G2 Motormouth

Series: Generation 2
Allegiance: Autobot
Categories: Go-Bot
Year: 1995

Let's tear up the streets... and the Decepticons!
Likes to boast about his own appearance. Engine and ego are equally enormous. Dislikes transporting materials in back - they might scratch his paint. Brain circuitry minimal. Intelligence sensors usually as empty as truck bed. Super-fast speed helps him elude enemy Decepticons, but can be caught off guard when checking out his reflection as he passes store windows.

Robot Mode: Like most of the early small Transformers (G1/G2 Minibots, G2 Go-Bots, etc.), Motormouth is basically a car stood on end. The hood of the car folds down to serve as his (very pronounced) chest and the arms slide out sideways, being the car doors. The resulting robot has very little in the way of articulation, he can only swing his arms forward and backwards at the shoulders. In terms of looks he is about as good as can reasonably be expected given his design, so no complaints here.

Design-wise the G2 Go-Bots weren’t any better or worse than the G1 Minibots, but there is somewhat of a novelty (for the time) in that they had actual weapons. Motormouth carries a white rifle he can hold in either hand. And... yeah, that’s pretty much it. Overall an average robot mode given the size and year of the toy.

Alternate Mode: Motormouth transforms into a miniature Ford F150 pickup truck. The 1:64 scale of the toy car is intentional, as this makes it compatible with Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars, as well as the various playsets from these brands. And Motormouth really does look like a Matchbox or Hot Wheels car with no trace of the robot to be found here. Nicely done. Sadly there is no way to mount or store his rifle in this mode.

Remarks: Remember that other TV series about transforming robots (sorry, cyborgs) from the 80s? Challenge of the Gobots? Mighy robots, mighty vehicles? Well, the Gobots proved to be far less successful than their competition and quietly went under. In 1991 Hasbro bought up Tonka, who held the rights to the Gobots names and characters (but not the toys, as they were only licensed from Bandai Japan’s Machine Robo series) and left them lying in limbo for a few years, before using some of the names for their Generation 2 line. We had a character called Gobots in 1993 and an entire subline called Go-Bots in 1995, of which Motormouth here is one.

As a toy Motormouth is exactly what he was supposed to be: a 1:64 toy car kids can use on their existing Matchbox and Hot Wheels playsets that also transforms into a robot. Certainly not something for the high-end collector, but a fun little toy that does its job. Worth it for the few bucks this fellow and his line-mates usually go for on eBay.

Rating: C+