Showing that alt modes don’t always have to make any sense to be awesome. Energon Scorponok! Timelines Double Punch!

After two posts from Cybertron and now this guy, you might be able to guess that I have reached the A-E-C portion of the packing of the toys. For anyone not familiar with the “Unicron Trilogy”, Armada, Energon, and Cybertron or A-E-C for short were three back-to-back Transformers cartoons and toylines meant to be one continuity. Whereas Energon is a straightforward sequel to Armada, the connection between those two and Cybertron is tenuous at best (if not just an outright fabrication by Hasbro). All that aside, Energon is easily the weakest of the toylines of the three. In fact, I don’t own a good portion of it. I might have been more able to forgive the glaring mistakes of the toyline if the cartoon dub hadn’t been even worse than the already poor Armada. At the time, I didn’t have easy access to the Japanese version, called Super Link due to the combining gimmick of the series. Maybe watching Super Link would have made it somewhat better or, like with Galaxy Force versus Cybertron, actually downright enjoyable. I found copies of the Japanese releases of both Armada and Energon and maybe after enough years have gone by, I’ll attempt to watch them. Granted, the urge hasn’t hit yet and it’s been ten years since Armada first aired.

Enough ranting, let’s get to the toy.

My initial reaction to Energon Scorponok was, in order:

1. What the ever-lovin’ heck is that supposed to be?
2. Space Scorpion Construction Vehicle Assault Tank. Huh.
3. I think I love it.

I am relatively sure I shouldn’t actually like him, but I do. There’s nothing at all that makes sense about his alt mode, but that’s never stopped me from totally liking a Transformer before. Then, of course, there’s the fact that he is a triple-changer, with a space ship alt mode as well.

His imposing robot mode, the mode that really sold me on this toy, is chunky but still manages to have some pretty decent articulation.

The Botcon-folks would use this mold in 2010 as part of the G2: Redux line to do one of my favourite repaint/remold tricks: provide a transforming update to an Action Master. As with all the Action Master Elites, G1 Double Punch was never released in the U.S. Also, as part of that European-exclusive Generation 1 toyline, Double Punch had some wonderfully obnoxious colours, faithfully recreated in his Botcon release.

Though Scorponok received a slight remolding to be released in the Cybertron line, Double Punch uses the original version of the mold.

Complete with awesome-ly nonsensical alt mode. To this day, I don’t know what they were thinking when they designed it, but I like it.

The original really can’t even come close to Double Punch’s application of the mold. Even the G1 Scorponok homaging head mold is made better in Double Punch’s colour scheme.

Double Punch is clearly the toy this mold was always meant to be.

‘Til All Are Displayed! The Collection… well most of it.

I was just looking at the pictures on my “‘Til All Are What Now?” page and thought it was just about time for an updated shot of my Transformers display.

As I sit at my computer typing this out a turn to the left reveals three shelves, each roughly six and a half feet tall, as well as an assortment of smaller satellite shelves. To my immediate right is display shelf 1. Topped by three (soon to be three and a half) shelves of the star of Transformers — no, despite what they would have you believe recently, not Bumblebee: Optimus Primes and Convoys of all shapes and sizes.

Working our way counter-clockwise, shelf-by-shelf from there we have:

• Half a shelf of Hot Rod/Rodimus Primes.
• Ultra Magnus’ (Magni?) and Blaster and his tapes.
• Smaller Constructicons and a slew of Micromasters.
• Constructicons (old and new) and other combiners.
• Scorponok, SkyLynx, and Omega Supreme.
• In the middle is the Dark of the Moon shelf and Kre-O Optimus, which is a bit of a mess at the moment.
• My wife’s “girl Transformers that could kick your tailpipe” shelf.
•  The multiple incarnations of Mirage, Prowl, and Jazz.
• The Targetmasters.
• Finally, the Headmasters and Wheeljack.

On the wall opposite display shelf 1, there are shelves 2 and 3 and two more ancillary shelves.

For this one, I’ll do each shelving unit individually, starting on the top left:

• Various incarnations of Star Saber (except an actual Star Saber, sadly) and Dai Atlas (with an actual Dai Atlas, happily.)
• Two shelves of Minibots and their updates.
• An entire shelf of Grimlocks.
• The rest of the Dinobots, as well as Grimstone and his Dinobot drones.
• The G1 repaints from the newest movies; such as red Ironhide, white and blue Jazz, and Revenge of the FallenSkywarp (look! I finally found my G1 repaint Movie (2007) Starscream!)

