COUNTDOWN: 6 of the repaints of all time

We often talk about repaints on this blog, but that’s for good reason: they’re awesome.

Seriously, there’s something about taking a well-known or beloved Transformers mould and chucking it out in a random new colour scheme that makes this hobby just a little bit more enjoyable, especially when such a makeover allows you to appreciate a fantastic toy all over again.

So today, let’s celebrate some of the best repaints of all time – the ones that often surpass the original releases and deserve to become staple re-release options for any new moulds of these designs forevermore.

#6: Fire Guts God Ginrai

It’s a known and objective fact that 1988’s Powermaster Optimus Prime is one of the best toys of all time, so imagine the delight of many a Western fan when they discover the Japanese equivalent with its additional diecast, clear plastic windows and sliding blue fists. Yet even that positively pales in comparison to the outrageous 2002 re-release of the figure in so-called Fire Guts orange, taking a relatively brief on-screen power-up and turning it into what has stood the test of time as one of the most desirable G1 recolours of them all (and that one is a fact!). It’s fair to say precisely no one wanted this thing when it first dropped twenty-three years ago, but, like all initially overlooked releases of the era, it’s since gone on to become *mega* desirable, easily fetching many multiple hundreds or more on the aftermarket and often being cited as a distinct holy grail for any collector out there. And hey, just look at the thing, and you’ll surely see why, although rest assured, photos simply cannot do it justice.

#5: God Neptune

The original Seacon crew from 1988 was unusual for delivering a Scramble City-styled combiner design in a primarily uniform colour scheme. Sure, we’d seen it done on big bots like Devastator or Predaking, but never to quite such a degree on their equivalents with interchangeable limbs, and it didn’t hurt that the palette on offer was pretty striking, either! After all, who can complain about a pink, blue and teal fish monster? Yet surprisingly, the set was brought back ten years later for Japan’s Beast Wars II line-up, and despite missing a member, it delivered equal thrills with its delicious new green, white and gold appearance. It’s a great example of a repaint presenting a mould in an entirely separate colour scheme and both versions being equally valid – it’s just too hard to pick which one looks best!

#4: Machine Wars Starscream

Given that 1997’s Machine Wars was the first time any of the Euro G1 designs featured repainted for the line had dropped in North America, it makes sense that many collectors continue to associate the moulds with their updated palettes over the more outlandishly hued originals from five years prior. Yet, whilst those initial outings indeed take the crown in terms of sheer colour on offer, there’s still plenty to be said for the stark Kay-Bee exclusive offerings, and nowhere is that better exemplified than with Starscream. Whilst Skyquake rocked an unusual mix of green, hot pink, teal, and (crumbly) gold, this subsequent makeover eschews the gaudy tones for a simplified black and grey, with a smattering of electric blue, red and green highlights for good measure. It gives the epic design an entirely different flavour, proving yet again there’s no definite right way to deliver a toy like this.

#3: Black Lio Convoy

This is where it all began. Whilst nowadays, the mere mention of a new Optimus Prime toy is enough to elicit expectation of a black repaint follow-up, back in the late nineties, it was unheard of. Sure, Car Robots would popularise the idea two years later with an extra helping of teal, but let the record show that it was 1998’s Beast Wars II which delivered the first ‘Black Convoy’ of them all, pathing the way for an endless helping of monochromatic malevolence to come. Though known as ‘Copy Convoy’ in the corresponding cartoon, the toy version also mixed things up by delivering the black and grey tones in opposition to its animated counterpart and arguably looked all the more striking for it. It may be a well-worn trope over two-and-a-half decades on, but back then, this was everything.

#2: Powerlinx Armada Optimus Prime

Everyone knows the Optimus Prime colour scheme, don’t they? The classic red and blues have served the Autobot leader well over the years, and despite endless reimaginings of the core character design, that palette has largely remained intact no matter whatever else is done to it (including the occasional addition of flames, but hey). Yet it’s far from the only Prime palette on offer, and few examples have mixed up the traditional template more than 2003’s powered-up Powerlinx offering from Armada and the equivalent Micron Legend Magna Convoy DX giftset in Japan. True, the colours themselves are broadly the same. However, in this case, it’s the arrangement which proves revelatory, alongside a significantly darker tone across the board. The result is an Optimus with a distinctly meaner vibe and a repaint option which arguably surpasses the more marketable original in the eyes of many collectors. Legacy version when?

#1: Brave Maximus

When we talk about updated colour schemes surpassing the original, this is exactly what we mean. Few toys make quite the same level of statement as the classic Fortress Maximus mould, which was the landmark tallest Transformers toy on record for at least several decades following its 1987 debut. Yet, despite another outing as Japan’s Grand Maximus a year later, it wasn’t until 2000 that the design was finally perfected in Car Robots and the unprecedented majesty of Brave Maximus. It overhauls the classic grey and blue to deliver a far more sultry offering overall, although it’s the eye-catching embellishments that allow this take to really sing, such as the neon green chest window or those gorgeous nighttime-light paint applications. All in all, Grand Max is one of the most definitive rebuttals to anyone who ever suggests that repaints are a pointless endeavour and remains the most favourable version of this epic toy design imaginable.

So that’s our list! What are some of your favourite repaints?

TTFN