Once considered to be not much better than a company that simply produced knock-off Transformers, iGear seems to have really hit their stride and have become one of the more popular and respected 3rd party companies producing transforming robot toys at the moment. One of the things that iGear has been doing so right is their line of Mini Warriors, based on the original Transformers Minibots from ’84. The first releases in the Mini Warriors line were Rager, based on the Autobot Huffer, and Spray, based on the Autobot Seaspray. In celebration of iGear’s 4th anniversary this year, they released a new, limited edition, version of Rager with colors that are more true to the G1 Huffer.
Rager’s packaging is pretty cool — it’s a faux window box that mimics the boxes many of the larger Autobot cars were packaged in way back in ’84. It even features a tech-spec info card that gives us some more details about the character. Since the Mini Warriors are now skewing larger in size with the release of Hench and UFO, there’s been a fair amount of speculation as to whether or not Rager here would be rereleased in a larger size, but after reading his tech-spec card, I’m not so sure that’s going to happen since it indicates he complains about his smaller size a lot. Maybe that’s iGear’s way of reconciling his smaller size? Time will tell.
Rager is definitely small. He’s only about three inches tall and is dwarfed by the other Mini Warriors, including Spray. His design is so true to the original Huffer, but with modern articulation and sculpting, that his small size doesn’t bother me. His size adds some diversity to the Masterpiece/Classics/whatever collection you’re building. It works for his ‘bot mode, that is. His vehicle mode is another story.
The paint apps and colors here are much better than the original Rager’s — if you care about G1 accuracy, that is. This time we get orange and a bluish purple as opposed to what looks like yellow and blue. The silver looks better as well and there are additional touches, like his hubcaps, that received paint apps this time. The new colors work so much better.
left, original on right
4th Anniversary on right
My only criticism would be that he may be a little too faithful to the G1 Huffer. It’s so dead-on, especially in vehicle mode, that it somehow manages to look a little dated even though it’s brand new. You see, the original Minibots were very simple toys, and this update faithfully maintains that simplicity, but I’m not sure that’s such a good thing. Most updated figures these days are seeing updates in sculpt and articulation, but Rager’s vehicle mode looks every bit as simple as the original toy, and the problem is it looks like a… toy. It doesn’t fit very well aesthetically with many of the updated Autobots we’ve seen in recent years. And his size is just ridiculous, unless this is intended to be the smallest truck ever. Any other Autobot is going to dwarf him in vehicle mode. But as a stand alone, updated Autobot, I do have to admit, he’s pretty awesome. He’s a fun little figure.
Being limited to just 500 pieces, this figure is long gone from iGear’s shop, unfortunately. He was a bit spendy at $27 shipped as well, which many felt was a bit much for such a small figure, but that didn’t seem to stop his selling out quickly. I got mine through a trade with another local collector, and I’m happy to have him because I’ve always been a big fan of the original Minibots, so adding Rager/Huffer here in a more true G1 color scheme to my display makes me quite happy.
Warriors so far
If you’re after either version of Rager, then eBay is probably your best bet, unfortunately. Both versions are long gone from all the usual online retailers. I think he’s worth hunting down and adding to the collection, but it’s going to depend on what you’re looking for in an updated Minibot. I’m a big fan of iGear’s Mini Warriors and I can’t wait for the next batch.
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