Transformers Generation 1 Kup
Kup was one of the new characters introduced in 1986's animated Transformers: The Movie, one of the high points in Transformers (from here, that's going to be abbreviated to TF) history, and still the only TF movie worth your time. My mother took me to see it after much pleading, and I'm sure it was the only weekend it played here locally. Not only did Optimus Prime die, the movie bombed so terribly that plans for theatrical releases of the GI Joe and My Little Pony movies were called off. I can't tell you what happened with My Little Pony, but GI Joe was released on video and broken up into pieces and aired on TV in 1987/88 with intros and outros (if that's a word) hosted by none other than Sgt. Slaughter himself. The real guy, of WWF fame.
Transformers: The Movie is both notorious and celebrated for having the fortitude to kill Optimus Prime, the beloved leader of the Autobots. (This is likely the only reason we're still talking about Transformers...) The plans for the movie clearly began in 1984, possibly before this brand became the sensation it did. Not only does the 1985 lineup of toys not really appear in the movie, but the decision to kill such a iconic character could only have been made before his iconic status was realized. Hasbro knew they only had enough toys from Japan for a couple of years, and they likely sold all the 1984 toys they were going to, so they started designing their own toys with help from Takara, starting to release them in 1986. The release was going to be helped along by the movie and a third season of the syndicated cartoon. It moved the narrative forward from the 1980s to 2005, and allowed the designers some leeway to go a little more nuts than before.
Kup here is apparently what toy designers thought a pickup truck (get it- picKUP truck?) would look like in 2005. Not even close, but dammit, the 1980s were still the space age, and we still haven't colonized the Moon, so we really can't blame them for their optimism.
I received Kup and Hot Rod for Christmas 1987. They were much more solidly built than earlier TF toys, clearly designed to not break in a younger child's hands or if you looked at it funny. As I said, the version I received was slightly different than the original release. This was a second version offered in 1987 with a Targetmaster, a smaller robot that transformed from a rifle. Hot Rod disappeared in a move, but I still have Kup. There's a little wear on the diecast chest, but otherwise, he fared much better than my 84/85 Transformers.
The casualty list-
Soundwave- broken tape door, no accessories, incredibly loose joints
Skywarp- lost all the pieces, my mom eventually tossed him
Smokescreen- broke in half at the waist swivel, doors and windshield broke off, extreme sticker damage
Meanwhile, my 1986 and after TFs are still fine, albeit with no accessories. I still have them, and need to get a group shot of them sometime when I can find the box they're in. When Takara offered the chance to get this guy, well, I waited too long. I eventually acquired this sample in 2007, long after the stock had dried up. I got it secondhand from an online store (not saying which, because I'm not getting any sponsorship from anyone). The stickers were applied, which I normally don't do, but the previous owner did a fine job on putting them on, so no worries. I do wish Takara had reissued Blurr and Springer, but that ship has sailed, since the Encore line appears to have ended and the resources applied to the Masterpiece line. I really can't complain. Takara had been selling the Generation One reissues since 1999, so they had a good run. Or three runs, really. Plus Hasbro's own reissue efforts. It was great to acquire fresh G1 toys for a reasonable sum, instead of the eBay prices for used, beat-up toys.
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