Toy Review: Hasbro Transformers Omnibot Downshift

Here's another vintage piece that I remember fondly from my childhood. Back in the 80's, it was not uncommon for a toy company to offer up exclusive mail-away toys.  I can remember receiving Star Wars Boba Fett and Admiral Ackbar toys in the mail by sending in proofs of purchase from other Star Wars figures.  No slouch in the marketing department, Hasbro also offered up exclusive "Omnibot" Transformers toys in 1985.  "Robot points" cut from the boxes of purchased Transformers toys could be mailed in - along with a small shipping fee - and some months later, an expectant kid would receive a wondrous surprise in a nondescript box via an oblivious mail carrier.

A subgroup of the Autobots, the Omnibots were so called because of their third mode - that of an armored vehicle.  There were three different Omnibots, and each had weapons and/or wings that could be deployed in their additional form.  These were former Takara Diaclone toys that were - yet again - being reused as Transformers.  As with the other G1 Autobot car robots, the three Omnibot toys were fairly accurate representations of 80's automobiles.  Downshift's alternate mode was that of a Toyota Supra, and he was supposed to be a "Security Agent." The toys, however, came with no tech-specs, and so really no further info was supplied.


On a side note, I decided that a few outdoor photos were in order.  The weather was otherwise just too nice for an early March day.  

Downshift is a primarily white robot.  Like other old G1 toys, he stands at rigid attention.  He's also only about three quarters of the height of the rest of the first set of G1 Autobots, bringing him in at only around four inches high.

Even at this size, the face has some nice details. 

Articulation is nothing to write home about.  The arms can raise up and down, and due to the joints for transformation, can move out to the sides a bit.

A view from the side really doesn't look like a robot as much as a car in the midst of exploding vertically.

There's a lot of hollow space back here, but that's pretty normal for old Diaclone toys.  

Downshift comes complete with three chrome accessories:  two shoulder-mounted launchers, and a single laser pistol.  The peg size for the pistol isn't any standard that I am aware of, unlike many other Transformers figures that have five-millimeter pegs and holes.

There's also some chrome on the highly-detailed hubcaps.  The tires are real rubber as well.

Given that this is really a vintage 80's robot toy, there is some diecast metal construction involved.  The shoulder joint has some.

A sticker covers up some of the diecast in the forearm. 

Lastly, the front end under-body of the car - or in this mode, the feet - is metal as well.  These components help give the toy a bit more weight than you might expect.

To start the transformation, remove the chrome weaponry and set Downshift to a neutral pose. 

Rotate the arms upward at the shoulder.

Swing the rear of the car up so that it cover the face.

Turn Downshift around. 

Move the shoulder joints up and inwards like so.

Snap the arms in place so that the white side panels match up with the rest of the rear of the car body.

Now move on to the feet of the robot.

When separated, the feet provide support for the rest of the body, so when you squeeze in from the sides where the wheels connect to the feet, the rest of the toy will wind up lying down as you see here.

Flip the hood down on its hinge and press down to lock the front of the car in place. 

Press the front and back of the car together and you get a cool little representation of an angular old 80's Toyota. 

Not a bad looking car, really, even though white is far from my favorite color on an automobile.  The blue-tinged windows help break up what might otherwise be a monotonous look.

Additional details are provided via stickers on front and rear. 

Next comes the further transformation into his armed car mode.  Note the hatch on top.  Unlike other old Diaclone toys, this is not a place to fit a small driver figure.

Instead, the hatch opens to reveal two prongs.  These will be used to attach the small laser pistol.

The doors should be swung downward to form wings.  There's a peg on the inside of each door to mount the chrome launchers.  Some stickers add mechanical details here as well.

Attach the weapons and this third mode is complete.  Can't you just see the terror on the faces of the Decepticons as the Flying Economy Car of Doom comes barreling down on them?

I was one of the lucky kids who sent away for this toy.  I received him and one of his Omnibot brethren, and was immediately taken by how cool he was.  The plastic feels solid in the hand, and the diecast makes it feel as if you really are holding a quality piece.  Chrome parts and real rubber tires add to the overall effect.  There's something really charming about the way old G1 toys worked, where the only real gimmick was that that toy changed from one thing to another.  Like I've noted elsewhere, I love that this toy can be transformed as part of actual play due to its simplistic nature.  It's a convincing robot (from the front at least), given that it has to be formed from the body panels of a small car.  Though this exact toy is not the one I had as a kid, it still gives me that wonderful nostalgic feel when I pull it down off the shelf.  Transform and roll out, Downshift!

Toy Review: Transformers Generation One Monsterbot Doublecross

At a certain point during my teen years, I had to finally, reluctantly, cease playing with toys.  Certainly, I did so much later than most other boys.  At the age of 17, 1987 may have marked the last time I bought a toy until around the mid 1990's.  The subject of this review could possibly have been the very last before my long, dark retreat from the joys of toy collecting.  I had sort of developed some idea that perhaps girls wouldn't think it so attractive.  Little would I know at the time that this was in its own way a small part of exactly what the right girl was looking for.

