G1 Roughstuff

Robot Mode: Roughstuff is a typical Micromaster in that his robot mode is basically the vehicle mode stood on end. Roughstuff has the cabin of his truck mode on the back and can swivel out his arms at the side, that's pretty much the extent of both his transformation and his articulation. He does have a nicely sculpted head, though the fact that his chest consists mostly of a rusting screw kind of evens that out. So bottom line, a typical Micromaster.

Alternate Mode: Roughstuff transforms (using the word loosely) into a green and blue truck. Not sure if it's supposed to be any existing model. The truck has wheels, can roll across the floor, and pull his big missile trailer (see below). Not sure what else to write here, sorry.

Partner / Add-On: The main attraction of this toy is, of course, Roughstuff's trailer. In it's "normal" mode it's an air defense battery with two giant missiles and two smaller guns between them. The guns and missiles can be raised, but not swiveled. The trailer can also transform into a kind of jet of questionable aerodynamics. Roughstuff can stand in the jet and man the guns (though he has to bend over to do it). Best to leave it in trailer mode, though, in my opinion.

Remarks: I've said it numerous times before, I think, but it bears repeating: I don't like Micromasters. While some of the current Minicons / Arms Microns are pretty decent figures, the old G1 Micromasters were more than mediocre with very few exceptions. There were so many of them, though, that they're inevitably part of just about every G1 lot you get to buy on ebay, so quite a few have snuck into my collection. Same with Roughstuff here. I like the general idea of the figure and would have loved to see it implemented in larger format. As things stand, though, Roughstuff is one of the better Micromasters, but that's not really that hard, I think. So I can only recommend him to Micromaster fans (is there such a thing?) and G1 completists.

Rating: C