The third Scalerobo DX figure came out in 1983, designed by Popy (shortly before they were reabsorbed into Bandai). The toy was modelled on a Porsche 928S, and came in both dark blue and metallic blue colour schemes. Alternate stickers were provided, featuring two racing numbers - '32' and '64' - though often both sets were applied on promotional materials (and thus lots of examples now). Both the dark blue and metallic blue versions went on to be released in Europe as part of the Robo Machine line.

Meanwhile, Tonka bought up the Machine Robo rights in North America, and in 1984 the figure became a Super Gobot - the Renegade Herr Fiend, to be precise, getting a new coat of black paint in the process. This probably had dual reasoning - to make the figure look more sinister, and to differentiate him from Baron Von Joy a bit more. Incidentally, the black version remained a US exclusive - even when the Robo Machine line repackaged the DX figures as Super Gobots, the pale blue version was still used in Europe, complete with all-new box art.

Herr Fiend had the early working name of Dr. Go, and it was under the latter name he appeared as the Renegade scientist in the Challenge of the Gobots cartoon. Hanna-Barbera, in one of their most bizarre character model choices, gave the bloke a monocle - and oddly, considering the name change, a German accent (making him basically an evil version of Professor Von Joy, leaving both open to all sorts of animation model mix-ups, notably in the film Gobots: Battle of the Rock Lords). The toy was re-released in 1993 for the Robo Machines line, a De Luxe figure designated 'Sports Coupe II' - this version featured an all-new red/black colour scheme.

The Porsche 928 isn't a car I'm particularly fond of - the company's 'flat nose' models just look too bland. However, the black scheme looks rather sharp.

Personally I've always felt this version of the figure looks best without the numbered stickers - they just don't go well with the one-tone scheme - which is why I've not got around to upgrading mine (also, he's a bit of a project, a smashed-up junker rebuilt with parts from other knackered Super Gobots… you probably can't see on the pictures, but those are Zeemon's wheels). The headlight decals are a nice touch (in good condition, the metallic finish means they look better that paint apps could), as are the inset chrome headlights. Once more, they've managed to blend the paint and plastic beautifully - only paint chips really give it away.

The detail level is good all-round actually, with the nice cockpit (including sunroof) and opening hatchback (which reveals a pair of seats). I'm not fond enough on the 928 to really like the mode, but if they had to pick such a forgettable car, at least they made a decent fist of it.

Herr Fiend transforms largely the same way as the other DX cars - in fact, it's exactly like Zeemon, right down to the rear wheels folding down to flank the thighs, the hatchback part staying halfway down the back and the feet panels. Of course, the shape of the vehicles means they share hardly any parts (probably just screws, actually, as even the wheels are different).

However, what they do share is a certain lack of personality. It takes a real stretch of imagination to perceive much character from the head design, though the protrusion from the head can just about pass as a nose/voicebox, I suppose. The all-black means the driver stands out more than on other figures - that said, there's only one screw on the front of the cockpit, and it's very easy to move the figure (as I've done). That aside, the silver parts work rather well with the black. I've got to say, I do like the fork-like hands, even if they are pretty useless.

Mechanically, the big problem is that the bonnet clips on to a rather fragile hook that wears or snaps pretty easily, making him slump. The especially bland face and largely unexceptional robot configuration make him a little boring, to be honest.