Their names are still given as "Optimus Prime" and "Megatron", though.As an aside, the cross-sell featured on the back of the Japanese Go-Bots features a regular Hasbro Soundwave, and Hasbro Sideswipe and Frenzy with hand-painted car shells.
The toy and packaging variation oddity, mystery and discovery thread
- Thread starter Nevermore
- Start date
Yes. I never questioned that. I just meant to point out that they used very early unfinished toys for the cross-sell.
Okay, so this is once again only tangentially related, but since it was included with a toy catalog, I'm counting it.
So back in 1985, when the European division of newly-acquired Hasbro subsidiary Milton Bradley handled distribution of Transformers toys in Europe, they commissioned a mini-comic that was available in all their markets. Apparently produced by Marvel UK and penciled by Barry Kitson, it was supposed to be a "pilot" of sorts for a European exclusive Transformers comic. Following the eight-page story, there is an advertisement for more Transformers comic adventures... which never materialized in this form. Sure, reprints of the Marvel comic were eventually published in Spain by Comics Forum/Planeta DeAgostini in 1985, in the Netherlands by Junior Press in 1986, in Germany by Condor Verlag in 1986, and in France by Sagediton in 1987, but I don't think that is what was originally intended.
In any case, the mini-comic was published in all four languages that were printed on the "MB"-branded toy packaging: French, Dutch, German, and Spanish. The cover was identical in all four versions:
However, there also exists what appears to be a later variant of the French version, which was presumably distributed in 1986, by which point the "MB" branding on the toy packaging had been replaced by the familiar "Hasbro" branding. The comic cover thus also features a Hasbro logo. (Originally posted here by TFW2005 member mattph76.)
mattph76 also kindly provided scans of the French version. The Spanish version was uploaded to the TFWiki Twitter account back in 2013, the German version was reprinted by IDW Publishing in the Classics UK Vol. 5 trade paperback collection back in 2014, and the Dutch version was uploaded by Ben Yee of BWTF.com ealier this year. So I have access to all four versions now!
Back in 2013, when scans of the Spanish version of the comic were shared, several fans banded together and translated the comic back into English. The scans were polished up, and the English translation was inserted into the captions and speech ballons. The fan translation was posted on the old pre-haXX0red Allspark site, but a mirrored copy is still available at TFW2005.
This year, IDW published another reprint in the "Best Of the Rarities" collection. However, unlike the previous reprint from Classics UK Vol. 5, this one has been translated into English. For whatever reason, though, IDW did not use the existing scans of the German version as a basis, but rather those of the Spanish version previously used for the fan translation. Some of the people who did the fan translation are even credited in the afterword. In fact, the translation of the comic itself is mostly identical to the fan translation, though it was apparently double-checked against the Spanish version (but not any of the other versions) in order to fix any deviations from the original for the sake of accuracy.
Here is a comparison of the first page in all six versions:
Note how in the German version, Jetfire declares himself to be not just "leader of the Autobots", but "lord over all Autobots" ("Herr über alle Autobots). Overall, the German version uses a slightly odd, flowery tone, although it does match German translations of other comics at the time in that regard. The Dinobots' shocked reaction upon seeing Soundwave killing dinosaurs is rendered as "Such a villain! He's just turning these poor creatures into ground meat!!!" Also, true to form, the "war for Cybertron" is toned down to a mere "battle for Cybertron".
The reason why Jetfire is presented as leader of the Autobots? A French toy manufacturer named Joustra had secured the licenses for Takara's Diaclone and Micro Change figures and was releasing its own version of the "Diaclone" line in Europe. As a result, all the figures released by Joustra were off-limits to Hasbro/MB, which included Optimus Prime. Hence, Jetfire was used instead. Eventually, though, Joustra and Hasbro reached a deal, providing the existing unsold stock of Joustra Diaclone figures to MB, which resulted in the first European release of Optimus Prime in late 1985. However, if you look closely, you can still spot Optimus Prime on that first page, relegated to the role of a random background extra fighting what appears to be an olive-colored Seeker:
As a result of relying solely on the Spanish version, though, several phrasings and other artifacts that are otherwise unique to the Spanish version appear in IDW's English version, in a case of misaimed hyper-accuracy. For example, the Dutch, French and German versions all spell Roadbuster's name as one word (or with a hyphen when split up across two lines), but the Spanish version insists on spelling him "Road Buster", in two words. This is then repeated in both the fan translation and IDW's "Rarities" version.
Another artifact originating with the Spanish version is the name of the Autobots' ship: In the Dutch version, it's named "de Ark" ("the Ark"), treated as a proper noun, with a capitalized "A". The same applies to the French version ("l'Arche"), while the German version spells it in allcaps ("die ARCHE"), like it does with all names. Conversely, the Spanish version calls it "el arca", without a capital "A", but consistently places in quotation marks. This is kept for the fan translation, while the IDW "Rarities" version uses "the Ark" as a proper noun, with a capitalized "A"... but still places it in quotation marks. Oof.
