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The Firestorm Minibot was one of several minibots released as merchandise. This toy is based on the Extreme 1 version of Firestorm 3 - note the dual antennae and rear lip that was only present on this version of Firestorm 3, and not the Series 5 incarnation.

Features[]

FirestormTop

Overhead view of the Firestorm minibot

Like all of the other Minibot toys (apart from Sir Killalot), Firestorm features a small pullback motor which drives two small wheels on the underside of the robot. The paint scheme is highly accurate and includes the half-and-half Firestorm logo that was present on all incarnations of the robot from Extreme 1 onwards. The front-hinged flipper is etched out onto the front wedge of this toy, but is simply an aesthetic touch. The weapon itself does not flip, making it difficult to replicate Firestorm's iconic weaponry in play.

Releases[]

Pack5

Firestorm in its three-pack

Released as part of the second wave of minibot toys, the Firestorm minibot was available in a two-pack alongside Gemini and Tornado, as well as in a five-pack with Shunt, Sgt. Bash, Gemini and again, Tornado.

Minibox2

Firestorm in its five-pack

The Firestorm minibot quickly became one of the rarest minibot toys in the range, alongside Gemini and Tornado, as these packs were to be sold exclusively by catalogue retailer Argos for the first six months of release, with Argos later dropping the packs from its catalogue. This meant that other retailers could not sell the Firestorm minibot for at least six months after its release, and even to this day, the Firestorm minibot is still among the rarest in secondhand online sales.

FirestormFront

Front view of the Firestorm minibot

"It was available as part of a set of three including Gemini and Firestorm, and then as part of a set of 5 from Argos. It's a very hard item to find, and recently one sold on Ebay for over £18... There was an agreement with Argos whereby they sold them exclusively for 6 months - and then dropped them from the catalogue. We understand this stops them being sold by any other shops."
— Andrew Marchant in 2004 on the rarity of the Tornado minibot (and by extension, Firestorm)[1]

Differences to the real robot[]

FirestormRear

Rear view of the Firestorm minibot, with curved lip and dual antennae

Firestorm III

Firestorm 3 in Extreme with two prominent aerials and rear lip, not seen in Series 5

Detailing is accurate to the Extreme version of Firestorm 3, even including the dual antennae and rear lip seen only in the Extreme version of Firestorm 3 and not the Series 5 version. However, the dual antennae on the minibot toy are unusually thick. The half-and-half logo above the flipper also does not include the "Firestorm" decal as per the real robot. The front wedge is not flush to the ground either, likely due to the single front wheel that makes up the pullback mechanism on these minibot toys, and the robot's width is thinner than that of the real robot, when compared to its length.

Trivia[]

FirestormSide

Side view of the Firestorm minibot

  • The Firestorm Minibot not being named the "Firestorm 3 Minibot" just like its bigger pullback counterpart is inconsistent with earlier minibots which did include a number at the end of the robot's name, such as Chaos 2 and X-Terminator 2, but consistent with later releases such as Dominator and Plunderbird.

References[]

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