Continuing my look at some of the original Decepticon Pretenders that came into my possession recently.

Iguanus was part of the second wave of 1988 Pretenders, with a slightly different design philosophy evident in his styling and overall make-up. In Marvel Comics issue #54, he ended up getting something approximating a feature story in "King 'Con," during which he tangled with Autobot Micromasters, climbed the Empire State Building, and eventually fell to his doom.

So, the inner robot is five inches in height, and he's a shade of deep purple that makes my eyes happy, with a maroon color used for his robot arms, head, mid-section, and toes. His accessories are this same maroon color—he carries a winged hurricane blaster, and he wears a blades/wheels assembly sideways on his back, a little like G2 Road Rocket. The wheel assembly makes him a bit top-heavy, and even with his robot arms pointing forwards and the gun in his hand as a counterweight, he doesn't stand up that well. You almost have to lean him forwards.

He's better articulated than most Pretenders. He's got swiveling hips, knees that actually bend in a useful direction, toes that bend, and rotating arms. His head won't move, though—in fact, he only has the front facade of a head, with no back half to speak of at all, almost like Kup.

He transforms into what Hasbro describes as a motorcycle. The idea is to lay him on his belly, point his arms backwards and fold the shoulders back, and swing the legs underneath. (If the knees had bent backwards, it would have resulted in a more compact form, but I think they decide to give him proper knees instead to make his robot mode better. I approve of this decision.) There's a motorcycle seat assembly connected to the back of his head that rotates to form the rear of the vehicle.

Without accessories, he just looks like a generic jet or hovercraft, not too different from any of the other first-year Pretenders. But, once you plug the wheel/blade assembly into the bottom, that's what really makes it a motorbike. The wheel assembly is all one piece of plastic, so the wheels are fake and cannot roll. In fact, the wheels don't actually touch the ground, since there's a block he rests on, right in the center, when he's in this mode. His gun mounts to the rear, facing backwards, I guess as a thruster of sorts. The final result is pretty cool-looking, but it's abstract in the extreme.

The Pretender shell, meanwhile (and certainly the aspect of Iguanus that he was named after) is a purple lizard creature about 6.5" tall at the head, with the fin on top bringing him closer to 7.0" tall. He might have been inspired by a gila monster, covered in scales and spines, with a long, grey articulated tail (it's curled to the left and can swing side-to-side). He wears a grey belt with a fanged creature emblem embossed in the center, and once you attach it, there's no need to ever remove it. He wears gold and red chest armor, black shoulder pads and vambraces, and gold kneepads.

There's no way that Iggy's inner robot could fit into the Pretender shell while equipped with his weapons, so he climbs into it unaccessorized, and the outer shell uses them instead. I'm accustomed to a lot of Pretenders having weapons that are meant only for their outer shells to use, but that isn't the case this time. The outer shell can carry the hurricane blaster, which looks fine, as well as the wheel/blade assembly when it's turned sideways, which looks a little strange. (The outer shell has his right arm sculpted slightly outstretched, away from the body, and I think that was done to create enough clearance for him to hold the wheel/blades easily. In truth, though, he can hold either weapon in either hand.)

Iguanus achieved some modern prominence recently with the release of the Core-class Legacy toy, which combined aspects of the original Pretender shell and the inner robot's motorcycle transformation into a single, cohesive toy.

I've been looking at Iguanus, on and off, on eBay for a while now, and he seems to come up in short supply for some reason. I honestly don't know why.. He's not like Bludgeon or Thunderwing where he achieved significant prominence in the comic books, and there's nothing to suggest that he's any more or less rare than, say, Bugly or Finback. But, there have been times when there are literally *zero* eBay listings for Iguanus, which is super weird and really unusual for any G1 toy. (It's possible I forgot to check for "Iguanas," though, which is a common misspelling for this character's name.)

