La Zona Muerta

Man, I love the Transformers Missing Link toyline, the initiative by TAKARA / Tomy to recreate the original Transformers / Diaclone toys as faithfully as possible, but with more modern levels of articulation and sometimes eschewing stickers for actual molded greeblely detailed parts. They’re NOT all home runs (looking at you Bumblebee and Cliffjumper; both an overpriced mess of poor quality control, the multitude of repaints you need to subsidize toys these days, etc.) but when they hit, like their Convoy remake… this is the best toyline ever for a forty six year old mega dork like me who has been in love with transforming robots in disguise since 1984. Here then, are quick photos of my latest acquisition, unlit and not cleaned up in Photoshop:

“Hey, not the face, okay? I just had it chromed!”

Sunstreaker is an interesting character. In the G1 cartoon, his characterization is pretty one note… he’s vain guy. He’s a pretty Lamborghini and he knows it.

“They can’t beat the best.”

His tech specs, however, although brief, are more interesting. Not only is he vain and egotistical, he’s downright contemptuous of the other Autobots that turn into cars, especially his “brother,” Sideswipe. He and Sideswipe also share another common factor… they’re both good at what they do… and that’s waging WAR. I mean, wow. That’s heady stuff. If you read his full, unexpurgated bio in Transformers Universe, it goes on to spell out that SUNSTREAKER IS A SOCIOPATH. There is a reason Transformers and GI Joe persisted past their best buy dates; some creative person, in this case, Bob Budiansky, sat there and came up with something other than “robot who holds gun.” This is one of the good guys, but he is a relentless egotist who actively resents his teammates and lives to calmly make war against his enemies, lusting for battle. AND AGAIN, THIS IS ONE OF THE GOOD GUYS.

“What about my paint?!”

I never actually owned this one as a child; I didn’t have a lot of the original Autobot cars. I still don’t have the whole 1984 cast, I don’t think, at least not the original molds. Sunstreaker was never rereleased. Even so, I know what a big improvement this is, merely by the leg articulation. The leg articulation that BUSTED MY CUTICLE OPEN SHOOTWAY when I transformed him back into Lambo mode for this quickie impromptu photo sesh. There’s always something.

“I almost dented a fender!”

Some other interesting stuff about Sunstreaker as a toy and not the sociopathic narcissist; as a toy design, it is believed that he is the first robot to transform into a realistic car! Like, ever! So you can tell those Machine Robo Jerks to eat it. That also kind of explains his kind of simian proportions. I read a Diaclone manga many moons ago… maybe even pre Car Robo? I’m not sure, but at any rate, he was actually a racing car that transformed into a pilotable mecha, and not a freethinking robot, defending the racing tarmack from alien invaders. Speaking of which, they included a Dianaut with this release, painted sort of as Spike from the cartoon, which is tremendous (sorry, I didn’t take a photo of him; I am terrified of losing small things so he’s still in the box for now).

“If any Decepticon dares to mess with the finish, he’ll get two ground to air missiles stuffed where he won’t want them.”

Happy Transformers Day, and may your luster never dull and your wires never cross.