Police CG
CG Robo
Mitsubishi GTO Police Cruiser
Other Names: Chaser (UK)

After Gobots stuttered to a halt in 1986/87, Machine Robo wasn't far behind, finally ending in 1988. However, in 1993 Bandai decided to relaunch the brand with the CG Robo series. CG stood for 'Change and Glow', as all the figures in the range had working flashing lights (and sound).

The figures were all modelled on contemporary vehicles, but many can also be seen as updates of original Machine Robo toys - Police CG is a spiritual successor to Police Robo (issued in the West as Hans-Cuff). Bandai created a simple CGI commercial to advertise the line (which otherwise had no tie-in media), during which Police CG is the only character to actually transform.

At the same time, Bandai decided to relaunch the line in Europe too, now under the name Robo Machines. Police CG was issued as the first of five 'Light and Sound Robo Machines', and renamed Chaser. The European version has English text on the stickers as opposed to Japanese kanji.

The vehicle mode is a fetching police Mitsubishi GTO - and these were actually used as police cars, too - I personally have doubts over Takara's views that Lamborghinis were, however... It's a nice shape, and a pretty good render, though the detail isn't much higher than the smaller '600 series' vehicles... In fact, there's not much moulded detail at all, with the headlights etc. all being stickers. Heck, even the wheel hubs are stickers (and these were rarely printed dead centre either...).

Bit of a shame, as he really doesn't look quite as good up close as he does in pictures. And if you're buying now, it's highly unlikely the light and sound will work - having taken the figure apart, the batteries are probably replaceable, but only if you're really careful. Most seem to have died a long time ago, though. There are some nasty joint lines (especially along the bonnet), and an overall feeling of cost-cutting, though Police CG does look respectable.

The transformation sequence has had a little thought put into it - it's hardly unique (the top half is strongly reminiscent of the Transformers Omnibot Downshift), but gets the job done. The robot mode actually looks pretty good - the added sticker above the chest and diecast legs (diecast parts! In 1993!) add a feeling of quality not present in the vehicle mode, where many of the latter's failings aren't quite so clearly on display. It's easier for a cheap toy to look like a robot than a 1/60 scale model car, though over the years no-one's really grasped this, preferring to start off with a detailed vehicle and trying to squeeze a robot out of it...

Articulation's minimal, at the shoulders and the elbows to a small degree - much like early Transformers G2 toys like Rapido, this guy seems to have suffered from coming out a year or so before toy designers realised the viability of ball-joints (or before they realised people expected poseability, if you're feeling cynical). The head design isn't bad - obviously, the MR roots are there in the chrome, but at least this one looks a little individual. Love that hood for some reason too.