Pretender to the Throne!

My complete set of 1988 Decepticon Pretenders are here!

I bought these from the same seller who sold me the complete set of six 1988 Autobot Pretenders, eBay seller nancyfancypants, one of the best the friendliest eBay sellers I have had the pleasure to buy from. Shipping was top-notch fast and these figures arrived in a little over a week.

I am very happy to be able to purchase these six Decepticon Pretenders in one hit! I'm gonna say it again, my Pretenders are here! Hurrah!

I will be featuring each one in more detail in later posts, but first, here they are - Skullgrin, Bomb-burst, Submarauder, Iguanus, Bugly and Finback...


The Decepticon Pretenders - Skullgrin, Bomb-burst, Submarauder, Iguanus, Bugly and Finback


Top Row: The Decepticon Pretenders - Skullgrin, Bomb-burst, Submarauder, Iguanus, Bugly and Finback
Bottom Row: The Autobot Pretenders - Landmine, Cloudburst, Waverider, Groundbreaker, Sky High and Splashdown


Top Row: The Decepticon Pretenders - Skullgrin, Bomb-burst, Submarauder, Iguanus, Bugly and Finback
Bottom Row: The Autobot Pretenders - Landmine, Cloudburst, Waverider, Groundbreaker, Sky High and Splashdown


Autobot Pretenders vs Decepticon Pretenders!


The Pretender Army
The Autobot platoon - Landmine, Cloudburst, Waverider, Groundbreaker, Sky High and Splashdown
The Decepticon platoon - Skullgrin, Bomb-burst, Submarauder, Iguanus, Bugly and Finback


The Pretender Army
The Autobot platoon - Landmine, Cloudburst, Waverider, Groundbreaker, Sky High and Splashdown
The Decepticon platoon - Skullgrin, Bomb-burst, Submarauder, Iguanus, Bugly and Finback


The Pretender Army
The Autobot platoon - Landmine, Cloudburst, Waverider, Groundbreaker, Sky High and Splashdown
The Decepticon platoon - Skullgrin, Bomb-burst, Submarauder, Iguanus, Bugly and Finback


The Pretender Army
The Decepticon platoon - Skullgrin, Bomb-burst, Submarauder, Iguanus, Bugly and Finback


The Pretender Army
The Autobot platoon - Landmine, Cloudburst, Waverider, Groundbreaker, Sky High and Splashdown


Special Pretender Army shot photographed by E

Series 5 (1988) - Autobot Sixchanger Assualt Warrior Quickswitch

The six-changer concept was something I was very interested in since back in 1988. It was, however, largely unexplored because the US cartoon continuity ended in '87.

The Japanese Headmasters and Masterforce series did show a little more about these powerful robots but did not make them any more interesting. They typically transformed from one mode to another without much rhyme or reason.

With the IDW comics-verse, Sixshot became a star (literally and figuratively, since he is supposed to be made from the 'compacted matter of a fallen star'), but Quickswitch, his Autobot counterpart, still received no love.

I don't recall Quickswitch appearing in any comics or even cartoons. A re-coloured incarnation of him, Sixknight, did appear in Masterforce but that is arguably another character entirely.

I think its high time Quickswitch got some love, but since he still has not, I'm going to give him some - by featuring him here.

Quickswitch is easily as powerful and interesting as Sixshot and also equally unpredictable. Still, he would be an asset to the Autobot cause.

Quickswitch tranforms into:

- a jet;

- a puma;

- a laser pistol;

- a drill tank;

- a hovercraft; and

- a robot.

His Tech Specs say:

"Completely unpredictable. Changes his mood as often as he changes his mode. Can be compassionate, merciless, friendly, hateful, happy, or angry, depending on what time of day it is. Equipped with 6 different modes: robot warrior, assault hovercraft cruiser, jet-propelled laser pistol, assault beast with stealth shielding, armor-piercing drill tank, suborbital fighter jet. Armed with twin photon blasters."

(okay, the Tech Specs are not very informative)

The Dreamwave More Than Meets the Eye Sourcebooks says:

"Among those rare Transformers who are biomechanically inclined to multiple transformations, Quickswitch is the first Autobot Six Changer. His capacity to change form is written so deep in his spark that it dominates his entire personality. He's moody at best and unstable at worst - Qucikswitch can't maintain a feeling or emotion for very long before it turns into something else, often entirely different. Witnesses have reported him exhorting his comrades to show mercy before a battle and then tearing through Decepticons with all the compassion of an energon-scythe. Quickswitch's problem is deeper than a few crossed wires, and its one that he's tried to correct... yet all medical tests show that there is absolutely nothing wrong with him in terms of mental functioning. Quickswitch suspects that the Decepticon Sixshot, the first Six Changer, may somehow possess the clue needed to equalise his own metal processes. The one unchanging thing about Quickswitch is that he is determined to get the answers to his origin and solution to his processes."

I recently acquired this very interesting Canadian boxed Quickswitch for E. Quickswitch is one of the Transformers she likes. It is interesting because it looks very much like its US box counterpart, and so is a lot more likeable than say the European boxes. The main difference is that there are a set of French words for every set of English words that appears on the box.

Here are some pictures...

The Canadian version of Quickswitch came with a massive amount of paperwork - there are English and French versions of each of the catalogues that came with the toy.

See also, Transformers Masterforce C-312: Sixknight MIB.

Series 5 (1988) - Powermaster Slapdash MIB

The first part of what is going to be a massive update.

I have in the past 2-3 months acquired many G1 Mint in Box Transformers. Some have already been showcased. Today, more will be showcased.

Slapdash is probably the second G1 Autobot that transforms into an F1 type race car. Arguably not as nice a Mirage but this is still a pretty sweet piece (which I'm happy to have considering how difficult it is to track down MIB Powermasters nowadays).

The box is quite a bit below the condition I would usually accept, but I am really happy with the condition of toy and 100% complete accessories. Importantly, nothing is broken, which is more than I can say for Powermaster TFs where 90% upwards are broken somewhere because someone tried to transform them without 'activating' the powermaster gimmick.

1988 - Series 5 - Decepticon Pretenders

Soon, my six 1988 Autobot Pretenders will be joined (or will have to fight with) the six 1988 Decepticon Pretenders: Skullgrin, Bomb Burst, Submarauder, Iguanus, Bugly and Finback!

More on this in a week and a bit!

The Deluxe Insecticons - Barrage, Chop Shop, Ransack & Venom

The 1985 Deluxe Insecticons. Have always liked these guys. Did not get around to acquiring them, as a full set, till recently.

I liked that they are larger and generally have more complex transformations and more weapons than the other three Insecticons (Shrapnel, Kickback and Bombshell). I also liked that they have many many stickers on each of their sticker sheets. Much more so (again) than the other three Insecticons.

Back in the 80s, didn't understand why they were never in the G1 cartoons or even the G1 comics. So, I'm rather delighted that they were in Dreamwave's More Than Meets The Eye source books and also were in War Within volume one (sort of, as easter eggs really).

For years, I've had a Ransack box; have 2 loose and one MIB Chop Shop; and an MIB Barrage but incomplete. Never did get around to acquiring them all.

So, when I was offered all four, each with complete paper works and bubbles, I thought I might just purchase all four, for completeness sake and also to get them all in bubbles. Will sort out the spares later. heh.

Here they are: Barrage, Chop Shop, Ransack and Venom, all MIB, with bubble insert, with complete paper works and partially used sticker sheets.