![]() ![]() He was also available in continental Europe through Milton Bradley, although in a primarily red deco with dark blue replacing the normal white areas. Tracks debuted in 1985 in the United States, UK, and (with firing launchers) in Japan. A dramatically different red Tracks exists in some European countries, bearing far more similary to the Diaclone version than the Transformers character (see Availability, below). Even subsequent reissues are incredibly close to the original. Strangely, Tracks has no noticeable production variants, presumably because some faults (like the Diaclone rifle stock being so long as to prevent the elbow from bending) were worked out from the pre-Transformer production. Unlike most breakages from this era, the spring can be easily removed and straightened (or left out altogether) to relieve the problem. Inside the leg, a metal leaf spring slides and clicks either position into place, but this spring can become easily deformed or bent during use. Another common complaint is that Tracks’s legs will not fully extend or retract. Similarly, his shoulder pivots can wear away at the painted clear plastic that holds them in place, allowing them to pop free without any obvious breakage. As such, they can snap off right at the paint border with the side window. His car doors are actually painted-over parts of the windows and roof, and are unsupported by any other part of the car while in robot mode. Rubsign location: Driver’s hatch in center of roof Collector Notesĭespite a more sturdy design than many of his contemporaries, Tracks still suffers the usual ex-Diaclone fragility. He completes his armament with a black rifle that can either be clipped over his hand, or pegged sideways beneath the flight mode – though this is not mentioned in the instructions.ĭate stamp location: Bottom of car, center white panel The rocket launchers and their pack mount to this same section, rising much higher above the robot head than his contemporaries’ shoulder-mount design. His transformation to robot mode is unique among the Cars lineup, and produces a well-proportioned robot with the cockpit as his chest and his head hooded by the rear of the car. In an interesting twist, Tracks can be transformed into an intermediate “Air Attack Vehicle” mode by attaching his twin non-firing rocket launchers (mounted to a backpack-like piece) to his trunk lid, and extending his arms and shoulder wings from beneath the car. He also sports unique lace-spoke, vacuum-metalized “chrome” wheels shod in rubber tires shared by the other sports car offerings. Molded details imply the various Corvette badges, t-top panels, flares, and spoilers associated with the C3 model after 1980. His car mode is highly accurate, despite the (arguably gaudy) flame sticker on the hood. DescriptionĪs the last of the Diaclone cars, Tracks features a design enhanced by the experiences of the others. Tracks’ US Patent, titled Combined reconfigurable toy vehicular and simulative motor units (aka Transformers G1 Tracks) was filed on Ma(U.S. This version also included a plastic and die-cast driver who could be seated in the car through the hatch in the center of the roof. ![]() This version used dark blue as an accent color (where the Transformer used white), had a rifle with an elongated stock, and had the letters “CS” (presumably for “Corvette Stingray” in place of Tracks’s Autobot symbol on the hood flame stickers. As a Diaclone Car Robot, he was available exclusively in red as (despite the Stingray name being dropped from Corvettes in 1976). Tracks was originally designed by Hiroyuki Obara and sold as part of Takara’s Diaclone toyline, and was one of the few Car Robots not designed by Koujin Ohno. Movie - Revenge of the Fallen (ROTF) (116)Īmidst the second wave of Generation 1 Autobot Cars in 1985 was Tracks, a 1982 Corvette C3, and the only American car in the lineup. ![]()
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