By the tail end of the first series of Generation 1 in 1984, Hasbro brought a classic marketing method to bear: mail-away exclusive toys. By mailing in $3 and two “Robot Points” cut from Transformers packaging, one could receive a random Powerdasher such as the unofficially-named F-1 Dasher, a black, red, and chrome sci-fi race car.

US Patent for G1 F1 Dasher

Origins

Like so many early Autobots, F-1 Dasher started life in 1982 in Takara's Diaclone, which is also the origin of his unofficial name F-1 Dasher. This version featured a small die-cast and plastic driver that could sit in the open cockpit of the car mode. F1 Dasher was designed by Iwakichi Ogawa and the US Patent, titled Reconfigurable toy car (aka Transformers G1 F1 Dasher) was filed on July 29, 1983 (U.S. Patent No. USD279592 S).

Description

The F1 Powerdasher transforms into a presumably Cybertronian race car of some sort. The car is primarily red, with an open cockpit seat, and small black wheels in front, and yellow wheels with rubber tires in back. The car mode is further distinguished by a chrome “engine”, and a chrome spoiler mounted on large black pylons. Like all Powerdashers, F-1 features a pull-back motor that can make the car race forward. The transformation is very simple, and fairly obvious. The spoilers fold down and extend as the legs, the hood unfurls the arms, and the engine rotates around to reveal the head. The robot mode looks very like the car mode, with the addition of chrome thighs and a stickered-on face.

Collector Notes

F1 Dasher is a simple and sturdy figure, and not prone to any specific breakage. However, the large areas of chrome are very prone to wear, often revealing mismatched underlying plastic colors.

Variants

F1 Dasher does not have any notable variations.

Availability

F-1 Dasher was available in the “Reinforcements from Cybertron!” flyer in 1984, and again in 1985's “The battle is far from over!” flyer.

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Redecos & Retools

F-1 Dasher was originally released in 1982 in Diaclone with blue instead of black, additional stickers, and a pilot. The Diaclone version was released in the US under in as Aragon with a different pilot figure in 1984, marking the first use of the "Powerdasher" moniker.