Mini Vehicles Outback (Transformers, G1, Autobot) | Transformerland.com

Origins

Outback was heavily retooled and redecorated from G1 Brawn. Unlike any of the other Mini Vehicles, Outback was given a gun accessory to decorate his vehicle mode, as well as considerable retooling from Brawn like new fists and a new face. Outback was based on the desgin by Hideaki Yoke. The original US Patent for Brawn, titled Reconfigurable toy vehicle (aka Transformers G1 Brawn), was filed on October 4, 1985 (U.S. Patent No. USD297035 S).

Description

Outback is molded primarily in two colors, brown, and a sandy tan. He shares his deeply treaded plastic wheels with wave-mates Pipes and Swerve. Like all the former Microchange Mini CAR “big vehicles,” he also shares a similar, very simple, transformation scheme. His chrome arms pull out from the sides, where they are hidden behind rotating door panels, and his legs swing down from the rear of the vehicle. Also like his brethren, his face is molded and painted flush with the bottom of the vehicle. Outback’s low price point meant he included only a sparse couple of stickers. Paint detail is limited to his face. In his truck mode, the included recoilless rifle accessory can be pegged into the screw hole in his spare tire.
Date stamp location: back of vehicle
Rubsign location: left side door

Collector Notes

Outback’s chrome arms are frequently broken and missing. they are a weak point in the design, and can be easily snapped off from the shoulder pins if they are pulled in the wrong direction. Furthermore, his arms may appear to be whole to the casual observer even when the chrome ares are missing due to the arm-like shape of his doors in robot mode.

Variants

As a 1986 Mini-Vehicle, Outback has no domestic variants. Outback’s most notable variant comes from Mexico. All Outbacks produced by Mexican licensee Plasticos IGA use an unaltered Brawn mold, but Outback’s brown and tan deco. Outback's stamping locations appear to indicate that the mold was actually the Type 5 Brawn mold permanently modified to produce a new figure. This is also why the only reissue Brawn figures are based on a new set of tooling for the Fun-4-All keychains.
Type 1: "©HASBRO 1974, 1983 ©TAKARA CO. LTD. JAPAN 1974, 1983" stamp, indent on roof, thinner spare tire with wider screw hole to accomodate gun
Type ?MX: ??

Availability

Outback was available worldwide in 1986. He was released again in Japan’s Transformers Encore in the set Bumble & Minibots, featuring additional paint applications.
Case Assortments (Item#/Asst#): Early 1986: Mini Vehicles Asst. 3 with Prizes in Disguise Patch (5907/5711.05), 3 per 24; late 1986: Mini Vehicles Asst. 3 (5907/5711), 3 per 24
MSRP: $2.99
Packaging: Blister card with instructions and Tech Spec on back
Robot Points: ½ Autobot
Paperwork included: A random one of ten iron-on patches with “Prizes in Disguise” entry form (early 1986), “Look Inside for a Special Offer!” (late 1986)

Redecos & Retools

Outback’s mold has not been re-used.

Character Bio

FUNCTION: GUNNER
“Rules are detours on the road of life”

Thinks going by the book is going the long way. Doesn't follow plans—or roads! Cuts across parking lots, sidewalks, backyards to get where he's goiing. Travels at 110 mph, range 800 miles, his 4-wheel drive handles roughest terrain, climbs grades up to 50 degrees. Carries turret-mounted mortar cannon that shoots armour-piercing shells.