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interests / alt.toys.transformers / Zob's Retro Review: Autoobt Jumpstarters Topspin and Twin Twist (1985)

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o Zob's Retro Review: Autoobt Jumpstarters Topspin and Twin Twist (1985)Zobovor

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Zob's Retro Review: Autoobt Jumpstarters Topspin and Twin Twist (1985)

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Subject: Zob's Retro Review: Autoobt Jumpstarters Topspin and Twin Twist (1985)
From: zmf...@aol.com (Zobovor)
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 by: Zobovor - Tue, 20 Sep 2022 23:05 UTC

Been waiting on four separate purchases to complete this latest pair of toys. (I guess five purchases, if you count the super glue...)

So, by the second year of the Transformers product line, things were in full swing. Hasbro wisely played it close to the vest during year one, introducing toys that were fairly simple in concept—robots that turned into cars and planes. But, by 1985, we were getting some of the coolest Transformers concepts—dinosaur Transformers! Transformers who could turn into two different vehicles! Transformers who could connect together to form a huge Transformer!

And we also got the Jumpstarters, who arguably didn't transform at all.

In some ways, they were a violation of the inherent, unspoken promise that when you bought a Transformers toy, you were getting a cool vehicle, plus an action figure, plus a puzzle all rolled into one. The Jumpstarters took out the puzzle part of the equation, because you didn't need to manipulate the vehicle at all to get it into the robot configuration. The toy did it for you, all by itself. While toys with pull-back motors were certainly not new, for some reason the concept just didn't fly. It might have been a cool gimmick for the Masters of the Universe toy line, but not for Transformers. On the school playgrounds of the era, the Jumpstarters were among the lamest toys to come out of the big 1980's robot explosion.

There was a law suit that Hasbro filed against a company called Sparkle Toys, who copied the design of the Jumpstarters, and claimed they thought the design was in the public domain because there was no Hasbro copyright stamp visible on the toys. This is likely what led to the entire 1984 toy range being reissued in 1985, with all-new copyright notices, as well as the probable reason for the introduction of the rub symbol, the heat-sensitive sticker that revealed a hidden Autobot or Decepticon sigil, which helped to distinguish the Transformers brand from the many copycats that had entered the market.

The lack of media exposure also meant the Jumpstarters weren't perceived as important characters who were part of the cartoon universe. The vast majority of the Transformers product line in 1984-85 made it into the animated mythos, but of course there were a few who didn't. Takara didn't want any of the Hasbro toys licensed by Bandai to be in the cartoon, so that left out the Deluxe Autobots and Deluxe Insecticons (with special treatment required for Jetfire, turning him into Skyfire). The Jumpstarters weren't Bandai, though, so theoretically they could have appeared. It's not known with certainty why they were never featured. It's possible that Hasbro asked that they not be included in the show just in case the law suit didn't turn out well.

So, the actual toy design is pretty simple. The Jumpstarters begin as a wedge-shaped vehicle with rubberized undercarriage wheels. Pull the toy back to wind the internal spring, let it go, and it will barrel along under its own power, using the built-up kinetic energy, until the hook is released after a prescribed number of wheel revolutions. The hook is what keeps the vehicle locked together, and as the hook is released, the spring-loaded legs push the gigantic, heavy robot feet up and forwards. In theory, the weight of the feet and the shifting of the toy's center of gravity will propel the figure and he will wind up in a standing position.

Does it work? Sometimes. If he's not rolling fast enough, the feet don't build up enough momentum to make the robot flip, and he fumbles and remains on his back. If he's going too fast, he'll overcompensate and fall forwards. There's a sweet spot, which you can achieve with practice, that involves the perfect combination of speed and inertia. There's an adjustable lever on the robot's head that is supposed to assist with balance issues, but it's not connected to any internal mechanisms. Its true purpose seems to be to force one or other of the robot feet slightly out of alignment when he's folded up, which may slightly affect the balance.

TOPSPIN

So, Topspin is interesting in that he was one of the first Autobots to break the rule of "good guys are cars and trucks, bad guys are aerial vehicles." Topspin has wings, which suggests he can launch into the sky. (The TRANSFORMERS UNIVERSE profile written for him by Bob Budiansky suggests he's some kind of rocket car that can travel on a flat surface, much like his toy. It also says he can use his pontoons to function as a hydrofoil, though.) Meanwhile, his toy instruction booklet comes right and calls him a spaceship, which honestly seems more accurate to me.

