Hasbro Transformers Generations War for Cybertron Earthrise Deluxe Trailbreaker Action Figure Hasbro, 2020
Day #2,879: July 1, 2025
Trailbreaker WFC-E34, radar dish sold separately
Transformers Generations War for Cybertron Earthrise Deluxe
Item No.: Asst. E7120 No. E8207 Manufacturer:Hasbro Includes:Blaster Action Feature:Transforms from robot to car Retail:$19.99 Availability: October 2020 Other: Redecorated as DK-3 Breaker, retooled as Hoist, reissued
Remolded of Hoist - which I shot in February 2020 and haven't reviewed yet - Trailbreaker is another famous face from 1984. Those original Autobots are going to be remembered and remade forever, because those episodes were a) on first and b) rerun more often. For whatever reason, these guys are more or less guaranteed to sell because they came out at the beginning of the trend and lots of now-adults remember them as one of their very first robots in disguise. He now transforms into a legally non-specific camper truck, and not a Toyota 4WD Hi-Lux camper like the original. Hasbro's 2020 release is supposedly black but it seems that it's actually very dark brown. A reissue is due in a few months, and there's also a cartoon-themed recolor in a box set. Really, there's no reason to publish this now other than it's a holiday week and I don't assume I'm getting many eyeballs anyway for this nifty toy.
While neither an exact match for the original toy or original cartoon model, he exists in that space we call "close enough." Hasbro did the cartoon repaint - which I skipped due to fundage concerned but won in a freak contest - and both are good for other reasons. For the record I'm the freak here, not the contest itself. The cartoon version is grayer, with opaque windows, and I assume will hold up better to the ravages of time.
While it doesn't quite pull off the tubby, fist-launching robot of 1984 that's OK. You get an idealized pastiche of the cartoon and some of the comics. He has the over-the-shoulder cannon and lights. He's got the black face and blue eyes. He's even got a tool hand, if you like. He's loaded with articulation - like double-jointed knees - and looks more or less like you imagine. Unfortunately, he has some pretty grody kibble panels hanging off the backs of his arms too. He fits in well with the other Earthrise deluxes.
While he doesn't have launching fists, you can mount a blaster over his fists to emulate the original cartoon look. It's fine. It could be more robust but probably not at this price. Hasbro was straining pretty hard against the $19.99 price by the time this was released, but I don't know if fans would have liked a Voyager-class version of this mold. Especially given that we got five flavors of it so far.
The transformation is not a big challenge, but you need to do things in the right order and certain things need to click in place. I had to check instructions to make sure I wasn't doing things wrong, like the arm undercarriage and the folding-back over-the-shoulder cannon. Aside from the arms hanging under the truck, it's a pretty dang nice truck.
You can plug his wrist cannon (or radar dish, sold separately) on top. Hasbro kept a lot of important elements from the original toy, like the yellow, orange, and red stripes plus the Autobot decals. Sadly, they dropped the chrome, the matching wheels, and the blue on the back camper cover. I think most people will look at this truck and say "it's close enough" but it's obviously not the original design. It would be nice if it were blacker - and buluer - but at least it's a cohesive, convincing truck that looks like it might be something from an old 1980s cartoon.
I'm not a Trailbreaker fanatic so I'm more or less happy with this as a sizable deluxe from before the pricing went nuts. Seriously, this was $19.99 and he's big. They don't make them like this anymore... is what I wrote a few years ago, and Hasbro would go on to prove me wrong by reissuing it. And I thought I was going to be clever. The secondary market prices of this toy showed other fans also enjoyed it, so if you can find it for a fair deal? Go by yourself a treat.
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