So back in 1985, when the European division of newly-acquired Hasbro subsidiary Milton Bradley handled distribution of Transformers toys in Europe, they commissioned a mini-comic that was available in all their markets. Apparently produced by Marvel UK and penciled by Barry Kitson, it was supposed to be a "pilot" of sorts for a European exclusive Transformers comic. Following the eight-page story, there is an advertisement for more Transformers comic adventures... which never materialized in this form. Sure, reprints of the Marvel comic were eventually published in Spain by Comics Forum/Planeta DeAgostini in 1985, in the Netherlands by Junior Press in 1986, in Germany by Condor Verlag in 1986, and in France by Sagediton in 1987, but I don't think that is what was originally intended.
In any case, the mini-comic was published in all four languages that were printed on the "MB"-branded toy packaging: French, Dutch, German, and Spanish. The cover was identical in all four versions:
However, there also exists what appears to be a later variant of the French version, which was presumably distributed in 1986, by which point the "MB" branding on the toy packaging had been replaced by the familiar "Hasbro" branding. The comic cover thus also features a Hasbro logo. (Originally posted here by TFW2005 member mattph76.)
mattph76 also kindly provided scans of the French version. The Spanish version was uploaded to the TFWiki Twitter account back in 2013, the German version was reprinted by IDW Publishing in the Classics UK Vol. 5 trade paperback collection back in 2014, and the Dutch version was uploaded by Ben Yee of BWTF.com ealier this year. So I have access to all four versions now!
Back in 2013, when scans of the Spanish version of the comic were shared, several fans banded together and translated the comic back into English. The scans were polished up, and the English translation was inserted into the captions and speech ballons. The fan translation was posted on the old pre-haXX0red Allspark site, but a mirrored copy is still available at TFW2005.
This year, IDW published another reprint in the "Best Of the Rarities" collection. However, unlike the previous reprint from Classics UK Vol. 5, this one has been translated into English. For whatever reason, though, IDW did not use the existing scans of the German version as a basis, but rather those of the Spanish version previously used for the fan translation. Some of the people who did the fan translation are even credited in the afterword. In fact, the translation of the comic itself is mostly identical to the fan translation, though it was apparently double-checked against the Spanish version (but not any of the other versions) in order to fix any deviations from the original for the sake of accuracy.
Here is a comparison of the first page in all six versions:
Note how in the German version, Jetfire declares himself to be not just "leader of the Autobots", but "lord over all Autobots" ("Herr über alle Autobots). Overall, the German version uses a slightly odd, flowery tone, although it does match German translations of other comics at the time in that regard. The Dinobots' shocked reaction upon seeing Soundwave killing dinosaurs is rendered as "Such a villain! He's just turning these poor creatures into ground meat!!!" Also, true to form, the "war for Cybertron" is toned down to a mere "battle for Cybertron".
The reason why Jetfire is presented as leader of the Autobots? A French toy manufacturer named Joustra had secured the licenses for Takara's Diaclone and Micro Change figures and was releasing its own version of the "Diaclone" line in Europe. As a result, all the figures released by Joustra were off-limits to Hasbro/MB, which included Optimus Prime. Hence, Jetfire was used instead. Eventually, though, Joustra and Hasbro reached a deal, providing the existing unsold stock of Joustra Diaclone figures to MB, which resulted in the first European release of Optimus Prime in late 1985. However, if you look closely, you can still spot Optimus Prime on that first page, relegated to the role of a random background extra fighting what appears to be an olive-colored Seeker:
As a result of relying solely on the Spanish version, though, several phrasings and other artifacts that are otherwise unique to the Spanish version appear in IDW's English version, in a case of misaimed hyper-accuracy. For example, the Dutch, French and German versions all spell Roadbuster's name as one word (or with a hyphen when split up across two lines), but the Spanish version insists on spelling him "Road Buster", in two words. This is then repeated in both the fan translation and IDW's "Rarities" version.
Another artifact originating with the Spanish version is the name of the Autobots' ship: In the Dutch version, it's named "de Ark" ("the Ark"), treated as a proper noun, with a capitalized "A". The same applies to the French version ("l'Arche"), while the German version spells it in allcaps ("die ARCHE"), like it does with all names. Conversely, the Spanish version calls it "el arca", without a capital "A", but consistently places in quotation marks. This is kept for the fan translation, while the IDW "Rarities" version uses "the Ark" as a proper noun, with a capitalized "A"... but still places it in quotation marks. Oof.
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Regarding the "Sparkler mini-bots" and "Jawbreaker": Sabrblade is at BotCon right now, and was able to ask Furman about those outdated names. From what Furman recalls, he was indeed working off the model sheets.
EDIT: Regarding the name change for Overbite/Jawbreaker/Overbite, Bob Budiansky stated that he doesn't remember any specifics.
EDIT: Regarding the name change for Overbite/Jawbreaker/Overbite, Bob Budiansky stated that he doesn't remember any specifics.
