Leader-1

The Plastic Man of Mecha Fandom

Bandai Go-Bots, 1983

Since I reviewed Cy-Kill last week, I thought I should finish out my review of the Go-Bot toys by taking a look at the leader of the good guys (‘the Guardians’), Leader-1. In doing so, I’ll be comparing a very different kind of toy which I think needs to be addressed right off the bat.

A lot of toy lines have multiple versions of the same figure. For as much as we all love Hasbro, they all but invented the repaint-&-reissue trick to get consumers to buy essentially the same toy nine gazillion times. What the Go-Bots did differently was they made two versions of the same character; a large six-inch version (like the Cy-Kill figure reviewed last week) and a smaller three-inch version (like this week’s review of Leader-1). The fact that the figures transformed pretty much identically and they were dead-ringers for one another was really pretty brilliant and it’s a tactic that a lot of toy companies – Hasbro included – would later adopt.

Another element that’s worth noting is about the Go-Bots deviation from Transformers’ progression. As the Generation One Transformers line went along, more fantastic designs were incorporated (this is especially true after the 1986 movie). Vehicles looked less and less believable and reflected more and more the high science fiction the show had become. The Go-Bots went the opposite direction, with the vehicle modes looking more and more realistic. While I’m reviewing figures from the initial release, it is worth noting about the Go-Bots in general that as the toy line continued, the vehicle forms looked more and more realistic, to the point of being almost models of real vehicles. A friend of mine made a comparison between the two of being the Go-Bots were to the Transformers what Megadeth is to Metallica. Non-metal fans may not get that reference, but those familiar with the two bands may find that comparison to be shockingly astute.

Background

For those of you not familiar with Leader-1, he’s kind of the David Hasselhoff to Optimus Prime’s William Shatner (a watered-down, poor man’s version). He filled a very similar role as Prime, except he transformed into a fighter jet rather than a cargo truck. Leader-1 was depicted as a bit more aggressive and action hero-esque. Had the franchise survived, it might have been interesting to see how Leader-1 would have evolved in later incarnations.

Appearance – 4 out of 5

Except for the fact that Leader-1 has some weird pentagon for a mouth, this toy looks very much like the character from the cartoon. While it’s always nice to see the proportions and general appearance of a character preserved in the toy form, it’s especially remarkable – and thus praiseworthy – when it’s found on the smaller figures.

Construction – 4 out of 5

Just like Cy-Kill from last week, this figure is part metal and part plastic. The body itself is made of steel, while the joints and corresponding limbs are made of plastic. This makes a toy this small feel especially sturdy in one’s hand, while the weight distribution feels authentic (after all, were robots real, it’s likely their weight would be centered in their torsos).

Movement – 3 out of 5

I think giving this toy a rating of 3 in this category is being a bit generous, I keep reminding myself that this is a three-inch figure. Toys of this size and ilk are not known for their mobility to begin with. With the exception of movements related directly to transformation, the Leader-1 figure has shoulder joints that not only rotate, but allow for some limited later movement, giving the character some pretty decent arm mobility. Unfortunately, nothing else about the figure moves.

Extras – 1 out of 5

The figure comes with no extras, but this isn’t that abnormal given that it’s a three-inch figure.

Packaging – 2 out of 5

I scoured the Internet, trying to find a picture of the Leader-1 figure in the packaging so I could refresh my memory on what the packaging looked like, but alas I was unsuccessful. In the interest of fairness, I’m giving this the same default I afforded the Cy-Kill figure last week.

Overall – 3 out of 5

It may seem a little odd that Cy-Kill got a two, while Leader-1 got a three, but a six-inch figure needs to be held to higher standards then its three-inch counterpart. Many of the elements that made the Cy-Kill figure subpar made the Leader-1 figure stand out. It’s kind of like how you expect more from a movie in theaters than you do from a movie on television. The three-inch Go-Bot figures were simply better toys because their attributes were befitting their size and role as toys, whereas the six-inch figures quite simply needed to up their game.

Cy-Kill

The Black Sheep of the Mecha Family

Tonka Challenge of the Go-Bots Line, 1983

It’s a pretty simple equation that if one thing is popular, a lot of it should be even more popular. After all, look at all the games in the wake of Pokemon, vampire books in the wake of Anne Rice and now Stephanie Meyer. The list goes on and on and on. And such was the case in the 80s with Transformers and the cheap knock-off, Go-Bots.

Background

There’s not a lot that can be said about the Go-Bots, except that they were such a blatant rip-off of Transformers, its little wonder that they didn’t last. Moreover, they weren’t even that good of a rip-off. MASK was kind of a rip-off of GI Joe, but a good one. Inhumanoids was a rip-off of…well, I don’t know. HP Lovecraft and Centurians maybe? But Go-Bots was the gas station boxed wine to Transformers’ Crystal. There just wasn’t much a competition.

A few characteristics of the story do still standout, however, one of which was their bad guys’ leader Cy-kill. I’m pretty sure there were others, but like Leader-One (the leader of the good Go-Bots), he’s about all anybody remembers. So, seeing as how I reviewed Starscream last week and that was the third Transformers review, I figured it was time to give these guys a shout-out.

Appearance – 3 out of 5

Cy-kill looks very much like he did in the cartoon, with the exception of the menacing scowl (here replaced with a vacant generic robotic look). Otherwise, the proportions are very well preserved and the character looks like he did in the show.

Construction – 4 out of 5

Somewhat similar to other die-cast mecha toys, this one is part metal and part plastic. However, unlike some of the Transformers, the joints and limbs are plastic whereas the main body is metal. This makes the toy feel a little better balanced and sturdier. There’s a pretty admirable amount of texture included in both the plastic and metal parts and some details (such as the machinery-looking details inside the main headlight) that really stand out.

Movement – 2 out of 5

The die-cast trunk pretty much seals the fate of any joints on the body (there’s no waist or neck joints, so you can forget about turning Cy-kill’s head). There are simple joints for the shoulders, hips, and knees, but with the exception of the shoulders, these provide only enough mobility to allow for the transformation process. This translates into a bare-minimum amount of motion for an action figure.

Extras – 1 out of 5

Zip, zero, nilch, nada. This toy comes with no weapons, add-ons, side-cars riders, nothing.

Packaging – 2 out of 5

I can’t score the packaging effectively because, quite simply, I can’t remember what it looked like. Considering that I can vividly remember subtle details about just about every toy I’ve ever owned – including the packaging – that leads me to believe the packaging was less than remarkable. I recall the packaging for other Go-Bots figures and recall it being stark, hand-drawn imagery keeping with the cyberpunk-esque era of art that was popular in sci-fi in the early to mid-80s. Giving this toy the benefit of the doubt (and because I need to give it a score), I’m defaulting to below-average but not awful score of 2.

　

Overall – 2 out of 5

This is a very sturdy toy that does represent the character that inspired it, but unfortunately that’s all it has going for it. The lack of meaningful mobility and utter absence of any kind of extras really keeps this as sort of a sub-par figure. The toy has little personality (and certainly nothing that would indicate the character from the show) and it isn’t even clear (his name aside) if he’s a good guy or a bad guy. This review may seem kind of half-assed, but in my opinion that reflects the spirit of this toy line that will forever be remembered (and rightfully so) as the ugly and nerdy cousin of Transformers that nobody wants to talk about.