The toy also seems to suffer from an odd problem where one of the arms of the outer lizard shell is consistently a different color than the other. I'm not sure if it's due to a flaw in the manufacturing process, or the simple result of different batches of arms getting mixed together in a big assembly bin. On my toy, the arms don't quite match the rest of the body (the body is purple plastic, but the arms are black plastic with purple paint) but at least they match each other, which is nice.

A lot of vintage G1 toys fall into two categories for me: I've owned one at some point, either currently or in the past, so the one I've gotten for The Collection with a capital "C" feels comfortable and familiar... or it's a toy I've never handled in my life so it's a brand-new experience. Iguanus is both. I've had his old, beat-up empty Pretender shell for years now. I honestly don't remember where I got it from. I used to donate blood plasma, and while I was waiting for the bus I would always check the thrift store next door. So he might have come from there. Anyway, while I've owned his shell for years, his robot component is totally unfamiliar to me. It's a weird mix of old and new, all rolled into one. How fitting, somehow, for a Pretender.

Zob (the only bad thing about getting up at 5:00 every morning is that I get hungry for lunch at, like, 9:30)

On Saturday, February 11, 2023 at 10:40:01 AM UTC-6, Zobovor wrote:
> Continuing my look at some of the original Decepticon Pretenders that came into my possession recently.
>
> Iguanus was part of the second wave of 1988 Pretenders, with a slightly different design philosophy evident in his styling and overall make-up. In Marvel Comics issue #54, he ended up getting something approximating a feature story in "King 'Con," during which he tangled with Autobot Micromasters, climbed the Empire State Building, and eventually fell to his doom.
>
> So, the inner robot is five inches in height, and he's a shade of deep purple that makes my eyes happy, with a maroon color used for his robot arms, head, mid-section, and toes. His accessories are this same maroon color—he carries a winged hurricane blaster, and he wears a blades/wheels assembly sideways on his back, a little like G2 Road Rocket. The wheel assembly makes him a bit top-heavy, and even with his robot arms pointing forwards and the gun in his hand as a counterweight, he doesn't stand up that well. You almost have to lean him forwards.
>
> He's better articulated than most Pretenders. He's got swiveling hips, knees that actually bend in a useful direction, toes that bend, and rotating arms. His head won't move, though—in fact, he only has the front facade of a head, with no back half to speak of at all, almost like Kup.
>
> He transforms into what Hasbro describes as a motorcycle. The idea is to lay him on his belly, point his arms backwards and fold the shoulders back, and swing the legs underneath. (If the knees had bent backwards, it would have resulted in a more compact form, but I think they decide to give him proper knees instead to make his robot mode better. I approve of this decision.) There's a motorcycle seat assembly connected to the back of his head that rotates to form the rear of the vehicle.
>
> Without accessories, he just looks like a generic jet or hovercraft, not too different from any of the other first-year Pretenders. But, once you plug the wheel/blade assembly into the bottom, that's what really makes it a motorbike. The wheel assembly is all one piece of plastic, so the wheels are fake and cannot roll. In fact, the wheels don't actually touch the ground, since there's a block he rests on, right in the center, when he's in this mode. His gun mounts to the rear, facing backwards, I guess as a thruster of sorts. The final result is pretty cool-looking, but it's abstract in the extreme.
>
> The Pretender shell, meanwhile (and certainly the aspect of Iguanus that he was named after) is a purple lizard creature about 6.5" tall at the head, with the fin on top bringing him closer to 7.0" tall. He might have been inspired by a gila monster, covered in scales and spines, with a long, grey articulated tail (it's curled to the left and can swing side-to-side). He wears a grey belt with a fanged creature emblem embossed in the center, and once you attach it, there's no need to ever remove it. He wears gold and red chest armor, black shoulder pads and vambraces, and gold kneepads.
>
> There's no way that Iggy's inner robot could fit into the Pretender shell while equipped with his weapons, so he climbs into it unaccessorized, and the outer shell uses them instead. I'm accustomed to a lot of Pretenders having weapons that are meant only for their outer shells to use, but that isn't the case this time. The outer shell can carry the hurricane blaster, which looks fine, as well as the wheel/blade assembly when it's turned sideways, which looks a little strange. (The outer shell has his right arm sculpted slightly outstretched, away from the body, and I think that was done to create enough clearance for him to hold the wheel/blades easily. In truth, though, he can hold either weapon in either hand.)
>
> Iguanus achieved some modern prominence recently with the release of the Core-class Legacy toy, which combined aspects of the original Pretender shell and the inner robot's motorcycle transformation into a single, cohesive toy.
>
> I've been looking at Iguanus, on and off, on eBay for a while now, and he seems to come up in short supply for some reason. I honestly don't know why. He's not like Bludgeon or Thunderwing where he achieved significant prominence in the comic books, and there's nothing to suggest that he's any more or less rare than, say, Bugly or Finback. But, there have been times when there are literally *zero* eBay listings for Iguanus, which is super weird and really unusual for any G1 toy. (It's possible I forgot to check for "Iguanas," though, which is a common misspelling for this character's name.)
>
> The toy also seems to suffer from an odd problem where one of the arms of the outer lizard shell is consistently a different color than the other. I'm not sure if it's due to a flaw in the manufacturing process, or the simple result of different batches of arms getting mixed together in a big assembly bin. On my toy, the arms don't quite match the rest of the body (the body is purple plastic, but the arms are black plastic with purple paint) but at least they match each other, which is nice.
>
> A lot of vintage G1 toys fall into two categories for me: I've owned one at some point, either currently or in the past, so the one I've gotten for The Collection with a capital "C" feels comfortable and familiar... or it's a toy I've never handled in my life so it's a brand-new experience. Iguanus is both. I've had his old, beat-up empty Pretender shell for years now. I honestly don't remember where I got it from. I used to donate blood plasma, and while I was waiting for the bus I would always check the thrift store next door. So he might have come from there. Anyway, while I've owned his shell for years, his robot component is totally unfamiliar to me. It's a weird mix of old and new, all rolled into one. How fitting, somehow, for a Pretender.
>
>
> Zob (the only bad thing about getting up at 5:00 every morning is that I get hungry for lunch at, like, 9:30)

