Deluxe Class Transformers

[Amandahugnkiss]

Why did the little Hasbro catalog or whatever show Whirl and Roadbuster and make it seem like they were the first Deluxe Class Transformers when the Decepticon seekers were about just about as big or bigger and came out first? I've never owned one of those two Autobots I mentioned, but I do know a lot of fans don't particularly like Whirl. Is it because he's hard to transform?

[steamwhistle]

I'm uncertain as to what you are referring by "Hasbro catalog"

From the (original) G1 toys...

Whirl and Roadbuster were Deluxe Vehicles for the Autobots.
I believe they came out about the same time as the Deluxe Insecticons (Barrage, ChopShop, Ransack, Venom) for the Decepticons.

I think "Deluxe" was just arbitrarily thrown in to make them sound better... like a deluxe burger. So they are a bit bigger -- Whirl and Roadbuster are bigger than the typical Autobot Cars; Deluxe Insecticons are bigger than the original insecticons.

I think these 6 "deluxe" bots were just transforming things (like Jetfire, TopSpin, Twin Twist, etc.) that were picked up my Hasbro/Takara to add to their Transformers line. I doubt they were relating "deluxe" to the seekers in any way.

I never had any of the original G1 "deluxe" toys, so I don't know if they were easy to transform.

[Amandahugnkiss]

Skywarp, Starscream, and Thundercracker were the first three seekers; and they probably hit the stores at the same time. I don't know if there was a Wal-Mart or Target back in the G1 days; and since Toys R Us was a long way away, I had to settle for watching for them at Kohl's and K-Mart.

[UsernamePrime]

No, there was no WalMart or Target in 84/85 as we know it today, TRU was around.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RZrp1QPX5w


heres a vid on all the 84 releases, theres an 85 video as well. They are good and show the old catalogue inserts as well.


Whirl was an 85 release licensed from takatoku toys. I believe roadbuster was an 85 as well.



I dont know which catalogue you're talking about but the 85 reissues of seekers, or any figure, could have contained whirl/buster on the catalogue insert.



Highlighting Whirl/Roadbuster prominently in any marketing material would make sense since they didn't get the benefit of being in the actual show. Marketing likes to mess with you, it's why G1 Soundwave was released with Buzzsaw while you had to buy Laserbeak separately all the while Buzzsaw wasn't in the cartoon.



I like whirl, his design makes him stand out well in my opinion. Taste is subjective so there's no accounting for it. His transformation (generations version) isn't fun but I only display in bot mode so I dont care. (I dont really care to transform any of my TF figs, very much a display and stare and reorganize, rinse/repeat)

[Sun Swipe Prime]

Deluxe in the G1 catalogue was just a term used as a selling point to differentiate specific bots. It was just a name they could throw out there like special or super duper, and really had nothing to do with size classes. With Whirl, Roadbuster, and the Deluxe insecticons, those were the first times that term was used. Because the G1 line is an amalgam of a bunch of different toy lines from Japan brought over and used to fill out the Transformer brand roster.

That's why the scaling is so wacky with the G1 toys. Toys like Megatron and Soundwave came from the Microman toyline in Japan and were supposed to a 1:1 scale in alt form and in bot form. Whereas Optimus and the carbots were from the Diaclone toyline and weren't supposed to be a 1:1 scale. Thats' why there's that mishmash of scaling.

The modern usage of the term deluxe as a size class/ price point has no relation to that G1 usage, and I believe really didn't start until Beast Wars.

[Amandahugnkiss]

There were a few Autobots that were large before those guys came out, but I guess Hasbro just has to do anything to appeal to buyers. I'm talking about Grapple and maybe Inferno which are almost like Voyager class Transformers. I remember getting the G1 fire truck Autobot from a garage sale for much less than what I would've had to pay for retail and was disappointed because it didn't come with accessories to make him look like he could do what the cartoon character could do. There was at least one episode that showed him using a net that could catch people who were falling, and the toy didn't come with a net.

[OldOfflineMan]

Back then, "Deluxe" didn't mean anything. Roadbuster was the main star of another cartoon series that came out before the Transformers, if I remember correctly. Whirl and a third character that looks a Gundam Guntank knock-off were co-stars. I remember then that the toys sold at the time were all display quality, expensive and weren't meant for kids. When I saw that Hasbro released the same character in a playable toy with Transformers deco, I begged my mom to buy it immediately.

Roadbuster's and Whirl's designs were more intricate than the other carbots and the transformations weren't intuitive at all. I think Hasbro made them much larger than the original toys, which made it easier for my kiddie hands to transform. They also came with water decals rather than the usual stickers, which is an indicator that it's a model/toy designed for display.

I felt that Roadbuster was worth every dollar my mother spent. I remember transforming him regularly from when I got him in 1986 until I sold my G1 collection early 2010.

[Amandahugnkiss]

I have a Deluxe Class Sergeant Kup so b/s/t board here I come.