As a robot, he's got a light grey body with a blue head, arms, and legs. (The Diaclone version sold by Takara in Japan was red and blue.) His arms are articulated, and his legs are conjoined together and they can bend at the hips (as required by the one-step transformation), but they spring back into place as soon as you release them.

The toy comes with a vac-metal particle beam rifle, a cool-looking space-age gun that's very cool-looking. He can technically carry it in both modes, but the weight from the gun will throw off his ability to spring to his feet when he transforms.

There's a well-documented variation of this toy where early releases have the Diaclone-era stickers (marked D.A.R. on the wings, which I think stands for Diaclone Attack Robot) where later versions have these markings removed.. I got the later version, which I'm fine with. There is also a common printing mistake in which the portraits for both Jumpstarters were swapped on the back of the box for the Hasbro tech specs.

I needed to replace the old, beat-up Topspin toy I've owned since I was a kid. Something I found was that it's very difficult to find a copy of this toy where the stickers are in good shape. Obviously, this toy is 37 years old, so not all of them will have survived to the modern day in pristine condition. Also, for some reason I think they were actually letting children (?!) apply the stickers sometimes, and those kids had no idea what the hell they were doing. Stickers on crooked, upside-down, or not even on the right part of the toy. Did nobody teach them how to read a label-application map? I had the opportunity to buy an eBay lot of about a dozen Topspin toys for like $30, but not a single one of them was in good shape. I wouldn't even be able to piece together a single pristine unit from parts from any of those dozen toys. It was distressing.

In the end, I bought an unused 1985 sticker sheet (it was only about $20) and then I narrowed down my search to a Topspin that only had the factory-applied labels (the ones on the wings, shoulders, and upper legs). Due to the inherent lameness of the Jumpstarters, I imagine there are at least a few out there who were entirely unloved and were never played with a child at all, and I think I got one of them. He's really in nice shape.

The adhesive on these ancient stickers has long since lost its gripping ability, so I had to use super glue to attach the labels. But, I got to apply the stickers myself and ensure they were on straight, which is a comparative rarity nowadays when it comes to G1 toys (I've gotten to do it a couple of times now, with my Autobot Pretender Beasts, and also with Waverider, but I'm definitely not expecting this opportunity to avail itself regularly). Yes, I've turned into THAT kind of collector now, apparently. I'm the guy who depletes the world's supply of unused G1 label sheets just so I can get a pristine-looking toy on my shelf.

The fiction Bob Budiansky created for the personalities of these characters is interesting. According to Topspin's tech specs and bio, he seems like he would be tough for the other Autobots to handle. HIs versatility as a vehicle means he can go virtually anywhere, but he seems more interested in conquest for its own sake. When Simon Furman created the Wreckers, he gathered together a lot of rejected characters who weren't being featured in the American stories, but honestly the Jumpstarters seem kind of like rejects in-universe, too.

I only spent $15 on Topspin (without accessories; I already had his gun). The Jumpstarters are very plentiful on eBay and there were lots to choose from. There's little or no demand for these guys. But, it means I was able to cherry-pick a really good one.

I already had both Jumpstarter guns, and I was surprised at what great condition they're in. They're pristine. Not a speck of vac-metal paint wear. Then, I remembered that many years ago, Delta Star of Toyhax was experimenting with setting up a chroming lab, and I offered to be a guinea pig and sent him a bunch of parts for him to try to re-chrome. No wonder the guns look so good!

TWIN TWIST

Twin Twist is also described as a spaceship in his instructions, but I think this is a clear cut-and-paste mistake. Twin Twist is a ground-based drilling machine, with (non-functional) treaded wheels and a pair of (non-rotating) vac-metal drill bits. He's gang-molded with Topspin so they share the same colors, only switched around—Twin Twist has a blue body and light grey arms and legs and head. (It is possible to build an all-grey robot and and all-blue one, if you disassemble them. Toptwist and Twin Spin?)

His factory stickers include a little bit of arabic writing—there are visible numeral 37's on each of his shoulder stickers, and his upper legs are marked with "Computer Subsystem" in tiny printing. This is a bit at odds with the notion that this is a Cybertronic vehicle from an alien world!


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