Having a serious Mandela effect in that I could have sworn you already reviewed him

Anyway, He's got a cool shell, a passable robot, and an atrocious vehicle mode, and the weapons pack needed to get that atrocious vehicle are why mine only left his shell to prove that the Legacy Core Iguanus does indeed fit in the G1 shell. I wish I still had Bomb burst or Blood to try it out with him. Oh well, the Legacy is much more fun to play with than the G1,

Do any of the 1st year pretenders get in their shells with their accessories? I can't think of any accessories that really fit inside the shells with the first years. That was something that the micromaster size robots started and did quite awfully.

All the pretenders seem to have a significantly short supply on Ebay compared to other toys, especially with any kind of parts on them. That was part of why I gave up on them. Pincer's robot is bland but to transform it you need a stupid amount of partsforming parts you won't find cheap. Someone literally gave me the shell knowing the sheer pain it was to get anything else on him.

I spent a long time yesterday looking up Space:1999 toys on Ebay and only like 2 out of 40 of them were moderately hard to find.

On Sunday, February 12, 2023 at 7:56:36 AM UTC-7, Irrellius Spamticon wrote:

> Having a serious Mandela effect in that I could have sworn you already reviewed him

I got the Core-class Legacy toy not too long ago, and I'm sure I compared him to the G1 toy a little bit. Maybe that's what you're remembering.
> Do any of the 1st year pretenders get in their shells with their accessories? I can't think of any accessories that really fit inside the shells with the first years. That was something that the micromaster size robots started and did quite awfully.

No, I don't think so. I remember being able to stuff Pretender Starscream's little blue guns into his shell along with the robot, but most of the time, it's not an option.

