I believe these were 'European exclusives'. Back in the very early 90s, a friend of mine from England sent these to me.

 

Are these kinda rare (at least from the perspective of U.S. collectors)? What might they be worth? They don't seem to appear on eBay much. Mine are open (the plastic bubbles were sliced open so the toys could be removed) and complete. The cards are a little warped with some frayed edges.

 

I tried searching the site, but couldn't really find much. It seems there's been more talk about PREDATOR the movie.  :tftongue

 

yep, if memory serves they were UK exclusives (the the end of the G1 line before g2?) i'd say they are a 6.5-7 out of 10 on the rarity scale

They seem to fall in the era that the Turbomasters do, the whole era where it's a little bit of G2, but still the logos say it's G1, so it goes either way.

Well, "UK Exclusive" isn't quite accurate.  To be more precise, they just weren't released in the US.  They were released as individual figures in the UK and Canada, and in two-packs with the Turbomaster cars in Japan.

 

Still, due to them existing in the sort of "limbo" period between the American G1 and G2, I don't think these toys got all that much exposure, and while they might not be rare, they're definitely a more uncommon addition to a collection.

cool. ive got two of those guys.

They are able to "combine" with certain figures from their time as well...the molds for Machine Wars Soundwave and Starscream, I believe...

They were in the Battlestars Manga...

Well, "UK Exclusive" isn't quite accurate.  To be more precise, they just weren't released in the US.  They were released as individual figures in the UK and Canada, and in two-packs with the Turbomaster cars in Japan.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

*sigh*

 

They were also released in the rest of Europe, not just the UK.

Slip of the tongue...err, fingers.

 

'Twas what I meant.  They just weren't released in the US.  Everybody else got 'em.

 

As for the "combining" feature, Skyquake and Stalker had a viewfinder feature where if you looked into an eyepiece (in Stalker's rocket, and Skyquake's afterburner), you could see images of certain Turbomasters, as if they were being targetted.  You could dock the Predator planes onto those two figures to see other slides.

Indeed. These figures were also available in Australia and New Zealand, and they're as cheap as chips here.

 

Btw, these toys are strictly G1. The 1993 "European" TFs are referred to by fans as "G1.5" as they exist in that limbo between G1 and G2 as they were available in both G1 and G2 packaging. The 1993 figures however were never released as G2, and are therefore strictly part of G1.

 

Also, the Predator jets cannot connect with Machine Wars Starscream or Soundwave, as the connecting part has been slightly remoulded on the MW figures to make them incompatible. When Machine Wars first came out, I tried attaching a Predator jet onto Starscream. Connecting the Predator wasn't that hard, but I nearly broke something trying to disconnect it! I strongly do NOT recommend ever trying to connect a Predator with a Machine Wars Scopemaster.