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“Decepticon Seeker Jets”

Not too long ago I scored this very nice looking, boxed MB (Milton Bradley) version of Thrust. Thrust is a Decepticon jet and part of the second series of jets that were released in 1985. The first set of Decepticon jets were released in 1984 in the US and consisted of Starscream, Thundercracker and Skywarp. All three robots transformed into a McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle and were called Seekers by fans, a term which was eventually adopted officially by Hasbro.

“New Jets”

In 1985 Hasbro released three new jets in the US, that were all based on the 1984 Seeker jet moulds, but with some modifications, e.g. Thrust became a VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) jet and is the coolest looking one of the bunch if you ask me!! Besides Thrust, the new jets were Dirge and Ramjet.

“Coneheads”

Another interesting naming fact occurred with the release of the 1985 Decepticon Seeker jets. In the original Sunbow cartoon the new Seeker jets were drawn differently from the 1984 jets in that their heads were cone shaped. The 1985 jets were thusly dubbed ‘Coneheads’ by Transformers fandom. It’s actually quite funny that Sunbow drew them like that, because both the 1984 and 1985 jet toys had the same mould and both could either have a conehead or not, depending on how you transformed them. The toy itself, its box art and instructions did not feature a conehead transformation, so it was a cartoon thing only, but it stuck with most fans!

“European MB Releases”

In Europe, MB released the first wave of Transformers toys in late 1985. A total of four Decepticon jets were released, being all the Coneheads and Starscream. Below are some more pictures of my own collection. Enjoy!

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Beachcombeis another one of those Autobot mini-vehicles who was endowed with a cool character. As a geologist, Beachcomber doesn’t really like warfare and prefers to just cruise around coast lines and deserts and simply chill out. Beachcomber is a laid-back Transformer that turns into one very laid-back dune buggy. Yeah.

I remember one of my best buddies had his mother buy him Beachcomber somewhere in early 1986. It was probably one of the first Transformers that me or any of my friends got back then (the first official Transformers toys were introduced here in late 1985 by MB). I even remember that my buddy put Beachcomber inside his chest pocket just before we took our 1986 class school picture. I also remember we thought it was fucking awesome that Beachcomber ended up on our class photograph. I really should try and dig out that picture and post it here. UPDATE: I found the photograph during a recent visit to my parents! Check it out:But back to Beachcomber! Beachcomber was released as part of the second series of Autobot mini-vehicles in the US, and part of the first series in the European countries that were covered by MB. He suddenly, without any real explanation, made his first appearance in the second season of the Sunbow cartoon, voiced by Alan Oppenheimer, who also did Seaspray and perhaps more famously, Skeletor in Filmation’s Masters of the Universe. Here are a few screen caps of Beachcomber from the Sunbow cartoon.

So because of all this, Beachcomber has a special little place in my heart. I finally got my own loose Beachcomber a couple of years ago. Being an MB (Milton Bradley) Transformers collector I also thankfully managed to track down a MOSC (mint-on-sealed-card) MB Beachcomber not too long ago which is pictured here. Enjoy the photos!

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Beachcomber is another one of those Autobot mini-vehicles who was endowed with a cool character. As a geologist, Beachcomber doesn’t really like warfare and prefers to just cruise around coast lines and deserts and simply chill out. Beachcomber is a laid-back Transformer that turns into one very laid-back dune buggy. Yeah.

I remember one of my best buddies had his mother buy him Beachcomber somewhere in early 1986. It was probably one of the first Transformers that me or any of my friends got back then (the first official Transformers toys were introduced here in late 1985 by MB). I even remember that my buddy put Beachcomber inside his chest pocket just before we took our 1986 class school picture. I also remember we thought it was fucking awesome that Beachcomber ended up on our class photograph. I really should try and dig out that picture and post it here. UPDATE: I found the photograph during a recent visit to my parents! Check it out:

Looks like your average group of Dutch kids from 1986 having their class picture taken, right? Wrong!! This particular spring afternoon in 1986 is being blown away by the awesome presence of one Autobot mini-vehicle called Beachcomber inside the chest pocket of my best buddy. Check the close up:

But back to Beachcomber! Beachcomber was released as part of the second series of Autobot mini-vehicles in the US, and part of the first series in the European countries that were covered by MB. He suddenly, without any real explanation, made his first appearance in the second season of the Sunbow cartoon, voiced by Alan Oppenheimer, who also did Seaspray and perhaps more famously, Skeletor in Filmation’s Masters of the Universe. Here are a few screen caps of Beachcomber from the Sunbow cartoon.

