Hands On With Woobots, Wooden Robots In Disguise

Last week I wrote about Woobots, the wooden robots that transform into wooden vehicles, currently the focus of a successful Kickstarter campaign. This week I play with them.

I won’t waste too much time going over the basics—Woobots are a series of transforming robot toys crafted out of wood. The joints, as in most of today’s wooden toys with movable parts, are wired with elastic, with grooves cut in pieces that need to move about.

They are a charming bunch on screen.

But how do they behave in person?

Bamloff sent along two of the five Woobots for me to try out—the efficiently-named Truck and Jet Fighter.

Truck, in truck mode at least, has movie-era Optimus Prime written all over him.

Jet Fighter, on the other hand, has a lot in common with Dreadwing, a Decepticon bomber from the...I want to say Machine Wars era? He was often paired with a smaller plane/robot. I could look this up, but then I’d spend all day on TFWiki.com and not get anything done.

Both feature relatively simple transformations into robot mode. Between the two, Truck (not monkey) has a great deal more personality, and doesn’t look like movie-era Starscream, which is always a plus.

The Woobots are very nifty, though they do suffer from the same twisty elastic issues most similarly constructed wooden toys do. The limbs can be a bit loose. Oh, and a piece broke off of Jet Fighter, which you can see in the video up top. That’s not good.

“But Fahey?” you ask. “How do they compare to a very dusty and sticker-less version of the popular Laser Optimus Prime from back in the day?” That’s an oddly-specific question.

He’s definitely much taller. Both robots are about the same size as a 12 ounce soda can, while he’s a Monster Energy.

“Can Laser Optimus carry one of them in his arms?”

Yes he can.

“Are piggy back rides possible?”

Most definitely.

“Can Jet Fighter have a turn?”

No. No he cannot. A piece of him broke, and with it my heart.

The Woobots Kickstarter is still going strong, with individual robots and sets still being promised in time for Christmas. They’re crazy, those wooden robot kids.

Contact the author (in vehicle mode) at fahey@kotaku.com or follow him on Twitter at @bunnyspatial