPIE]

Anyone who still has the packaging for the 5 and 8 packs, can you confirm if they have numbers on the back similar to the single packs?

Looking at mine it seems as though it does, however the number appears bigger and as if it's hand scrawled, also not in a unified location.

e.g. (of what I have)
5 Packs
Sugar Shocks - 49
Techie Team - 50
Techie Team - 51

8 Packs
Greaser Gang - 55
Greaser Gang - 54


It would be easier to collect the packs if we knew that these numbers were standard instead of needing to learn all the character names prior. Some of these packs were hard to compare which ones were the highlighted packs on the wiki, especially when I didn't know all the names of the figures.

[i_amtrunks]

My three year old daughter and I love these things and will be getting as many as possible. Price for the singles is the same as a lego minifig but these have nice little transformations (mostly), bit more than they are worth but comparable to other lines.

An excellent stocking stuffer or reward present, the duplicates and difficulty finding them is not appreciated. As griff mentioned, only having 24 available in the blind bags is badly marketed, b think that is done intentionally to increase purchase... bad move Hasbro.

[GoktimusPrime]

I've given all of my doubles to my daughter for her own collection, but yeah, much prefer collecting them individually.

btw, here is a list of the Wave 1 BotBots and the Functions that I was able to garner from their instructions. But as mentioned before a lot of the instructions just don't list them while others do, so if you can, please help fill in the gaps!

Angry Cheese = ???
Arctic Guzzlerush = ???
Batsby = ???
Bonz-Eye = ???
Burgertron = ???
Chilla Gorilla = Quiet Gorilla Headphones
Clogstopper = ???
Cocoa Crazy = Heartwarming Hot Chocolate
Cranks = Cranky Pencil Sharpener
Cuddletooth = ???
Dimlit = Forgetful Flashlight Explorer
Dr Moggly= ???
Duderoni = ???
Fit Ness Monster = ???
Fomo = ???
Fottle Barts = ???
Frohawk = ???
Frostferatu = Mystical Cupcake Vampire
Fun Gus = Fun-Loving Mushroom
Game Over = ???
Goob Toob = ???
Grit Sandwood = ???
Hawt Diggity = ???
Kidd Klobber = ???
King Toots = Toilet Paper Mummy
Laceface = ???
Lolly Licks = ???
Major Lee Screwge = ???
Ms Take = ???
Nail Byter = ???
Nobeeoh = Super-Sniffing Deodorant Bloodhound
Nrjeez = ???
Point Dexter = ???
Poo Sham = ???
Professor Wellread = Super-Intelligent Bookworm
Pucksie = ???
Raddhaxx = Hacker Laptop
Remorsel = Grouchy Dark Chocolate Bar
Rootwing = Wise Dragon Oracle
S.A. Cheez = Artistic Digital Camera
Screen Fiend = ???
Sergeant Scrubadub = Clean-Up Platoon Leader
Shredder Jack = ???
Sippy Slurp = ???
Skillz Punk = ???
Slappyhappy = ???
Slobber Rock = Drooling Pebble Pup
Snippy Snappy = Fast-Moving Scissors Jokester
Sprinkleberry D'uhnut = ???
Spud Muffin = Popular French Fry Guy (Ouh la la!)
Sticky McGee = ???
Stinkeye Stapleton = Peacekeeper (is he the only non-Functionist among the BotBots?)
Stinkosaurus Rex = Lookout T-Rex Plant
Sudsbeard = Cleanly Pirate Soap
S'up Dawg = Corny Corn Dog
The Plop Father = ???
Totes MacGotes = Hipster Messenger Bag
Twerple Burple = Soda Cup Class Clown
Unilla Icequeencone = ???
Venus Frogtrap = ???
Waddlepop = ???

[griffin]

You really need good fingernails to transform a lot of these...


.

[Tha_Phantom]

They're great for pics with MPs too.