Released in 1986, Treds was one of the last regular-sized Gobots to be made, based on an unreleased Machine Robo figure. The original Japanese prototype had markedly different colours, and US army markings.

When it came to the Gobots release, Tonka made the odd choice of slapping the rarely used Renegade insignia on his sticker sheet, even though the toy was issued as a Guardian... Treds did manage to appear in the cartoon episode "Et Tu, Cy-Kill", despite his late arrival.

In 2004, Transformers co-owners Takara decided to subject Treds to an eHobby recolour, with the Autobot Warpath decked out in green and grey. The toy was given a Decepticon symbol, and in the convoluted back story devised by Japanese über-nerd Hirofumi Ichikawa, Treds was given the role of a Guardian undercover with the Decepticons - most likely a fanboy reference to the original Renegade symbol on him. Thankfully, the whole anorak brainfart came to an end when Takara decided to release the figures unnamed.

Treds is modelled on a modern battle tank (an M1 Abrams, like Transformers Generation 2 Megatron). The only real divergence from the real thing is a shortened gun barrel, no doubt so the part didn't just snap off.

The green is a little bit odd - the photographs haven't come out quite right, it's very much a rich Crayola green, rather than a more military green. The tank tracks are moulded diecast, with small wheels underneath allowing him to move along. It's a shame the diecast parts at the back of the tank weren't painted, as this makes him look even odder. The turret moves through 360° (I checked with a protractor) and raises to around 30° (that one's a guess), which gives the mode a little play value. The detail moulding is excellent, including hatches, panels, rivets and all sorts of tank gubbins - it's a shame this is undone by the idiosyncratic scheme.

It'd look much better in the scheme used for the prototype.

There's been some effort put in to make the transformation a little different, with a very unusual configuration. It's a little fiddly to master at first, but interesting. The robot mode is odd even for a Gobot, though.

Instead of feet, he seems to move around on a wheeled trolley, which is a bit odd (and vaguely reminds me of the Transformers Beast Machines Tank Drone), and also only connected to his body by two spindly little pegs. The main torso is a very odd shape, and like the legs, the arms seem rather randomly stuck on the sides of his body. These have a couple of joints in them, allowing a little articulation, but when your feet are a trolley, moving arms can only give you so much joy. Treds is also one to watch for wear... the odd design means several points need to be fairly stiff - the hinge in the diecast, the connection between the torso and the legs, the head section, and both shoulder joints. The example I have is so-so, and to be honest it's a bit of a matter of balancing him.

Despite this, and all the weirdness, Treds looks different, and he's interesting because of this.