Top Gun Transformers

Top Gun Transformers

Hasbro

I'm pretty harsh on the old Transformers/Star Wars crossover for not giving the bot modes unique personas, or the personas/names/designs of Generation 1 favorites...this Top Gun mash-up is borderline.  Maverick?  So is this just a mech suit (like the Star Wars) for the flesh-and-blood Pete Mitchell?  Or is it a robot with a mind of his own who just happens to have the name of his inspiration?  Pretty lazy, no matter how you look at it.  I mean, the Ecto-1 didn't transform into Ray Stantz.  The Delorean time machine wasn't actually Mecha J. Fox.  What gives here?!  I know about every jet/plane title has been taken at this point...Callsign?  Tomcat?

From what I gather, this is an all-new mold...which is pretty surprising.  They could have just repainted a Seeker jet like Starscream, slapped a new head on him, and called it a day.  While all new parts is nice, the overall aesthetic?  Eh, it's just okay.  The arms and legs are a bit long and spindly looking for my tastes, but I guess there was only so much they could do there to minimize "kibble" underneath and stay as close to the real jet as possible.  

While the detail on the helmet is great, I wish he had a more blocky, G1 bot jaw from the visor down.  It's just a tad too realistic. 

Paint/color is another issue.  Yeah, it's a mostly gray jet.  They did try to break that up a bit with some lightly applied "dirty" camo.  That's fine topside, but would have liked the bot pilot to have a more unique paint scheme.  Just some hints of olive drab to suggest a flight suit.

"Maverick" came with some additional accessories (that I seem to have misplaced).  You get a mini Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle in scale with the jet, and a set of alternate hands and volleyball to "play with the boys."  While it's funny to consider someone making a volleyball that size for a giant robot to spike at his enemies, it's a bit too on the nose for me.  All of these lead me to believe that this is just a Pete Mitchell mech suit after all.

Oh well!  Goofy, but fun merch from an 80s classic that I amazed is getting this kind of attention.  Even though Matchbox did a more in-depth line, Hot Wheels put out a 1:64 classic Tomcat before the pandemic.  

It's smaller than the Matchbox line, but more detailed.  It comes with a display stand AND has opening wings.  I think this was from Hot Wheels' slightly more expensive line, close to five or six bucks.  It may be hard to find at this point, so expect to pay more on Ebay.

That's all I've got on Top Gun to date.  I have seen the sequel...Top Gun: Maverick was worth the wait and then some!