The story of this figure is a little more interesting than that of most Gobots figures (well, relatively speaking). Like most, it started life as part of the Machine Robo 600 series, being made by Bandai as MR-50 - marketed in Japan as the Vertol Robo. The figure isn't, as is commonly assumed, modelled on the CH-47 Chinook, but its' predecessor, the CH-46 Sea Knight (well, the export version, the KV-107 II). The Japanese version was mainly yellow (modelled on a Japanese Coastguard scheme). Tonka presumably decided this was too garish, and recoloured the figure in tan and pale blue as the Renegade Twin Spin in 1985.

However, in Europe, Bandai had already done a very odd thing, releasing the figure in 1984, with a different (if not necessarily accurate) green US Army scheme in the Robo Machine range. Now, especially early on colour variants turned up in the Robo Machine line (such as Slicks, released in the F-1 Robo scheme in Europe), but the odd thing was that the figure was named as Carry-All instead of Twin Spin, while the scheme was original, rather than just a retention of the Japanese colours. While a couple of other figures had name changes (such as Wrong Way becoming Sky Gun, or the first three Devil Invaders keeping their Japanese monikers), Carry-All also switched sides, becoming a Guardian or Friendly Robot (to the extent of having a role in the Robo Machines comic strip as a Security Forces Robo Machine).

In 1993, Bandai reissued the European version of the figure (i.e. Carry-All) in Europe as part of Robo Machines, designated simply as "Transport Helicopter".

The slim Sea Knight isn't an obvious choice as a base for such a small transforming toy - discounting the sidepods, he's about 3/4" across. The result is quite sweet as a result. The Sea Knight is a nice design for a helicopter, very slim and sleek, and Carry-All captures this nicely.

Considering the scale (I'm guessing at around 1/200) there's still decent levels of detail, and the plastic quality is generally very good. It's something of a shame that there are sizeable holes for the blades to sit in (when in robot mode) on the sides of the fuselage, and that stickers were used for the side cockpit windows (I wouldn't be that fussed if they were used on the main windows too, or - ideally - if the side ones were moulded, it's the half and half that bothers me).

The other weak point is the undercarriage, which is incredibly fragile - finding a Carry-All with all three wheels is difficult, though the example I owned until recently had all three snapped off, and it doesn't affect the figure massively - it can still balance on the bottom of the helicopter, and display quite nicely.

The transformation is clever, and quite complex for such a small figure. The nose folds down to reveal the head (be very careful with the folding front wheel while doing this - it just fits, but not with much to spare), the underside of the fuselage forms the arms, and the tail engine flips down and separates to become the feet. Nice.

The result is a decent-looking robot. Nice touches like the legs moving outwards, and some nicely proportioned arms, give the robot mode a little width, and he looks excellent. There's some decent detail on the robot, including a very nice head cast, and the leg configuration looks better than it has any right to. And there's accessory storage in robot mode! Excellent.

Articulation is, as usual, limited to the shoulders, though the use of those double-ended metal bars this isn't too bad.