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Another one that's only tangentially related to the toys - I promise there's another genuine toy oddity coming up soon.
Anyway.
Megatron's Marvel comic designs - the black helmet, and especially the gold upper body in his early UK appearances.
Early concept designs for the Takara Micro Change Walther P-38 figure features a smaller head, and an overall leaner design:
The final toy obviously looks quite different:
There are three releases: The standard version was alternatively available in black or gray, and then there is the chromed "U.N.C.L.E. Set" with the famous scope, stock and silencer accessories that were inspired by a customized weapon used in the spy TV show "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.":
The "U.N.C.L.E." version is then used as the basis for Hasbro's Megatron figure. The character design went through a lot of revisions, with the first few versions somehow still taking cues from the early Micro Change concept design:
One of the earlier designs design that features a black helmet is then used as the basis for the animation model that appears in the TV commercial for the first issue of the Marvel comic book series, as well as in the commercial for Megatron's own toy:
Additionally, the same early design featuring the black helmet is also used as the basis for Megatron's appearances in the Marvel comics. His Transformers Universe profile depicts what is clearly not the final character model, featuring a "black" helmet (rendered in dark blue with a little black shading, intended to represent "black"):
Anyway.
Megatron's Marvel comic designs - the black helmet, and especially the gold upper body in his early UK appearances.
Early concept designs for the Takara Micro Change Walther P-38 figure features a smaller head, and an overall leaner design:
The final toy obviously looks quite different:
There are three releases: The standard version was alternatively available in black or gray, and then there is the chromed "U.N.C.L.E. Set" with the famous scope, stock and silencer accessories that were inspired by a customized weapon used in the spy TV show "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.":
The "U.N.C.L.E." version is then used as the basis for Hasbro's Megatron figure. The character design went through a lot of revisions, with the first few versions somehow still taking cues from the early Micro Change concept design:
One of the earlier designs design that features a black helmet is then used as the basis for the animation model that appears in the TV commercial for the first issue of the Marvel comic book series, as well as in the commercial for Megatron's own toy:
Additionally, the same early design featuring the black helmet is also used as the basis for Megatron's appearances in the Marvel comics. His Transformers Universe profile depicts what is clearly not the final character model, featuring a "black" helmet (rendered in dark blue with a little black shading, intended to represent "black"):
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The "black" helmet also appears in the comic itself. In fact, it remains a mainstay of Marvel US Megatron's look from the first issue until the end of the series, by which point improved printing techniques allow for a more diverse color palette, and thus the helmet is now often rendered dark gray with black shading rather than blue:
While the "U.N.C.L.E. Special" version of the Micro Change toy features silver chromed parts, the stock photos featured on the back of the packaging and in the instructions were apparently taken under lighting that makes the chromed parts appear to have a gold tint:
This in turn appears to have been used as the basis for the package art, which gives the upper chest and arms a rather prominent gold tint:
The Micro Change package art is then reused for Hasbro's Transformers figure, though with the right arm redrawn in a different position, and a pattern added to Megatron's chest. The gold tint appears even more prominent in the Transformers version of the package art than in the Micro Change version:
The same coloring is also used for the 1985 UK toy catalog, with the color contrast even more obvious in this rendition
This, in turn, influences Megatron's depiction in early Marvel UK-exclusive stories, which feature a more toy-accurate helmet, but also a very promintent gold-colored upper body. The first time this occurs is in the five-part story "The Enemy Within!" published in issues #13-17 of the UK title. Although the original printing of the story leaves several pages uncolored, coloring is added to the remaining pages for its reprint in Collected Comics #4.
While the "U.N.C.L.E. Special" version of the Micro Change toy features silver chromed parts, the stock photos featured on the back of the packaging and in the instructions were apparently taken under lighting that makes the chromed parts appear to have a gold tint:
This in turn appears to have been used as the basis for the package art, which gives the upper chest and arms a rather prominent gold tint:
The Micro Change package art is then reused for Hasbro's Transformers figure, though with the right arm redrawn in a different position, and a pattern added to Megatron's chest. The gold tint appears even more prominent in the Transformers version of the package art than in the Micro Change version:
The same coloring is also used for the 1985 UK toy catalog, with the color contrast even more obvious in this rendition
This, in turn, influences Megatron's depiction in early Marvel UK-exclusive stories, which feature a more toy-accurate helmet, but also a very promintent gold-colored upper body. The first time this occurs is in the five-part story "The Enemy Within!" published in issues #13-17 of the UK title. Although the original printing of the story leaves several pages uncolored, coloring is added to the remaining pages for its reprint in Collected Comics #4.
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The four-part continuation "Raiders of the Last Ark", published in issues #18-21 of the UK title, also keeps the gold coloration for Megatron's upper body:
The two-parter "Decepticon Dam-Busters!", published in issues #29-30, is particularly odd: Mostly an adaptation of the second part of the cartoon's three-part pilot, the comic version retains the gold coloration for Megatron's upper body nontheless, but sees a few changes: The helmet's color is now changed to black, while the lower arms are no longer colored gold, but silver. On top of that, the gold coloration is even kept for Megatron's gun mode!
