Pretender Octopunch

Box Scan from Botch The Crab

Here's a figure I wasn't expecting to get at this point in time.  Sure, he's a G1 figure, which means that he's due to be added to my collection, but that was going to be later down the line.  Octopunch just wasn't a very high priority for me, but sometimes things just fall into your lap.

In 1989, Hasbro essentially decided to split the line into two gimmicks:  Pretenders and Micromasters.  Gone were regular Transformers, Headmasters, Targetmasters, Powermasters, cassettes and all of that jazz.  In their place were small toys.  Very small toys.  The regular Pretenders were around the size of a standard Transformers, such as Sideswipe.  By the time the so-called "small" Pretenders came out, they were barely the size of a minibot.  Here are some size comparison pictures:

The hunched over posture doesn't help

I think they're the same size in the fiction...

This doesn't bode well...

As you can see, they're small.  The change in size was accompanied with a change in packaging as well.  The smaller Pretenders were packed onto blister cards as opposed to being boxed.

A boxed Bomb-Burst, standard Pretender

Small Pretenders.  Pic from TFW2005

So instead of looking for these guys at Children's Palace, Child's World, Toys R Us, Roses, Hills or Gold Circle on the shelf, I had to find them on a peg.  By this time, I wasn't too keen on the smaller Pretenders, as the only one I ever purchased was Stranglehold.  By the time I decided I wanted them, it was around 2004, and the prices had naturally skyrocketed.  Whereas I as could get a complete Cloudburst for about $40-$50 in very good shape, finding a complete Octopunch will potentially run you in excess of $175 or more.  What?  But the smaller Pretenders are...smaller, so what gives?  There are a few reasons for this.  One has to do with the fact that they were later run figures and just about anything from the later runs seem to cost more.  The second reason is that there are a lot more smaller parts that tend to get lost of over time.

So how did I come into possession of an Octopunch when I wasn't even looking for one at the time?  Simple: someone gave him to me.  As in: "I don't want this, do you want it?" type of give away.  I was floored, to say the least.  Free Transformer?  Yes, please.

So here's Octopunch in his shell:

His head looks downward, making it difficult to get a decent picture with his helmet on.  Let's try for a closeup, shall we?

There we go, that's better.  I'm still not sure what he's supposed to be.  Wonder what happens when I take off the helmet?

Krang?

Gah!  What is that?  Some sort of Kraken wearing armor?  Is it Cthulhu?   According to TFWiki, he's a bipedal octopus creature in scuba gear.  So, Cthulhu.  Which just works, because of course he'd work with the Decepticons.  

Here's Octopunch's inner robot.  Know how you can tell it's small?  He can't even hold his gun in his hand!  Instead, there are holes on both arms for the gun to attach to.  His arms are also molded in a bent position, which is a surprise to me.  Stranglehold just has stiff arms. 

Why do I want a Krabby Patty now?

Here's Octopunch's alt-mode.  Beast mode?  It's a crab.  The details on it aren't too bad, actually.  The colors aren't too great, as I think it would've been better with some shades of red.  Wondering where the crab legs came from?  Did they fold out of the body?  Are they stored on the back in robot mode?  Nope, they peg onto the back of the Pretender shell.  Take a look:

There you go, this is the Transformer who woke Primus from his eons long slumber.  The vile creature that doomed all of the multiverse to fight Unicron.  Now I'm kind of wishing I had gotten Primus when he was released during Armada.  I'd like to stage a reenactment of that famous scene.  Now, if only someone would just gift me with this: