Dave's 1-2-3 Transformers Rant

     Rescue Roy

     Hasbro has decided to revive the My First Transformer concept using the
Tonka line that it acquired a few years back.  The first (and unless it sells
really well, only) entry in the line is Rescue Roy, a transforming fire
truck.  

CAPSULE

     Rescue Roy: Very poseable robot mode, transformation is reasonably
interesting considering the target audience of small children, vehicle mode
looks nice but doesn't hold together as well as I'd like.  Very credible
gerwalk mode.  Weird voicebox gimmick.  Recommended.  $32.99 at Target,
probably less at Wal-Mart or Meijer once they get it.  Look in the Tonka
section, not the Transforemrs section.

RANT

     No techspec.  Rescue Roy comes in an open-face box (no clear plastic
covering) in robot mode, held down with 9 twist-ties.  The box has a small
city street background inside of it, with a little 3-D work.  It is possible
to cut all the ties with a scissors without opening the box.  
     Note that as a result of the box face being open, many of the toys will
have their heads pushed in and may have some serious battery drain.

     Robot Mode: 10.5" (27cm) tall, in red, silver and black.  The colors
don't quite match the pictures on the box, but this isn't a major problem
since the figure is fully visible in package.  The head can turn.  The
elbows, knees and hips are ratchet hinges, as are the toes, sort of.  The
shoulders have ratcheting universal joints, but the joints are stiff enough
that the folded bits under the shoulders sometimes come untransformed a bit
(in fact, expect the shoulders to be "dislocated" when you buy it).  The
wrists swivel, and the thumbs are hinged.  Water cannons on the forearms have
full spin and elevate, and wings can pop out on the back.  The wings have a
span of 12" (31cm).
     And then there's the light and sound gimmicks.  The most important point
on these is the one major undocumented feature of the toy: there is an off
switch.  It's located at the base of the backpack, accessible by reaching
between the figure's legs (no comment...this is a family page).  There's
three buttons for activating sounds.  A slider located to the left of the
head triggers most of the robot mode sounds and statements, including the
infamous "Let's hit the red stuff with the wet stuff!" and half a dozen or so
more.  The button behind the head is really meant for vehicle mode, as it
gives mainly siren and horn sounds plus an exhortation to convert to robot
mode.  Finally, there's a third button which pops out the wings and causes
the statement "Let's take to the air!" followed by jet noises.  All sounds
are accompanied by various flashing lights, and the amber eyes and red
headlights on the chest stay lit up until the sign-off.  For a minute or so
after pushing any of these buttons, you'll get random horn noises every
little while, sort of like how the interactive Pikachu plaintively "Pika"s to
get you to keep playing with it.  At the end of this time, it says "Rescue
Roy One signing off."
     One other little nifty thing in robot mode, the rear wheels of the fire
engine are fit at the ankles, and the figure can roll along quite nicely on
these "skates".  It does tend to fall over when it stops, though.

     Gerwalk Mode: This is a sort of halfway point between vehicle and robot,
popularized by the Valkyrie mecha in Robotech/Macross.  To get this, detach
the shoulders from the torso, push in the head and fold the figure so that
the cab and backpack are lined up in vehicle mode.  Then position the arms
and legs so that it can walk along and fight.  Pop the wings for an even
closer resemblance to gerwalks.  The skates still work, as do all the light
and sound gimmicks, although the first slider will cause the head to pop up.

     Transformation: Pretty simple, but this IS supposed to be "easy as
1-2-3" to transform.  Lots of pegs are used to keep things in place, and
small children may not be able to exert enough force to keep them fastened.
This isn't a problem for older owners, but it is a flaw considering the
intended audience.
     The on-off switch is most easily accessed either during transformation
or while in gerwalk mode.

     Vehicle Mode: Just a bit under 10" (25cm) long and a bit stubby,
although not quite superdeformed.  It has six wheels.  The front and back
pairs are about an inch and a half in diameter (3.5cm), the middle pair are
2" (5cm) in diameter.  The wheels don't always all hit the surface of a flat
table, but the toy rolls very well.
     The wings cannot deploy in this mode, and using the front slider will
cause the head to pop out.  Only the button behind the head is intended for
use in vehicle mode.
     In addition to the gerwalk mode, Rescue Roy can deploy his arms
(ladders) to grab things while in vehicle mode.  Sure, it's not as flexible
as Gigatron/Megatron or even BMac Scavenger, but it's more versatile than
you'd think from a Little Kiddie Toy.

     Overall: Well, aside from coming across like Optimus Prime's (Fire
Convoy's) special needs little brother, it's a relatively solid toy,
appropriate to the intended audience (if a little unstable).  Is it worth
thirty bucks?  Well, it's big and poseable and has some gimmicks that are
good for a laugh, I'd say yes.

     Dave Van Domelen, thinks Rescue Roy could be a Superdeformer with no
modification at all, but suggests the name Resthome Roy, the reallllly old
guy....