The two-parter "Decepticon Dam-Busters!", published in issues #29-30, is particularly odd: Mostly an adaptation of the second part of the cartoon's three-part pilot, the comic version retains the gold coloration for Megatron's upper body nontheless, but sees a few changes: The helmet's color is now changed to black, while the lower arms are no longer colored gold, but silver. On top of that, the gold coloration is even kept for Megatron's gun mode!
The comic story "And There Shall Come...a Leader!" from the 1985 UK Annual, which swipes a lot of its artwork from the first issue of the Marvel US comic as well as from the first part of the cartoon's three-part pilot, also keeps the gold coloration:
The next time Megatron is seen is in a UK-exclusive story is in issue #45, in what's supposed to be, within the context of the story, archived footage of the events from Marvel US issue #3. This is the first time Megatron sports his traditional Marvel US color scheme in a UK-exclusive story:
The next time Megatron is seen in a present-day setting in a UK exclusive story is the three-parter "Second Generation!", published in issues #63-65. Once again, Megatron ditches the gold chest in favor of his US color scheme, which will become his default UK look as well from here on out:
That is, except for the first page of issue #64, which depicts Megatron with a gold upper body even though the previous issue, the rest of the very same issue and the following issue all depict him in his "correct" Marvel colors, as shown above:
Additionally, the by this point outdated gold coloration for Megatron's upper body is seen one last time in the 1986 UK Annual, both in an illustration for the text story "State Games" and in the comic story "Victory!":
The next time Megatron is seen is in a UK-exclusive story is in issue #45, in what's supposed to be, within the context of the story, archived footage of the events from Marvel US issue #3. This is the first time Megatron sports his traditional Marvel US color scheme in a UK-exclusive story:
The next time Megatron is seen in a present-day setting in a UK exclusive story is the three-parter "Second Generation!", published in issues #63-65. Once again, Megatron ditches the gold chest in favor of his US color scheme, which will become his default UK look as well from here on out:
That is, except for the first page of issue #64, which depicts Megatron with a gold upper body even though the previous issue, the rest of the very same issue and the following issue all depict him in his "correct" Marvel colors, as shown above:
Additionally, the by this point outdated gold coloration for Megatron's upper body is seen one last time in the 1986 UK Annual, both in an illustration for the text story "State Games" and in the comic story "Victory!":
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Okay, quick one: I've compared various early catalog images of the Jumpstarters, and there are some odd sticker variations going on.
These are the Diaclone Baku-Ten Attack Robos "Jet Type" and "Drill Tank Type" in both color variants, scanned from the book The Official Guide of Takara SF Land (source of the scan: TFWiki).
These are scans of the Jumpstarters Topspin and Twin Twist as depicted in the large and small versions of the 1985 Hasbro US pack-in catalog (source of the scans: Botch the Crab).
This is a scan of the Jumpstarters Topspin and Twin Twist as depicted in the 1985 Hasbro UK pack-in catalog (source of the scans: Botch the Crab).
You'll notice some odd sticker variation going on with Topspin and Twin Twist.
This is a scan of the Jumpstarters Topspin and Twin Twist as depicted in the 1985 Milton Bradley European pack-in catalog (source of the scans: Nathalie NHT).
This is a scan of the Jumpstarters Topspin and Twin Twist as depicted in the catalog included in the second half of the 1985 Milton Bradley European mini-comic (source of the scans: Nathalie NHT).
Despite the use of the same backdrop, those are not the same samples of Topspin and Twin Twist! The versions from the pack-in catalog again have some weird sticker variation going on, and those aren't even the same stickers as in the UK catalog photo either!
These are the Diaclone Baku-Ten Attack Robos "Jet Type" and "Drill Tank Type" in both color variants, scanned from the book The Official Guide of Takara SF Land (source of the scan: TFWiki).
These are scans of the Jumpstarters Topspin and Twin Twist as depicted in the large and small versions of the 1985 Hasbro US pack-in catalog (source of the scans: Botch the Crab).
This is a scan of the Jumpstarters Topspin and Twin Twist as depicted in the 1985 Hasbro UK pack-in catalog (source of the scans: Botch the Crab).
You'll notice some odd sticker variation going on with Topspin and Twin Twist.
This is a scan of the Jumpstarters Topspin and Twin Twist as depicted in the 1985 Milton Bradley European pack-in catalog (source of the scans: Nathalie NHT).
This is a scan of the Jumpstarters Topspin and Twin Twist as depicted in the catalog included in the second half of the 1985 Milton Bradley European mini-comic (source of the scans: Nathalie NHT).
Despite the use of the same backdrop, those are not the same samples of Topspin and Twin Twist! The versions from the pack-in catalog again have some weird sticker variation going on, and those aren't even the same stickers as in the UK catalog photo either!