Display shelf 3, starting at the tippy top:

• AssortedGods, Monsters, Primes, and one tiny Fortress Maximus.
• The Animated Shelf, including the full 2011 Botcon set and TFCC Exclusive Animated Cheetor.
• The G2 and G2 Classics with all the glorious colours of the rainbow.
• The first section of G1 and G1 Classics Autobots.
• Shattered Glass and the second section of G1 and G1 Classics Autobots.
• The Movie (2007), RotF, and DotM Leader and Human Alliance class toys.
• More Combiners! Predaking!

Display shelf 2, from top to bottom:

• Shockwaves, The Fallen, and movie Megatrons.
• G1, G2, Masterpiece, Classics… just a whole bunch of Megatrons as well as Classics Galvatron, Cyclonus and Scourge and their updates.
• TheshelfoftheSeekers.
• Soundwavesgalore and mini-cassettes (and updates) galore.
• G1 and G1 Classics Decepticons.
• Japanese Beast Wars, including my beloved Tako Tank.
• Another shelf full of combiners.

The last little shelf is a mishmash of stuff:

• Smokescreens G1, Classics, and Alternators (soon to be joined by RotF and Cybertron Smokescreens once I dig them out.)
• The Generations Junkions.
• Scan series Bumblebee, Sideswipe…
• …Ratchet and Ironhide.
• The Power Core Combiner Autobots.
• The Power Core Combiner Decepticons.

Oh yeah, also Supreme class Beast Machines Cheetor standing to the side.

With the exception of G1 Metroplex and Cybertron Metroplex that stand ever vigilant above my computer (which is itself named Metroplex) and an extra Micromaster Tailwind, that is the entirety of my current display.

However, though admittedly a lot of floorspace is taken up by the display (and yes, I am aware that I am very, very lucky to have a wife that is not only ok with, but actually encourages my collecting and displaying), it only amounts to a little under half of my total collection. The rest are in plastic bins in a closet.

One day I will have an entire room devoted to the collection, until then, I’ll keep enjoying them by occasionally pulling them out of their bins to take pictures of them for this blog. That way I get to share the joy this collection brings me (and yes, a little showing off too.)

Just about the time you’re thinkin’ it’s alright; breakdown, takedown, you’re busted. Breakdown!

Bob Seger lyrics as a post title? Really?

I can’t help it. Every time I hear Breakdown’s name, I think of this song, which inevitably leads me to Beverly Hills Cop II, which reminds me of the 1986 Ferrari 328 GTS from the movie, which is mistakenly swapped with a Ferrari 308 in one of the chase scenes, which is the alt mode of Breakdown’s fellow Stunticon, Wildrider.

See how I brought that back around to the point of the post?

I am nothing if not to the point.

Maybe I should just start this post over.

Right, Breakdown. He is my favourite of the G1 Stunticons. He’s great toy-wise, but personality-wise, he is definitely the most interesting:

“When Breakdown is in his car mode, he thinks everyone else is staring at him. Not just living creatures such as other Transformers and humans, but humans’ cars, stoplights… anything mechanical”

Whereas this just translates into paranoia elsewhere, the interesting turn is that on Earth he’s actually self-conscious that someone will see through his disguise and that it might affect his job performance.

“He’d be happier if he were a human – that way he feels he could just anonymously fit in anywhere and be in a better position to help conquer the Earth!”

It’s like some kind of neurosis-inducing Decepticon job ethic? Love it.

I think he might be my favourite Animated Stunticon as well, but this time because of his toy more than his character. Personality-wise, his Animated toy bio only makes it as far as his severe paranoia, adding in that he is,

“Profoundly unlucky and saddled with an inferiority complex”

His toy, however is a remold of my personal favourite of the entire Animated line, Rodimus, with an all-new head. When they first announced him, my only concern was that, just like Animated Dead End, the weapon included with this mold, the energon bow, seemed very out of place for him. Somehow it seemed too… elegant a weapon for a Stunticon? Animated Drag Strip handled this by changing his/her personality enough to make the weapon actually make sense. For Breakdown, in the convention exclusive comic book, they went the opposite direction, highlighting how little finesse the Stunticon posseses.

You wouldn't think you would need to point out which is the business end of an energy bow.

