BIOS- Dion

"Efficiency makes you strong. Speed makes you lethal."

Function: Infantry

There was a time when Dion cared little for the echoes of war beginning to spread across his home world. Occasionally he'd opine on the feats of the new robots with flight capabilities, who he secretly envied, but otherwise turned a deaf audio receptor to the discussion about the start of what some were calling the second Cybertronian war. All that changed the day the war finally found him. The flying robots landed at the front door of the storage depot, led by the one called Megatron. Amicable at first, the encounter quickly turned for the worse when Megatron unleashed his full fury on the dockworkers and fled with that cycle's shipment of Energon.

When Dion awoke, he now was fully aware of what Megatron and the Decepticons were capable of, and having lost all that he had known, Dion decided to join the Elite Guard and now works to stop the Decepticons any way he can!

Strength: 7 Intelligence: 7 Speed: 9 Endurance: 8
Rank: 6 Courage: 9 Fireblast: 9 Skill: 8

Bios: Astrotrain

"The greatest opportunities are borne from adversity."

Function: Bounty Hunter

Constructed to serve as a transport for Megatron and his warriors, Astrotrain became discontent ferrying unappreciative Decepticons across the galaxy. In the chaos that followed the Unicron Battles, Astrotrain struck out on his own as a bounty hunter. Astrotrain convinced the Mini- Con Starcatcher to join him by promising him wealth and riches. The same promise was made to a trip of Mini-Cons who joined him later: Astro-Hook, Astro-Line, and Astro-Sinker. Astrotrain is cruel, but he is also extremely loyal to those under his command. He has an innate ability to inspire loyalty in others. His years of successful commissions have afforded him significant wealth, allowing him to upgrade his systems, greatly enhancing his strength. However, he has never given up his primary weapon, an ionic blaster that disrupts an enemy's internal circuitry.

Strength:8 Intelligence:7 Speed: 7 Endurance:7

Rank:6 Courage:9 Firepower:8 Skill:7

Bios: Anti-Blaze

Anti-Blaze, a junior member of the Mini-Con Council of Sages, was among those who argued most passionately against asking Optimus Prime and his Autobots for help. He felt that involvement with the larger Transformers had brought only grief to the Mini-Con race, though he now regrets his position. He has been forced to make the unpleasant transition from a relatively unknown political figure to a military leader at the front lines as he fights against Thrust and the other evil Mini-Con rebels.

Strength: 7 Intelligence: 8.5 Speed: 7.5 Endurance: 9

Rank: 9 Courage: 10 Fireblast: 8.5 Skill: 8.5

Bios- Kobushi

During the long years of relative solitude before and since their discovery on the Moon by the larger Transformers, Kobushi came to the conclusion that personal perfection could be attained through challenging combat. Every enemy destroyed, he believes, adds to his own power as a warrior. He has devoted his life to improving his martial skill, adapting the ancient art of Metallikato to most effectively use his diamond tipped drill arm. Landslide, the toughest individual on the Exploration Team, has been his frequent opponent, and Kobushi challenges him at every opportunity.

Strength: 9 Intelligence: 6 Speed: 4 Endurance: 9 

Rank: 5 Courage: 8 Fireblast: 4 Skill: 9.5

Bios: Optimus Primal

"Peace is the absence of conflict and the presence of justice."

Function: Starship Captain

A veteran of the last Great War that resulted in the defeat of the Predacon forces, Optimus Primal embodies many of the Maximal philosophical ideals. He is a heroic figure whose ability for self sacrifice knows no bounds. While he understands that war and conflict are sad realities of his existence, he has made it a point to study the historical and scientific records of past generations. He believes it is the balance that his idol, the original Optimus Primal, maintained throughout his long service. While Optimus Primal has a vast understanding of standard battle protocols, he sometimes utilizes unconventional, yet creative tactics to succeed in his missions. In vehicle mode, his boosters allow the ability to move at speeds of up to 350 mph for short bursts. While in robot mode, the boosters can become forward deployed missile launchers capable of locking onto two targets independently. The boosters can also be used for flight in robot mode. While always battle ready, he believes his current mission of exploration aboard the Axalon is symbolic of the Maximal goals of peace and harmony in the galaxy.