Jumpstarters, part 2!
Here are scans from a 1985 French Prisunic catalog (source of the scans: Nathalie NHT).
Why is there a red-limbed and red-headed version of Topspin on the cover? It's not the Diaclone version, which looked like this:
And the toy released in Europe by Milton Bradley looked like this:
But there was one figure that used those exact colors: Salt-Man X, released by Estrela in Brazil and by Antex in Argentina. (Source: Super Toy Archive)
What is a South American Jumpstarter doing on the cover of a European catalog?
Chances are that this is what Topspin was initially supposed to look like.
The 1985 Hasbro briefing binder refers to Topspin as a "red pop-up vehicle", while Twin Twist is referred to as a "blue pop-up vehicle". (Source: The Sunbow Marvel Archive)
It gets weirder, though: This Estrela catalog depicts an early packaging sample of Salt-Man X... with blue limbs and head featured in the package art. (Source: The TFWiki Twitter)
And then there is the "battle" mural depicted on the back of the 1985 figures' packaging, which depicts Twin Twist in one of his Diaclone color schemes (red torso with blue limbs and head), while Topspin appears twice (!), both times in an inverted version of his Transformers colors (blue torso with white limbs and head), so essentially in Twin Twist's Transformers colors. (Sources: Botch the Crab and TFWiki)
Here are scans from a 1985 French Prisunic catalog (source of the scans: Nathalie NHT).
Why is there a red-limbed and red-headed version of Topspin on the cover? It's not the Diaclone version, which looked like this:
And the toy released in Europe by Milton Bradley looked like this:
But there was one figure that used those exact colors: Salt-Man X, released by Estrela in Brazil and by Antex in Argentina. (Source: Super Toy Archive)
What is a South American Jumpstarter doing on the cover of a European catalog?
Chances are that this is what Topspin was initially supposed to look like.
The 1985 Hasbro briefing binder refers to Topspin as a "red pop-up vehicle", while Twin Twist is referred to as a "blue pop-up vehicle". (Source: The Sunbow Marvel Archive)
It gets weirder, though: This Estrela catalog depicts an early packaging sample of Salt-Man X... with blue limbs and head featured in the package art. (Source: The TFWiki Twitter)
And then there is the "battle" mural depicted on the back of the 1985 figures' packaging, which depicts Twin Twist in one of his Diaclone color schemes (red torso with blue limbs and head), while Topspin appears twice (!), both times in an inverted version of his Transformers colors (blue torso with white limbs and head), so essentially in Twin Twist's Transformers colors. (Sources: Botch the Crab and TFWiki)
Ironhide/Mirage and W.A.R.S./Crosswise too:
For comparison: Restickered American packaging for W.A.R.S./Crosswise as distributed in the UK:
And for the record: The translations/localizations for "Wicked Attack Recon Sports Car" are as follows:
French - Voiture de sport à attaque maléfique
Dutch - Woeste Aanval Rally Sportwagen
German - Aufklärungs-Sportwagen
On American packaging (both variants), they are:
French - Voiture sport à attaque maléfique
Spanish - Auto deportivo con ataque malvado
EDIT: Basic Optimus Prime in French/Spanish/Italian/German packaging:
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Another eBay listing with an Armada-packaged Dirt Boss:
Still no Downshift, nor Spiral, Oval or Backtrack.
Hasbro 2003 Transformers Armada Dort Boss Mirage Figur Neu Versiegelt Karte RAR | eBay
<p>Transformers </p><p>zustand : NEU</p><p>Achtung !!!! Nicht für Kleinkinder kleinteile können verschluckt werden </p><p>Name wird verwendet da er zum Artikel gehört </p><br /><p>Aufgrund der Lichtverhältnisse bei der Produktfotografie und unterschiedlichen Bildschirmeinstellungen kann es dazu...
www.ebay.de
Still no Downshift, nor Spiral, Oval or Backtrack.
When Hasbro themselves couldn't agree on what to name a toy.
In September of 2015, US-based distributor BBCW Distributors put up a listing for wave 3 of the Robots in Disguise Mini-Cons. Among those was a figure listed under the name "Decepticon Back".
news.tfw2005.com
Back then, that name seemed somewhat weird. It seemingly made more sense in of October of 2015, when US-based online retailer ToyWiz put up its own listing and instead named the figure "Backfire", which sounded more like a "proper" Transformers name than "Back".
But then, just one day later, US-based online retailer Big Bad Toy Store put up its own listing, but instead of "Backfire", the figure was now listed as "Kickback".
Still that same day, US-based online retailer Entertainment Earth also put up its own listing, but instead of "Backfire" or "Kickback", the figure was once again just called "Decepticon Back".
In November 2015, the Robots in Disguise mobile game app received a major update that indirectly revealed numerous then upcoming toys, with one of them being a Mini-Con named "Back", thus giving us the first look at the character.
