Rumble is red, Frenzy is blue. Rumble & Frenzy!

I am a toy-centric collector, therefore, Rumble is red, Frenzy is blue, or RiRFiB, if you prefer.

Anyone that would like to state: “Well, Rumble was blue in the cartoon, therefore FiRRiB!” need only look at this image:

Oh… wait. That only proves that “Runble” is a “Red Robot”. Huh. Anyway, you know what they meant. With the exception of that single screen, the rest of the U.S. cartoon was wrong and that’s all there is to that. Also wrong are the Devil’s Due Comics, IDW Comics, Diamond Select statues, Derrick J. Wyatt, and the supposedly upcoming release of Reveal the Shield “Demolition Rumble”.

Wait, wait, wait. He has gold guns? *sigh* I might actually have to buy him now. I will still call him by his proper name, Frenzy.

One thing we can all agree on, at least, this toy is G1 Frenzy:

Oof. I really do need to spring for the reissue of this guy. Mine is in pretty sad shape. That and I don’t actually own a G1 Rumble. Sad but true. I’ve just been lazy about it. I swooped up Encore release number 17 because I didn’t own any of the four cassettes in that set (also because Ratbat is my favourite cassette). However, I already own three out of the four in both Encore number 17 and 19. I can imagine that if I looked hard enough, I could probably find a good, cheap loose Frenzy and Rumble. Alternately, I could buy the set and sell off my extras, but… well, I already mentioned the lazy thing and that sounds like work.

Given the delay of the U.S. release of “Demolition Rumble” and not the slightest rumblings (ha!) of his red counterpart, I decided not to risk it. I made my first ever Transformers United purchase with United Rumble and Frenzy. To date, this makes two United purchases because I also broke down and bought the silver repaint of Classics Megatron. For those not up on the other side of the ocean, TakaraTomy has taken a good portion of the toys released in the Generations and Reveal the Shield lines, added in a couple of older Classics toys, repainted some of them in shiny metallic paint, and released them as Transformers United.

Just like the star of this week’s other post, the two have a tiny cameo in the comic included with the Transformers Generations 2011 vol. 2 book.

True to their comic appearance, their toys both have the ability to turn their arms into piledrivers for some ground-pounding action.

“Hey! Warn me before you’re gonna do that, punk!”

Since being separated from Soundwave (I haven’t been able locate translations of their bios, so I don’t know if their new, independent alt modes have explanation other than the obvious), they have chosen to ditch those passé cassette tapes for spiffy new tanks — maybe following in G2 Megatron’s lead?.

This isn’t their first attempt at new alt-modes. Frenzy was given and Rumble was considered for release in G2 as cars in the G2 Go-Bot line. They were also released as part of the Music Label line as headphones to match the MP3 player Soundwave. In between those two, though, Rumble was released as the tail-end of the Alternators line.

Though a Honda Civic Si doesn’t exactly scream Decepticon Warrior, his robot mode is a great homage to his G1 incarnation, complete with shiny silver, spring-loaded piledrivers for arms and his familiar cassette tape-inspired chest deco.

A whole lotta rumblin’ goin’ on.

Also, he is coloured correctly. (Have I pressed that point home enough yet?) He and Ravage were the only two of the G1 Cassettes to receive release in the Alternators line, which makes Frenzy sad. Sad enough to carjack.

Really he should be ticked at Ravage. Ravage got two releases in Alternators. All sibling squabbling aside, United Rumble and Frenzy are going to take their places in my Soundwave family display as worthy updates of their former cassette selves.