Strength: 10 Intelligence: 9 Speed: 9 Endurance: 10

Rank: 10 Courage: 10 Fireblast: 7 Skill: 9

Scorponok the 13th

 

It's Friday the 13th and a pretty good time to enjoy some of the more spooky side of things. I could point out how various talent from Transformers and Friday the 13th have worked on both franchises again, but I thought it'd be a good day to look at a more forgotten member of the scary robot crew. Dark Scorponok! Now, Scorponok is hardly forgotten and generally a featured character, but in the case of Dark Scorponok he was literally just a repaint used to fill out some gaps in Cybertron when the line was just releasing.  With a Black Zarak inspired deco (I'm regretting skipping that Legacy one now, dangit) Dark Scorponok was a pretty good looking update to the Energon Scorponok toy mold. I strongly recall many of us in the Transformers fandom speculating that he was going to be a BotCon exclusive based on early leaks.

This was when Fun Publications first took over and nobody knew what to expect yet. He wasn't a BotCon exclusive, but a normal retail release! However, his characterization was solely in Fun Publications fiction. During Cybertron, the fan club magazine's comic was a side story to the Cybertron cartoon with a variety of exclusives and non-show toys led by Vector Prime addressing the problem on Cybertron. I quite liked the comic and had fun seeing all these toys get some form of life. Dark Scorponok was among the bad guys. As he died in Energon, Scorponok was resurrected as Dark Scorponok on this wasteland of Cybertron that's being destroyed by Unicron's evil.

Dark Scorponok is a almost mindless monster who's main focus is devouring the sparks of other Transformers. He's a pretty big threat whom is eventually dealt with by the Autobots. As a toy, Dark Scorponok is mainly a repaint of the Energon toy with a remolded tail piece. Now instead of a lever to control his 'Hyper Mode' guns, there is a slot to insert a Planet Key matching Cybertron's toy line gimmick.

The Master of Oil

 

While looking at my Nemesis Primal figure, I found myself wondering why he wasn't Oilmaster? Let me rewind a little and bring my train of thought up to that opening question. Legacy Iguanus was previewed by Hasbro. Like other Pretender updates before it, Iguanus's robot mode is based on his Pretender shell with inner robot alt mode while ignoring the inner robot mode. It's a fun happy medium if they're not making a full Pretender style toy. The toy is a Core Class figure, a size class I do like a lot. Leading me to hope other Pretender updates in that scale happen.

I like Pretenders quite a bit. Always have, they're just fun. As time went on after their release and information became more readily available, the unmade Pretender shells became more common knowledge. They were certainly cool and as things work, the gorilla one became a character in E-Hobby comics. He was named after Oilmaster, a popular fan blogger. I always found that super cool. That's one of the things I've always enjoyed about E-Hobby toys. The inclusion of the greater Transformers universe. 

More time went on and in 2015 Oilmaster was made as part of that year's BotCon Exclusive set. A brand new shell and the Legend Swerve mold was used to create the character. After all this time it finally existed! I do wish to eventually acquire the BotCon/TFCC Pretenders. They are some of the coolest things that came from the Fun Publications era. 

So here it is some time later after that. Every so often I proudly look at my recent Walmart vintage Transformers toys. You know, the ones that come in 'vintage' packaging? I really like them. The recent Beast Wars ones are a particular strong source of emotion. I loved Beast Wars and that whole time era. I honestly miss it. That first gorilla Optimus Primal toy has always been a stand out Transformer toy for me. Sometimes I find myself imagining exclusive figures if I was in the position to create them. I can easily see myself pitching that toy mold as the toy that would become Oilmaster. 

