#292 TRANSFORMERS – MICROMASTERS AIR STRIKE PATROL (1989)

The Micromasters have already appeared several times in this blog. In entry #168, I described the different categories of toys in the Micromasters series. The most basic of them was the “Patrols”, which were defined like this:

Micromasters Patrols (1989-1990): “Patrols” were group of four robots, sharing a unifying theme, for example Race Cars, Military, Rescue…these packs were the cheapest Micromasters available and came carded. The size of these robots is the reference for the whole collection; the characters are relatively small and have simple transformations. The concept resembles a little bit Micromachines’collections.

In the same scenery from that entry, I am presenting one of the Patrols I have: the Air Strike Patrol. This group of four Decepticons are 4 war planes: an F-14, a Rafale, a A-10 Thunderbolt plus an unidentified models that resembles some kind of spy plane (F-19, later F-117). The names of these are Storm Cloud, Nightflight, Tailwind and Whisper, respectively.

Whisper, Tailwind, Storm Cloud and Nightflight

These small planes can be very easily transformed into robots (and the other way round) in just 4 or 5 moves, and despite their size and simplicity, that transformation is really nice.

Hasbro reused the casts for these planes to, once recoloured, include them as “commanders” of the different Bases, Stations and so on. For example, the F-16 plane, named “Storm Cloud” is made out of the same cast than “Skyhopper”. Recolouring was new at the time for the Hasbro toyline, but it would be exploited during the G2, in which many robots from G1 were re-released in new decorations.

Skyhopper (left) and Storm Cloud (right)

Micromasters are normally very easy to find and very cheap to buy, with some exceptions. Logically, those with fragile/easy to lose parts are more expensive. The same happens with those Micromasters included in bigger boxes like Bases, Stations or Combiners Bases.

The Air Strike Patrol @ Micromasters Base

They are definitely not the most popular transformers, but they were a nice alternative to most expensive and most difficult to transform robots. Maybe a child-oriented sub-series or just a try from Hasbro to fit the popular Transformers into the new fashion of reduced toys that came in the mid to late 80s.

I’ll finish this article with the profiles and tech specs for these characters. Thanks for reading!

AIR STRIKE PATROL

• Faction: Decepticons
• Subgroup: Micromasters
• Function: Espionage
• Motto: "The more tightly you hold a secret, the more we like ripping it away."
• Bio: Spent years practicing in the mercury swamps of Cybertron. Perfected the "fly, spy, and fry" teamwork technique of stealing info and blasting their targets. Rank among the most capable and savviest of Decepticons. Constantly fight among themselves to take credit for the group's successes. Always blame each other for its failures. Their inability to get along is their greatest weakness.
• Tech Specs for Air Strike Patrol:

• Strength: 4
• Intelligence: 8
• Speed: 7
• Endurance: 6
• Team Work: 2
• Courage: 8
• Firepower: 2
• Skill: 7

WHISPER (black)

• Motto: "Undetected in flight; undefeated in fight"

NIGHTFLIGHT (grey)

• Motto: "I prey like a vulture in the night"

STORM CLOUD (black/purple)

• Motto: "The air is my playground"

TAILWIND (blue)

• Motto: "Revenge is sweet, victory is sweeter"

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: MICROMASTERS AIR STRIKE PATROL
• Toy Line: TRANSFORMERS (G1)
• Year: 1989
• Company: Hasbro (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figures: Around 5 cm