TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

Robot Mode:
Alternate Mode:
Box Art:
Technical Specifications:
STR
INT
SPD
END
RNK
CRG
FPR
SKL

The Reverend's review: Seaspray

Name: Seaspray
Allegiance: Autobot
Function: Naval Defense

"Be unyielding as the ocean waves and your enemies shall fall."

Displays a zest for his job unmatched by fellow Autobots. Loves the ocean and its creatures... unhappy when he returns to land and reverts to robot form. Loves the thrill of naval battle. Can go 120 knots, 4000 mile range. Has sonar radar and underwater and surface-to-air lasers, also used in robot mode. Wheels allow limited land travel. Not too strong or mobile as robot.

Seaspray, as part of the second wave of Autobot "Mini-Bots", enjoyed some screentime in the pre-movie animation episodes as a good-humored, gurgling character. His voice was provided by Alan Oppenheimer, who used a very similar effect for He-Man and the Masters of the Universe's Mer-Man. He also appeared in "Five Faces of Darkness", briefly. Seaspray was the Autobots' sole seagoing character until Broadside, I believe - and excluding Topspin as he didn't appear in the cartoon. It seems to me that he was also very easy to find at retail during that time period.

Alternate Mode:
Seaspray is a hovercraft, bearing some similarities to the hovercraft type used in the GI Joe toyline. His fore section is blue, with yellow windows in front (the effect is created by the yellow robot legs fitting snugly behind them in this mode), a white aft section with a small cabin/control tower, and a pair of yellow propellers above with black blades that spin freely on small metal pins. The hovercraft's "skirt" is plainly molded on all sides but the aft. He has three small black plastic wheels underneath that can freewheel, and although he only bears three four small stickers (one of which is the rubsign), he still exhibits a fair amount of molded detail. His cabin even has molded doors on the sides. He's slightly smaller-scaled than the 1984 Minicars - the average driver, judging from Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, Brawn, Windcharger, Huffer and Gears, would have a difficult time fitting into Seaspray - perhaps that's why they showed him carrying a passenger on TOP of him in one episode? Outside of this, though, and as "realistic" hovercrafts go, he's very nice-looking.

Robot Mode:
Transformation is pretty self-evident - pull out the front of the hovercraft and fold it upwards to make the feet. The rear portion of the skirt is clearly Seaspray's arms, so all that's required here is to fold back the propeller assembly to reveal his head. Seaspray would be a very short little guy without the propeller assembly sitting high above his shoulders, but he's a cute little bugger with a blue unifoot (now featuring dark front windows as the robot legs are no longer housed within), movable blue arms and a yellow head with a black visor. His arms move up and down and he can look downward due to his transformation. While I suppose he's as limited as any of the mini-Autobots (with the possible exception of Powerglide, who had superior arm articulation), he's certainly no worse than any of them.

Transformation: 5/10. Not ridiculously simplistic, but not by any means challenging. It does do a good job of hiding the robot parts in vehicle mode.
Durability: 9/10 - I actually have two Seasprays, as one came free with a Warpath I bought, and both are in good condition. The other one is from my childhood - the "ankle" joint on both is a little loose, but that's it. The struts that make up the propeller assembly could break, I suppose, but you'd have to step on it.
Fun: 6/10. I liked Seaspray's vehicle mode a lot as a kid. I'll give it a 6 as I imagine not everyone will find it as interesting as I did.
Price: 1/10. Mine was free, and I see him going for cheap all the time.
Summary: 6/10. As the mini-Autobots go, I rank him pretty highly, just for being unique. Besides, he's relatively easy to obtain.