Phil's
Transformers Gears, Swerve & Smallfoot
Review

Gears

Gears, like the other five Minibots, started life as part of the Microchange Minicar series where he was numbered 04. See Bumblebee's review for more on the Microchange series. This version of Gears is essentially the character as we know him today.

Gears is a 4 wheel drive pick up truck that's been super deformed. The majority of the truck is blue apart from a silver chromed front grill, the windows which are opaque black and the load on the back of the pick up truck which is red. Not having a flat back might bother some people, but hey as I've said the red plastic is the load that he's carrying.

Transformation: Fold the back of the car back to form the legs. Stand with the underside of the toy facing forward. Pull the arms out from the sides of the vehicle.

Gear's robot mode looses most of the blue from the front with just a little remaining on his arms & legs. The front of his lower legs and his head & chest is read, while the upper legs are chromed silver. The face is an oval made from the blue plastic but most of that's covered in silver paint leaving just a blue visor. Articulation is minimal: the arms turn at the shoulders and the knees bend independently but that's not much use as the hips don't move.

Not a bad mini Autobot, but you expect much more from your small Transformers now.

Gears is the only Minibot, and I believe the only Takara created Transformer, not to receive a Japanese release in the original toy run. His first Japanese Transformers release as Gears was in 2004's Transformers Collection 12 Minibot set. This set also contains:

a Transformers Collection Bumblebee a re-mould of Original Bumblebee
Huffer
Cosmos
Powerglide
Warpath

Brazilian Gears

There's a Brazilian version of Gears moulded with red for blue and orange for red. A similar toy is later released in Japan - see bellow.

Swerve

Swerve is Gears' 1986 remould. First the colour swaps: blue becomes maroon and red becomes white. All of the white parts (previously red) are remoulded: the truck's load/leg fronts, body & new face all change as do the chromed lower legs perhaps indicating they're moulded on the same sprue. Like Hubcap Swerve has a face that's far too bright - painted in nearly neon red ! Thankfully 2008's Encore reissue improves on this drastically by toning down the red, giving him a silver face plate and a blue visor.

I like Swerve. The colours work for me in a "this is a Female bot" or "this is a medic" way.

Swerve does not have an entry 1986's Transformers Universe.

E-Hobby Destron Smallfoot

Smallfoot a Cybertron(Autobot) toy which is part of 1984's E-Hobby Minibot set. He's a repaint of the original Gears version of the mould turning blue into orange and giving him a painted white faceplate.

The other five Transformers included in this set are:

Bug Bite a Destron repaint of Transformers Collection Bumblebee which is a re-mould of the Original Bumblebee.
Pathfinder a Cybertron repaint of Cosmos
Road Ranger a Cybertron repaint of Huffer
Bad Boy a Destron repaint of Powerglide
Treads a Destron repaint of Warpath

All toys in this set have names taken from the original GoBots toyline.

Horrible colours. I'll stick with Swerve.

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