Then we get to that Nemesis Primal figure. He came in the 'Worlds Collide' Buzzworthy Bumblebee boxed set exclusive to Target. One of the reasons I like store exclusive Transformers is that they're essentially the modern day equivalent of BotCon exclusives. They're also pretty neat. The Worlds Collide set pretty much was an old BotCon exclusive box set in execution and certainly felt like one. Nemesis Primal was an alternate universe evil clone of Optimus Primal made from the Kingdom version of Optimus Primal. When the set was initially previewed, I took it as a throwback to Galvatron Lio Convoy/ Galva Convoy initially and thought it looked like the old Kabaya model kit. Which is pretty much is/does. However with Iguanus making the rounds and getting me all excited... I guess you can see what I was thinking in that opening question.

Bios: Ramjet

"Accept your fate and welcome the glorious chaos that awaits."

The being originally known as Ramjet has one goal and one goal only; to enact his master's every whim and desire. For millions of years he executed the Chaos Bringer's commands without question or fail. Traversing dimensions and realities with the simplest gesture; Ramjet's power was near limitless. With the Unicron singularity destroyed by the actions of Nexus Prime, Ramjet's sole reason for existence, securing Unicron's presence across all parts of the multiverse, is no more.

With his dimension hopping abilities and raw power also severely dampened by the effects of the Terminus Blade and Star Saber, Ramjet once again relies on his supersonic jet mode for attack and pursuit missions. He has a top speed of Mach 4. Emits powerful blasts from his body. Channels Unicron's dark energy through two Antrodemonus Swords hidden within his wings. Can launch MX-00 caliber missiles capable of collapsing a Transformers' spark upon direct impact. Due to the torturous pain he endured and his undying devotion to his master, Ramjet often suffers from fits of insanity.

Bios: Lio Convoy

"The balance of nature must be preserved by an unceasing battle for survival."

As far back as his memory records extend, Lio Convoy has been entrusted by the Builders with protection of equilibrium in the ecosystem over which he presides. However, Lio Convoy's understanding is that if either the Maximals or Predacons were to achieve superiority over their enemies, the inevitable result would be an imbalance leading to the downfall of their society. He interprets the brutality of war as nothing more than natural selection at work.

Lio Convoy is never seen without his Typhoon Staff, which was presented to him by the Builders as a symbol of his authority. It continually emits a hypnotic pulse that paralyses any bioorganic Transformer within a 1 km radius. Unbeknownst to Lio Convoy, the same pulse exerts a limiting effect on his internal Energon Matrix, restricting a power the extent of which even the Builders fail to fully grasp...

Bios: Side Burn

Function: Speedy Knight

"Think you can keep up? I doubt it !"

Side Burn is a born exhibitionist; if its loud, fast, or haphazard, you can't bet he's tried it. Then bragged about it at a local Energon pub. Upgraded with a new Spark engine, Side Burn is now topping land speeds once thought to be unreachable and still hasn't found his limit. Although he'd be more than happy on the track, watching the world streak by his windshield in an indecipherable blur, Side Burn knows that his speed will someday provide a key advantage in the war against the Decepticons. Even if Prowl and his other friends in the newly-formed Autobot military don't share his outlook.

Mutant Beast Wars

The year was 2000, and even though Beast Wars was technically over and replaced with Beast Machines, there was still plenty of Beast Wars toys on the shelves. Since reruns of Beast Wars were steadily running on Fox Kids on weekday afternoons, it was natural to stock Beast Wars figures with the Beast Machines figures. The Fox Kids versions of Beast Wars toys were neato recolors of BW toys that took advantage of kids who saw those reruns and wanted a Transmetal Cheetor. With this and Animorph Transformers toys stocked with Beast Machines, there was a lot of beast themed Transformers on the shelves.

Animorphs wasn't a successes (I mean, I liked the toys... but that was something I found out after they went on clearance), however a company doesn't start out to fail at something and there was a few Animorph Transformers toys designed that went unused in the line. Somebody had the idea to remold the human bits into robot parts and release them.