But then, just a few days later, Entertainment Earth got the actual figure in stock. Still lacking official Hasbro stock photos by that point, Entertainment Earth took their own photos, which revealed that the figure that had previously been listed as "Decepticon Back", "Backfire", "Kickback" and then "Decepticon Back" again was actually named... "Decepticon Forth".
Again a few days later, ToyWiz and Big Bad Toy Store also got the wave in stock and put up their own photos, with the name on the packaging again being "Decepticon Forth".
You'd think the weirdness ended here, but that was only the beginning!
Only a few days later, Hasbro held a Google Hangout event during which they provided stock photos and renders for then recent and upcoming toys to participating fansites. Among those were the wave 3 Mini-Cons, with one of them once again being named "Dec[epticon] Back" in the file names.
Okay, you might say. That was probably an early working name that got changed for the final product, with the file names for the stock renders never having gotten updated, right? The same thing happened with Thrilling 30 Skrapnel and Tailgate's partner figure Groundbuster, who were named "Sharpshot" and "Groundpounder" when first revealed at San Diego Comic-Con 2013.
But then, in December of 2015, several Hong Kong-based online retailers - Element Plus Toy, Robot Kingdom and Action Robo - also got the wave 3 Mini-Cons in stock, as did Japanese importer Monster Japan, and to everyone's surprise, the name printed on the mystery figure's packaging was not, in fact, "Decepticon Forth" like with those US-based online retailers... but actually "Decepticon Back"!
So the figure was named "Decepticon Forth" in the United States, but "Decepticon Back" in Asia?
Around this time, official Hasbro stock photos of the wave 3 Mini-Cons (in European packaging) were revealed, with the name of our mystery figure once again being "Decepticon Back".
Additionally, German online retailer Spieletom got the wave in stock, and the figure's name printed on European packaging was indeed once again "Decepticon Back".
Meanwhile, several US-based eBay sellers put up their listings for the figure, with the name on the packaging being... you guessed it... "Decepticon Forth".
So the figure was named "Decepticon Forth" in the United States, but "Decepticon Back" in Asia and Europe?
Around the same time, Hasbro revealed their official stock photos for wave 2 of the Mini-Con Battle Packs, one of which saw Grimlock paired with a redeco of our mystery figure, which was once again named "Decepticon Back".
Unlike the single-packed Mini-Con, there was never a packaging variant of the Battle Pack that featured the name "Decepticon Forth", but it still gets weirder!
In April of 2016, the Robots in Disguise cartoon episode "Impounded" premiered, which featured the debut not only of Back, but also of his fellow Mini-Con Forth, who looked quite different than Back (and thus, the "Decepticon Forth" toy).
Following a long delay, wave 3 of the single-packed Mini-Cons was finally found at US brick and mortar retail in July of 2016, though only at discount chains such as Marshalls. Contrary to the stock those US-based online retailers and eBay sellers had received, this production run also featured the name "Decepticon Back" on the figure's packaging.
Okay, you might say. So "Decepticon Forth" was the name used for an early production run, but the later (and more common) version is named "Decepticon Back", which is to be considered the final, correct name, right?
Ha! If only it were that simple. That same day wave 3 was first found at Marshalls in the United States, there was a sighting of both the "Decepticon Back" and "Decepticon Forth" packaging variants side by side at the same store!
Okay, you might say. That's clearly some old stock. All the evidence still points towards Hasbro having settled on the name "Back" for this Mini-Con, with "Forth" in the cartoon using a completely different design that never got a toy, and the toys with "Decepticon Forth" on the packaging were just an error that got fixed with subsequent production runs. Right?
Right?
One day after the first US retail sighting of both "Decepticon Back" and the "Decepticon Forth" variant, a "Mini-Con Mega-Pack" was revealed, featuring a whopping fifteen Mini-Con figures, most of which were either completely unchanged, or minimally redecoed from their previous releases.
One of these fifteen Mini-Cons was our favorite Cyclone figure with an identity crisis, in a minimal redeco of his single-packed release. The name featured on the back of the packaging? "Decepticon Forth".
And unlike the single-packed figure, there has never been a packaging variant of the Mega-Pack featuring a different name documented. Sure, there's a version in multilingual American packaging in addition to the more common version in multilingual European packaging, but that one still calls him "Decepticon Forth".
In September of 2015, US-based distributor BBCW Distributors put up a listing for wave 3 of the Robots in Disguise Mini-Cons. Among those was a figure listed under the name "Decepticon Back".
Robots In Disguise New Mini-Cons Incoming?
The Robots In Disguise news continues to roll in today, again originating from BBCW Distributors. According to an order listing on their page, RID Min-Cons appear to be receiving a third wave featuring Swelter, Decepticon Back, Decepticon Hammer, and Slipstream (a possible second release?)...
news.tfw2005.com
Back then, that name seemed somewhat weird. It seemingly made more sense in of October of 2015, when US-based online retailer ToyWiz put up its own listing and instead named the figure "Backfire", which sounded more like a "proper" Transformers name than "Back".
