Pipes and Huffer have the same alt mode but different robot modes. Which is your favourite?
Such cute little alien war machines!
It’s true that most of the 1986 Autobot Mini-Vehicles are just slight retools of their 1984 counterparts. The likes of Swerve, Tailgate, Hubcap and Outback are simply recolours of Gears, Windcharger, Cliffjumper and Brawn respectively with new face sculpts (OK, Outback got a new gun as well which was pretty slick).
However Huffer and Pipes are the exception. As well as a new colour scheme and face sculpt, the Transformation from Robot Mode from Vehicular mode was slightly changed. Instead of the cab of the truck becoming a hood as it did with Huffer, it became a backpack for Pipes.
But are their alt-modes really the same?
One of these trucks is not like the other one
Well, yeah, for the most part. But there are subtle differences. The moulded grill and headlight motif on the front of the truck has been slightly changed from Huffer to Pipes. The tail-end of the trucks tray, which becomes the robots feet, is slightly more pointed on Huffer than Pipes. Perhaps the most notable difference besides the colour scheme is the smokestacks, which on Huffer and slightly indented, whilst on Pipes they are well and truly, well… pipes.
Overall the differences are negligible, but far outweigh the differences between the other mini-bot recolours of that era. I’d be hard-pressed to say which I like more as both have their charms.
Robot Modes
Huffer: “My elbows go the wrong way!” Pipes: “At least you can still pick stuff up”
Here is where the differences really stand out. As stated, Huffer has a sort of canopy whereas Pipes has a large backpack. From the back Pipes is easily the weaker of the two, having an entire truck cab hanging off his back. However this is where his weaknesses end. His arms are far superior to Huffers, and whilst Huffer could be said to have hands of a sort, it’s the orientation of his arms that lets him down, resembling some form of preying mantis idue to the backwards elbows. The head of Pipes too is superior, having an actual sculpted head that sits in front of the backpack, rather than some form of wide mask half-hidden under a hood.
So to answer Katrina’s question, I have to give it to Pipes, on the whole he is an improvement on his predecessor.
Huffer, being a legacy character from the 1984 cartoon, has turned up in multiple toylines such as KRE-O, Power Core Combiners, Timelines and even Transformers Prime. Pipes however has only had another two outings, both retools of existing Huffer figures. So lets have a look at these to see who is the superior in these new iterations of classic characters.
Combiner Wars
Prime-wannabe’s
If there is one set of Huffer/Pipes figures where the alt-modes are exactly the same then it is Combiner Wars. Not only are the altmodes the same, but the robot modes are exactly the same too, the only differences being in colour scheme and sticker placements. As such, it’s pretty much impossible to pick one over the other. I will say I never understood why they gave Pipes a red face, he looks like Tracks squat brother (or me when I’ve been out in the sun too long).
Kingdom
We finally busted into the Deluxe Class!
The third outing of Pipes, being again a retool of Huffer, is in the Kingdom line. I found both these toys to be quite clever and both are certainly the most toon-accurate versions of the characters we have ever had in their robot modes. Highlights for me included that Pipes now has pipes attached to his outer forearms like in the cartoon instead of the toys arms functioning as the pipes themselves. Huffer now sports a canopy of sensible size, and the way the sides of his alt-modes tray join together to form a very Halo-esque weapon is a really cool idea. I couldn’t fault either of them.
Pipes & Huffer: Both ready to smoke you!
In their vehicular forms, the fronts of the vehicles are actually (bar colour) exactly the same, having less differences than their G1 toy counterparts. The differences only seem to be at the back, where Pipes is toting his pipes and Huffer’s gun and shield serve to form a tray.
But wait, there’s more!
Can’t decide between Pipes and Huffer? Why choose either when you can have Puffer!
Puffer: ‘Even I haven’t heard of me before!’
Soooo…. The story behind this is that in certain parts of the world, when Pipes was released he was a straight up recolour of Huffer, rather than a retooled version. The storyline behind Puffer is that Huffer and Pipes got sucked into a time-vortex (as one does) and they were fused together into the one being. Like so many other extremely obscure characters (who can easily be recoloured from an existing figure), Puffer now has his own official toy. This Puffer though, is essentially Pipes slightly recoloured and with a G1 toy accurate head. Whilst there is little of Huffer to see in this figure, if you can’t decide which you like more out of Pipes and Huffer, then Puffer may be for you!
