Jipe (Eletrix)

This article is about the Eletrix. For the evil Malignus, see Jipe (Malignus).

Might or might not also be this Jipe or this other Jipe. Yes, Estrela lore is confusing.

Jipe is possibly an Autobot from the Estrela portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

Jipe (pronounced "jeep") is a cipher.

Toys

Transformers

You're really pushing my buttons. (Note the liquefied sticker glue)

• Eletrix Jipe (Eletrix, 1985)

Exclusive to the Brazilian Transformers line by Estrela, Jipe transforms into a rather squashed blue Toyota Land Cruiser (aka "not a Jeep" ) and back via electronic, wired remote control. Pressing the "Robô" button when he's in car mode causes him to move backwards and turn to his left, activating his transformation to robot mode, then sending him forward in a "walking" motion. The "Carro" button moves him forward, shifting him to car mode automatically if he's in robot mode.

Like the other Eletrix, the toy is powered by two AA batteries, with a cord over four feet long attaching the remote. He can only transform with the electronics: forcing the transformation manually will just strip the gears. Which also means his arms cannot raise up like they appear in the box art.

Unfortunately, as with other Eletrix toys (as well as the Bat-Robôs), Jipe's stickers use poor-quality glue that unfortunately tends to liquefy over time, often resulting in what appears to be a "wet" look. This liquefaction doesn't seem to be as aggressive in the Eletrix toys compared to the Bat-Robôs and you can still find plenty of them in the secondary market in more or less good shape (in contrast with the Bat-Robôs whose stickers seem to almost always look consistently ravaged), but alas, it is still an unfortunately omnipresent characteristic of this line-up regardless.

Notes

• The Eletrix were originally released in Japan by Yonezawa Toys under the name Remote Change Robo Series. They were also released in the US by Village Toys as Convert-A-Bots "Pow-R-Bots". Jipe is mostly identical to these other lines' releases of the toy: he has a new "JIPE" sticker on his hood rather than the original "LANDCRU" (the original toy being called the "Landcru & Robo"), plus the stickers on the remote control are different (but similar) for each company.
• Also new to the Estrela versions of these toys is the packaging art, done in a painterly style to match the copies of the Hasbro art made for the other toys.
• Similar to Sedan, the same toy that became Jipe may have been intended for release by Hasbro at one time; there was an unreleased "Remote Control Jeep" for 1985.
• Thanks to Estrela's habit of re-using uncreative names and only giving bios to about half their products, it's unclear just who this Jipe is. We're treating him as his own character, but it's possible he's a new version of Brawn, who was named "Jipe" in Brazil. It's similarly unclear what relation either of these Jipes have with the evil Malignus Jipe. Fun!