Herr Fiend
Review by Ginrai
The Super GoBot Herr Fiend, originally Scale Robo DX Porsche 928S Robo from the Machine Robo line, is one of the nicest of the GoBots. The Japanese version and its European counterpart were available in two different types of blue, but I find that the US version has the superior colors. Its pitch black color scheme is fearsome and really goes with the identity of an evil robot scientist of the German persuasion. Imagine if Rotwang from Metropolis could transform into a car!
So how does Herr Fiend hold up as a toy and not a character? This is almost entirely diecast metal with rolling rubber wheels. You hold it up to your cheek and you feel the cool zinc alloy. The paint job is great and while it's a little hard to see the details in all that black paint, it just looks fantastic.
Yes, you can see the seams on the toy where it transforms, but it makes for a pretty convincing car. It has your basic stickers like a license plate, tail and headlights, and optional big stupid racing numbers, but I think it looks way better without them. It is also bigger and has more heft than the Diaclone Car Robot toys from Takara that Popy was obviously competing with. If you have to pick between Herr Fiend and the Transformer Jazz, remember that Herr Fiend doesn't break if you breathe on it.
The transformation is simple but satisfying, similar to the other Scale Robo DX cars. Also like those toys, Herr Fiend seems less like a robot with a personality and more like a robotic vehicle. There's even a little human figure in the cockpit! One down side is that his ass is a car hood, but at least it's not going to snap off. The articulation is acceptable for the '80s. The legs are basically immobile, but the arms have a decent range of motion. The robot's head is just as inhuman as the other Scale Robo DX toys and he has these weird turning fork hands. I wonder how exactly Herr Fiend performs horrible medical procedures with those stubby things!
If I were rating this against the other Super GoBot toys, I'd say Psycho has a cooler robot mode and better hands, but Herr Fiend has way more metal. Herr Fiend's slick black paint job puts the toy right near the top. I really like all of the Super GoBot cars based on Scale Robo DX line, but this is one case where America got the better deal. The mold itself is not quite as cool as Bug Bite or Pscyho, but Herr Fiend has as much metal as Bug Bite and the cooler color scheme, so I'd say they are on close to even footing.
Herr Fiend has no weapon at all. He doesn't even have a weird gun-hat like Bug Bite, but this robot is an evil scientist, not a warrior, so I don't mind that much. If your entire impression of GoBots is short, crappy Transformers ripoffs, you are in for a treat with the Super GoBot cars. In robot mode, these are almost twice as tall as the Transformers that began as Diaclone Car Robots like Jazz and Prowl. They don't have as many fine details (no missile launchers for example), but they are way bigger, include far more metal, and are nowhere near as fragile and fiddly. Herr Fiend is a nice example of the line and the good news is that thanks to the terrible reputation the GoBots enjoy, you can pick these up for pretty cheap on the secondary market. Did I mention this toy was manufactured by Popy? That's right, this classic diecast robot even has a little Popy logo etched into the metal.
With Herr Fiend you get a sweet paint job, copious metal, rubber tires, and a classy personality. Let's face it, this is the kind of GoBot you always wished you had: the kind that performs eugenics experiments.
(C) 2009 Jeremy W. Kaufmann & CollectionDX
Comments
23 comments postedI have two of these the silver Porsche 930 and a yellow beetle. They are both pretty beat up but they were some of my favorite toys as a kid.
Baron von Joy and Bug Bite. Also really nice toys!
Just as the Transformers have been reissued, I wish that the original Machine Robo (especially the DXs) would be reissued as well. I know that they're still available on the e-bay market and not expensive as old TFs but I still rather have a nice brand new release.
Cool toy, but it always bothered me that it had a cockpit for a head.
-Dan
CollectionDX LLC
Vice President/Co-Owner
I had a Psycho when I was a kid, but always found the head one of it's more appealing features. I don't really know why. Maybe it's got a more old school robot (and I'm talking 50s era when I say old school here) look. Like something you would send to pick up rock samples rather than into battle. Of course, that is too lame to compete with it's car mode!
Great stuff!
"This must be settled the way nature intended....with a vicious, bloody fight!"
Onyx Blackman
Principal, Flatpoint High
I love the cockpit for a head thing. It gives it this really mechanical, utilitarian feel that is just not there in GoBots outside of the Super GoBots.
Wow, this is really cool. There is something very appealing about porsche's that transform into robots. Nice review.
Nice review! I had (and still have) a bunch of the smaller GoBots. But for some reason I never saw the DX's when they were new. When I discovered Ebay, Psycho was one of my first purchases. And even though he was loose and a bit beat-up, I totally dug his funky robot mode (bizarre cockpit and all!). ^_^
Nice review! I'm in the process of cutting a deal with a friend here at work that has a few of these larger DX figures and a bunch of Gobots. He has the space car that is so cool and I'm looking forward to buying the lot. Funny when I was a kid I thought that Transformers were better but as an adult these have a lot of charm and I see myself collecting many of these early GoBots. I always thought this character was kinda creepy, I'm glad I'm not the only one!