"Again? You're making my performance look stellar by comparison."

I’ve typed it three times before and will type it again: Stunticons need guns.

"Now this one I know which way to point."

Of course, don’t tell Animated Breakdown that the gun he’s holding is actually a Targetmaster. He would probably just think that Pinpointer there is judging him.

I totally lied yesterday when I stated that Wildrider was the only Animated Stunticon to provide a weaponized alt mode like their G1 limb counterpart. Though, given my feelings on Breakdown’s use of an energy bow, I hesitate to include it, here it is in all its strangeness.

Once again, I ask, how do you fire it without hands?

G1 Breakdown transforms into a Lamborghini Countach, which this Animated mold’s “futuristic racecar” imitates quite well.

Wait. Who are those other guys? It turns out that Animated Breakdown actually marks Breakdown’s third official, or fourth unofficial, appearance as a Botcon toy.

Unlike the rest of the Stunticons, Breakdown’s garishly coloured G2 toy was the only one to see official release: as the first ever Botcon exclusive in 1994 and then the next year at the Florida Extravaganza Collectibles Show.

My favourite part: "Realistic Styling!"

Then, ten years later, at Botcon 2004 — the only unofficial Botcon — Breakdown saw his first unsanctioned Botcon appearance in the form of a Action Master G2 Breakdown.

This strange history made Breakdown too good of an opportunity to pass up when the whole Botcon boxset went G2: Redux in 2010. Still paranoid and worried about his job, he now has the added level of stress that is having the lunatic Galvatron as his boss.

“He’s afraid that without Menasor, he’s nothing, and that the only reason Galvatron hasn’t destroyed him yet is because the Decepticon leader can’t remember who he is.”

Along with doing his original personality quirk justice, they perfectly recreated his wonderful new G2 paintjob, all the way down to the great big G2 Decepticon logo on his hood.

Using the Universe Sunstreaker/Sideswipe mold, his new headsculpt was spot on to the original G1/G2 mold’s head.

They even name dropped the original G2 release with a reference to the very first Botcon in his license plate.

BCFW94: Botcon Fort Wayne (Indiana) 1994.

The fourth Breakdown in the alt mode picture up there is actually not Breakdown but Brakedown.

Released in the Revenge of the Fallen line, despite his slight variation on the name he is definitely meant to be an homage to the original G1 toy, all the way down to his headsculpt.

Speaking of headsculpts, of the many heads of Breakdown, the most dissimilar are actually his G1 cartoon and toy models. So, where do the other homages and updates fall on a scale of Cartoon to Toy?

Animated is most similar to his cartoon model with RotF falling pretty evenly between the G1 cartoon and G1 toy. Of course, his G2: Redux is meant to be a straight update of his toy headsculpt.

Sheesh, you might see why a guy could get paranoid when he gets so much attention.

Either way, I am still going to have “Shakedown” by Bob Seger stuck in my head for the rest of the day…

Put on your protective eyewear, it’s the attack of the 90′s! G2 Ramjet and SG (G2: Redux) Thundercracker!

To say Generation 2 was a misguided effort is both an understatement as well as only half of the story.

Everyone looks at the garish colour choices and immediately jumps straight to “OMG, that is sooooo G2!!!” However, years before 1994 when the G2 Combaticons showed us the brightest, least camouflaged military vehicles ever, the original Transformers line was still going on in Europe and producing some of the most eye-searing colour schemes possible.

The most obvious example of this?

One of our old, reliable Seekers decided to ditch the familiar blue and silver with red trim in favour of… well, this:

"Hiya!"

Sorry, I really should have warned those with sensitive corneas. Yes, that is Action Master Thundercracker; released “only in European and Australasian markets” in 1991. As the über-example of the 1990′s colour craziness it is somewhat ironic that the most “G2” Transformer of all time isn’t actually from G2.

However, his place amongst the European exclusives made him a prime target for the Transformers Collectors Club’s G2: Redux line. Of course the TCC folks weren’t just going to announce him as a Botcon exclusive and be done with it. The first glimpse of the possibility of the return of Action Master Thundercracker was in a Twitter post from the G.I.Joe Convention in which they gave us a glimpse of the upcoming Animated Cheetor and Wildrider along with [insert Joe dude's name here]. What was most interesting, though was a garishly coloured jet in the background.

