Dave's Transformers Rant:

     Bumblebee Keychain
     Cliffjumper Keychain

     Found these two at Hot Topic at the Lansing Mall (got the last
Bumblebee), and from reports it seems that Hot Topic has 'em chain-wide.

CAPSULES

     They're Minibots, superdeformed cars that turn into squat and barely
poseable robots, looking not too much like their cartoon selves.  Basically,
unless you're a completist or can afford to drop the money on a whim, don't
bother with these guys.  $6.99 each.

RANTS

     Packaging: They're on individual blister cards 7" (18cm) tall by 5.5"
(14cm) wide using original G1 logos and art, albeit slightly different
graphic design overall.  The transformation instructions (such as they are)
are on the back of the card, using photographs.  Along the side of the
cardback is the techspec card, which uses the original style of light blue
lines on a background full of red lines.  A decoder strip is not included,
not that it's really needed unless you're color-blind.  The packaging is
designed so that you can cut the techspec strip off the card without touching
the plastic blister, should you want to.

     Keychain: The keychain part of the toy is reasonably elaborate, with a
clip, keyring, chain and "safety pin" style hasp that connects to the car.
The hasp is very rigid, however, and the force required to open it kinda
hurts.  

     Toys: The molds are essentially the same as those used for the original
Minibots, including the die cast metal backs and the rubberized tires, with
one exception.  A loop has been added to the rear bumper (left shoulder in
robot mode) to accomodate the hasp for the keychain.  I've heard reports that
these loops snap pretty easily if you actually use the toy as a keychain.  
     Both toys are 3" (8cm) tall in robot mode, 1.75" (4cm) long in car
mode.  The plastic used for the auto body shells feels a bit flimsier than
that used in the original Minibots.  Each has a foil sticker of the Autobot
symbol on the roof of the car mode, and a clear sticker on the back of the
car (back of the head piece).  On Bumblebee, the back sticker is of engine
details or something abstract, while Cliffjumper gets another Autobot
symbol.  

     Overall: I wouldn't recommend using these keychains as keychains, as the
loop that connects to them feels kinda fragile.  And if you just want the
Minibots, you can probably find ones in decent condition for less than seven
bucks each after shipping on eBay.  I mean, it's nice that these are out
there, but given that they don't seem to have made it into major stores (and
hance cost $7 instead of $5), they're not really good value for the money.

     Dave Van Domelen, hopes Megahead comes out soon....