> All the pretenders seem to have a significantly short supply on Ebay compared to other toys, especially with any kind of parts on them. That was part of why I gave up on them. Pincer's robot is bland but to transform it you need a stupid amount of partsforming parts you won't find cheap. Someone literally gave me the shell knowing the sheer pain it was to get anything else on him.
Yeah, it's super hard to find them complete, especially the 1989 Pretenders.. I'm getting Stranglehold from ViceGripX, and I already own Bludgeon, but the rest are going to cost me an arm and a leg, I'm sure. And a pincer, probably.

> I spent a long time yesterday looking up Space:1999 toys on Ebay and only like 2 out of 40 of them were moderately hard to find.

I had never heard of that show until I saw it on the Sci-Fi Channel. And I had no idea there was a toy line at all.

Zob (in the 1960's, everybody thought we'd be living on the Moon by 1990)

On Sunday, February 12, 2023 at 7:01:03 PM UTC-8, Zobovor wrote:
> On Sunday, February 12, 2023 at 7:56:36 AM UTC-7, Irrellius Spamticon wrote:
>
> > Having a serious Mandela effect in that I could have sworn you already reviewed him
> I got the Core-class Legacy toy not too long ago, and I'm sure I compared him to the G1 toy a little bit. Maybe that's what you're remembering.
> > Do any of the 1st year pretenders get in their shells with their accessories? I can't think of any accessories that really fit inside the shells with the first years. That was something that the micromaster size robots started and did quite awfully.
> No, I don't think so. I remember being able to stuff Pretender Starscream's little blue guns into his shell along with the robot, but most of the time, it's not an option.
> > All the pretenders seem to have a significantly short supply on Ebay compared to other toys, especially with any kind of parts on them. That was part of why I gave up on them. Pincer's robot is bland but to transform it you need a stupid amount of partsforming parts you won't find cheap. Someone literally gave me the shell knowing the sheer pain it was to get anything else on him.
> Yeah, it's super hard to find them complete, especially the 1989 Pretenders. I'm getting Stranglehold from ViceGripX, and I already own Bludgeon, but the rest are going to cost me an arm and a leg, I'm sure. And a pincer, probably.
> > I spent a long time yesterday looking up Space:1999 toys on Ebay and only like 2 out of 40 of them were moderately hard to find.
> I had never heard of that show until I saw it on the Sci-Fi Channel. And I had no idea there was a toy line at all.
>
>
> Zob (in the 1960's, everybody thought we'd be living on the Moon by 1990)

Just another shout-out for Space:1999, which remains entertaining and memorable to this day. :)

(Speaking of more 'cultish' science fiction shows of that era: does anyone else here love - or even remember - V? Also a huge favourite of mine).

JB

On Monday, February 13, 2023 at 1:23:03 AM UTC-6, Joseph Bardsley wrote:
> On Sunday, February 12, 2023 at 7:01:03 PM UTC-8, Zobovor wrote:
> > On Sunday, February 12, 2023 at 7:56:36 AM UTC-7, Irrellius Spamticon wrote:
> >
> > > Having a serious Mandela effect in that I could have sworn you already reviewed him
> > I got the Core-class Legacy toy not too long ago, and I'm sure I compared him to the G1 toy a little bit. Maybe that's what you're remembering.
> > > Do any of the 1st year pretenders get in their shells with their accessories? I can't think of any accessories that really fit inside the shells with the first years. That was something that the micromaster size robots started and did quite awfully.
> > No, I don't think so. I remember being able to stuff Pretender Starscream's little blue guns into his shell along with the robot, but most of the time, it's not an option.
> > > All the pretenders seem to have a significantly short supply on Ebay compared to other toys, especially with any kind of parts on them. That was part of why I gave up on them. Pincer's robot is bland but to transform it you need a stupid amount of partsforming parts you won't find cheap. Someone literally gave me the shell knowing the sheer pain it was to get anything else on him.
> > Yeah, it's super hard to find them complete, especially the 1989 Pretenders. I'm getting Stranglehold from ViceGripX, and I already own Bludgeon, but the rest are going to cost me an arm and a leg, I'm sure. And a pincer, probably.
> > > I spent a long time yesterday looking up Space:1999 toys on Ebay and only like 2 out of 40 of them were moderately hard to find.
> > I had never heard of that show until I saw it on the Sci-Fi Channel. And I had no idea there was a toy line at all.
> >
> >
> > Zob (in the 1960's, everybody thought we'd be living on the Moon by 1990)
> Just another shout-out for Space:1999, which remains entertaining and memorable to this day. :)
>
> (Speaking of more 'cultish' science fiction shows of that era: does anyone else here love - or even remember - V? Also a huge favourite of mine).
>
> JB

