Ambassadors Part 4 - and my picks for Part 3

In the now standard Tuesday night fashion, Ambassadors Part 4 is live on TFSource Blog HERE, with excellent choices from our contributors for Euro exclusive Generation 1, TF Prime, SCF PVCs and ROTF. Don't you love Transformers acronyms? Part 3 last week (HERE) featured community bigwigs picking ambassadors for Japanese exclusive G1, Generation 1 1987 to 1990, Armada and Binaltech/Alternators. Here, then, are my choices for those lines.

BINALTECH / ALTERNATORS 

Binaltech BT-07 Smokescreen GT

I didn't even need to think about this one, it was always going to be Smokescreen. This toy paved the way for the Masterpiece cars we have today with stunning real-life accurate licensed alternate modes, boasting manufacturer blessings. When the BT-01 Smokescreen arrived with rubber tyres, die cast metal, completely race-accurate Prodrive Subaru Impreza WRC 2003 livery and G1-style aesthetic with modern-day technology...the world changed for Transformers. The world of Transformers releases we are enjoying today was made possible by Binaltech.

I would hate for someone to think the entire toy line peaked with its first release, Smokescreen - and technically I have picked the remoulded 2004 re-release with launcher - but there are days when I would say Transformers as a toy brand peaked with Binaltech Smokescreen, never mind the line itself. Complex and occasionally frustrating transformation? Yeah maybe. Looks? Unrivalled. G1 love letter but massively updated and re-imagined? Yes sir, and quite representative of the line as a whole in those respects.

GENERATION 1 1987 to 1990

Powermaster Prime

Would I honestly pick Powermaster Prime as a representative of later Generation 1 over things like Overlord and Fortress Maximus? Yes, I think I would because I believe it's a superb figure that has more in common with what was transpiring between 87 and 90 than the earlier Targetmasters and Headmasters, which were more an era unto themselves in my opinion. I am also massively sentimental about this toy, and the one pictured is my childhood specimen. There's great playability there, oodles of choices for display. It also helps that I've never owned a Scorponok, Fort Max or Overlord, so a fair bit of ignorance is also colouring my choice. And if we're talking ignorance, then brace yourself...

JAPANESE EXCLUSIVE GENERATION 1

Greatshot Sketch by Dan Ghile

I've owned so very few of the exclusive Transformers moulds that came out in Japan during 1987, during Masterforce, Victory, Zone and later, pretty much only Liokaiser and a handful of Sixcombiners. I spent my money on early G1 variants and pre-Transformers, so Victory Saber, Dai Atlas, God Ginrai, Overlord, Deszaras etc are completely alien to me. I have owned Sixshot, however, and barely any Transformer gets me as hot under the collar as C-325 Greatshot from Victory. Taking Sixshot, making him an Autobot warrior, adding a rhino head and glorious golden crest on his chest together with a classic benevolent Autobot face with horns...score on every level. I will one day own this toy, but for now I'll make do with Scubaboy31's tremendous sketch above. Reminds me, I really need to buy that off him...

UNICRON TRILOGY

Minicon Six Speed mould (Shadow Recon vers. and Platimum Element)

This is not as ridiculous a choice as it first appears, but it doesn't help my cause that these are the only Unicron Trilogy toys I have ever owned. On the Source Blog we split the trilogy up into its separate parts but I think I can cover it in one paragraph. The whole Minicon concept for me was the most attractive part of the Unicron Trilogy, not surprising for someone who feeds on colour variants. Small Transformers have always been fun and some of the moulds used were superb. My favourite among the ones I experienced was Six Speed, a Le Mans prototype racer used multiple times throughout the era. Of those, I'd choose the Japanese TRU exclusive Platinum Element deco to represent that era of Transformers since these little guys were a huge part of the design of those toys...right? I really don't know. Good thing I wasn't being asked to contribute to these articles, eh?

All the best

Maz