‘Fessing up to their accidental reveal of Botcon Action Master Thundercracker, they then posted a picture of his robot mode.

Though a good portion of the fans had been requesting an Action Master Thundercracker update for years, this picture didn’t engender happiness in the fanbase. The reason for that is the choice of mold. The Cybertron Thundercracker mold is pretty universally regarded as the worst Seeker mold ever. All of this came to a head when people took a better look at their calendars and the date of these posts, April 1. The TCC folks came clean and declared the “accidental” reveal to be an April Fool’s Day joke.

Though some fans choose to go as far out of their way as possible to spoil themselves on any potential surprise, I am most assuredly not one of them. I did follow all of the official reveals of the Botcon 2011 boxset, but stayed far away from the rumor mill inevitably spoiling any of the Souvenir set toys. It wasn’t until I was standing in line for registration that Botcon’s announcement over Twitter let me in on the fact that we were, in fact, getting an Action Master Thundercracker update and he was absolutely glorious.

The Classics mold was the only one that was ever going to do this guy justice and the Botcon folks knew that. From the top of his golden head to the tips of his brilliant green feet, Thundercracker embodies everything that was gloriously inappropriate about Transformer colour choices for the first half of the 1990′s.

As an Action Master he had that whole “non-transforming-Transformer” thing going on (stupidest toy gimmick of all time), so now we get to see what Action Master Thundercracker looks like transformed.

Yowza. Of course, underneath is even more astounding.

One of the best stories from the Botcon 2011 TFCC toy panel was Lanny Latham talking about how he had the hardest time convincing someone that this was the finished product and not one of the test shot prototypes [For those that don't know, prototypes in the test shot phase are typically cast in random colours.]

The only real problem I have with him is that — despite it being the only logical place for this toy to land, fiction-wise — this is not G2: Redux Thundercracker. As evidenced by his faction symbol, a red Decepticon symbol, he is actually Shattered Glass Thundercracker.

Now, as far as the fiction is concerned, I understand this move. There is absolutely no way you can convincingly explain why in the world G1 Thundercracker has adopted this colour scheme. There just isn’t enough Forestonite in all of the fictional universes combined to make it believable. Also, there is a precendent as Thundercracker in his Action Master colours made an appearance in the 2008 April Fool’s comic “Shattered Expectations” as a member of the Heroic “Mayhem Suppresion Squad”. Still, he will always be G2: Redux Thundercracker to me.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, we have G2 Ramjet.

Can't be easy flying around with that tank thing on your back.

Though he is still inappropriately coloured, his colours are far more subdued. (Besides, it’s not like any of the G1 Seekers, Coneheads and originals alike, had appropriate military jet colour schemes to begin with.)

As one of the original G2 toys I own, I was ecstatic when TFCC announced at Botcon 2010 that G2 Ramjet was going to get a G2: Redux update as one of the two 2011 Club exclusive figures. Much like Thundercracker, they knocked this one out of the park.

One of the things I learned in the TFCC toy panel this year is that the TFCC guys have more leeway when it comes to paint applications and they used that to full advantage in this case. What appears as stickers on the original’s knees, hips, fuselage, and wings are now paint applications on the updated version. They then used stickers to duplicate the shiny details on his feet and shoulder intakes. They even go a step further and replace the G1-style Decepticon symbols on his wings with painted G2-style symbols.

Though his boxart fails to mention it, his bio places him squarely in the G2: Redux story, along with a Forestonite-induced power. After being dosed with the stuff, Ramjet now finds that he can “sheathe himself in a whirling, drill-like forcefield while flying”, further allowing him to live up to his name.

This guy is such a perfect update, I have nothing at all to complain about… well, about the toy. My one point of contention is with that aforementioned boxart.

What the heck, did they let Pat Lee draw that thing? That’s one hideously bloated, squatty robot. Setting aside his boxart (in this case literally, it will go in a box hidden in a closet somewhere), I leave you with one more shot I call “When the 90′s attack!!”

p.s. Keep an eye out tomorrow, the nineties might not be done with us just yet.

Mad scientist, crackpot inventor, Autobot extraordinaire, Wheeljack!

