I’ve come to the conclusion that Gobots are better than Transformers. Here’s how I got there.
When I was a child, I couldn’t afford the Transformer toys. Instead, I purchased Gobots. They were generally available at yard sales and thrift stores because they were the transformable robots that other kids threw away. I envied those that had the actual Transformers.
Since I had only experienced the Gobots, I had no idea how good I had it.
My first Gobot was actually the leader of the Gobots, Leader One. If all of the joints were stiff, it would take me a maximum of 20 seconds to transform him from the robot to the jet. Once I broke it in, I could do it in under 10 seconds. For this reason, I could pretend that they were transforming in almost real time.
This Christmas, I wanted to share the joy of transforming robots with my boy, so I bought him the ultimate transformer: Optimus Prime. I think the next two images can sum up my experience with this Transformer.
Gobots
Transformers
Thank goodness my son hasn’t yet learned to mimic the sound effect of the transformation; if he tried to mimic that sound with Optimus, his throat would be raw half way through the transformation.
Who the heck plays with this thing?
After 30 minutes of working on the transformation, I went to YouTube to find instructional videos. Most of the instructional videos are 10-20 minutes long themselves. If you put me side by side with a collector/expert on transforming these toys, I’m pretty sure I could smash the robot form with a sledge hammer and glue the pieces back together into a truck faster than they can transform it.
I finally figured out Optimus by muscling one of the pieces that didn’t appear to be designed to move. It turns out it was. In the meantime, I’ve gone onto eBay to purchase him some Gobots. I don’t care if the other kids think the Transformers are cooler; I want my boy to have FUN with his toys.