I always loved how the thighs folded down! lol
Looking forward to more reviews!!!
LF
Leonardo Flores
CollectionDX Staff Writer-West Coast Bureau
The space car is Psycho, originally the Psychoroid vehicle from the anime/manga Space Adventure Cobra. Definitely one of the nicest GoBots, but I will get to that review later!
I alwas felt GoBots were way underrated. Take Puzzler or Mounsterous for example. They were gestalts that had no peripheral pecies, tons of die-cast, and had more than 5 characters. Way better than any Transformer combiner.
I agree. Both of those combiners are really nice. Expect a review of Puzzler from me fairly soon.
It's pretty bad when the insane german scientist is "one of the nicest of the GoBots."
The other GoBots must be horrifying.
Well, when I said its one of the nicest toys I mean the TOY is the nicest, not the character. The character is a bloodthirsty vivisectionist, but the toy is sexy diecast metal!
Yes they do. Very satisfying to look at , and transform. Thanks for keeping on doing these reviews.
I've been able to pick up most of the Super Gobots over the years when cruising flea markets ,and antique malls. Always an easy deal. Great vehicle modes, on most.
As to the head, it alway's intrigued me as kid, seeing those drivers in there. Something about little included pilots, similar to Zoids, Robostrux, Starriors, Wheeled Warriors, etc. All had 'em, and was a big draw to the toy.
On the show (which unfortunately is in VERY low quality on youtube) this guy wears a monicle,which is both awesome and stupid at the same time.
Count me in as one of the people who doesn't understand where the mentality came from that GoBots were cheap toys and TFs were more durable. Certainly the later all-plastic TFs were fine,but the original Autobots? Don't get me wrong,I like the show and everything,and as an adult I like having the Autobot cars displayed on my shelf,but they are WAY too fragile to be good toys. Meanwhile I had a bunch of GoBots when I was only like 4,and I definately did not handle them with kid gloves,yet they held up to hours of play.
Here's what I think: Gobots had a terrible cartoon that killed the integrity of the line as well having transformations that were not as complex. As a kid those two factors seemed to be the most important end all be all factors in a great robot toy back in the 8T's. Today I have different criteria. That's why its great to see machine robo finally get its due!
Any other thoughts anyone?
Leonardo Flores
CollectionDX Staff Writer-West Coast Bureau
Here's what I think: Gobots had a terrible cartoon that killed the integrity of the line as well having transformations that were not as complex. As a kid those two factors seemed to be the most important end all be all factors in a great robot toy back in the 8T's. Today I have different criteria. That's why its great to see machine robo finally get its due!
Any other thoughts anyone?
Sir...take my advice: Don't pursue this pointless, crusade for it's ressurection b/c Machine Robo should remain 'discredited' & 'obscure'. For the sake of it's identity, it must never be popularized here.
After what happened to the TF franchise, it will fall into to wrong hands, for Hasbro has the rights to Gobots when they purchased Tonka. You'll give them the idea of bringing them back to the pop market w/ a stupid live-action movie, Bandai will have their lawyers knocking on Hasbro's corp. door, they'll be legal drama... It will only be an embarrassing disaster.
in the end, you'll be cheated
in the end, you'll be betrayed
in the end, you'll be smeared
in the end, you'll be branded
in the end, you'll be bitter
in the end, you'll be vain
in the end, you'll be BROKE!
....just like real Macross fans ...just like real Japanese/US TF fans...
real fans like Ginrai
real fans like you
real fans like me.
-r78
How Poetic! lol
Leonardo Flores
CollectionDX Staff Writer-West Coast Bureau
The man's got a point.
--
Sanjeev
There are some strange people on the internet.
Leonardo,the more intricate transformations may have appealed to me then,but as an adult I really prefer the simplistic ones. I can't keep track of how to transform all these different robots!
I need to ebay myself some Gobots. RoadRanger espescially. I know we all had that guy,and to be honest I have more nolstalgia for him then I do a certain Autobot he "slightly" resembles!
Ah, another unfortunate robot with guns for arms. Cursed to always fire upon those he loves...
Found this guy at a flea market. His mid section is a little loose, but other that that I love it. I was surprised at how heavy he was due to the die-cast metal content. Car mode looks really good, robot mode is very interesting. At first I thought his arms were too small, but then I got over it. Oh, nobody laugh but this was the very first (REAL) Gobot/Machine Robo figure I've ever owned so of course I've got to show the line some love.