A reminder that Prime and Magnus aint the only Autobot trucks on the block
Well, for me it is hands down Pipes, and for me that is a purely sentimental reason. Pipes was one of my first ever Transformers, and was the first Transformer I ever got a double of when a mate gave me another one for my 9th birthday. Still have them both too 😊. I liked in the cartoon how Pipes seemed to straddle between mechanic, field medic and a quasi-field commander, whereas except for lifting the odd mammoth, Huffer seemed to do nothing but whine, barely built anything and for the most part simply vied with Gears for title of biggest complainer on The Ark.
G1: Emotions aside, talking about toys then I feel that Pipes has the better robot mode, despite Huffer having hand indents. Vehicular, despite the minor differences, I don’t favour one over the other. Winner: Pipes
Combiner Wars: Exact same vehicle mode so no favourite; in robot mode I gotta take points off Pipes for having the red face. Winner: Huffer
Kingdom: A draw, as though I like Huffer’s robot mode that smidge more, and he has the cool gun and shield that become the truck tray, Pipes finally has dedicated extra pipes, living up to his namesake. Winner: A draw, with a special shout out to Puffer for being such a unique character.
Got anything to say about the figures examined, or Pipes and Huffer in general? Pop it in the comments section below!
And so it begins, the great cataloging for my personal and ever expanding Transformers Collection!
And what better place to start than where the whole shebang kicked off – G1! Listed sequentially, and with accompanying photographs, here is the G1 Decepticon toys I have amassed over the last 35+ years.
Transformers Generation One Decepticon Collection
(Note: All figures in photographs listed from Top Left to Bottom Right)
And so it begins, the great cataloging for my personal and ever expanding Transformers Collection!
And what better place to start than where the whole shebang kicked off – G1! Listed sequentially, and with accompanying photographs, here is the G1 Autobot toys I have amassed over the last 35+ years.
Transformers Generation One Autobot Collection
(Note: All figures in photographs listed from Top Left to Bottom Right)
‘What is the worst figure in your collection and why should we all own it?’
First off I’m taking a stab in the dark that Steve is talking about Transformers since that is what I am best known for collecting. Well Steve, given I’m at the 4500 mark for the amount of Transformer action figures I own, there are a fair few contenders for the mantle of Worst. So lets narrow it down to Transformer figures that actually transform and go from there:
Firstly – both these toys have irritatingly simple transformations, even for G1 toys – one move for the legs, one move for the arms and one move for the body/backpack.
Secondly – awful heads! Scoop’s is ridiculously small, making him look like a little yellow guy wearing a huge orange sumo suit, whereas Crancase has just an orange blob for a face, making you squint to make out any detail whatsoever.
Thirdly – bad bodies. Neither of these toys have any articulation to speak of. Scoop’s chest sticks out so far his little hands barely reach past it, and those hands don’t even have peg holes to hold his Targetmaster partners. Lots of Transformer toys have decent sized backpacks, but I’d struggle to think of any that have a proportionately bigger one than Crankcase which towers over the back of him to a ludicrous degree. And while Scoop as a Targetmaster can’t hold guns, neither can Crankcase who is a Triggercon. What’s the point of being a gun-themed robot if you can’t even hold a simple blaster?! As for having legs that actually separate, forget about it.
‘We aint got no thumbs Luitenant Dan!’
Why you should own them?
Both toys have really nice altmodes for their time, with Scoop being a front-end loader that can actually move his scoop, and Crankcase being perhaps the only Decepticon toy of 1988 that had an altmode disguise that could actually work as a disguise, rather than being a huge monster or a neon-coloured vehicle. The Targetmaster and Trigger gimmicks are good fun and they both had interesting roles in the IDW comics. Plus who doesn’t love some G1-goodness 😉
Firstly – loose ball joints. The joints in his shoulders and legs are atrociously loose, making him very hard to pose in robot mode, he is fiddly as hell to try and get to stand in any decent pose without his sword drooping towards the floor.
