I knew when I got this what i would be getting. I got it because I was missing Cosmos and Warpath from my Collection, and I would add an Alt Gears to it as well. That said, there are a number of frustrating factors involved in this Purchase. The first is Hasbro's reliance--no, OBSESSION--with Repurposing Molds. Heck, this isn't even a REPURPOSE, s
...Read MoreRead more about I knew when I got this what i would beo much as an alt color scheme. The Back-to-the-Future Sideswipe variation of the poorly and uncreatively named Gigawatt is an example of how a good Repurpose should ACTUALLY work. Hasbro had to use alt parts to get certain features as the Dolorian's Iconic raising doors right. But with the "Go-Bot" Guardian Pack, it's just a straight-up recolor. Which is annoying.
More annoying than that, however, is how Hasbro Vince McMahon's the entire Go-Bot name. (By using Vince's name as a Verb, I am referring tot he act of taking a competitor's truly unique product and watering it down to be a clone of YOUR truly unique product.) The Go-Bots had much to offer people in the past, particularly those of us who had no money to collect the more expensive Transformers. You could--at the time--get one Deluxe Transformer for about $12.95. Conversely, you could get a Go-Bot for about $2.95. (And my family couldn't really afford THAT, either, but I got a Blue Leader-1 from the Christmas Tree Name-Draws they did at one place and I LOVED that figure. ESPECIALLY since I ALWAYS wanted a Decepticon Seeker, which was prohibitively expensive for my family.)
Why not reissue the Mini-Go-Bots as a Collector's Item, Diecast and all? Better yet, why not do some INTELLIGENT Repurposing of your Seeker and Junkion Molds and make us a new Leader-1 or Cy-Kill? You already ruined the Crasher release by making it so easily Scalped, but with a few precautions--yes, I do know you're TRYING to figure this out, ergo the 3 Per Limit and such, but the problem is these Scalpers have MULTIPLE Addresses, Names and such, and therefore, they are not REALLY abiding by the 3 Per CUSTOMER Rule, FURTHER, you're the freaking Production Company...why should you EVER run out of 'Stock' so freaking easily--you could make it so MOST everyone has a shot at getting one.
Final Complaint--well, two actually--is the method of Transformation utilized with Warpath...er...TREADS. It's just...awkward. Nor is it helped by the fact that the instructions are so confusing at times. Following the step-by-step instructions I still had issues getting Cosmo...er, PATHFINDER...and Treads Transformed correctly. While Pathfinder was MOSTLY easy to figure out where I went wrong, the issue with Treads is that the Transformation itself is unwieldy. And this is a hard complaint for me to make, because I LOVE the fact that the front end of the Tank is basically all collapsed into the legs. But the tabs have issue staying tabbed in. I also have issues making this complaint because I realize this is one of the rare Transformers that you basically cobble the Transformation together. Any Diehard TF Fan knows what I mean here; the fact you have to get all the pieces tabbed in and aligned, then you have to 'crimp' the Final Transformation so everything holds tight. It's an...underappreciated...aspect of Transformers, and yes, it CAN be fun, LOL But there it is.
Oh, and I'm going to pull a Columbo here, but just ONE MORE thing...two of the Transformers have Autobot Symbols--Pathfinder and Smallfoot--and Treads has a Decepticon Logo. (Pretty sure this version of Warpath has been released before, and so this is not even a Recolor, if I'm right.) The two Factions in Go-Bots and the Guardians and the Renegades. NEITHER had Faction Symbols on them, IIRC. Regardless, that would mean, using a sort of Parallel Universe Logic, that ONE of these Guardians is ACTUALLY a Renegade. I know Transformers tagline is "Robots in Disguise," but I would hope that at least HASBRO would have figured out the difference before calling it the "Guardian" Set, LOL
Overall, I LOVE the set for what it offers me, but I am NOT Disillusioned about what its drawbacks are, and there are many. For the Drawbacks, as well as for the Reissuing straight-mold and lack of Imagination in doing so, I give this set an AVERAGE Rating. Read LessRead less about I knew when I got this what i would be
