Path Finder
MR-29 UFO Robo found its way to Western shores as Gobot Path Finder. In the show, Path Finder was a semi-regular part of the cast and was yet another female Guardian alongside Sparky. She was also another member of that huge lot of Gobots I recently won off of eBay.
Path Finder is a neat little spaceship that despite her original name, isn’t your typical UFO. The design of this craft borrows liberally from the iconic Cylon Raider from Battlestar Galactica with a little bit of Xevious thrown in for good measure. Path Finder is a little under two inches long in this mode. She can roll around on a three wheels underneath.
The UFO is neatly locked together with none of the parts making Path Finder’s robot mode too obvious. She’s loaded with detail right down to little rocket engines on the back.
From this angle it’s easy to picture Path Finder as the star of some quarter munching arcade game.
The sides of the UFO are a lot more silver underneath. She even has small guns molded onto her “wings.”
ＣＯＬＯＮＩＡＬ ＦＬＥＥＴ ＩＮ ＲＡＮＧＥ
ＥＮＧＡＧＩＮＧ ＴＨＥ ＧＡＬＡＣＴＩＣＡ
Path Finder’s transformation is simple yet effective with her legs flipped out from the sides of the UFO and the wings undergoing a small shift in position to become her arms.
On her left boot is her original copyright markings with her MR-29 number.
Path Finder’s robot mode is a good example of how a transforming toy can make the same parts look different with little effort.
The nondescript top side of the UFO is now clearly the torso of a humanoid robot complete with a silver midriff and a red bow on the collar. A few simple stickers help break up her largely monochrome arms.
With her “hat” flipped back, Path Finder reveals her robotic visage that is a good example of late Popy designs. She could easily pass as a Space Sheriff or an early 80’s Super Sentai machine. While a lot of faceless Machine Robo designs were given more humanoid features in the Gobots cartoon, Path Finder was one of the odd cases who looked almost exactly like her toy.
The way Path Finder’s wings subtly shift upward and flip over to form her arms does a neat trick to make her a more uniform color from the back. Like most Gobots, she utilizes diecast in her construction with the entire back half of her body and her shoulder swing bar being metal.
Like a lot of Gobots, Path Finder’s articulation is limited to her arms. Note that in addition to the guns on top of her shoulders, she has a double-barreled turret near each of her fists.
Despite her limited leg articulation, Path Finder can still join Sky Jack in his amateur gymnastics class.
Gobot Girl Power!
Path Finder is another excellent Gobot who is easy to find. She combines classic 1980’s spaceship styling into a tight little transformable package. Highly recommended.