But then, just one day later, US-based online retailer Big Bad Toy Store put up its own listing, but instead of "Backfire", the figure was now listed as "Kickback".
Still that same day, US-based online retailer Entertainment Earth also put up its own listing, but instead of "Backfire" or "Kickback", the figure was once again just called "Decepticon Back".
In November 2015, the Robots in Disguise mobile game app received a major update that indirectly revealed numerous then upcoming toys, with one of them being a Mini-Con named "Back", thus giving us the first look at the character.
But then, just a few days later, Entertainment Earth got the actual figure in stock. Still lacking official Hasbro stock photos by that point, Entertainment Earth took their own photos, which revealed that the figure that had previously been listed as "Decepticon Back", "Backfire", "Kickback" and then "Decepticon Back" again was actually named... "Decepticon Forth".
Again a few days later, ToyWiz and Big Bad Toy Store also got the wave in stock and put up their own photos, with the name on the packaging again being "Decepticon Forth".
You'd think the weirdness ended here, but that was only the beginning!
Only a few days later, Hasbro held a Google Hangout event during which they provided stock photos and renders for then recent and upcoming toys to participating fansites. Among those were the wave 3 Mini-Cons, with one of them once again being named "Dec[epticon] Back" in the file names.
Okay, you might say. That was probably an early working name that got changed for the final product, with the file names for the stock renders never having gotten updated, right? The same thing happened with Thrilling 30 Skrapnel and Tailgate's partner figure Groundbuster, who were named "Sharpshot" and "Groundpounder" when first revealed at San Diego Comic-Con 2013.
But then, in December of 2015, several Hong Kong-based online retailers - Element Plus Toy, Robot Kingdom and Action Robo - also got the wave 3 Mini-Cons in stock, as did Japanese importer Monster Japan, and to everyone's surprise, the name printed on the mystery figure's packaging was not, in fact, "Decepticon Forth" like with those US-based online retailers... but actually "Decepticon Back"!
So the figure was named "Decepticon Forth" in the United States, but "Decepticon Back" in Asia?
Around this time, official Hasbro stock photos of the wave 3 Mini-Cons (in European packaging) were revealed, with the name of our mystery figure once again being "Decepticon Back".
Additionally, German online retailer Spieletom got the wave in stock, and the figure's name printed on European packaging was indeed once again "Decepticon Back".
Meanwhile, several US-based eBay sellers put up their listings for the figure, with the name on the packaging being... you guessed it... "Decepticon Forth".
So the figure was named "Decepticon Forth" in the United States, but "Decepticon Back" in Asia and Europe?
Around the same time, Hasbro revealed their official stock photos for wave 2 of the Mini-Con Battle Packs, one of which saw Grimlock paired with a redeco of our mystery figure, which was once again named "Decepticon Back".
Unlike the single-packed Mini-Con, there was never a packaging variant of the Battle Pack that featured the name "Decepticon Forth", but it still gets weirder!
In April of 2016, the Robots in Disguise cartoon episode "Impounded" premiered, which featured the debut not only of Back, but also of his fellow Mini-Con Forth, who looked quite different than Back (and thus, the "Decepticon Forth" toy).
Following a long delay, wave 3 of the single-packed Mini-Cons was finally found at US brick and mortar retail in July of 2016, though only at discount chains such as Marshalls. Contrary to the stock those US-based online retailers and eBay sellers had received, this production run also featured the name "Decepticon Back" on the figure's packaging.
Okay, you might say. So "Decepticon Forth" was the name used for an early production run, but the later (and more common) version is named "Decepticon Back", which is to be considered the final, correct name, right?
Ha! If only it were that simple. That same day wave 3 was first found at Marshalls in the United States, there was a sighting of both the "Decepticon Back" and "Decepticon Forth" packaging variants side by side at the same store!
Okay, you might say. That's clearly some old stock. All the evidence still points towards Hasbro having settled on the name "Back" for this Mini-Con, with "Forth" in the cartoon using a completely different design that never got a toy, and the toys with "Decepticon Forth" on the packaging were just an error that got fixed with subsequent production runs. Right?
Right?
One day after the first US retail sighting of both "Decepticon Back" and the "Decepticon Forth" variant, a "Mini-Con Mega-Pack" was revealed, featuring a whopping fifteen Mini-Con figures, most of which were either completely unchanged, or minimally redecoed from their previous releases.
One of these fifteen Mini-Cons was our favorite Cyclone figure with an identity crisis, in a minimal redeco of his single-packed release. The name featured on the back of the packaging? "Decepticon Forth".
And unlike the single-packed figure, there has never been a packaging variant of the Mega-Pack featuring a different name documented. Sure, there's a version in multilingual American packaging in addition to the more common version in multilingual European packaging, but that one still calls him "Decepticon Forth".
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The names getting swapped back and forth between them as a pair makes more sense than Hasbro being so indecisive about one on its own.
And there was probably an intent for the two different decos to have the opposite names from each other, despite neither resembling what Forth looked like in the cartoon.