The Transformers are, of course, a hugely successful line of toys, comics, movies, cartoons, and whatnot.  The franchise was a joint project between Hasbro and Japanese toy-maker Takara.  Started in 1984, this line would initially reuse many of Takara's molds from their Diaclone and Microman lines.  The initial set of toys featured a lot of transforming vehicle toys, along with figures that changed from robot form into that of "household" objects such as handguns, microscopes, or cassette players.  Diecast metal and chrome were in abundance with these first toys.  Each toy additionally came with a "Tech Spec" printed on the back of the package which would briefly describe the disposition and statistical attributes of the character.  Even if your favorite Autobot (the good guys) or Decepticon (the baddies) never even appeared in the cartoon or comics, you knew what they were all about.  This era of Transformers toys is now known as Generation One (or G1), and the toys and characters from this time period have continued to influence every subsequent line of Transformers toys.

Hasbro and Takara did their best to reuse as many molds as possible, but eventually as the line prospered, it became necessary to create new ones to meet the demands of their ravenous Transformers fans.  Doublecross is a toy that comes from this period of new mold-making.  It was originally released in 1987, and like most of the other Transformers toys at the time, it was entirely made of plastic and featured no chrome accents at all.  As a kid, this always was a bit of a disappointment, even when you did still enjoy the toy immensely.

As noted, the Autobots were the good guys.  They pretty much were the archetypal heroes - bold, honorable, compassionate - complete with enough personality quirks to keep them interesting.  It was highly unusual then when Hasbro released three figures in a sub-group called the Monsterbots - Monsters not usually being known as heroes.  Doublecross was one of these, notable for his double-headed dragon-like alternate form.  Elements of this form are clearly visible in his robot mode.

Despite his monstrous beast mode, Doublecross has a pleasant, almost boyish face.  Paint application seems to have been somewhat sloppy on mine.

Multiple shades of gray, along with black and  a bright red comprise the color palette for Doublecross.

His shape is simplistically blocky as were the other Transformers toys of the time period.

His lone accessory, a light gray "rust ray" rifle, features the standard Takara five-millimeter peg.

In robot mode, Doublecross has very limited articulation.  The shoulders can rotate 360 degrees, arms can raise up and down, and elbows can bend.  The mouths on the dragon heads can open to simulate hands.

This is about as dynamic of a pose as you'll get out of Doublecross.  He still looks pretty sharp doing it, though.  His arms make nice clicky noises as you bend the various joints.  Two heads equals two sets of thoughts, and Doublecross can't manage to get the two of them to agree on anything.

To begin transformation to his dragon mode, start by flipping down the head.

Then rotate the shoulders up like so.

Lay the arms out horizontally.

Bring the two dragon heads together.

Rotate the heads as shown.

Next flip up the black wings so that they click into place firmly.

Rotate the dragon's arms as desired.

Turn Doublecross around to begin changing his lower half.

Start to rotate the entire lower leg section up towards the torso.

The legs should fit snugly into place.

Bring the two tail halves together.

They will snap into each other nicely.

Rotate the dragon's feet out from within the black upper leg sections.

Position the dragon legs to allow the toy to stand in this mode.

The necks and heads can be moved as you like to fully form the monster mode. The colors still look striking here.

The heads have a simple, but effective sculpt.  Note the five-millimeter holes where the rifle can be placed in robot mode.

Some odd details of Doublecross's monster mode show what looks like hair/scales and muscle.  Was he meant to be partially organic?

More of the same detail covers the lower legs as well.  Everything else on him seems to be technological.

On the dragon's back you can see a large cylindrical gray button.  This activates a gimmick that is shared among all the Monsterbots.

Press the button and this chest-mounted saw blade moves slightly.

More importantly, like his Monsterbot brethren, Doublecross will shoot out sparks when the button is activated!  Luckily, mine still works after all this time.

His rifle can be awkwardly stowed on his back.  This is not an "official" method, but useful to keep the weapon with the toy when sitting on a shelf.

Articulation is much better in dragon mode, where the necks and heads can be moved around a lot, the shoulders and hips have rotation, as do the knee joints.

As usual for a Transformers toy of this era, additional detail is provided by labels.

These are still in very nice shape on mine.  Overall, the condition of this specimen is quite good.

Here is proof positive that Doublecross is a hero, despite his semi-horrific visage.

Transformers at the time were also released with a "rub symbol" which would reveal the allegiance of the character when one rubbed the label.  Similar to a mood ring, heat or friction would cause a color change to occur in the sticker.  Yup, he's still a good guy.

Doublecross is ready to defend and terrify all of humanity!

This was a really fun toy to own at the time, and also today.  I always appreciate a simple transformation that actually allows a kid to really play with the toy, rather than spend all day changing its form.  I love the color choices and the unique design as well.  The spark gimmick just seals the deal.  If you get a chance to pick up Doublecross and you like G1 Transformers toys, I highly recommend you do so.