The Energon Pub

ok so i was wondering, whats the difference between the minibots and the throttlebots as toys?

i saw an ebay auction where this person was selling a set of throttlebots including G1 goldbug. isn't goldbug the same mold as G1 bumblebee? isn't bumblebee a minibot?

are they the same size? i'm just really confused as i'm looking for some minibot sized transformers for a project i'm working on, and i was wondering if throttlebots would suffice.

Throttlebots are slightly bigger.

They also had "pull back technology". Which is basically you pull them back, the motor winds up inside, let them go and they zip off on their own.

Goldbug is the upgraded form of Bumblebee. Alt mode is the same but the robot mode was different.

Mini-bots also looked better in robot mode, the pull back mechanism killed the Throttlebots robot modes.

there were more minibots too. I had a complete collection of throttlebots, they were cool. But agreed, the pullback motor did kill the whole gimmick

Yeah, the throttlebots' transform scheme was basically for the rear half of the top of the car to pop up, the sides of the car flipped out as arms, and a head popped up. The entire "drive train" stayed on the floor so it cold roll in either mode.

And Goldbug is not the same mold as Bumblebee - it's the same character, but with a new mold and a new name and a new paint job, and a slight hint of similarity between appearances.

Just for the hell of it I'll add that (in the American Marvel storyline) Bumblebee was rebuilt as Goldbug after being blown up by G.I.Joe, then rebuilt as (Pretender) Bumblebee again after being blown up by Starscream. Like the other Classic Pretenders though, his shell just sort of disappeared after a while.

In the comics, IIRC, the Throttlebots and Battlechargers were supposed to transform faster than other TFs. Or am I imagining that?

Another G1 Bumblebee to look at is the Pretender/Legends figure. Until the Classics toy, it was probably the best incarnation, because it had a little articulation, a cartoon/comic accurate bot mode, and a good looking alt mode.

Valandar wrote:Yeah, the throttlebots' transform scheme was basically for the rear half of the top of the car to pop up, the sides of the car flipped out as arms, and a head popped up. The entire "drive train" stayed on the floor so it cold roll in either mode.

And Goldbug is not the same mold as Bumblebee - it's the same character, but with a new mold and a new name and a new paint job, and a slight hint of similarity between appearances.

In SJ's defense, there is the G2 metallic yellow/gold repaint of Bumblebee's minibot form, still Bumblebee though. May be confusing if you have a fuzzy memory.

You will find pictures of goldbug and bumblebee here.

http://www.seibertron.com/toys/gallery. ... =0&start=0

I like the Throttlebots. Yeah they're a bit simple, but how many other tfs cant you transform quicker than they did in the show?

Crumplezone wrote:You will find pictures of goldbug and bumblebee here.

http://www.seibertron.com/toys/gallery. ... =0&start=0

oh cool i didn't realise there was a goldbug photogallery on the site, i totally see the difference now thanks.

the auction had goldbug in alt mode so it threw me off a bit.

woohoo 200th post (sorry it had to be done lol )

Redimus' Ego +1 wrote:I like the Throttlebots. Yeah they're a bit simple, but how many other tfs cant you transform quicker than they did in the show?

errm Rattrap perhaps - spring loaded transformations are about as quick as the ones on the shows(bar RID where the did spend quite amountof time transforming in the time stop anime fashion)

Just thinking about them now and im struggling to remember who the other throttlebots were -i think there was runabout and runamuck, searchlight, chase and goldbug. I may be completly wrong on some of these

MegaDave wrote:

Redimus' Ego +1 wrote:I like the Throttlebots. Yeah they're a bit simple, but how many other tfs cant you transform quicker than they did in the show?

errm Rattrap perhaps - spring loaded transformations are about as quick as the ones on the shows(bar RID where the did spend quite amountof time transforming in the time stop anime fashion)

Just thinking about them now and im struggling to remember who the other throttlebots were -i think there was runabout and runamuck, searchlight, chase and goldbug. I may be completly wrong on some of these

Runabout and Runamuck were Decepticon Battlechargers; same vinatge, better alts and faction.

Think there was a Rollbar too with the throttlebots though.

EDIT: And dont forget the two Jumpstarters; Top Spin and Twin Twist

Psychout wrote:EDIT: And dont forget the two Jumpstarters; Top Spin and Twin Twist

Yeah, byt they really were crap.

Caelus wrote:Just for the hell of it I'll add that (in the American Marvel storyline) Bumblebee was rebuilt as Goldbug after being blown up by G.I.Joe, then rebuilt as (Pretender) Bumblebee again after being blown up by Starscream. Like the other Classic Pretenders though, his shell just sort of disappeared after a while.

In the comics, IIRC, the Throttlebots and Battlechargers were supposed to transform faster than other TFs. Or am I imagining that?

Bumblebee lost his shell when Thunderwing blow a hole clear through it during the Matrix Quest, so it really didn't disappear it was destroyed. It could be assumed that Jazz and Grimlock lost theirs the same way.

There was never really a reference that the Throttlebots transformed faster, just the Decepticon Battlechargers.