Like all of the Autobot mini-vehicles the toy and its transformation were very simple. That doesn’t take away from the fact that Beachcomber looked very nice in both his robot mode as well as his vehicle mode! Most of the first waves of Transformers were based on Takara’s Diaclone and Microman/Microchange series molds. Beachcomber happens to be one of the first toys that were designed specifically for the Transformers toyline. As such, it’s quite a relief to see Beachcomber still having rubber tyres instead of the boring, all-plastic Transformers that followed later. Just check out some of these close ups of the toy. Doesn’t it look great?!

So because of all this, Beachcomber has a special little place in my heart. I finally got my own loose Beachcomber a couple of years ago. Being an MB (Milton Bradley) Transformers collector I also thankfully managed to track down a MOSC (mint-on-sealed-card) MB Beachcomber not too long ago which is pictured here. Enjoy the photos!

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Here’s something that won’t come up for sale very often. A collector acquaintance of mine is putting his Milton Bradley (MB) variant Red Tracks on the market. A rarity in any condition when complete with its original packaging, this specific Tracks though has never been removed from his box and is in absolute mint condition! At the time of writing the auction has already reached 650 US dollars and is probably going to keep on rising. This is one of those rare moments when a complete and boxed Milton Bradley Red Tracks is for sale in public, so if you’ve been waiting (and saving your cash), this might be your moment.. UPDATE: The auction ultimately ended at $935 US!

You can find more information about the Milton Bradley (MB) Red Tracks here.

MB (Milton Bradley) was responsible for the distribution of the first Transformers toys in mainland Europe. MB was taken over by Hasbro in 1984 and they decided to market the first wave of Transformers toys in Europe under their newly acquired MB brand (MB was a very well known brand in Europe in 1985, contrary to the Hasbro brand).

For the European launch MB released a selection of the first (1984) and second (1985) series of Transformers that were released in the U.S.  I recently acquired a very, very rare dealer catalog that MB released for its 1985 line up in Europe. Dealer catalogs are special toy catalogs that are usually sent out only to toy shops to sway them into carrying the product line. The catalog is beautifully designed and is printed on glossy paper.

One of the more interesting details about this catalog is the fact that there’s a seperate inlay that, obviously, seems to have been added later after the initial version of the catalog had been printed. It contains photos and catalog numbers of the MB Transformers that weren’t present in the original MB catalog that was included with boxed MB Transformers and the toy store catalog that was meant for consumers. It includes Optimus Prime, the Autobot cars, some more mini vehicles, Starscream and two Decepticon cassettes. To my knowlegde, these photos haven’t been published anywhere else as part of MB’s promotional material for its 1985 Transformers line up! Please enjoy these sneak peeks.

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A couple of months ago I picked up this very nice MOSC (mint on sealed card) Cosmos from the G1 (Generation 1) Transformers line. As with most G1 Transformers that I have in my collection, this is the MB version that was released in 1985 in mainland Europe.

Cosmos is part of the second series of mini vehicles released in the U.S., but part of the first series of Transformers released in mainland Europe under the MB (Milton Bradley) brand. Like most of the other mini-vehicles Cosmos featured pretty often in the Sunbow cartoon and was quite the likeable character.

Cosmos’ alternate mode is based on the Adamski type UFO, named after George Adamski, the man who made the now famous 1952 UFO photograph.

I found this item on a classified ads website. It’s in very nice condition, with just minor flaws on the card and the bubble still firmly attached to the card.

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