TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

Robot Mode:
Alternate Mode:
Box Art:
Technical Specifications:
STR
INT
SPD
END
RNK
CRG
FPR
SKL

Numbat's review of: Fizzle

Name: Fizzle
Allegiance: Autobot
Function: Military Strategist
Sub-Group: Sparkabots

Quote: "Planning a battle is ten times more important than fighting it."

Overloads his circuits with grandiose schemes and cheap fuel. Acts as if his true worth is measured not by what he does, but how much he talks about doing it. If he could run on his own hot air, he'd go forever. In car Mode, leaves trails of flame in his path. Capable of going from 0 to 200 mph in 8 seconds. Prone to stalling on left turns. Possesses superior logistics and geographical data banks.

Ah... the Sparkabots. An interesting concept, alongside their Decepticon counterparts, the Firecons. Released in 1988, when individual toys had their own gimmicks, these figures used flints to shoot sparks out when pushed along.

Of the Autobots, Fizzle is not a bad representation of this rather poor sub-group.

He also has an interesting character profile – especially for someone who shoots flames out his 'exhaust pipe'!


Alternate Mode:

Fizzle turns into a dragster (3” [8cm] long)– very apt given the spark gimmick.

His colour scheme of solid blue, with some baby-blue highlights and silver windows is not unappealing – although the result is just a little overbearing for me. Stickers add a few details to the sides, and an Autobot insignia to the front.

There is little detail to the mold, though – an unfortunate trend in some of the Transformers from this era.

The sparks do add fun to the toy in this mold, and I can remember enjoying the fellow in battles around Metroplex and Overlord in my youth... Or, rather, the earlier days of youth... (I'm not that old yet, in body or mind!)


Robot Mode:

Perhaps the greatest downfall of the Sparkabots is their transformation – or is it their articulation? Or robot modes?

Well, Fizzle can't claim the simplest transformation of the Sparkabots at least – that honour goes to the marvelous Guzzle. Simply flip the front of the car back, pull the legs out, and you have him. Most Minibots are far better than this, and date at least four years earlier (for the Transformers releases anyway!).

At 3 ½” (9cm) tall, Fizzle is a fair bit larger than your average Minibot as well!

Lacking elegance, the robot mode trades the colour roles, with baby blue the main colour, with only the arms being dark blue. The face is detailed in red, which is a drastic contrast to the blue, but does not look bad (as long as you do not have colourblindness – which a large proportion of males do... not myself, but one of my brothers finds red and blue an interesting combination for messing with his head!).

The head sculpt is not actually too bad, with nice detailing – following the medieval cues so many G1 Transformers do. The body has slightly more detailing than you'd expect from some of Fizzle contemporaries, but this is nothing amazing. A well placed sticker – just the Autobot symbol even – would have livened the mode up bucket loads.

The legs are uneventful, with the rubber wheel responsible for the spark feature wedged between his shins. He may be fast in car mode, but he ain't going to escape any Decepticons in robot mode with that there!

Articulation is limited to his arms, moving up and down at the shoulders.

His robot mode isn't all that fun, and I very rarely transformed him when I was wee – and that was what I enjoyed most about other Transformers.

Still, he could be worse, and he is not too hideous (unlike his G2 repaint – Blaze... shudder...)


Marks out of ten for the following:

Transformation: 1 – Not the most simplistic ever, but only one moving piece away (ignoring MB G1 TF Board game pieces...). And certainly not clever. Just plain lazy.
Durability: 6 – Fizzle has lasted better than Guzzle, but I still foresee the smale problems in the future – i.e. flint going (guaranteed limited lifespan anyway) and wheel becoming loose. The very few metal parts (pins, screws etc.) have all rusted readily also.
Fun: 4 – I really did enjoy playing with him in dragster mode in my younger days, but he doesn't have anything going in robot mode, and he is not a great display piece.
Price: 5 – Fizzle seems to be eclectically priced, with figures of the same condition ranging from 99p ($1.90) to £5 ($9.50)! Still, we're not talking mega-bucks, but sometimes more than he is probably worth.
Overall: 3 – He's by no means a must have, but he is fun for a kid, and could be a vaguely interesting addition to some collections. Still, I'd say there's far more worthy figures out there!