Buster

Before jumping back into my Making Sense of Generation One series, I thought I would put up a couple toy reviews on two of the characters from the second chapter of the Japanese exclusive animated series. Buster is the Japanese version of the U.S. character Dreadwind. The figure is a Godmaster (Powermaster in the U.S. and Europe). The gimmick behind this figure is that a human being is using the Masterforce is able to transform and combine with a lifeless Transtector to become a Transformer himself. Buster and his brother Hydra were able to combine with two Transtectors which transformed from jets to robots. The two jets could also combine in vehicle mode to form Darkwing (Dreadwing in the U.S. and Europe).

The toy itself is exactly the same as his U.S. counterpart. The only major difference is the color scheme has been slightly altered. The jet comes with a pilot figure which can transform into an engine. When the engine is combined with the jet, it unlocks the toy's ability to transform. The jet mode looks great (minus the robot arm kibble under the wings). The robot mode also looks great, but it has a lot of jet kibble on the back. As with most Generation One Transformers, articulation is limited at best. However, that was part of the charm to me of the old school figures.

The toy was released in 1988 in the U.S. as the Decepticon Power Master Dreadwind. Since the U.S. animated series had ended its run of new episodes in 1987, the only animated version of Dreadwind was seen in the toy commercials. Dreadwind played a larger role in the U.S. comics. In Japan, Buster was released also in 1988 as part of the Transformers: Super-God Masterforce series. Buster and Hydra were main characters in the 42 episode animated series which began its broadcast run in 1988 and continued to 1989. That series will actually be the next series discussed in my Making Sense of Generation One series.