The Energon Pub

They are transforming bots, but they are 100% their own thing, the Li Jiang Bian Xing transforming robots!
They don't hide the fact that they are basically propaganda toys for the CCP and that's fiiiiiine.
Because seriously, they are SO GOOD!

First, I'll talk about one of the most iconic truck of the Chinese communist regime, the 1956 Jiefang CA10 truck. A truck that was used in moving military personnel and cargo. The CA10 is long retired, but Jiefang are still making vehicles to these days.



The toy version is an almost perfect match to the original. The hood of the truck is also made out of diecast.







There's basically no robot on the underside.



CA10 comes with two accessories, a metal detector and a big wrench.



The only possible storage in vehicle mode are in the truck's bed.



The vehicle is quite large. My guess is it would be around the same scale as Ectotron, the Ghostbuster robot.



CA10 transform into a pretty nice looking soldier. His arms are a bit small. That bot had his ball-joints way too loose at the shoulders and the peg for the head was also too loose. I had to do the crazy-glue trick to stiffen everything. Once that was done, everything was solid.







His transformation is really fun to do and simple.

Poseability is limited, but he manage to hold his accessories pretty well.





As for the bot mode, he's bigger than a modern leader class Transformers.



Overall, Jiefang CA10 is one of the best, if not, THE best transforming robot I bought lately. He looks great in both modes, he's solid (after the fixes) and his transformation is a ton of fun.

Here's some pictures my friend made with his copy:





















Next, the Hongqi CA770.

By 1965, the Hongqi CA770 was the official vehicles for the leaders and high-ups of the CCP. There was a few variant of that limo but the overall look remained unchanged for decades.





The toy is almost a perfect representation of the car. The only details missing are the rectangle reflectors in the front of the car that should have been painted silver, and some hinges on the sides. Appart those nitpicks, that car is pretty damn BOSS.





The front part of the car is made out of diecast.





The underside barely have any robots and it even have extra car details!



The car is pretty big. Scale-wise, it's Alternator scale.



The two accessories he comes with are the red flag for the car mode, and the big riffle for the robot mode.



However, my friend's flag was missing. So I made it one with a metal cloth hanger, some silver label sticker, and Tamiya clear red paint. Not only does it look the part, it works!



The transformation is a bit more finicky than the truck due to all the panels tabbing, but it's still fun to do. The result is a suave officer:







The gun have its peg placed oddly. And that's the only way the bot can properly hold it in his hands. That gun won't shoot anytime soon.



Where the gun is truly supposed to go is on a peg on the back, as if strapped on his shoulder. He also have a hand dedicated to the military salute.





He can wear the flag in bot mode, but it limit his poseability further.



In bot mode, he tower over the old Alternator, the modern Leader, and the modern Deluxe.



Overall, he's not as good as the truck, but the Honqui is still pretty good.

Here's some pictures my friend took of his:









The custom flag I made for his is just perfect.













In the end, both of these patriotic bots are very cool looking and super fun to transform. Plus for CHEAPER THAN A DELUXE, you can't go wrong!
The only place you can buy them are at AliExpress from various stores.