“Invention, it must be humbly admitted, does not consist in creating out of void, but out of chaos;”

~Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Wheeljack has most likely never read Frankenstein, and would probably not much care to be compared to the titular Doctor. The comparison really isn’t far off the mark, though. In episode 17, “Autobot Spike”, Wheeljack even assists in the creation of the Autobots very own rendition of Frankenstein’s monster. Throughout his career as the Autobot’s mad scientist… I mean, “Mechanical Engineer”, he has created just as many gadgets that have injured himself as he has weapons that can be safely used in the fight against the Decepticons. However, the ones that work, work really well,

“…their deadly effectiveness has earned him the respect of friends and enemies alike.”

Even with this, though, he’s not your standard science nerd.

“He is also the Autobot most adept at driving while in his automobile mode and has pulled off tricks that Hollywood stunt drivers haven’t even dreamed of yet. He fully enjoys showing off when the opportunity presents itself.”

Additionally, he’s one of the only 1984 Autobots capable of flight in robot mode. In other words, he’s not completely useless once you take him out of his lab. It’s this that has earned him his spot as my favourite Autobot.

I have always been partial to the scientist-types, but I am especially partial to a stunt-driving speed demon scientist that also has a shoulder mounted multi-type shell launcher capable of also firing ”a shrapnel-needle shell, which explodes into millions of hair-thin filaments that can pierce even the strongest armor”. That just sounds mean. Wheeljack is also one of the few Transformers I can specifically recall buying as a kid.

Naturally, this status made him a must-find once his Generations release was announced. He did give me a little bit of a scare, as he was amongst ”the final three”, along with Thundercracker and Warpath. He was elusive, but finally, he was mine.

"Maybe I should invent a machine that fires exploding wrenches."

This toy is amazing. Even though he is a retool of the previously released Reveal the Shield Tracks, you can put the two robots right next to each other and not immediately know it.

One of the things that helps is that in place of Tracks’ signature shoulder missle launchers, the toy designers have cleverly remolded them to use the c-clamps as the heads of a pair of wrenches.

"You know how it can be with these older models."

Then Wheeljack uses Tracks’ gun as his own shoulder-mounted shell launcher. The change in weaponry combined with Wheeljack’s remolded wings and reversed leg transformation make them distinctly different. All of this detailing topped off with a brand-new headsculpt also ensures that Wheeljack is distinctly Wheeljack.

Being a toy-centric collector, I am a little sad he didn’t come with two shell launchers, but the single one is consistent with a majority of his fictional appearances. That being said, I will most likely steal Tracks’ gun and put it on Wheeljack as a second shoulder launcher.

G1 Wheeljack’s alt-mode is a Lancia Stratos Turbo, specifically the Turbo 5 design used for closed track endurance racing. Another part of Generations Wheeljack’s remolding is that his alt mode has added ground effects in the front and a spoiler in the back to better resemble his G1 incarnation. Of course, he has lost his racing sponsorship stickers in the interest of avoiding licensing issues.

But wait! Who is that third Wheeljack up there? Turns out, officially at least, it’s not Wheeljack at all. It’s Energon Downshift.

For whatever reason, the ‘bot above was not named Wheeljack in Energon. However, he was named Wheeljack in the Japanese version of Energon, called Transformers: Super Link. Whatever the logic behind calling him Downshift here, he will always be Energon Wheeljack to me.

The resemblance is uncanny.

Which then leads us to this guy.

This is the Decepticon Slicer from Botcon 2010′s G2: Redux line. So what is he doing in a post about Wheeljack? First, as Slicer he is a meta-homage to Wheeljack because the original Slicer was a redeco of Action Master Wheeljack and now he is a redeco of Energon Wheeljack.

However, the real reason he is here is because he is not just an homage to Wheeljack, he’s also simultaneously Wheeljack himself! I know what you’re thinking, “Y U no make sense?”

Take a closer look at the Autobot symbol molded into his breastplate.

Notice how it’s purple? Those clever, clever folks at the Transformers Collectors Club actually managed to release this guy as the Decepticon Slicer and the evil Shattered Glass Autobot Wheeljack at the same time.

Energon Wheeljack has an autobot symbol in the spark crystal in one of his wheels.

Slicer replaces this with a Decepticon spark crystal and painted Decepticon symbols on his doors.

To further strengthen this connection, they even included an epilogue to the 2010 Botcon Timelines comic in which Shattered Glass Wheeljack, pretending to be G2: Redux Slicer from the future, fools Slicer into handing over some valuable Forestonite. Yeah, Slicer is not too bright.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot: also, Slicer is French. (For more on how that is possible, you'll just have to check out his TFWiki entry.)

