Most of my earliest TransFormers toys, back when the toyline first launched in the
mid-1980s, were Mini Autobots bought with pocket money. I have a
clear recollection of buying Cliffjumper first, then
Windcharger, and then I'm pretty certain my third Autobot purchase was
Huffer, because I found his Budiansky-authored character bio utterly
delightful (what can I say, I was a weird and occasionally somewhat grumpy kid!).
So when Huffer was revealed as one of the
new Mini Autobot recreations
coming out in the
Kingdom line, I was
initially very much on
board. After all, while
WfC's new Deluxes tended to be on the small
size, and
Earthrise Cliffjumper is almost a perfect match for Scout
class
Reveal the Shield/TF United
Windcharger, even if he does compare
less favourably with the Legends class Mini
Autobots from
RtS or the
Prime Wars Trilogy.
When the toy was actually revealed, however, I initially decided not to bother after
all. Hasbro had essentially taken the engineering from an existing Third Party
figure and cut it down to the bare bones, leaving the lower legs hollow and
awkward flaps of plastic for feet, then sought to achieve the desired pricepoint
by throwing in unnecessary accessories - specifically a riot shield and a
shotgun. These were better suited to the concept of Siege than
Earthrise and, even then, more appropriate to one of the few Autobot warriors than to a character who was - in the original G1, at least - a Construction Engineer. All of this turned Kingdom Huffer into an easy
pass...
...Until I found myself with a £10 voucher which could be used at The
Entertainer, amongst other stores. Lacking any other, more
constructive use for such a voucher for the time being, I reluctantly
spent it on acquiring what had appeared to be a fairly lacklustre figure.
Could Kingdom Huffer turn out to be a pleasant surprise..?
