Jumpstarter

This article is about the Autobot subgroup from Generation 1. For the Mini-Con from Armada, see Jumpstart.

The Jumpstarters are an Autobot subgroup from the Generation 1 continuity family.

The Jumpstarters are Topspin and Twin Twist, impulsive warriors with the ability to transform from vehicle to robot in less than half a second.

French-Canadian name: Démarreurs-Bondisseurs

Fiction

The Jumpstarters were not depicted as a sub-group of their own in fiction. They were Autobots who were often part of the elite Wreckers unit. Their gimmick was never highlighted except in their bios.

Marvel Comics continuity

They were members of the Wreckers.

They died. Time Wars

Dreamwave comics continuity

They were members of the Wreckers.

IDW comics continuity

They were members of the Wreckers. Stormbringer issue 3

Toys

Generation 1

• Jumpstarters (1985)
  • Topspin
  • Twin Twist

The Jumpstarters were sold boxed at the $6 price point; both transform into futuristic/Cybertronian hovercraft-type things. Both Jumpstarters are notable for their autotransforming feature. Their alternate modes are spring-loaded, and held into place by a catch. Equipped with pull-back motors, they race forward when released, tripping the catch, which allows internal springs to snap the robots' bulky legs into place, which are balanced so as to leave the robot standing upright on its rather broad feet.

On the back of both figures' heads is a device resembling a switch. The switch is asymmetric and each position presents a different gap between the back of the head and the surface the toy is running on. When the spring-loaded transformation is triggered, the inertia of the legs unfolding in one direction torques the body backward in the opposite direction, causing the whole unit to rear up on the rubber driving wheels. When the switch on the back of the head comes in contact with the running surface, it becomes the new fulcrum point for levering the toy up off the surface, both increasing the lever length between the spring hips and the running surface, and lifting the driving wheels off the surface, removing any forward acceleration from the jumble of intersecting forces. That anonymous bit of plastic on the back of the head thus controls the timing for the wheels to be removed from contact with the running surface, the moment when the lever length and thus the force required to rotate the body backward increase significantly, and the angle at which the whole assembly is positioned when the giant feet impact the prongs/screws of the upper body, creating the sudden 'snap' that tosses the whole assembly up onto its feet. Changing the little tabs' position can be the deciding factor between landing dramatically upright, smacking forward onto your face, or flopping limply onto your back.

Jumpstarters were made in sufficient numbers to fill the toy boxes of the entire known universe.