Ace wasn't released in the Japanese Gobots counterpart, Machine Robo, being rejected for Japanese release by designers Bandai. Tonka, however, needed any figures they could lay their hands on in their doomed attempt to prolong the Gobots line, and happily snapped him up.

Initial prototypes were mainly white (if you have a better image than the dodgy screencap, please contact me!), something carried over to the toy's card art. Ace did make it into the animated series (again with a distinctly light hue, and also a markedly different robot mode), appearing as a member of an underground section of Gobot society in "The Gobots That Time Forgot".

Bandai themselves considered him good enough for Europe, releasing him as part of Robo Machine in 1986, and then again as 'P-51' in the 1993 Robo Machines line.

The figure's vehicle mode is a P-51D Mustang W.W.II fighter. This is great, as it's a classic aircraft, and Transformers never touched that sort of thing. I've always been a fan of 1940s fighter planes, so this fits well with me.

That said, there are a few drawbacks... the all-blue does look rather good, especially with the stickers, but I can't help thinking silver or grey may have looked better. The figure is made almost entirely from plastic (only the shoulder-bar, thighs, and of course a few screws, are metal), which is a shame, but probably a sign of the line's declining popularity. The moulded cockpit (as opposed to the transparency used for Zero) is a bit of a letdown, and compared to the Renegade figure, the scale is a bit larger.

He's still very nice-looking, and there are some nice touches, like the retractable undercarriage. However, the propeller blades are a weak spot - a lot on ebay are missing these, and lots have hardly any chrome on this part. For reference, there should be four blades.

Ace's transformation is quite good, though take care when extending the wings to become his arms - I get the distinct impression these can become rather loose if pulled too hard.

Ace does look a little bland - despite having wings running down his arms, there's not a lot to hint at him turning into an aircraft, and he looks oddly stumpy. That said, he still manages to look pretty nifty, with a respectable head mould (though, like lots of Gobots, it does lack a certain character - well, okay, it looks like the cartoon version of Leader-1, but then he lacked character).

Even having wheels for hands just works somehow. There's a fair bit of mobility in the arms, which makes up for the stubby legs.