Microchange MC-04 Red Mazda Familia 1500XG (Bumblejumper)

MICROCHANGE MC-04 RED MAZDA FAMILIA 1500XG (BUMBLEJUMPER)

This is the second release of the Microchange MC-04 Mazda Familia in the smaller box from Takara's Microman line in 1983. I say second release because early in 1983, this pre-TF "Bumblejumper" along with the pre-Cliffjumper, pre-Bumblebee, pre-Brawn, pre-Windcharger pre-Gears and pre-Huffer were released in slightly larger boxes. When this Mazda Familia 1500XG minibot mould first saw realease in the MC line, it was available in red, yellow and blue. Here is a picture of the earlier larger-box MC-04 BLUE Mazda Familia 1500XG:

Now there are quite a few differences here from the second release small box pictured at the start of this article. Firstly, the toy comes in styrofoam and is packaged in robot mode. Also, there is a circular yellow sticker on the box that indicates which colour Mazda you're getting because all of the first release MC-04 Mazda Familias had a blue toy on the box. In this case obviously there has been a bit of a switch and the blue one has been placed in a yellow one's box. Also, the first release is designated "Car 02" on the box, but no such "02" designation can be found on the later smaller box release. The only designation you will find on the smaller second release box is the general "MC-04" Micro Robot Car designation.

The package is a very attractive one and extremely small. The box is only just about big enough for the minibot to fit in there in vehicle mode as you'll see a little later. The red Mazda is shown in various modes on different sides of the box and the back of the box details the transformation steps. With the smaller box you can see the red Mazda is featured on the packaging as opposed to the blue of the first release. The colour of the toy within is mentioned in print on the box as opposed to the use of the circular sticker. Only the red and yellow Mazda pre-Bumblejumpers were available for the second release small box versions, the blue one only came in the first release bigger box making it rarer and more desireable. Although it should be noted that this mould was only available in red for the Microchange line, not in Transformers or any South American minibot variant line.

Here you can see how the toy is packaged inside the tiny box. The roll of yellow foam is the official insert material just as it was for the Diaclone Insecticons. People have been known to throw the foam away because they thought it was added by the seller of the toy and not originally by Takara themselves!

I think that this could easily be the nicest version of this mould ever released, and that for me takes into account all the Brazilian and MC variants available. This version stands out really nicely in red and I like it despite not being a huge fan of this minicar mould. The model of the car is written on the sticker that goes on the back of the headplate, and there is the standard MC-style thin sticker on the roof of the car.

From some angles you can see the gaps between the red bodywork and the black window sections. The quality of the piece is as good as you would expect from an official Takara Pre-Transformer and the joints were very tight. No inherent looseness like the South American minibots. You might also have noticed the "Dunlop" text on the tyres. If not, here's a closer look:

Just before we move on to the robot mode, here are some shots of the red Mazda with the slightly earlier-release blue Mazda Familia 1500XG:

You can see that they share the same factory stickers on the back of the headplate and also on the roof. There are those of course who will prefer the blue version, but I personally prefer the red for this mould. Here's the robot mode:

Again, the very fitting colour scheme for this mould makes this toy look just as good in robot mode as it does in vehicle mode. The proportions are nice and of course it's a look we're very familiar with thanks to Transformers Cliffjumper and Bumblebee. I've found that factory sticker application for almost all the pre-TFs I have owned is far from perfect and some releases suffer more than most. The slightly lop-sided chest sticker does affect the overall look of the robot mode, but it's not a big complaint.

As many of you will be familiar with this type of minicar mould, you'll know that poseability is limited to the arms and the angle of the headplate, depending on how mint an example you have and if the headplate will actually hold its position at different angles. But poseability was never supposed to be the strong suit of a figure this small, it had to look good and be fun to play with. This mould in these colours covers those bases successfully. Here's a closer look at the robot head:

The moulding and paint application on the head of this MC-04 Mazda are very nice, and thoroughly superior to the paint apps and moulding you will find on Estrela or Antex minibots. The Mazda/Bumblejumper 'sunglasses' look is ever present and his look becomes significantly distinct from that of the Bumblebee and Cliffjumper moulds. The copyright for this toy is shown below:

It is of course a "TAKARA JAPAN" stamping within a circle, much like many of the Microchange and Diaclone toys of the 1983 era and before. Pre-rub Transformers Cliffjumpers, Bumblebees and Bumblejumpers would have a similar stamping before they later changed to the 3-line Takara stamping and even later to a shared Takara/Hasbro copyright, for Bumblebee and Cliffjumper anyway.

Here's the red Mazda Familia 1500XG with a bunch of other red minibots from the Transformers line, and see if you can spot the early pre-rub TF Cliffjumper and Windcharger in the pictures:

For minibot enthusiasts, this toy is an absolute gem. Not only is it one of the more obscure and more interesting of the minibot moulds seeing as how it featured so briefly in the TF line, but it's also been done in red which makes this particular release unique to the Microchange line. For anyone wanting a complete range of Bumblejumper variants, this is an absolutely essential purchase. In addition to all of that, it's from the MC line where these moulds first debuted and therefore is the ancestor of all the TF minibots and their subsequent global colour variants. It's a piece of minibot history and it is packaged in a very novel, colourful and attractive way. With this being the only way to obtain a red Bumblejumper mould, the MC release of this toy is quite heavily sought-after by collectors and can sometimes be very expensive. It is by no means an easy one to tick off your list, but I think the larger-box version might be a shade rarer than this small-box version.

If you are a minibot collector, you don't need this item recommended to you, it's probably already pretty high on your hitlist.