Secondly – Worst. Dragon-mode. Ever. His dragon mode is absolute shite! Looks absolutely awful, like someone was building a robot alpaca and lost the instructions half way through. There have been a lot of great dragon Transformers over the years and they do not invite Steelbane to their parties.
Why you should own him?
Probably the coolest ‘knight’ looking Transformer toy ever in his robot mode with lots of detail, even on the sword. There were four Knight toys from The Last Knight film and he is the best looking of the lot, with the others compromised by either missing faces or their combiner gimmick. Even if you were not a fan of the film, having a Transformer who looks like he should have been kickin it with Arthur & Merlin is pretty boss.
Firstly – terrible proportions in both modes. Even being a Rescue Bot which is a line known for its more basic toys due to the age demographic they are made for, the vehicle mode is too snub-nosed and the robot mode doesn’t even remotely resemble the cartoon. And what’s with the big goggles – she looks like she is going scuba-diving while flying a WWI plane!
Secondly – the broken transformation spring. This was a toy made for tiny kids and with one transformation movement. It is unbelievable that there was so little quality control that she got released when the spring that allows the transformation was broken in 95% of the figures. Any child given this figure would have been supremely disappointed and their parents feeling ripped off.
Your Quickshadow toy is going to spend more time looking like this than a robot or car
Why you should own her?
Errr… that’s a toughie. There really isn’t anything to recommend the figure at all. At most I would say that she was the first female Rescue Bot which gives the toy some novelty value, and that her on-screen character was very cool. Coming across as a very chilled and aloof British Secret-Agent type gave her a personality we have not seen in Transformers before or since, it’s a shame she didn’t get more airtime than she did.
Oh Skids you poor dear you – always overlooked. Skids remains to this day perhaps the least well known and recognisable of the Autobots from the 84/85 G1 cartoon. With very brief and unmemorable appearances in only 2 episodes, even the likes ofGrapple and Huffer have proven more popular and its only hardcore G1 & Comic enthusiasts who really know who Skids is. Skids appeared in the Movieverse as well but, besides a similar alt-mode, had nothing in common with his G1 counterpart and is a distorted version of the character everyone would like to forget.
However Skids has managed to do something that Hoist, Trailbreaker and even Jazz have not – he’s got himself a Masterpiece toy! So let’s have a squiz at the new MP Skids.
Skids turns into a fairly realistic rendition of a 1980’s Honda City Turbo hatchback. Whilst not a sexy sportscar, it’s a pretty nice looking vehicle form. What I particularly like is the sloping roof and front grill.
Different parts of Skids open up as well, much like an Alternators figure. The side doors open, the bonnet opens to reveal an engine inside and the hatchback opens to reveal storage space. This storage space will contain a little scooter in the retools of Skids such as Crosscut, and it is a shame Skids did not come with one himself.
Because Skids appeared so little and so infrequently in the cartoon, the designers were not forced to incorporate all the different gimmicks shown on screen, like with so many other Masterpiece figures. So Skids is very basic in that he comes with no interchangeable faces, no special gimmicks and only his two guns like the original toy had.
That said it’s a very nice looking figure with articulation in the neck, shoulders, elbows, knees and ankles, making him very easy to pose.
Much more basic than a lot of other Masterpiece figures, but not irritatingly simple either. In fact I find it a nice change of pace for a MP to have a straightforward transformation with a few clever moves (such as his ankles and shoulders) rather than something overcomplicated which is going to require you give up a portion of your day to complete.
Skids is perhaps the most basic Masterpiece we’ve had in a long time, harkening back to the days of MP Sideswipe. He is pretty no-frills with no interchangeable faceplates, special gimmicks, intricate engineering or vast assortment of accessories. However what he is also lacking is the exorbitant price tag that most MP’s go for as well.
I*’m the cheap one
At around $100au he’s eminently more affordable than most of his counterparts. Add to that a fun and straightforward transformation and Skids becomes a breath of fresh air in a line that is replete with expensive and often overly complicated figures. Skids is well worth his reasonable price tag and a welcome addition to the MP Autobot Cars line-up.
Got something to say about this figure? Pop it in the comments section below!
