COLLECTING THOUGHTS: Botcon G2 Nightracer

There are various toy-collecting grails we all assume we’ll probably never own.

I’m talking about the toys that seem so far out of reach, the mere idea we may one day attain them somehow feels distinctly alien, especially when it’s something that has been ogled via a computer screen for countless years without ever being glimpsed in person. Even the mere notion of seeing such specimens up close can feel like a total pipe dream.

Yet dreams can come, as the song goes, and grails can be acquired, even if sometimes it takes years or decades. Today’s spotlight is on one such example, with the toy’s origins going all the way back to 1995 and the second-ever Botcon, held in Dayton, Ohio, USA. I am, of course, talking about the convention-exclusive Generation 2 Go-Bot Nightracer, a figure which, against all odds, now resides in my collection at long last!

This thing is highly noteworthy for several reasons. Firstly, and most obviously, it’s one of the earliest Botcon exclusives of all and was the first figure designed explicitly for the con, with 1994’s G2 Stunticon Breakdown initially planned for mass retail release. Whilst Breakdown is hugely exciting and a very welcome chance to own this otherwise unproduced toy, having an entirely new creation is a different beast that set the standard for years of Botcon exclusives to come.

Nightracer was designed by prominent fandom member Raksha, who also organised the ’95 convention as a whole. Raksha had made a name for herself during the early days of the ’90s online Transformers community and retains an almost mythic status even today, with stories of her passionate views on the franchise (ironically, she penned an essay where she lampooned Hasbro for having “sacrifice(d) the soul of Transformers integrity on the warped altar of greed” because they used familiar character names on some of the G2 Go-Bots) alongside her eccentric persona now being the stuff of legend. She had conceived of the character of Nightracer before the convention came into being but took the opportunity to see her creation made real as, in Raksha’s own words, it was “something unique, something never before seen in (the USA)“.

Achievement unlocked pic.twitter.com/CZywxqlKg4

— Sixo (@SixoTF) September 4, 2023

This brings us to another reason Nightracer is so significant: she is the first female Transformers character released as a toy in North America. True, 1988’s Masterforce Minerva may have beaten her to the punch worldwide, and sure, the Go-Bot was only a convention exclusive, but still, the toy is a monumental part of the franchise’s history in that regard. It wouldn’t be until 1997 that a retail release of a female character would follow, with Beast Wars Blackarachnia and Airazor paving the way for more to come.

However, Raksha’s intentions for Nightracer were initially very different. She had wanted to use a repaint of G2 Smokescreen as an exclusive, but Hasbro deemed this impossible due to that toy being gang-moulded with its larger Dreadwing partner. Instead, her choice was limited to one of six Go-Bot moulds, and so she opted for the one that, by her determination, looked best in vehicle mode.

Thus, Nightracer became a repaint of G2 High Beam and Bumblebee. She shares a particular amount in common with the former, given that they have the same yellow body and base black plastic for the car mode, just with an additional layer of gold paint and a black engine on the Autobot to differentiate it. Nightracer also has a few quirks to her production which set her apart, but in any case, the trio of the mould’s 1995 releases works exceptionally well together.

Raksha knew she wanted Nightracer to be predominantly black, but she envisaged the second colour as blue instead of the “godawful yellow” (her words) of the final product. Hasbro stepped in to say this wasn’t possible, however, once again citing the need to consider gang-moulding. Though Raksha quite evidently did not appreciate this choice at the time, we now know why the powers-that-be likely made such a decision, as they seemingly produced Nightracer out of leftover parts from the separate run of three Takara ‘G-2’ Go-Bots releases.

Both the Japanese versions of Optimus Prime and Soundwave have an identical yellow plastic (particularly notable for the former, given how different it is from the Hasbro version), and Megatron’s main body is a similar black plastic. Given the timing of their production and the fact that they were released in Japan on Hasbro cards (albeit with a Japanese-language backing), it appears fairly conclusive this is how Nightracer came into being.

It would also explain why Nightracer has different wheels from the other versions of the same mould, instead sharing a set more commonly found on Go-Bot Soundwave and Megatron, as presumably, Hasbro did not want to produce a third variant for this one specific piece of the figure. Either way, it’s an added quirk to Nightracer’s make-up and helps her stand out from her mouldmates even more than she already does.

The other element that makes Nightracer so unique is her finish. Not content with what Hasbro had ultimately provided for the con, Raksha took matters into her own hands (literally) and personally painted blue stripes on the bonnet of every copy to bring them closer in line with her vision. She also made custom Decepticon decals, which you can see in pride of place. These may look rudimentary by today’s standards, but back in the pre-Toyhax era, it would have been quite the labour of love. Decades later, these additional details give Nightracer an unmistakable charm and certainly elevate the final figure!

Ultimately, 298 copies of Nightracer were available for sale at Botcon 1995, all of which featured the hand-painted highlights and custom decal. This number pales in comparison to subsequent Botcon availability (although it sits in line with the 300 G2 Breakdowns that were produced overall) and explains why the convention release of Nightracer has become such a highly-prized piece in the decades since.

However, more copies were manufactured beyond this, as came to light through a large quantity of Nightracers being put up for sale by WhizBang Toys some years later. These lacked the signature Raksha finish of the convention versions, making them a decent alternative for anyone unable to track down the exclusive figure, but ultimately not quite as desirable or as sought-after.

Either way, this little lass is a must-have for anyone looking to assemble a complete collection of Go-Bots and their 2000s successors, the Car Robots/ Robots in Disguise Spychangers. The mould is one I already own many times over, but there’s little doubt Nightracer is the crowning jewel of the line-up now that I have her in hand, even against the likes of the hard-to-come-by 2000 Jusco-exclusive repaint or the 2003 clear Super Spychanger chase variant.

She’s also a superb addition to my now preciously close-to-complete Generation 2 ranks, taking her place alongside her significantly larger male-coded Decepticon comrades but still standing out thanks to her undeniable importance in Transformers history.

Nightracer may be a simple Go-Bots figure that didn’t even quite match up to her creator’s vision at the time. Still, there’s no denying how wonderful a specimen it is, nor the unadulterated thrill I get from finally appreciating such a thing up close.

It may have taken 28 years, but as they say, the best things come to those who wait.

TTFN

EDIT: Thank you to Raksha for kindly providing some additional detail to this story here:

Hey now, she looks familiar!

Great write-up. Yes, Minerva may have been the first female TF toy released, and I was aware of it at the time, but Nightracer was the first in the U.S., and the first female Decepticon to be released *anywhere.* BotCon '95 was in large part my quest…

— PlumedSerpentExotics (@RakshaMedusa) September 13, 2023