And there was probably an intent for the two different decos to have the opposite names from each other, despite neither resembling what Forth looked like in the cartoon.
This is not actually a toy variation, but rather an example of how the same toy can look drastically different in different photos.
And in this case, it had actual consequences regarding modern toys.
This is G1 Ground Hog from the Micromaster Race Track Patrol:
As you can see, his color can vary between purple and blue depending on the lighting conditions and the specific camera used.
This is Ground Hog's teammate Motorhead (insert the obligatory Lemmy joke), who was gang-molded with Ground Hog and thus features the same plastic colors, only inverted:
This is how Ground Hog and Motorhead were depicted in Dreamwave's "More Than Meets the Eye" guidebook:
Ground Hog here is defintely more on the blue side, with a very bright yellow, whereas Motorhead is a much more orange-y yellow, and more purple.
This influenced the 2020 Earthrise toy of Ground Hog, who was positively blue:
And in this case, it had actual consequences regarding modern toys.
This is G1 Ground Hog from the Micromaster Race Track Patrol:
As you can see, his color can vary between purple and blue depending on the lighting conditions and the specific camera used.
This is Ground Hog's teammate Motorhead (insert the obligatory Lemmy joke), who was gang-molded with Ground Hog and thus features the same plastic colors, only inverted:
This is how Ground Hog and Motorhead were depicted in Dreamwave's "More Than Meets the Eye" guidebook:
Ground Hog here is defintely more on the blue side, with a very bright yellow, whereas Motorhead is a much more orange-y yellow, and more purple.
This influenced the 2020 Earthrise toy of Ground Hog, who was positively blue:
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It gets worse, though: This is Ground Hog and Motorhead's teammate Barricade (who is not looking for Ladiesman217):
While there is little ambiguity regarding the pink/peach color used for is head, torso and upper legs, the plastic color used for his car shell, his arms and lower legs ranges between a relatively dark blue and borderline teal!
And this is the final member of the Decepticon Race Track Patrol, Roller Force:
Again, the bigger variation is in the plastic color used for his head, torso and upper legs, though the last set of photos makes his car shell, arms and lower legs look oddly pale.
This is how they all look in the same photo:
Very obvious contrast between Ground Hog and Barricade.
Now Dreamwave's MTMTE profiles:
Note how dark Barricade's blue color look here, whereas it's much brighter for Roller Force. Also, the "pink" color is definitely more of a red here, especially on Roller Force.
While there is little ambiguity regarding the pink/peach color used for is head, torso and upper legs, the plastic color used for his car shell, his arms and lower legs ranges between a relatively dark blue and borderline teal!
And this is the final member of the Decepticon Race Track Patrol, Roller Force:
Again, the bigger variation is in the plastic color used for his head, torso and upper legs, though the last set of photos makes his car shell, arms and lower legs look oddly pale.
This is how they all look in the same photo:
Very obvious contrast between Ground Hog and Barricade.
Now Dreamwave's MTMTE profiles:
Note how dark Barricade's blue color look here, whereas it's much brighter for Roller Force. Also, the "pink" color is definitely more of a red here, especially on Roller Force.
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Roller Force's Earthrise toy, which was available in a two-pack with Ground Hog, ended up with a very inaccurate purple plastic color which doesn't seem to be based on anything:
Why is the spoiler the only part of him painted in the correct color?
Even worse, though, is what happened with Barricade and Motorhead in the "Galactic Odyssey" Micromaster six-pack. I don't mean the fact that they were straight redecos of Roller Force and Ground Hog, respectively - but rather the colors used, which not only completely ruin the "matching colors" feature of the G1 Micromaster teams, but also... see for yourself:
Both Ground Hog (whose G1 toy was clearly purple) and Barricade (whose G1 toy veered more toward teal) are deep blue - in fact, the photos don't even propely convey the full extent of this insanity - Barricade's blue plastic is darker than Ground Hog's!
Meanwhile, the paint colors used for Barricade and Motorhead's heads, torsos and upper legs are much more accurate to their G1 counterparts than the plastic colors used for Ground Hog and Roller Force.
Yikes.
Why is the spoiler the only part of him painted in the correct color?
Even worse, though, is what happened with Barricade and Motorhead in the "Galactic Odyssey" Micromaster six-pack. I don't mean the fact that they were straight redecos of Roller Force and Ground Hog, respectively - but rather the colors used, which not only completely ruin the "matching colors" feature of the G1 Micromaster teams, but also... see for yourself:
Both Ground Hog (whose G1 toy was clearly purple) and Barricade (whose G1 toy veered more toward teal) are deep blue - in fact, the photos don't even propely convey the full extent of this insanity - Barricade's blue plastic is darker than Ground Hog's!
Meanwhile, the paint colors used for Barricade and Motorhead's heads, torsos and upper legs are much more accurate to their G1 counterparts than the plastic colors used for Ground Hog and Roller Force.
Yikes.
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