UPDATE: This post has become somewhat obsolete, due to the find of the MB Sunswipe (Sunstreaker in Sideswipe packaging). Please see an update to this article in post number 106.
Milestone!! A couple of weeks ago I scored a very elusive item that I had been chasing for quite some time. The item I’m talking about here is the Milton Bradley (MB) Jazz and it was really tough to track down. But it’s not really Jazz himself that I want to focus on today, because I will do that in a future article. No, today I would just like to gloat and concentrate on the subgroup that Jazz belongs to inside the Autobot ranks. A little group known as the Autobot cars. A group that, for me, embodies everything that is so fucking amazing about early G1 Transformers. A group that I now finally have complete in my MB collection! “All hail Jazz, Sideswipe, Ratchet, Mirage, Hound, Tracks, Wheeljack, Prowl and Trailbreaker!!!”
The result of blood, sweat, tears and spending boatloads of hard earned euros.
But totally worth it…
“Milton Bradley”
As most regular visitors to this site will know, most of continental Europe was introduced to the Transformers not by Hasbro, but by MB. The packaging of these early European Transformers releases also carries an MB logo instead of the usual Hasbro logo. MB branded Transformers were released primarily in 1985 in France, West Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain and Switzerland, where they were distributed by the local European MB subsidiaries: MB France SA, Milton Bradley GmbH, MB International BV, SA MB Belgium NV, MB España and MB (Switzerland) AG. MB branded Transformers possibly also ended up in New Zealand (through M.B. New Zealand Ltd) and in Scandinavia (through BRIO AB, -thanks Martin!). There’s some evidence that even the UK might have ended up with some MB branded Transformers in the shops (most of the Transformers in the UK were Hasbro branded).
Wonderul packaging
“The Joustra connection”
What’s so cool about these MB branded Transformers, other than the fact that they hold nostalgic value to me as a European collector, is that there’s a pretty exciting history behind them. You see, a large chunk of the Transformers that MB released in Europe in 1985 were originally meant to be released as Diaclones by a company called Ceji Joustra! It is my belief that, for whatever reason (most likely financial), Ceji struck some sort of deal with MB that gave MB control over Ceji’s stock of Diaclones, had them repackaged inside Transformers boxes and unleashed them onto a hungry European market in 1985. If you’re interested in the nitty gritty of this theory, then start reading here. This theory explains a lot of the peculiarities of this line, like why the MB Autobot cars all came inside styro foam packaging, why Tracks is red and why the 9 Autobots that MB released was limited to just these infamous 9!
These were originally meant to be Joustra Diaclones…
“MB wave 2”
The nine Autobot cars that MB released were part of the second wave of MB Transformers that saw release in Europe in late 1985. According to date codes hidden on the inside of the packaging of these Autobot cars the packaging was printed in France, most likely in August 1985, presumably followed by a release shortly afterwards in most of continental Europe.
Pieces.. of.. fucking.. art..
“Cosmic balance”
But enough with the facts… Don’t they just look friggin’ awesome together!?! I’ve had eight of these nine Milton Bradley Transformers in my possession for so long that it was becoming a pain to have Jazz missing from the bunch. Suffer I will no more! As soon as I had placed MB Jazz next to his brethren an uncanny calm came over me. The stars were aligning. The universe was in balance once more. I had done something right. I had restored a cosmic balance by reuniting these infamous nine and the rush of endorphines in my brain was my reward. These are the first photos ever of all nine Milton Bradley Autobot cars together as far as I know and I love to share them with you. What do you think?
“Say cheese, boys…”
“Gallery”
Credits
My sincere thanks to James “Bo” Insogna for allowing me to use his amazing sunset photograph as a background in the first photo of this article! Check out his amazing site here.
