General Information:
Retailer: General (Toys 'R' Us, K-Mart, Kay-Bee etc.)
Price: $3.99 (depending on retailer)
Accessories: Gun

Images:

• Tech Specs
• Vehicle Mode
• Vehicle Mode (Side View)
• Vehicle Mode (Rear View)
• Robot Mode

In the year before the Beast Wars era would rise, Hasbro took the Go-Bots name it had acquired through its purchase of Tonka and used it in the Transformers line, effectively ending the "Who would win, Transformers or Gobots?" competition forever. The Go-Bots were a subgroup of Transformers who were constructed to be compatible with all 1:64 sized playsets, which was a roundabout way of saying "Use these with your Matchbox or Hot Wheels playsets!" It was an interesting and smart move on Hasbro's part.

Most fans will recognize this mold as one that has been used over and over in recent years.
After Beast Wars, this toy was resurrected as Eagle Killer for the Car Robots line in Japan. He then became R.E.V. in three separate releases under the Robots in Disguise line. In Japan, this toy was given a new deco at least twice (still as Eagle Killer). So this toy has seen a lot of usage, but it all started with this guy: Firecracker.

Vehicle Mode:
Firecracker's vehicle mode fits his hot headed tech spec description. He's a Lambourghini Diablo, a fast car by most standards, and he's colored translucent red. The translucent color winds up showing all the internal workings of the toy in this form, but that's not really a bad thing as it gives him an interesting look. It does obscure the molded details a bit such as the headlights or lines in the back, but look closely enough and you'll see them.

The windows and wheels are black. The wheels have gold chrome on them representing their hubcaps. Because the translucent color is the main deco here, there are no paint apps on top of it, which was for the best.

Transformation to Robot Mode:

1. Pull the rear of the vehicle back.
2. Pull the sides out.
3. Fold the front of the car down.
4. Place the gun in the robot fist.

Robot Mode:
Whereas the vehicle mode is very straightforward in design, the robot mode has a lot more sculpted detail. The underside of the front of the car and the robot chest all have line and tech details. This is very nice to see since really, these details don't show in either mode unless you flip the car over or lift up the robot chest piece.

The lower body has some nice detailing on the legs, which each look like they have some type of engine built into them complete with the feet being exhaust pipes.

The upper body to upper leg piece is white, with dark blue used to deco the robot face. The lower legs are yellow. The use of white and yellow with the translucent red really helps complete the "fire" look for erm...Firecracker. It's always nice to see a deco of a toy (especially one so small) really given thought. It's also neat to see the gun is translucent red as well.

Like all G2 Go-Bots, Firecracker has two whole points of articultion, his arms. Essentially, the G2 Go-Bots were the G2 equivalent of the G1 Mini-Bots, so this is hardly a fatal flaw in the toy.

Final Thoughts:
Firecracker is a nicely sculpted, neat looking toy. If you want one of the toys that helped start the whole Spychanger redeco-craze, this one's for you. Recommended.