Groundbreaker

Last year, without realizing it, pretty much became the "Year of The Pretender" for me.  I bought more Pretenders than any other sub-line in 2015, with plenty left to get.  I've decided to spread out my coverage of Pretenders, even though I love them, just to give some variety.  In this installment, we'll look at Groundbreaker, a character I kept calling Groundshaker.  Because I get names mixed up.

Groundbreaker was released as part of the second wave of Large Pretenders in 1988, but I had never heard of the guy.  The only second wave Autobot Pretender I was aware of was Splashdown, and that was because I owned him.  Groundbreaker and Skyhigh might as well have been Thundercats for all I cared or knew.  Still, since he is a Pretender, and he's a G1 guy, I have to have him.  Being a second wave figure meant that he was going to command a pretty penny, which I didn't feel like paying.  Much like Action Masters, I think that Pretenders should be bought as cheaply as possible.  I lucked out on the price, but I was in such a hurry that I didn't look at the shell closely enough - I just pounced once I saw that he was available and he was cheap.  Lesson learned, I suppose.  The only real issues with my figure are with the shell.  The grey of the tiger nose and on the shell's feet are pretty scratched up. 

This is something that I really should have paid attention to, but I can easily buy another shell and still come out ahead on this one.

There are a few scratches on the face, but that's what the helmet is for.  By the way, I love the haircut.  Groundbreaker's shell looks like it came straight out of a 70's cop show.

The real star of the show for this guy is the inner robot.  I really love the inner 'bots.  Sure, they all have the exact same transformation scheme, and they are the very definition of a brick, but they're just so darned cool looking to me.  Groundshaker Groundbreaker transforms into a racing car, but it really doesn't matter.  He could be Cloudburst, just in different colors.  Where Cloudburst has wings, Groundbreaker has a spoiler.

The one thing I'm not fond of with Groundbreaker is the color scheme.  The grey's and black just really wash each other out.  Sure, there's more color here than on say Cloudburst (what's up with me and Cloudburst today?), but they all just blend together and nothing really stands out.  At least with Cloudburst (again?!) the red was really bright and just jumped out at you.

Image from TFWiki.net

Did you know that Groundbreaker was in the IDW comics?  He's there next to Cloudburst (!!).  I never realized it; Landmine, Waverider, and Cloudburst (!!!) were always the focal point of Pretenders in the IDW universe.  Speaking of, they really need to show back up.