I’ve always thought Tracks was a very underrated character. Despite getting a couple of spotlight episodes in season 2 of the Generation One cartoon, he’s never really done a lot otherwise. Has never been a stand-out in any of the comics and, with the exception of a cameo in Animated, has never cropped up in any other Transformer universes. Very odd considering how interesting he is; a vain, posh speaking narcissist yet still a warrior who took has taken on the likes of Megatron and Starscream. Add to that he had a very sexy alt-mode that could also become a flying car! His toy was my absolute favorite out of the 84/85 cars and I still love it to this day.
Tracks being underrated has been reflected in the amount of figures he has gotten over the years – maybe because it’s hard to get more uses out of a figure that has a flying-automobile mode. We haven’t had a Generations version since Reveal the Shield many, many years ago so he was well overdue.
Well Tracks has finally gotten another figure, in the Kingdom toyline, so let’s look at Deluxe Tracks.
Robot Mode
‘Indeed I am still most slim and pristine’
Probably the most show accurate Tracks figure we have had outside of the Masterpiece version. He looks good with his signature red face & white helmet, backpack guns and slim form. He certainly looks an improvement over the RTS version, though comparing the two you can see how much Hasbro has shrunken the Deluxe Class over the last decade. He has decent articulation and overall is a good representation of the character.
Vehicle Mode
Very nice looking, though getting everything to stay tabbed together can be very irritating. I would have liked to see some yellow in his hood flame rather than simply red like the cartoon. He lacks that certain sexiness that the G1 and Masterpiece toys have and the flashiness of the RTS toy. His weapons can be mounted on the back or the sides of the vehicle.
Flying Car Mode
Here is where the toy stands out – looks really good! The little tailfins that pop up are a nice addition, though it would have been good to have them and the guns slightly different shades of white so they don’t blend together so much. Cerainly better than the awful RTS version and even the MP version to my mind, coming in 2nd only to the original G1 toy itself.
Transformation
What a friggin pain in the arse this is! There have been QC issues reported with his legs and it is very evident here. Whilst you can transform him without making the necessary fixes, its very annoying to do and takes all the fun out of the conversion process.
Worth Getting?
This is a good rendition of Tracks, but it is not a stand out. As yet, for me at any rate, they have not made a Tracks toy that is able to pull off all 3 modes as well as the original. Whilst some of his modes are better than others, the whole toy is pulled down by the fiddly and annoying transformation sequence. Recommended only if you are not happy with your current Tracks figures.
Toys you think are objectively bad but for some reason you still love the things.
We all have a few in our collections, or at least we can think of ones out there that would fit the description.
G1. Home to the 3-step changers.
For his first foray into the Podcast world, Tets of Tets’ Toys & Shenanigans decided to do a Podcast on this very topic, centered around Transformer toys specifically. This included several guests including Paul and in the latter half yours truly (I come in at the 33:30 mark).
So sit back and listen to what TF nuts do best – talk about the toys we love (even if we think they are not very good).
Transformer fans sometimes fight over the silliest things – then I guess that’s what the Internet is for. One of the most enduring arguments over the decades has been ‘which was a better series: Generation One or Beast Wars’.
Personally I’ve never really weighed in on the debate as I enjoy them both. Both had some great cartoon episodes, both produced some fantastic toys, both have contributed a huge amount to the enduring Transformers mythos. So why the debate even exists is beyond me.
But exist it does.
In an effort to bring decades of arguing to an end I have examined the issue and, through scientific experimentation and logical deduction, found an answer to this long pondered question.
So sit back and enjoy the following video which will prove beyond a shadow of a doubt which was better – Beast Wars or Generation One.
I hope this video has answered all the questions you ever had about the relative quality of both franchises in relation to each other.
The Generations Selects line is one that divides people. On the one hand it provides opportunities for figures to get made that might otherwise not due to a lack of popularity. On the other, it means these figures are often only available either online, at specific stores and/or limited to a few select countries, meaning higher prices with a dollop of international postage for good measure.
The War for Cybertron Siege toyline has had a whopping nine Selects figures released this year. Some such as Redwing have been virtually impossible for overseas collectors to get their hands on at a reasonable price. But some have been released through multiple US online stores making things a bit easier, and today we are looking at the latest wave of them, consisting of the Powerdashers Cromar and Zetar, and the always mysterious Nightbird.