Of course, being based on an Energon toy, both he and Energon Wheeljack have the ability to Powerlink, so you can actually make a Frankenstein-ish (like how I brought the post full circle like that?) amalgamation of Energon not-officially-Wheeljack and Botcon sort-of-official-ish-Wheeljack

The very definition of a Wheeljack at odds with himself.

The greatest of sharks? ~ That is what he claims to be. ~ Cybershark is sad. Sky-Byte!

Sky-Byte shouldn’t still be a thing. He was a repaint in a line of repaints; the Predacons of Robots in Disguise (with the one exception being the new mold for R.i.D. Megatron). Additionally, he is a repaint of a Beast Wars shark toy — Cybershark — that has no articulation to speak of in alt-mode and a frustratingly difficult transformation, resulting in a robot mode with decent articulation hampered by shark pieces hanging off his back.

But Sky-Byte is still a thing.

"Made it, Ma! Top of the world!"

The reason for this is simple: his character. I have gone on and on about how much I love Robots in Disguise. How much I adore the wonderfully insane series as a whole is eclipsed by how much I want a sequel with Sky-Byte as the main character. Never has watching a bad-guy fail so miserably and consistently been more fun. If you haven’t taken the opportunity to watch Robots in Disguise, I strongly suggest at least watching Sky-Byte’s episodes. The antics of this haiku writing (did you notice the post title is a haiku in honour of our esteemed poet?), neurotically insecure, flying land-shark are well worth it.

In this way, his toy’s frozen swimming pose in alt-mode just helps it better embody the character in the cartoon.

Notice the rust on the screw in his nose? Sky-Byte was a victim of the same basement flooding that cost my G1 Dirge his wing stickers.

As a toy to play with, it would probably be more frustrating, but as a display piece, he’s grand. The detailing and paint applications makes the original Cybershark toy look positively bland in comparison. The cartoon also makes plenty of use out of the fact that his missle launchers can be deployed in alt-mode.

You have something in your teeth there.

As for that aforementioned robot mode with slightly hampered arm articulation? It is also a great display piece with a lot of effort put into the detailing.

Check out the shark fin mohawk. Too cool.

Of course, he can wield his missle launcher in robot mode as well.

Inheriting the snarky sneer on his face from Cybershark, it makes him appear just about as serious as he actually is in the cartoon. It was this wealth of character that made the Transformers Collectors Club’s decision to give us a new Sky-Byte toy as part of the Botcon 2010 set quite welcome. This time Sky-Byte would be not just a repaint but a remold of a previous toy. Taking the old Energon Sharkticon mold (one of my favourites from an otherwise dissappointing toyline), repainting it to match the colouring and assymetrical detailing of the original Sky-Byte toy, they also added a head that matched the original.

Sky-Byte is just happy to have two actual hands finally.

My only complaint would be that rather than the vaguely mad look on the original Sky-Byte toy, the Timelines toy has a very distinctly angry face instead. Crazy will always be more interesting than pissed off. Just like the original Energon toy, Sky-Byte is able to rotate his missle launcher forward in robot mode.

Now, instead of being in charge (only barely) of three incompetent Predacons, Sky-Byte has command of a legion of ravenous Sharkticons. The “Troop Builder” set sold at Botcon 2010 were three identical Sharkticons — straight repaints of Energon Sharkticon — to serve as a part his troops. His troops are painted to mimic the original Sharkticons from the Animated Movie (1986).

"Attaaaaaaaaack!" "Omnomnomnomnomnom. Tasty Autobots!!!"

In fact, his profile calls out that:

“Were he more competent and less given to overblown theatrics that leave him vulnerable, he’d be one of the Autobots’ greatest threats.”

Some things never change, including both his ego and his artistic endeavors,

“He sees himself as a sophisticated warrior poet, the self-proclaimed “greatest shark around,” composing haiku about the robots in disguise he’s about to deactivate”

Rather than a Cyber-enhanced Earth shark, this Predacon General has an alt-mode that is best described as a Cybertronic spaceship/submarine (though his boxart calls him a “boat”.) Whatever he is supposed to be, one thing is for certain, he is absolutely covered in weaponry.

In addition to all those turrets (which swivel and pivot up and down!) he can also open up his missle launchers in this mode.

