Tigertrack is a mail-away exclusive identified in Figure King magazine #60.  If you wanted this figure you needed to mail in the order form with ¥4,000 (not including shipping & handling) before the 20 December 2002 deadline.  The figure was actually released in March 2003.  As soon as I heard about this figure I ordered the magazine from Kinokuniya bookstore.  Unfortunately I received the magazine in the mail just before the deadline which was just a little too late.  I knew my favorite online toy store would have it eventually and I finally broke down and ordered Tigertrack in May 2003 from BigBadToyStore.com. 

PACKAGING:  The box measures approximately 8.5"Lx2.5"Wx4.5"H (same dimensions as Black Tracks) and is packaged within a cardboard box as shown below:

Tigertrack is packaged in a plastic tray with a White cardboard outer piece.  For those interested in the stamping, it is located on the underside of the hood which has a combination of English & Japanese writing as shown below (Japanese characters omitted):

© HASBRO 1980.1982
© TAKARA CO., LTD.
CHINA 1980.1982

Tigertrack contents

The contents included with this exclusive are as follows:

1. Tigertrack
2. Laser-Guided Ground-to-Air Missile Launcher
3. Missiles (x3)
4. Electron-Pulse Gun
5. Character Card
6. Instruction Sheet
7. Sticker Sheet

 
Tigertrack is a Lamborghini Countach LP500S car comprised of plastic and die-cast metal, painted in a bright Yellow color scheme.  Many have known him as Sideswipe in the Transformers line-up, but his mold originated from the Diaclone (pre-Transformer) line (Car Robots subline) named "No.15 New Countach LP500S" which was released in August 1983 and originally sold for ¥1,500.  There were several versions of "New Countach LP500S" produced from this mold within Diaclone before they arrived in the U.S. as Transformers, and here are a few examples: No. 15 Red version, No. 19 Police Car (White version), and Black version (packaged with Powered Convoy DX Set).  I don't own an original Sideswipe or New Countach so I really can't make any comparisons but I've seen some photos online.  One thing I noticed is that the Black streak on either side is painted whereas online photos show sticker application.

The Autobot rub-sign is located underneath the front spoiler, left-hand side in vehicle mode.  The only stickers that were pre-applied are located at the headlights which have "rally racing" printed on them.  The original figure (even the advertisement in Figure King magazine) had stickers which had a misspelling; rallye vs. rally.  Since this is an exclusive I decided not to apply the other stickers so you won't see them in any of my photos.

Tigertrack Character Card
**Select the character card above for a larger view**

The following character card translations were provided by Doug Dlin (found on Deja.com):

WEAPONS:  Tigertrack has several types of weapon attachments: Electron-Pulse gun, Laser-Guided Ground-to-Air missile launcher, and 3 missiles.

Tigertrack Attachments

Tigertrack
V E H I C L E   M O D E

As stated earlier, Tigertrack is a Yellow Lamborghini Countach car measuring approximately 5.25" in length and 2" in width.  The upper rear-half of this car is die-cast metal which gives it a little weight.  Chrome rims, rubber tires, and an excellent paint job makes this a sweet figure!

I like the Black painted parts (side & top) but it would really be nice if Takara had replaced the stickers completely and painted other parts such as the head/tail lights, turn lights, etc.

To transform from vehicle to robot mode is quite simple.  Pull out the backend of the vehicle to expose his legs.  Now pull out the front wheels/doors to create the shoulders and arms.  Fold down the nose piece 180° to create his torso.  This step also allows you to release the roof so that you can rotate his head upward as well as set the roof as a shield on his back.  Now rotate the arms (excluding the doors) upward then separate the lower legs and fold down the chrome parts which create his feet.  Finally, attach the missile launcher/missile to the axle on either side of his shoulders, then insert the gun into the peg hole on either fist.  The completed figure is shown below.

Tigertrack stands approximately 4.5" tall and 2.75" wide in Robot mode and reveals his Black & White colors.  Chrome is used on his arms and feet with Silver paint noted on his face and the top of his helmet (shown on left).

 Articulation is very limited with this figure in that his arms bend at the elbow which is expected from a pre-Transformers mold.  Regardless of its limitations, I still think Tigertrack is an excellent figure to add to your collection if you're willing to cough up the cash!