Review – Minicar Glypher

At almost 4-inches tall, the Impossible Toys Minicar Glypher was taller than I was expecting it to be. Looking a hell of a lot like a Transformers Generation One Bumblebee in blue, Glypher is an oddity since it was just released this year but feels like it could have been produced back in the eighties. With Impossible Toys closing down (mentioned here) the market has spoken: not enough fans enjoy the Generation One-like styling to keep a third party manufacturer afloat. That’s too bad.

Vehicle Mode

This blue beefy Bug-like vehicle looks an awfully lot like the Generation One Bumblebee or Goldbug . . . only much larger! The chunky Minicar Glypher has a design that only a Transformers Generation One fan can love, and even then the retro, toy-like nature of the design clearly didn’t appeal to many since the toy’s now on clearance at BBTS.

The below pic shows Glypher with the official 2004 Bumblebee re-issue and the 1987 Goldbug. As I said, the Impossible Toys Glypher is bigger than those official toys. I do wonder if Glypher were sized exactly like the classic Bumblebee if it would have been better accepted by the Transformers fans. Was this large size actually a turnoff for some? I’ve no idea, but a smaller size likely would have meant a smaller price and I’m sure that wouldn’t have hurt anything.

Transformation Design

At first I was surprised that Glypher didn’t include any instructions at all, but after less than a moment with the toy I realized why Impossible Toys didn’t bother to pack an instruction sheet inside: if you’ve ever transformed the Transformers Generation One Bumblebee then Glypher isn’t a challenge at all. There are some minor differences — mostly related to the additional waist, elbow, and knee joints — but the differences won’t slow anyone down. This is a classic transformation and is 100% intuitive if you’ve ever transformed one of the original Autobot MiniCars of the eighties.

Robot Mode

As I said — and as the pics demonstrate — Glypher looks a hell of a lot like the 1984 Bumblebee robot. Glypher is bigger, but the toy is obviously inspired by that thirty year old official toy. The ball-jointed shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, and ankles give the toy a lot more poseability, and I can see where if this had been released twenty years ago more Transformers fans at the time would have been excited. I’m happy, but I like the idea of throwback designs and realize I’m unusual in that sense. Sorry, Impossible Toys, but very few collectors like old designs the same way I do.

Closing Thoughts

Maybe you’re sitting there scratching your head trying to figure out why I even have this toy, but I hope that you’ll look at Glypher and keep in mind that Impossible Toys achieved their design goal perfectly: This is a classic-styled transforming robot toy that fits in great with the original Transformers Generation One toys. I wish Impossible Toys could have had better success with their designs, but I understand why so many collectors passed on this and the company’s other offerings.

If you’re at all interested in this I suggest grabbing it before something weird happens and the prices start to climb. There’s no guarantee that will ever happen, but we’ve certainly seen how the hard-to-find toys can sometimes skyrocket in price and I wouldn’t be all that shocked if five to ten years from now Glypher and the other Impossible Toys Minicar toys are demanding much higher prices than they do today.

I like it. I may very well be alone in my opinion of the toy’s level of fun.