Goldbug is a VW Beetle, modelled so he's better proportioned and larger than the original Bumblebee , who is meant to have been upgraded into this form. How he was upgraded will vary depending on the which continuity you read/saw: blown up by the GI Joe team and rebuilt by them & Ratchet in the US comics, blown up by Death's Head, yes?, and rebuilt by Wreck Gar in the UK comic or rebuilt following damage sustained during the hate plague in the cartoon. Whichever way you look at it *everyone* accepts that Goldbug *is* Bumblebee. Apart from IDW, but that's just madness. Goldbug's car mode is moulded in a dull yellow plastic which is meant to represent gold, but to be honest it's less attractive looking than the original bright yellow.
Goldbug's vehicle mode has an action feature common to all six Throttlebots: Pull him back and a friction drive motor will propel him forward. Wheee! All well and good, but this was done better with 1985's Jumpstarters Topspin & Topspin and 1986's Battlechargers Runamuck & Runabout who roll forward and then transform.
Goldbug's Transformation is the same as the other Throttlebots too: Fold the majority of the car up 90 degrees at the bonnet. Push the motor towards the front of the car. Fold the sides of the car out to become the arms. Fold the back of the car back to reveal the head. Simple. So simple that I'd wager that these were meant to have an auto-transforming gimmick like the above mentioned Jumpstarters and Battlechargers but it was abandoned (cost issues maybe?)
Goldbug's figure resembles the original Bumblebee but now he's a stumpy dwarf with his body resting on the feet formed from the front bumper. There's a trend in Transformers towards remaking toys so they look closer to their cartoon appearance. Not so Goldbug! His head, now picked out in blue plastic, is otherwise the spitting image of the original Bumblebee's toy head. Articulation? Forget it for any of the Throttlebots. The ankles lean back as part of the Transformation and the arms bend back, also as part of the articulation. But that's it. And it is useless. And the design gets even worse if you turn the figure round: stretching out behind the feet is the friction drive mechanism that you used in car mode. You can still use the friction drive in this mode but it's virtually the only plus point.
OK but plasticy car with ok gimmick but a horrid useless robot mode. The only reason the toy is remotely liked is because it's meant to be Bumblebee.
Goldbug was released in Japan as Transformer toy C-97 Goldback.
Gimmicks, Transformation, Articulation and horrid proportions as per Goldbug. Lets take that as red from now on?
Rollbar's robot mode reveals a grey head with a painted yellow face.
Exactly the same outcome as Goldbug I'm afraid but this time without the existing character back story to support the toy. But I suppose he is quite similar to the Minibot Brawn....
Rollbar was sold in Japan as Transformers toy C-95.
Transforming to robot mode we get the same problems as on the previous two toy. Most of the load now forms the chest, with the head, uniquely for the Throttlebots, being the same colour as most of the vehicle: orange.
I had a Wideload when I was younger: I liked him because he has a different vehicle mode from the other Throttlebots having a slightly chunkier robot mode. Plus the orange and blue together on a truck put me in mind of the Mini Autobot Huffer . Hmmm, that's three for three so far matching Throttlebots to Minibots, can we stretch this to the rest of the team?
Wideload was released in Japan as Transformers toy C-92 Wide Load.
Freeway was sold in Japan as Transformers toy C-96 Runway.
Chase was sold in Japan as Transformers toy C-94 .
Searchlight was sold in Japan as Transformers toy C-93 .
The Classics Throttlebots were available during 1991.