So there you had the Mutants of the Beast Wars, The Mutant Beast Wars! What made them mutants exactly? Well, thanks to a virus unleashed by Megatron, these Fuzors were lost in their beast modes. Transforming from beast mode to beast mode with the robot lost inside (but maybe you could find their robot head peeking out). In case that description and the picture above doesn't clue you in, they don't have a robot mode. Icebird, for example, turns from owl to bear.

Like Animorphs, they were great toys, but now they were actual Transformers (not just in name). Though like their Animorph heritage, they were misfits in the Transformers fan world. As one could expect the G1 Purist crowd obviously despised them. A good deal of the beast era fans also wasn't fond. Though a handful of us did, and personally I loved them.

I was all over the figures the moment they arrived at my local Walmart. In fact the first one I grabbed was Icebird (my favorite of the bunch) one Friday night. I had the night off and took a quick stop to check out the toys and grab a bite to eat. An excited jump in the air lead to grabbing Icebird and a pack of chicken wings. That evening was spent with a toy I couldn't put down and messy homemade buffalo wings. Mutant Beast Wars didn't have any fiction outside the text blurb on the packaging. If I was a better writer, I probably would have written tomes of terrible fan fiction. The Mutants DID however appear briefly in 3H's BotCon comics. While they didn't get the biggest starring role, I was glad for something. Later they made some various low key fictional appearances in IDW comics and Fun Publications Fan fiction. Soundwave even made appearances in E-Hobby and Kre-O manga.

The Mutants never got any extra members, though some fans speculated Savage/Noble (Beast Changer) could be a Mutant. The 'Ask Vector Prime' Facebook Page (ran by Fun Publications) said in some realities he was and in some realities all BW characters were Mutants. Which I suppose in some reality is an answer and in some reality the alternate reality trope isn't played out yet (but Thanos still wins). All jokes aside, I've never considered him to be a member, but if you want to go ahead. There's a multiverse shoehorn for that.

Another would be new member is Leatherhide. A planned repaint of the Soundwave mold for the ill-fated Halloween Horrocon sub-line (that's a nifty name, huh), Leatherhide would probably be released as an Autobot, but a Mutant in any fiction. Leatherhide fictionally did appear in The Allspark Almanac volume 2 and in Fun Publications fiction meaning I'm not the only person who really wanted this toy.

Mutant Beast Wars over the course of time has managed to remain obscure in the greater world of Transformers with a little nod here and there. An odd team of misfits loved by some and despised by others. I suppose for the opposing team it's a good thing they didn't take off. Though as someone who came close to buying a test shot at a BotCon, I would have loved for them to take flight. The little nods here and there are great (and appreciated), but in some alternate universe I have a display of Mutant Beast Wars Masterpiece toys.

BotCon 1994 video

This is great.

Pretender Megatron

I'll make no bones about it. I want a Pretender Megatron (and the Optimus and Oilmaster as well, but I'm talking about Megatron here). Full stop, he could have been anyone else. Just as long as it had that sweet reuse of the Grand Maximus shell. That was a great use of the mold and in the dark colors just looks great. When the TFCC's final year of existing brought this out to play, I was amazed. I really wanted to subscribe to the subscription service to get it, but alas, it was not to be. Sometimes money doesn't always fold the way you'd like it, and it didn't fold in the favor of getting this guy. Really, it could have been anybody in that shell and I'd been sold (though Spacewarp is a really great idea). Anybody who reads Zone Base knows I'm a Pretender fan and at the time those new Pretenders from the TFCC was a siren song. Fortunately Primemasters came along and gave me Pretenders in a new flavor. Unfortunately, there's not enough of them. I want like, billions of them.

Gobots

If we don't finish the job and flatter them - we might as well not be in the fight at all.

He's a vital cog in the vast Autobots battle machine and can endure the most extreme conditions while fighting without fear. Behind the lines, he ties up all the loose ends by mopping up enemies. With his devastating water power, he's a tough vehicle and ready for any endurance challenge. And as a robot, he is equally as deadly.