When the reboot came out I watched a few seasons of the original V

I've never seen Space 1999 before, but I had to price a large box of carded figures I dug out of the back storeroom and we always try to undercut ebay..

I expected us to at least have a moonbase by now but capitalism killed much of our space program.

On Monday, February 13, 2023 at 12:23:03 AM UTC-7, Joseph Bardsley wrote:

> (Speaking of more 'cultish' science fiction shows of that era: does anyone else here love - or even remember - V? Also a huge favourite of mine).

I was too young for it. That show grossed me out. I'm surprised there doesn't seem to be anything on Wikipedia about how disgusting the special effects were. When the show originally aired, that's all people were talking about. I have only vague memories of lizard-men messily-devouring mice, or ripping their human flesh away from their faces to reveal their horrifying lizard-man skin.

Zob (*shudders involuntarily*)

On Monday, February 13, 2023 at 2:23:03 AM UTC-5, Joseph Bardsley wrote:
> On Sunday, February 12, 2023 at 7:01:03 PM UTC-8, Zobovor wrote:
> > On Sunday, February 12, 2023 at 7:56:36 AM UTC-7, Irrellius Spamticon wrote:
> >
> > > Having a serious Mandela effect in that I could have sworn you already reviewed him
> > I got the Core-class Legacy toy not too long ago, and I'm sure I compared him to the G1 toy a little bit. Maybe that's what you're remembering.
> > > Do any of the 1st year pretenders get in their shells with their accessories? I can't think of any accessories that really fit inside the shells with the first years. That was something that the micromaster size robots started and did quite awfully.
> > No, I don't think so. I remember being able to stuff Pretender Starscream's little blue guns into his shell along with the robot, but most of the time, it's not an option.
> > > All the pretenders seem to have a significantly short supply on Ebay compared to other toys, especially with any kind of parts on them. That was part of why I gave up on them. Pincer's robot is bland but to transform it you need a stupid amount of partsforming parts you won't find cheap. Someone literally gave me the shell knowing the sheer pain it was to get anything else on him.
> > Yeah, it's super hard to find them complete, especially the 1989 Pretenders. I'm getting Stranglehold from ViceGripX, and I already own Bludgeon, but the rest are going to cost me an arm and a leg, I'm sure. And a pincer, probably.
> > > I spent a long time yesterday looking up Space:1999 toys on Ebay and only like 2 out of 40 of them were moderately hard to find.
> > I had never heard of that show until I saw it on the Sci-Fi Channel. And I had no idea there was a toy line at all.
> >
> >
> > Zob (in the 1960's, everybody thought we'd be living on the Moon by 1990)
> Just another shout-out for Space:1999, which remains entertaining and memorable to this day. :)
>
> (Speaking of more 'cultish' science fiction shows of that era: does anyone else here love - or even remember - V? Also a huge favourite of mine).
>
> JB

The hype around the 2009 reboot led me to watch the original miniseries and pick up the novelization. I remember enjoying it - a nice blast of retro sci-fi from a more innocent age.

With all the UFOs in the news lately, maybe 80s-era Jane Badler will be back to beguile us in her stunning shades. She can experiment on me anytime.