 This is the metallic blue and yellow Camaro (Windcharger) from Brazil's Optimus vs Malignus line manufactured by Estrela. Optimus vs Malignus was the second line of minibots released in Brazil (the first was Robocar). You can refer to the Green/purple Gears article here on MFO for the exact details on the two toylines in Brazil but the short version is that this Camaro/Windcharger is from the rarer second line of minibots in Brazil and the evil Malignus faction. Of the many repaints of these minibots available in South America, this particular Brazilian Windcharger has one of the less crazier colour schemes, and for the Optimus vs Malignus line that's something of a rarity.
  Other than the unforgettable colour schemes, the Optimus vs Malignus guys had their own new card art, but finding carded examples is a tremendously hard thing to do. These toys almost always turn up loose and worn, and because the quality is a little lower than standard Hasbro/Takara releases, they can sometimes be REALLY worn and loose. Looking at the pictures above, not only is the colour scheme on this Windcharger one of the less eye-catching and loud schemes, but it's actually one of the nicest and smartest schemes in car mode. I've always been a fan of metallic blue, and I think this particular shade compliments Windcharger's mould very well. There aren't enough sparkly minibots!
  Of all the minibots, Windcharger probably has the sleekest look in car mode and even the small amount of chrome that is visible in vehicle mode helps add a lot to his look. However, because of the slightly lower build quality with these Estrela releases, this toy doesn't fit together perfectly in this mode, especially the arms. They don't click into the sides as nicely as you would hope. It varies from toy to toy but this particular one has a slight issue with that.
  Having said that, when looking at the toy from the side, it really doesn't seem to affect the displayabilty very much, so it isn't a very big deal. You'll only really notice it when you handle the figure. The paint application on Brazilian minibots is sometimes a little questionable as well at times, but this one appears to be one of the better ones. As far as rarity goes, it probably is one of the harder ones to find as it's part of the Optimus vs Malignus line. The most difficult Windcharger from Brazil is probably the pink/blue one, so this one is second on the Windcharger rarity list. From Brazil anyway. As with all repainted Brazilian minibots, carded examples are extraordinarily rare. I don't think this one has ever even been pictured carded. The card would have had a large portion of the front taken up with the new art for the Malignus Camaro (evil Windcharger), the toy would have been in the bubble in robot mode and in the top right corner of the card front there would have been a large Malignus symbol and the "MALIGNUS" text underneath it, not unlike the "Heroic Autobot" or "Evil Decepticon" text/font used on US TF boxes. The Malignus symbol and text background were orangey-red. "OS ROBOS VILOES DO FUTORO"!!! Evil robots of the future, basically. :)
  That picture from above is probably the nicest one. A very dark look to the car, not too gaudy, even with the bright yellow showing from underneath. Along with the orange Gears and Tan/cream Brawn, it really is one of the nicer Brazilian repaints that doesn't require getting used to! It might appeal to more than just Minobot variant enthusiasts because of that scheme but not in the way that something like a blue Bumblebee would. Let's have a look at the robot mode:
  In this mode, the blue/yellow Camaro really does reclaim his heritage as a second-release Brazilian minbot. The bright yellow is a very prominent part of his look now but the metallic blue arms and feet still provide a classy link to the vehicle scheme. He is much more eye-catching in this mode, but I wouldn't go so far as to say the colours clash. The most prominent thing however is probably his Malignus insignia, a very major part of these second line of Brazilian toys. Here's a closer look:
 The Malignus toys included both repaints of Brawn (Jipe), both repaints of Gears (Pick-Up) and both repaints of Windcharger (Camaro). The Optimus faction contained the Bumblejumpers (Sedan), Cliffjumpers (Carrera) and Bumblebees (Volks). As I mentioned in the Gears article, seeing as how the faction symbols are a large part of the identity as far as these minibots go, their stickers are important to the value of the toys.
  I think despite the rather simple facial sculpt on the Windcharger mould, he does have a decent robot mode. The wide shoulders and the well-defined legs and feet go a long way to helping that. I believe this is a toy that works well in both modes. The car mode is slick and shiny and the robot mode has a very simple yet effective layout; bright attention-drawing yellow torso, sparkly-yet-subtle blue limbs and a stonking great faction symbol on the chest. The guy has personality, and in a world full of minibot recolours, that's a creditable achievement.
 The above is a (bad) scan of the copyright behind this Malignus Camaro's legs. On the left leg it says "ESTRELA S.A." and on the right it says "IND. BRASIL". I've tried to highlight the relevant sections in order to improve visibility.
  The above pictures show the Malignus blue Camaro alongside the earlier Brazilian Robocar white Camaro. The white Brazilian Camaro is a little different from the Mexican white Windcharger ("Tailgate") because the torso is grey not sparkly blue. I think the Malignus on the left has quite a lot more character and the Malignus sticker certainly has more significance than the chest sticker on the white Robocar. The above pics are a decent summary of how Malignus minis were a little more out there compared to the very restrained repaints of the Robocar series. One thing of note though, the mould for this Malignus mini is not identical to the Robocar mould or the regular Transformers moulds. Have a look at the following scan of the Malignus mini compared to a TF Windcharger:
 The TF Windcharger, and indeed the earlier Robocar Brazilian minibot have a horizontal gap moulded into the torso just below the chest. The Malignus Camaro on the left does not have that gap, and neither does the blue/pink Malignus Camaro. All other Windchargers I've looked at DO have the gap, even the Peruvian Windcharger and the Antex Argentinian Windchargers (thanks Paul Vromen!) all have that gap. So this appears to be a feature unique to the two Malignus releases of Camaro/Windcharger in Brazil. Just to further illustrate that difference, and the variety of Windchargers available, from left to right in the next 2 pictures we have the metallic blue/yellow Brazilian Malignus Camaro, the white/grey Brazilian Robocar Camaro, the Mexican "Tailgate" (really just Windcharger painted in Tailgate colours), a regular red/grey US Transformers Windcharger, the YELLOW Mexican "Tailgate" and finally the Peruvian grey/blue Windcharger from the company Lynsa (and no it's not a Rook!):
  I mentioned it in the Green/purple Gears article as well, but for those who have never seen anything beyond a Windcharger and a Tailgate from the regular Transformers series, this kind of thing must be the mother of all eye-openers! That brings this one to a close as well. The world of rainbow minibots goes on and the amazing thing is that new ones are being discovered all the time. These Estrela ones were some of the earliest repaints to be found and documented but packaged ones are still extremely difficult to find. I have only ever seen one Optimus vs Malignus toy with a card, and that was the Malignus blue/white Jipe (Brawn). Documented or not, these are still very difficult toys to get in good condition but I think the demand for them may be a little lower now than say a couple of years ago when a particular loose minibot could fetch up to $400. The metallic blue and yellow Camaro is a very nice repaint with a very strong vehicle mode. If you look at the above picture you might even notice that he appears to be the exact inverse of the yellow/blue Mexican "Tailgate" ! The quality of Brazilian minis isn't very high and they are usually found in worn condition, if found at all in the case of Optimus vs Malignus ones. If you're going to buy one, it's always nice to get one with the faction symbol intact but with this particular release you may not get that lucky, so take any chance you get to pick it up if it's your cup of tea.
 All the best Maz |