Swerve

Swerve came out in 1986 and was one of the later releases in the G1 Mini-car series. He’s a re-tooled Gears, with a different paint scheme, face mold and legs. I’m glad that Hasbro / Takara didn’t just recolor these Mini-cars, rather they changed the deco and gave them new identities.

In vehicle mode, he’s just a toy truck. I mean that in the most literal sense. These were part of the original Microchange line, where all the toys were 1:1 scale. Megatron and Soundwave were also from this line. So Gears, (and Swerve) were meant to be kids toys that hid in the bedroom that could turn into robots.

Of course, Swerve was never part of Microchange, but it’s fun to know the history.

Robot mode is blocky, but even the smallest child can figure out the transformation.

The rub sign is predominantly displayed on the roof of the vehicle.

Articulation is minimal but you can get creative if you are good at balancing.