Clench (G2 Redux)

Out. Of. MY. WAY!

From the moment he came online, Clench was trouble. Created as a security bot, he completely trashed the Cyberfactory that gave him life a mere ten minutes earlier. Within days, he had gathered the disaffected and angry among the Earth-born Cybertronians and created the Decepticon Syndicate, crushing anything in his path. His sole motivation seems to be a seething core of universal hatred that fuels him more than any energon. He has no true designs for usurping Galvatron or Zarak, but figures, someday, they're going to get in his way...

Even before the Forestonite experiment, Clench was a terrifying monster in battle. Now his nearly impenetrable armor and Colossus Cannons are augmented with the ability to create localized gravity wells up to ten times Earth's pull, leaving his targets utterly helpless before his wrath.

Spooky Spotlight: Virulent Clones

Profile: The Insecticon Virulent Clones were the result of Deathsaurus' resurrection of the latent Insecticon cloning capability. Extracted from the Cybertronian genetic codes of Buzzclaw and Dirge, the Insecticon clones were created to act as a self-replicating source of warriors for the Decepticon army. Each has a very rudimentary intelligence with no personality of its own. This makes them ideal for swarming enemies, with little regard for their own safety. The Clones listen to the Insecticon masters, Buzzclaw and Dirge, and will follow their orders to the letter at all times.

Abilities: The claws and mandibles of each clone secrete acid, which helps them tear into enemy armor. The Clones are capable of comsuming almost any material to convert into energy to sustain their systems. In robot mode, each Clone carries that can absorb energy from an enemy's attack and redirect it back at them. They can use their wrist mounted claws as slashing weapons, and each has a basic level of hand-to-hand combat knowledge based on memory implants from Buzzclaw.

Weakness: The exo-structure of the Clones are not as strong as those of Buzzclaw and Dirge. Thus the Clones are easily destroyed. It is their massive number, which serves as their greatest advantage.

I appreciated the descent into evil

BotCon 2005's Descent into Evil box set was a largely unpopular set for a variety of subjective reasons that I thought was pretty great. I don't think I disliked anything about it and it gave me my favorite Ironhide and Ratchet toys to date. I really liked Ricochet and the new Insecticons and really enjoyed the comic. I wanted more adventures with the cast of the set, which didn't really happen (though some of the toys and characters get re-purposed for other stories). Just wish the set got as much love from everyone else as it did from me.

Spooky Spotlight: Shattered Glass Ricochet

Shoot first, why bother with questions.

Ricochet, the twin brother of Autobot Jazz, is the result of Prime's experiment in splitting an Ember in two and joining each with a new body. Though Ricochet and Jazz were activated seconds apart, the two couldn't be more different. Trained by Prime to serve as one of his elite bodyguards, Ricochet is known for his wild attitude, acting first and asking questions later. Many times this leaves the Autobots without a hostage or serves to eliminate anyone who plans to usurp Ricochet and take his position by Prime's side. Ricochet works extra hard to betray others first, believing that those around him are out to sabotage him. Much to his annoyance, his twin brother Jazz has always been Prime's favorite. Though Ricochet only "acts" crazy from time to time, some fear that this knowledge will lead to it no longer being an act.

If I ran the new club

I got this from Party City. 

The year just ended a few hours ago. With it ended the The Official Transformers Collector's Club. Without going on for too long and risking explaining it to someone who already knows, Hasbro has taken the official club and convention license from Fun Publications and everything ended at 12:00am New Year's Day.

So we already know Hasbro intends to roll Transformers and all their other properties into a mega con called Hascon. They did say there is a new fan club coming soon. Personally, I'm more interested in the fan club than the con. Of course being so, I'm really anxious waiting for developments. While waiting for developments, I've pretty much dreamed up how I'd run the new fan club if I was in charge. I'll never be and I'll never get to be more than a member. None the less, I thought of what I'd do and thought it would probably be a good idea to write it all down.

