{"id":29671,"date":"2019-11-12T00:00:26","date_gmt":"2019-11-12T05:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/?p=29671"},"modified":"2025-10-06T16:25:41","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T20:25:41","slug":"transformers-botbots-captain-cartridge-exclusive-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/2019\/11\/transformers-botbots-captain-cartridge-exclusive-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Transformers BotBots Captain Cartridge exclusive & Swapbox 16 review"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>Hasbro brought a Transformers BotBots<\/i><\/a> exclusive with them to San Diego Comic-Con this year: the \"Con Crew\" set, which features 'bots from three different factions: the Fantastic Fuelers, the Meet n' Greets, and the Line League<\/a>.<\/p>\n

When you attend a convention, you're going to have a lot of downtime where you're just standing around - whether it's waiting to get into a panel or waiting for the signature\/purchase line to move, the one thing you'll never lack is time to stare blankly around you and wish you could be doing something else. That's why a portable game system would be so important! This is functionally just a rectangle with a screen: it's clearly meant to sit on its side (judging by the placement of the D-pad and buttons), but the official art shows it incorrectly sitting upright. The blue colorscheme makes it look kind of like a TARDIS at that point. There's a conspicuous bit of cloth sticking off the back, but pretend that's... a cleaning cloth, maybe?<\/p>\n

This is one of the more complex BotBots to convert. You have to rotate up the little white points, pull out the arms and swing them down, pull out the two sections of the screen (one of the tougher parts of the process) and rotate them out of the way for now, fold down the legs, spin the head around, and move the screen-wings up a bit.<\/p>\n

Meet rising star Captain Cartridge. New to the scene, he's already ahead of the game. He'll answer questions about how super-vision, lightning-fast thumbs, and unlimited energy are all you need to crush long lines.<\/i><\/p>\n

This is the third cosplaying BotBot, putting him in competition with Scribzilla<\/a> and Coffeemus Prime<\/a>. He's a superhero, meaning that permanently affixed scrap of cloth is meant to be his cape! The body is mainly blue, with a red bit above the legs acting like trunks, and he's got a red mask painted on his face. The cape is permanently attached, which is why you have to deal with it in the alternate mode. As far as robot modes go, Captain Cartridge is like a Volvo: he's blocky, but he's good.<\/p>\n

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Captain Cartridge was a new mold when this set was released, but only due to shipping schedules: this is the same mold as a Series 3 'bot, D-Pad Chad, but Series 3 wasn't out by the time of SDCC. And anyway, the colors were different and he lacked a cape, so Cap is still at least somewhat unique.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Series 4 of the BotBots<\/i> may have ditched a lot of things - pictures of the mall, pictures of the bots, instructions - but they're keeping alive the tradition of repainting older toys as new ones. At least we're getting new factions out of it, right? That's how Swapbox 16 can be a member of the Retro Replays<\/a>!<\/p>\n

The name \"Swapbox\" makes this sound like it should be a rental machine, a la<\/i> Redbox, but that's not the case; it is, instead, a handheld gaming system. So the \"16\" might be a reference to the TurboGrafx-16, but that was a console, not handheld. And then, the toy's colors - a blue-teal body with a lighter screen - calls to mind Adventure Time<\/i>'s BMO. Unlike D-Pad Chad, Swapbox 16's stock art accurately depicts the unit sideways, instead of vertically: the position of the molded controls (thumb pad on the left, buttons on the right) make the intention clear.<\/p>\n

This is one of the more difficult BotBots to convert. You have to rotate up the little ear points, pull out the arms and swing them down, pull out the two sections of the screen (that's the bit that makes things hard) and rotate them out of the way for now, fold down the legs, spin the head around, and move the screen-wings up a bit.<\/p>\n

Swapbox 16 has played it all. He knows every cheat code to every level to every game by heart. He's hacked it with all the hackers. Played with all the players. Gamed with all the gamers. It's no wonder he's always 1-upping the competition. This bot has been gaming since he was just Swapbox 2.<\/i><\/p>\n

Swappy remains mostly teal in this mode, but does get some magenta details on the chest and a gray face with a huge smile and starry eyes - considering that D-Pad was a d-bag, it's nice to see a character who's a gamer and yet not a total tool. The colors on the chest are matched by areas on the forehead and legs, tying the whole piece together. The robot is very boxy, and is articulated at the neck and shoulders.<\/p>\n

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This BotBot is available blind-packed<\/a> as #17, in a Movie Moguls 8-pack, or a Wilderness Troop 8-pack.<\/p>\n

<i>And now, some more OAFEry:<\/i><\/H5>