Knockoff toys to me have this strange appeal of hot garbage
mixed in with weird colours and liberties taken on the original designs bootlegged
from.
Over the years, I have come into possession of these faux figures via Christmas
presents, routine purchases and carboot acquisitions. Watered-down (and some
decent) renditions of
Transformers, Star Wars, TMNT, Power Rangers and other
lines I don’t recognise have joined my archive or fallen apart from just
standing there and doing nothing.
So, here comes
Trans Troop, a captivating toy title in any context you choose. Imediately, my tat radar reads this as a mash up of
Transformers and
Goof Troop! :)
Looking at this figure through the blistercard - Trans Troop looks like some
strange mash-up of
Captain Power,
VR Troopers and a smidgen of
Silverhawks. The
chrome adorning 98% of this figure looks cool and metallic, and also has a Golden
Eagle companion to clip onto his back as the card illustration (and diagrams
suggest).
Here is where I am glad I took packshot photographs before opening. As soon as
the exacto knife removed the front bubble, the toy inside fell apart (or rather
the right arm immediately dropped off). And there’s one big issue with buying knockoff
toys in that the packaging these come in is the only thing holding the toy
together. It’s a gamble.
Most toy collectors know of GPS (Gold Plastic Syndrome). This isn’t just a
diagnosis taken from a
Doc McStuffins episode, but also is a legit thing! Any
toy vacuum formed in gold plastic is known to crumble or disintegrate over
time. This is why most modern plastic items will never be colored in chromed
gold. Assumedly, gold plastic has a self destructive chemical agent.
Further to my not-so-surprised horror, I discover the right arm that dropped
from
Trans Troop wasn’t a right arm at all, but rather a manufacturing cover
up. As seen in the photo, the arm has an accessory attached in a way to make it
look like a right arm. Dodgy going, but that’s knockoffs for you.
As for the future of
Trans Troop. It looks like the
Raggy Dolls have gained a
new recruit.