By the mid-1980s, the success of the Machine Robo line was beginning to peter out, and Bandai took a break before they began to redirect the series, culminating in the Anime-backed Revenge of Cronos series.

However, in America Gobots was continuing to be a success, and Bandai agreed to design a handful of toys especially for the Western market. These figures were designated 'MRT-##' (most likely standing for Machine Robo Tonka) and released in 1985. Scratch was one such figure, and the toy was only released in North America.

The character, a Guardian, made a handful of appearances in the animated series, notably in the episode "Genius and Son".

Scratch's vehicle mode is an unprepossessing 4 x 4 (a first-gen Ford Bronco, I think), and it isn't particularly pretty.

The dark grey means the mode doesn't leap out, and like all the MRT figures, it's a little bit too chunky and under-detailed. It is solid, though, and a few bits of moulding, such as the differentials underneath, are quite good. Overall, though, it's a bland, forgettable alternate mode.

There's not much wrong with it, it's just rather forgettable.

Of course, these things tend to function as disguises (well, they did in Transformers… probably less so in Challenge of the Gobots…, but it's a good opening for a paragraph...), and Scratch's unimpressive vehicle form hides a fantastic robot mode.

The transformation itself is a good, fun sequence, very addictive and with some neat touches. The result is small robot that nevertheless looks really good. The head sculpt is one of the line's best, for once oozing personality thanks to a humanoid face and the dabs or red. The back-piece works nicely too. I love the big shoulders, even if the forearms are a little thin by comparison. The boxy chest and legs are a delight, too. Best of all, though, is the articulation. The arms are as standard, but the waist can twist, and each leg moves at two points, meaning Scratch can strike some pretty impressive poses for such a small, old figure.

He doesn't even seem to suffer from any looseness or fragility either, while the stubby figure tallies nicely with the personality hinted at by the face.