Tow-Line (Buzzworthy Bumblebee/Deluxe Class)

Robots in Disguise/Car Robots has always been a bright spot for me in my Transformers fandom. It was the gateway from my beloved beast era back to vehicular bots. As much as I loved beast era, it was time for a change and RID was just right. It still had beast warriors, but the overall direction was back to cars and jets. It didn't hurt that the designs were super slick and the cartoon was entertaining as hell. There was a lot of repaints in the line and the original Tow-Line was just that, a repaint of the Machine Wars Hubcap/Hoist mold. A really solid toy that didn't get a lot of attention like most of Machine Wars at the time. 

In the show, Tow-Line was a charming character who lived out the role of his tow truck alt mode of a little too much. His infamous "No parking means no parking" catchphrase was forever cemented in fans minds. Later he got an 'evil' repaint in Robot Masters that has on and off been one of my user pics ever since. I was really surprised when Tow-Line got an update in Legacy: Evolution under the Buzzworthy Bumblebee banner. What's now referred to by Hasbro as Robots in Disguise 2001 doesn't get a lot of love unfairly and of all the bots, Tow-Line isn't the one you'd think would get a new toy. Like his original toy, Tow-Line is a repaint of an existing mold. This time of Scraphook from Legacy: Evolution, a toy I've not yet found, so this was my first experience with the mold.

Tow-Line turns into a Mad Max sort of tow truck. This is in line with all the other new Junkions in Legacy: Evolution and a direction I quite like. However it is odd on Tow-Line as he's normally just a regular old tow truck. It makes me REALLY wish for a repaint based on his Robot Masters toy though. The spiky, post apocalyptic design plays oddly well with Tow-Line's trademark bright colors. It just works somehow as does the new faithful recreation of the classic toy head. They did a really good job with a toy that's a mix old old and new.

These new Junkions can separate into parts and connect to other bots similar to the Weaponizers from Siege. For once giving the Evo-Fusion blurb an actually good example. Unlike the Weaponizers though, the toys doesn't part form as transformation doesn't require disassembly. You might find yourself pulling off a piece by accident like I did though. Various parts can be attached or held as weapons. This leads to blasters from parts of his hood that resemble the original toys gun and a spiky spare tire that could work as the Boost Hammer from the Robot Masters toy. Maybe. I really like this toy, it's fairly articulated and transforms pleasantly. Mine has a bit of loose joints. Not sure if that's the mold or I just got a random floppy one. Stop laughing. Either way, it's hard not to love a Tow-Line update. Especially when it's a good one.