Ambassadors Part 2 - and my picks for Part 1

This week sees Part 2 of the "Ambassadors" series of articles I am - or rather my friends are - writing for TFSource Blog on which toy they'd pick to represent an entire Transformers sub-line or category. This week's chapter covers Generation 1 1984 to 1986, Masterpiece (controversial!), Animated and DOTM. You can find that HERE and last week's Part 1 featuring Generation 2, Pre-Transformers, Car Robots and Classics HERE. I'm going to put my own choices for Ambassadors Part 1 in this post.

PRE-TRANSFORMERS

Micro Change Series MC07 Browning - black/red and gold/blue types

More commonly referred to as "Red" or "Blue" Browning

Gordon Yip chose Diaclone Pteranodon (pre-Swoop) for the article and my choice would initially have been the Micro Change Series MC07 Browning Gunrobo, because it wasn't used in any Western Transformers line and is a representative of a time when a handgun was considered a perfectly acceptable child's toy. Having a 1:1 scale everyday item that turned into a beautiful robot is what Micro Change was all about, and apart from the Real Gear Movie stuff, very far removed from today's mainstream Transformers. However, this toy did eventually make it out in The Transformers in 1988 in Japan as the Masterforce "Browning", and he had the same features and accessories as the pre-TF version, just a slightly altered but unique appearance (silver chrome with blue innards as opposed to rose gold chrome and blue innards). 

Diaclone Car Robot Powered Convoy

Powered Convoy, Diaclone pilot and Powered Buggy

My actual pick for Pre-TF ambassador would be the Diaclone Powered Convoy, the personification of Diaclone's charm, heavy mecha roots and extra features - not to mention 'exotic' colour schemes (which are really just the original colour schemes for these moulds). Powered Convoy comes with the little pilot and his brilliant parts-forming companion "Powered Buggy", proper firing rockets and that divine colour scheme. Movie Trailer Magnus this is not. Extra functionality in the form of wheels on his chest piece make for an additional Diaclone pilot vehicle, and his multitude of advertised modes would have fired a child's imagination. Sparkly plastic and age generally make these very fragile (and therefore costly) toys, but I can't think of a better representative for the Transformers ancestry than Powered Convoy.

CAR ROBOTS / ROBOTS IN DISGUISE

Car Robots JRX

Team Shinkansen - J5, J7 and J4

Now I didn't own most of the Car Robots / RiD toys so I would have missed out on such vaunted figures like Super Fire Convoy (Optimus), Black Convoy (Scourge) and Brave Maximus, but as Tony Bacala said in the Source Article, a lot of toys in this line had premiered before elsewhere, so a true ambassador should be a new mould. I would have plumped for the bullet trains that combined so beautifully into JRX. I had never owned a well-articulated Transformers combiner before, so this was an absolute revelation for me. Collectors of Brave toys tell me this is no new concept for that line, but under the Transformers banner, and especially CR/RiD, this to me was standout. 

GENERATION 2

Prototype mock-ups for G2 Mirage and G2 ...something.

Prototype mock-up for G2 "Sandstorm"

I've never collected production Generation 2 beyond a G2 Jazz I used for customisation. The only things I've had are the above prototype mock-ups for unreleased Generation 2 repaints of popular G1 toys Mirage, Sideswipe and Ramjet, so they'd have to be my ambassadors! I missed all the excellent G2 moulds that Sid Beckett discusses in his piece for the Source Article like G2 Laser Prime and Dreadwing/Smokescreen, so to me G2 will always be the opportunity for one to add more G1 cars, jets and minibots in wild colours. 

CLASSICS / GENERATIONS

Classics Jetfire

Classics Mirage and BotCon Attendee Exclusive Clear Mirage

Brr-Icy's choice of RTS Lugnut for this category was far more informed than mine could ever be (can you see why I had to get others to write these articles?), but from the very small number of Classics moulds I've owned, Mirage and Jetfire are toys I regret parting with as they were truly great designs and of a high quality, excellent re-imaginings of legendary characters and toys. Jetfire's head sculpt remains one of the best I have ever seen on a Transformer. Take note, FansToys! If I had to choose, I'd pick Jetfire. But then again, doesn't Jetfire win every contest in Transformers?

Doing "Jetfire" proud

All the best
Maz