Thanks to that unique and ridiculously fun personality, Sky-Byte has been ensconced as a permanent piece of the Transformers mythos. He was even referenced in the book Transformers Animated: The Allspark Alamanac. The Animated  almanac keeps his personality but unfortunately takes his look in a whole new, somewhat terrifying direction.

All those teeth are just in case you don't like his poetry.

A look more in line with his original incarnation did surface, from the sketches of the original Animated artisit, Derrick J. Wyatt.

I really love the head design, but I’m not really digging the lack of “sharkiness” about the proposed alt-mode. Either way, it would be great to see him show up in some kind of Animated fiction — my fingers are crossed for the comic book that features this year’s Animated themed Botcon set.

I just can’t get enough of this guy.

~ Sky-Byte is so cool. ~

~ Precisely because he’s not. ~

~ Greatest shark indeed. ~

More from the Protecto-turbo-team-bots! Streetwise! Groove! Circuit (Universe Streetwise)! Glide (Universe Groove)! Road Police (Universe Prowl)! and… Streetwise! Another one?

This is Streetwise:

This is not Streetwise, it is Prowl:

But this is Streetwise:

Anyone else seeing a huge missed opportunity for some naming synergy between our two teams of Protectobots? Because there are five G1 Protectobots and six Universe Protectobots, naturally they would need to come up with at least one name. If you still want that G1 Homage connection, why not let the police car be Streetwise and call the Formula 1 “Mirage”? Of course, if you paid close attention to yesterday’s post, you know of at least one other missed opportunity that will rear its ugly head eventually.

On the flip side of that, also as you saw in the last post, both ambulances were named First Aid. Likewise, these are both Groove:

Naming aside, everyone has pretty solid alt-modes. One rather clever bit of tooling is on the lightbar on our Micromaster police car.

As you can see, rather than using paint application, the effect of the two red "lights" is created by having the outer piece of the hinge actually be red plastic. Simple, yet ingenious if you ask me.

As far as the robot modes on these guys, first up, Streetwise. He has a good, if somewhat blocky, very G1 robot mode.

Groove, is… very, very, very G1 with no discernible legs, no discernible arms or hands.

"It's probably a good thing that I'm also part of a combiner."

Also, notice all those lovely stickers, providing all the detailing on his chest? That is functionally the bottom of the motorcycle mode. Here’s what happens when you put stickers on the part of the vehicle mode that is constantly scraping against the ground when being played with:

"My life is pain."

Let’s just say it gives a whole new definition to “Road Rash”. Of course, like their G1 Protectobot bretheren, Streetwise and Groove have their Attack alt-mode as well.

Of course, any previously mentioned naming failures on the newest Protectobots become even less relevant here when you consider that these are actually the Japanese release.

Glide, Road Police, and Circuit.

The wonderful tooling on Road Police doesn’t stop at his ingenious police lights. His robot details are awesome.

Police hat, headphones with microphone boom, molded lapels, and a necktie. This cop is all business.

But wait… what have we here?

Botcon G2: Redux Streetstar (a.k.a. Streetwise)

In G2, the Protectobots were repainted but cancelled before release. As part of last year’s G2: Redux line, the folks at Botcon included “Streetstar” as an update to G2 Streetwise, a toy that was never even released.

G1, G2, and then G2: Redux.

Having lost the trademark to Streetwise, they used Streetstar. (Click here for a closer look at G2: Redux Streetwise.) The name Streetstar comes from a Japan-only slight repaint of Streetwise that was released as part of “Operation Combination” in 1992, the line that also saw the first release of the Turbo Team. It’s like a giant cycle of homage upon update upon homage.

How do you say? Ah, yes, puramente magnifico! Mas Rapido!

Generation One wasn’t always Generation One. Naturally there was a time when Transformers was simply called: Transformers. With flagging sales and a flagging brand, Hasbro cancelled Transformers in the U.S. in 1991 — though production continued in both Japan and Europe during this period. For almost two years the brand sat shelved when, in 1993, Hasbro launched a somewhat noble but mostly misguided attempt to recover the momentum the brand had in those G1 days.

The new Generation 2 Autobot symbol.

