General Information:
Release Date: 1995
Retailer: General (Toys 'R' Us, K-Mart, Kay-Bee etc.)
Price: $3.99 (depending on retailer)
Accessories: Gun
Background:
In the year before the Beast Wars era would rise, Hasbro took the Go-Bots name it had acquired through its purchase of Tonka and used it in the Transformers line, effectively ending the "Who would win, Transformers or Gobots?" competition forever. The Go-Bots were a subgroup of Transformers who were constructed to be compatible with all 1:64 sized playsets, which was a roundabout way of saying "Use these with your Matchbox or Hot Wheels playsets!" It was an interesting and smart move on Hasbro's part.
High Beam was a new character created for Generation 2. This sculpt would later go on to be repainted as Bumblebee and the Botcon exclusive, Nightracer. Years later the sculpt would be given a new deco as Robots in Disguise Crosswise (aka Car Robots X-Car).
Accessory:
High Beam's weapon is a blaster with a tube shaped barrel, an angled piece on top and some really nice sculpted details on the sides. The weapon appears to be fed through an ammunition drum on the bottom of the weapon. The weapon features a small peg towards the back that allows you to attach it to either hand. The blaster is made of yellow plastic with no paint applications.
Vehicle Mode:
Not content to just create 1:64 size vehicles that are compatible with Hot Wheels and Matchbox race tracks, Hasbro also decided to use an existing Hot Wheels vehicle as the foundation for High Beam's vehicle mode. Specifically they used the Speed Blaster as the foundation for this vehicle mode design. Like that vehicle this looks like a sleek sports car with its engine sticking out the back. The spoiler curves around the back, similar to the Speed Blaster and the front has similar lines, but High Beam is a bit more flat and sleek. Among my favorite details are the circular rear lights which resemble those found on the Chevrolet Corvette C3.
This mode mostly shows off black plastic. However, a lot of it has been painted with metallic green paint. The windows are black and the engine in the back is painted silver. The sides of the wheels have vacuum metallized gold on them. Overall the colors are beautiful in a loud, attention grabbing way (which as a hallmark of Generation 2).
As advertised, this vehicle mode does have "high speed racing axles" which allow it to really move smoothly as you roll it around. I confess I have never actually tried to use one of these figures in a Hot Wheels track or launcher, but I imagine they would work well with them so long as the joints are nice and tight and don't come loose.
Transformation to Robot Mode:
- Pull the rear of the vehicle back.
- Pull the sides out.
- Fold the front of the car down.
- Place the gun in the robot fist.
Robot Mode:
Like other Generation 2 Go-Bots, High Beam has a very standardized appearance with the front of the vehicle as the torso, the car doors as his arms and the rear of the vehicle forming the lower legs. The head sculpt is unique among the Go-Bots, featuring a "helmet" with an angled design and a crest in the middle. The lower legs feature engine-like detailing, similar to the other Go-Bots. The face features eyes, a nose and a mouthplate. Overall the sculpt looks great and distinctive even though it shares the same basic design as several other Go-Bots.
This mode shows off a new plastic color: yellow. It appears on the head, waist and thighs. This mode also shows off a lot of the black plastic on the arms and legs. The metallic green color is still a huge part of the deco which you'll find on the torso, arms and the back of the legs. Black paint is used on the face. Overall the colors look great and I like the contrast between the black and metallic green.
Like all G2 Go-Bots, High Beam has two whole points of articulation, his arms. The copy of this figure I have still had very tight joints on both the legs and the arms so kudos for durability over the years.
Final Thoughts:
High Beam is a fun figure and back in the day I remember him being one of my "main" Autobot troops along with his fellow Go-Bots. All that said, High Beam can easily cost you $30 USD on the aftermarket nowadays whereas say, Crosswise is much cheaper (around $20 USD) so if you just want the sculpt, you may want to look at that as an option. Recommended!