Note: As all three characters are minor retools of other Siege figures that have been out for quite some time, we will be focusing more on their aesthetics rather than their articulation, transformation and Weaponizer potential.
Powerdasher Cromar
Robot Mode
‘We all float down here…’
Whilst it seems his main weapon would be to hang about in Cybertronian Sewers eating Decepticon Protoforms, as a retool of Six-Gun his body is bristling with weapons. Two long guns on the lower arms and four cannons on the shoulders and back. Not bad since the original toy didn’t even have a gun.
‘Everybody loves a clown, so why can’t you?’
Cromar gets his distinctive face from the 1984 Mail-away figure he is based on (and the only TF I had and lost as a kid that I have yet to replace as an adult). It’s… not flattering and makes this a figure you really don’t want to give to a coulrophobia sufferer as a gift.
Alt-Mode
If you think this looks weird, you should have seen my original toy
Pretty much Siege Six-Gun with new colours. However it works for the character quite well, with perhaps only Cybertron Sideways being a more appropriate recolour. I likes it!
Powerdasher Zetar
Robot Mode
I’m smiling because I can kill you with a headbutt
No fingers, no neck, but one helluva hat! The silly thing is the drill on his head can be spun fairly easily in robot mode but not in vehicle mode. A retool of Siege Brunt, he lacks a certain appeal that Brunt possessed, but is certainly faithful to the original toy & character. The bonus being he gets a gun this time around which (due to the no fingers thing) can be attached to his forearms.
The creepy circus motif continues
The look of his head really makes me want to get the third Powerdasher – Aragon – just to see if he has some clownish attributes too.
Alt-Mode
‘I..I just don’t know what the hell I am supposed to be’
Once again we are looking at Siege Brunt, but with a drill on the front. The ironic thing is that the cannon on top, if you attach the blaster, sticks out further than the drill does. But hey, with the drill that close to the ground Zetar can definitely get a job drilling holes for oversized cybermice or mowing really thin strips of lawn. Unite Warriors Nosecone or even Combiner Wars Drillhorn make far more practical looking drill tanks.
Nightbird
Robot Mode
‘I’m quite frolicsome for a Ninja’
A retool of Siege Chromia, Nighbird boasts a totally new headsculpt which is very indicative of how she looked back in the G1 cartoon, though severely limits how much she can turn her head. She comes with the same weaponry that can be either a pistol and grenades, a gun or a sniper rifle. It would have been nice if she had come with some sai’s like the Legends version of her did to show her Ninja origins.
‘Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!’
What is very disappointing for a Selects figure is that Nightbird comes apart quite easily. Her legs, arms and crotchplate all come off way to easily, though at least are not too hard to reattach.
Alt-Mode
‘Wonder if I can get a date with Kit from Knightrider?’
I had no idea she would be this black! Her backpack makes up the majority of the car body and it’s as black as black can be with a dark purple canopy. I would have liked to see the backpack/car body remain grey with the black limited to her fenders. However at least this car mode is more generally Cybertronian, rather than the Legends version which was quite Arcee indicative.
Worth Getting?
Only if, like me, you are a fan of obscure G1 characters. All these moulds have been done before and none of these characters are popular enough that any kid is going to be screaming for them this Xmas. It’s nice to see the Powerdashers get new figures after all this time, though the lack of a dash component kinda irks me. Nightbird isn’t bad but I find the Legends version to be far superior in both modes. So yeah, they are all nice in their way and I’m glad to have them, but none have any wow factor that is going to keep you awake at night wishing that you owned them.
Got anything to add to this review? Pop it in the comments section below!
Please note: The photo set I had built at my last farm was destroyed in a move, so while I have added photo’s of Earthrise Sky Lynx to this gallery, he will not be properly shot like the other three figures until I build a new one.
Individual Figure Pic’s
Generation One Sky Lynx
Name: Sky Lynx Toyline: Generation One Mode: Cybertronian BeastMode: Cybertronian DinobirdMode: Cybertronian LynxMode: Space Shuttle