Three years of G2 product saw toys with some truly odd colour choices accompanied by a repackaging of the original G1 Cartoon episodes (now with added CGI ”Cybernet Space Cube“), and an all-new comic book continuation of the original 80-issue G1 series. The comic book started with a 5 issue storyline in the previously established G.I.Joe comic book, then had a free “Halloween Special Edition”, and then 12 issues under the title: “Transformers: Generation 2″.  The comic took a dark, gritty, sometimes gratuitously violent turn. The cover of issue one displayed a battle scared Optimus and the headline, “This is not your father’s Autobot”.

However the toyline amounted to re-releases of Generation 1 toys in some truly garish colours and several molds that had been released in Europe during the two-year U.S. Transformers hiatus. I was in college in 1993, having foolishly gotten rid of my entire collection of Transformers. Goodwill? Salvation Army? Thrown in the trash? I don’t remember but it’s best not to dwell… *sob* However, I was full-tilt into reading and collecting comic books and still paid regular trips to Toys R Us. In the comic shop I came across the books and in Toys R Us, I came across a sight for sore eyes. My beloved Transformers were back… if a little oddly coloured. I ended up buying quite a few, though I no longer remember what spurred my choices. Obviously I bought Optimus Prime, but the rest of my G2 collection is a mishmash. There is one consistency: of the roughly twenty-four toys I bought of the G2 series, all come from 1993 or 1994 and only three are new (to the U.S., at least) molds.  

This year, Botcon announced its exclusive toy theme and it was “Generation 2: Redux” (pronounced re-ducks, not re-do), imagine my surprise and utter delight when my favourite G2 toy was chosen to be one of those redux’ed, as one of the “Souvenir Sets” and packed in with Cindersaur. You see, back in 1993, mixed in with all of these oddly coloured Autobots and Decepticons was a bright red little car with teal accents, an engine block for a gun, and an oddly spanish name, Rapido. Even more odd was that this tiny little car somehow outranked Optimus Prime. In 1993, while Optimus Prime’s tech spec had a Rank of 9, Rapido (and Grimlock) had an inexplicable Rank of 10. That coupled with his tech spec chock full of phrases that spoke right to my geeky little self such as, “Masterminds and executes battle plans of mind-boggling complexity” and he worked his way into my heart. Also, whereas his name being the Spanish word for “fast” did correlate to his Speed of 10, there was no attempt to explain why it was in Spanish and I loved that. Having ditched the concept of disguise with flagrantly mis-coloured alt-modes, this new generation wore their faction symbols as blatantly as possible, and just in case you can’t tell one symbol from the other, they put the faction name right next to it:

 

So, along come the Transformers Collectors Club folk and the first thing they do is give him an all-new headsculpt that is not just spot on, but an improvement, adding the teal highlighting — well, actually closer to an aqua on the Botcon version — from the rest of his body to the head:

To further the concept of a redux, the accompanying Botcon comic book attempted to explain some things. This new generation of Transformers are literally a “Next Generation”. The Autobots and Decepticons have left Earth, retaining only a small crew on either side. New Transformers were created on Earth in Cyberfactories. Though not initially connecting with the age-old Cybertronian Civil War, more and more they have started taking sides, choosing the role of Protector or Conqueror. Luckily for the Brand the factions just happen to line up perfectly with those two concepts and the 2nd Generation of Autobots and Decepticons are born. The comic further explains things like Rapido’s name by stating that the Cyberfactories are in different countries and therefore shape the cultural identity of bots given life there. The TCC even went so far as to print Rapido’s entire Tech Spec in Spanish(brilliant!), later publishing the English version on their website. To further thicken the plot, the introduction of the newly discovered chemical Forestonite in a pitched battle leads to the Transformers on both sides being imbued with superpowers. After being coated in the gaseous form of Forestonite, Rapido becomes the Transformer equivalent of The Flash (much more politically correct, I guess, than calling him the Transformer equivalent of Speedy Gonzalez). It is this same battle that they explain that his higher-than-Optimus Rank is due to his being specially deputized by the Big Bot himself. He has been authorized by Optimus Prime to take unilateral command of any unit functioning on Earth “as required”. As an added delight, a character in the story actually makes an off-handed comment about Rapido’s shot missing because he “can’t see over his own hood”. Those who own the original G2 toy immediately recognize this as the one oddity of Rapido’s robot mode. He really can only barely see over his hood, as it obscures over half of his face.

I see you... barely.

Generation 2 catches a lot of flack, being remembered mostly for the insanely coloured releases, but a number of these releases are among the most amazing toys in the history of Transformers and I personally count Rapido as one of those.