Transformer of the Day for January 28, 2009
STRIKA
-Faction: Vehicon (General)
-Era: Beast Machines (1999-2000)
-Function: All-Terrain Combat
-Motto: “No Road is Rougher Than Me”
-Notable Toy: Beast Wars Returns (Takara, 2007)
Notes: She was the greatest of Cybertron generals, but invented for the show. She was akin to a dark Big Barda, and yet her “gender” is not even mentioned in her original text spec. Her profiles talk of “consorts” but she needs no one. The same figure was produced on three occasions (BM 2000, Universe 2004 and BW Returns 2005) and none of them get her quite right. Too good to lose, we hope TF:A get Strika done.
Transformer of the Day for January 27, 2009
OPTIMUS MINOR
-Faction: Maximal
-Era: Beast Wars (1996-2000)
-Function: Ground Commando
-Motto: “Monkey See, Monkey Grab”
-Notable Toy: Transmetal 2 Basic (Hasbro, 1999)
Notes: As further evidence that Prime may be a military rank, we present Optimus Minor (of no relation to Optimus Primal). I love him for the name alone. Although the transformation of the basic figure is not particularly impressive, the toy really allows you to take advantage of the magnificant poseability that is inherent in so many of the Beast Wars toys. Articulation that, like die-cast construction, seemed to be a dying art in the 1990s.
Transformer of the Day for January 26, 2009
AUTOLAUNCHER
-Faction: Destron (Autoroller)
-Era: Beast Wars II (1998)
-Function: Shock Troop Guard
-Motto: “In the Face of Danger I Will Find My Glory”
-Notable Toy: Takara Release (Takara, 1998)
Notes:Autolauncher was one of two unreleased autoroller molds used to round out Beast Wars II. Originally intended to join Dirt Bag and Roadblock on North American toy shelves as part of Generation 2, a Hasbro-release of Autolauncher never arrived, nor appeared in dealer catalogues for the year. Which is a shame because a self-transforming disk-firing military vehicle is far cooler than a green dump truck.
Transformer of the Day for January 25, 2009
STEPPER
-Faction: Autobot (Targetmaster)
-Era: Generation One (1984-1992)
-Function: Sniper
-Motto: “It Isn’t Concentration that Improves Your Aim, it’s Guts”
-Notable Toy: Reissue (Takara, 2003)
Notes: Stepper is one of two Japanese-only Targetmaster. A repaint of Jazz, he shares a targetmaster partner with the 1988 North American release of the Decepticon Scourge. Although reissued in North America as part of Hasbro’s commemorative line in 2003, it’s Takara’s reissue that proves to be a more faithful rendering to the original.
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Transformer of the Day for January 24, 2009
DRAG STRIP
-Faction: Decepticon (Stunticon)
-Era: Generation One (1984-1992)
-Function: Warrior
-Motto: “The First One to Cross the Finish Line Lives”
-Notable Toy: HasbroToyShop Universe edition (Hasbro, 2008)
Notes: The Decepticon’s second merge squad, the Stunticons were their answer to the Autobot’s supremacy on the roads. Their combined form of Menasaur was a counterweight to the Aerialbot’s Superion. Drag Strip is also the first Stunticon to be redecoed as part of the Universe line, albeit in a form available only through hasbrotoyshop.com, a site that (unlike its predecessor a decade ago) hasn’t bothered to consider shipping to Canada.
Transformer of the Day for January 23, 2009
LONGRACK
-Faction: Maximal
-Era: Beast Wars Neo (1999)
-Function: First Officer
-Motto: “If You Do Not Think Before You Act, Do Not Act At All”
-Notable Toy: Longrack Vs. Guildedart Set (Takara, 1991)
Notes: If Beast Wars II line minimized costs by repainting off-camera characters and incorporating pre-existing G2 toolings, Beast Wars Neo offered up the goods. Among the standard repaints were new dinosaurs and mammals, including Longrack the Giraffe. Like the new BW Neo toys, Longrack enjoyed a “targetmaster-esque” mid-transformation formation. He was later the inspiration for the Cybertron-era excavator of the same name and colour.
Transformer of the Day for January 22, 2009
STORMCLOUD
-Faction: Decepticon (Micromaster)
-Era: Generation One (1984-1992)
-Function: Espionage
-Motto: “The Air is My Playground”
-Notable Toy: Universe Ultra Class (Hasbro, 2008)
Notes: Like Countdown, Stormcloud was part of Hasbro/Takara’s efforts to try their hand at the burgeoning microtoy market of the late 1980s. Unlike Countdown, he came packed with three other members of the Decepticon Air Strike Patrol and had such lowered goals of taking leadership of the small group. As a repaint of Universe Powerglide, he finally has the size to back up his (meagre) ambitions.
Transformer of the Day for January 21, 2009
HIGH BEAM
-Faction: Autobot
-Era: Generation 2 (1993-95)
-Function: Tracker
-Motto: “Let’s Get Busy”
-Notable Toy: Go-Bot (Hasbro, 1995)
Notes: In the 1980s, Tonka used a line of Bandai-owned changing cars and trucks to create the Gobots to compete with Transformers. In 1991, Hasbro took over Tonka and, with it, the rights to the Gobot brand. So what do you do if you have a valuable property? How about use it to mount a challenge to another toy company’s 1/64 scale cars. High Beam, repainted first as G2 Bumblebee and later RiD’s Crosswise, is the best of the line.
Transformer of the Day for January 20, 2009
MEGAPLEX
-Faction: Decepticon
-Era: Machine Wars (1997)
-Function: Warrior / Clone
-Motto: “The Skies Belong To Me”
-Notable Toy: Machine Wars Basic Release (Hasbro, 1997)
Notes: With Machine Wars, Kenner tried an abortive detour away back to basics. The limited Kay-Bee run consisted of classic characters as repainted European tailenders and unreleased spring-loaded basic vehicles. Megaplex is the only truly original addition to the line, envision as a clone of Megatron himself, one so convincing he’s actually mispackaged with Megatron’s artwork! Megaplex’s name would later live on with a eHobby repaint of G1 Megatron in 2003.
Transformer of the Day for January 19, 2009
KING ATLAS
-Faction: Autobot
-Era: Universe (2003-2004)
-Function: Commander
-Motto: “Words Only Get in the Way of Action”
-Notable Toy: Universe (Hasbro, 2004)
Notes: Is he Dai Atlas 2.0, or the lightening of the Micronaut’s own red baron? In any case, King Atlas realized the promise of what was to be Hasbro’s first shortlived Universe line. He was the first wide-issue U.S. release of the Generation Two-esque Decepticon Predator jet, Skyquake. While he lacked accessories, he made his mark with his weathered paint applications and imposing size. He might be a block, but he was a good looking block.
