Sports
Mini Bot

Cruises highways on the look out for Invaders

Data -
Height: 5.5m
Width: 3.2m
Weight: 1.5t

One of four Mini Bot moulds that were definitely designed by Mark for Robo Car, sports is rather unique for that line. Unlike the other three, he isn't suspiciously close to a Diaclone in car mode, being modelled on a Toyota Soarer. The Japanese version was released in at least two colour schemes - one with a red chest, the other with a blue chest. As far as I can tell, only the red chest version was issued for Convertors. The figure was also released by Village Toys in the legally dubious Convert-a-Bots line. That version was dark grey in car mode, with a blue robot chest.

The Toyota Soarer is arguably the most generic car ever designed. If supermarkets ever devised own-brand cars, they'd look like a Soarer. It's no wonder Mark had a clear run at this thing. Sports suffers from the usual not-quite-there execution as well - all-diecast, but a bland scheme; well-detailed, but obvious join lines - the usual, basically. The colour scheme suffers from being the same as that for Baron, and it says something that even the latter is more interesting to look at.

The robot mode is also totally vanilla. While the basic proportions are pretty good, with the limb sizes arguably the most accomplished of the range, there's very little else going for Sports. He uses the same cyclops-style face as Wagon, but the colours don't bring it out quite so well, and on two such similar figures it looks more like a drone than just a robot with an unusual face design. His arms are also supported by the red plastic sprues, and they just don't hold the limbs' weight.

A lot of the harsh things you can say about Sports apply to other figures - the colour scheme is unarresting, but so is Baron's; the face lacks personality, but then so does that of Wagon; the alt mode is rather flat and uninteresting, but the same charge could be levelled at Voyager... However, the various mediocre possibilities just sort of come together on Sports.