1. There would be a free membership model.

When I would pick up a TF toy and see the TFCC logo on the package, I often wondered how many kids begged their parents to let them join only to feel left out. The old club catered directly to older fans and honestly went too obscure for some members. Sometimes odd fiction or articles would require research for the more casual fan to understand. The free model would be of service to them.

In my mind the club would be web site based and once a member signed in, they would have access to what their membership package would allow.

The free membership would have Transformers news, things like character bios and art, access to a club store, and maybe a schedule of events. This would be adequate for children and more casual fans and not make them feel like they didn't belong.

2. There would be a pay model.

In addition to the basic membership, there would be a paid premium membership. This would give them access to paid benefits that would be of more interest to the more hardcore fan who'd crave more in-depth articles. Interviews with celebrities within the Transformers world. Exclusive fiction such as prose, comics, and character bios. There would be a discount on the club store and exclusive merchandise.

I would offer a membership incentive figure, but it would be a smaller toy to help keep costs down. I would try to keep membership exclusives fairly priced and not have more than a few items a year as to not overwhelm fans who would want to be a completist on club figures. I would try to have a yearly shirt available for sale as well as a printed club annual containing the various articles and fiction from the members section. Because while print isn't as dead as some would lead you to believe, it's not for everyone anymore. I'd imagine some folks would like to get the annual each year, while others wouldn't.

3. Be ran separately from the convention.

Many felt that the existing club was just peripheral to BotCon. While it certainly wouldn't hurt to be involved with the official convention in some way, it would certainly operate independently. This would keep some members from feeling left out of some aspects of the club and allow it to feel more like a fan club in it's own right.

4. Be more community focused.

Fans have get togethers. There are several conventions. There are non Transformers conventions that offer Transformers content. Fans make art. They make custom toys. They get tattoos. They do more than buy. That being said, there would be a community section on the club site where members can showcase their activities. There might even be articles about going to the conventions and stuff. Because it's a club.

Obviously being official, the club wouldn't highlight unofficial products and toys that are sold. However wouldn't make a point to outright damn them. That way they wouldn't ostracize the fans who do participate in those unofficial items and create an unnecessary division. If any fan made a point to poo poo the club for not highlighting the unofficial stuff, then they'd basically just be ignored and not engaged in redundant arguments. An official entity should behave in such ways. While on that subject, personal beliefs would also not be included in the club as much as possible. Because fans are there because they like Transformers and that's all it should be there for.


In all honesty, that's all I got. It's just me fleshing out a daydream and there's more to running an official club than just speculation. There's various legalities and all sorts of operational issues that I haven't ever outright dealt with. I may have a clue, but not all the clues. Anyone can lift a nose towards former license holders, but it takes a certain amount of self righteousness to assume based on your own opinion. So, I can just daydream.

But I suppose there's no harm in that.

I miss OTFCC

It may be silly, but I really miss OTFCC. After The famed 3H split and the BotCon name went one way and the official license went another, OTFCC came to be.

The Official Transformers Collectors Convention only lasted two years before Hasbro pulled the license and awarded it to Fun Publications. During those two years the fandom got very heated over the matter.

Personally, I looked past the organizers issues as I never thought they were any of my business and personally made friends with Glen who was putting his all into OTFCC. It was the rare instance that an official entity had the heart of a fan convention.

The included fan club at the time only yielded one issue of its magazine, but holy crap what an issue! Instead of the small pamphlets that we got in the Fun Pub years, this was a huge publication chock full of goodness. I held onto hope that more issues would come and reread it a million times.

The convention had its problems, sure, but man was it fun. The day the news broke that it was all over was a really hard day. I still remember feeling like I lost a loved one. I know, I shouldn't view it that way, but I do. Now that Fun Pub has lost the license, I can only hope whatever follows has the heart that OTFCC had.

Or at least comes close.