You guys remember Bot Shots?

They were the cute and cheap Transformers of 2012. They had spring loaded transformations and you could play rock paper scissors with them.

Oh sorry, that’s wrong.

It was blaster sword fist.

I only got one Bot Shot and it was Sentinel Prime. Not because I like his character, but because he’s made of translucent plastic.

And that makes him special.

Vehicle Mode

He turns into a fire engine like the Sentinel Prime in DOTM. Unlike the DOTM Sentinel, this guy’s fire engine mode is chibi and therefore adorable. Also unlike the DOTM Sentinel, I don’t hate this one with a burning passion.

He’s is not painted in this mode but that makes his translucent plastic more prominent. Which I like.

Can you tell I like translucent Transformers?

His 4 (out of 6) wheels roll nicely. Which is kinda necessary for his…

Transformation

You roll him forward really fast, hit his bumper on something. And BAM.

He jumps up into robot mode.

Check out these videos of him in action.

Robot Mode

In robot mode he is also chibi.

And therefore adorable.

His face is painted and looks grumpy. Or maybe stern?

No posablity at all in robot mode, but that kinda isn’t the point with Bot Shots.

Gimmicks

His transformation was his first gimmick.

He has a second gimmick.

On his chest is a wheel, to play blaster sword fist, you set your choice, roll him forward into your opponents Bot Shot and see who beats who. If you chose the same thing, the winner is determined by the number on your weapon of choice. The bigger number would be the winner. Sentinel here has a really high fist number.

Simple game, but a ton of fun if you got friends to play it with.

Toy or collectible?

He’s a simple, cheap Transformer. Give Sentinel to a child and they’ll be entertained. Give Sentinel and maybe like 5 more Bot Shots to a kid to share and play with and they’ll be entertained. Fun times all around.

For collectors, it’s split. I know collectors who hate these things with a passion. I also know collectors that took the pain to collect every single Bot Shot released. Honestly, you’d be best off buying your favourite characters or design and going off from there.

One thing to mention though, only the rare Bot Shots are kinda expensive now. All the common ones can still be had for bargain prices. Something to consider for both kids and collectors.

Closing

I love this guy. I actually chose him over everyone else available in store at the time just because of the translucent plastic.

I have no regrets.