Once thought that the name alone would keep Huffer from receiving a legit modern update in the regular retail Transformers line, we got a new Power Core Combiners one in 2010. A 2007 figure was a BotCon exclusive updated the original character nicely, and a reissue of the original Huffer was sold in Japan around 2004 in one of their many Minibots boxed sets. So after a huge gap, Huffer is now getting some love from the Hasbro of today. The toy in the pictures is my original Huffer from when I was a kid, way back in the 1980s.
The original toy is a small truck with rolling wheels. The vehicle is fairly solid, there aren't a lot of loose parts in his vehicle form. As a robot, his legs pull out and his arms rotate a little bit. It's a simple toy, like most of the Minibots, and it's still fun to fidget with in 2011. I like this figure more than the recent 2010 Huffer, simply because it's more colorful and the transformation is just so gosh darned simple.
As a toy robot, it's pretty good. It isn't amazing, but the chrome arms, bright stickers, and purple body are striking. The legs aren't jointed, and there's no chance of him sitting, but the Transformers of the 1980s weren't about being actual action figures. The very notion that Hasbro considered these not "Transformers" as a noun but "Transformers"-brand action figures in the 1990s was baffling. Granted, by the 1990s we saw things like jointed elbows, hands which could grip weapons, and articulated legs while the G1 toys were usually statues from the waist on down. Huffer is, effectively, a barely-jointed statue with moving arms. It's really a perfect addition to your desk as a display piece, or the kind of figure you'd buy to display on a shelf without wanting to fidget with it too much. It's almost a shame Hasbro hasn't just reissued it, I can't imagine it would sell for more than $5 on today's market. I like it, you might like it, particularly if you collect older toys.
If you want the original Huffer, a loose sample can usually be had for $5-$10. Cheap!
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