Tag Archives: Bombshell

Transformers Collection – Combiner Wars/Unite Warriors

And so the great cataloging of my personal collection continues.

The next instalment of the Generations line and the first installment of the Prime Wars Trilogy was Combiner Wars.  This is a toyline that a lot of people – now near a full decade later – tend to disparage.  However personally I feel that is both unwaranted and unjustified.  Combiner Wars brought back many of the classic Combiner teams,including many of the Scramble City groups such as the Aerialbots & Stunticons.  It introduced new teams such that which made the first female combiner Victorion, and best of all it’s signature piece was a huge Devastator, which remains the largest mainline gestalt ever made!

Toy Review – Unite Warriors Computron VS Combiner Wars Computron

The companion line in Japan was Unite Warriors.  These featured most of the same teams but with new paintjobs, and sometimes differered the moulds that Combiner Wars used for various individuals – the Technobots being a prime example.  So if you wanted to have both the Combiner and the bots who made them up on display, picking up both lines was a great option! (also the Aussie dollar was very strong back then, making it affordable enough to do so.  Sadly no longer the case).

 

My Transformers Combiner Wars/Unite Warrriors Collection

 

CW/UW Autobots

 

*Item #ACW0001: Transformers Autobot Windcharger

*Item #ACW0002: Transformers Autobot Warpath

*Item #ACW0003: Transformers Autobot Huffer

*Item #ACW0004: Transformers Junkion Wreck-Gar

*Item #ACW0005: Transformers Autobot Pipes

 

Combiner Wars Optimus Maximus, consisting of:

*Item #ACW0006: Transformers Autobot Optimus Prime

*Item #ACW0007: Transformers Autobot Ironhide

*Item #ACW0008: Transformers Autobot Mirage

*Item #ACW0009: Transformers Autobot Prowl

*Item #ACW0010: Transformers Autobot Stunstreaker

*Item #ACW0011: Transformers Autobot Hot Rod

 

Combiner Wars Sky Reign, consisting of:

*Item #ACW0012: Transformers Autobot Sky Lynx

*Item #ACW0013: Transformers Autobot Wheeljack

*Item #ACW0014: Transformers Autobot Trailbreaker

*Item #ACW0015: Transformers Autobot Hound

*Item #ACW0016: Transformers Autobot Smokescreen

 

Combiner Wars Victorion, consisting of:

*Item #ACW0017: Transformers Torchbearer Pyra Magna

(torso)

*Item #ACW0018: Transformers Torchbearer Rust Dust

(chest)

*Item #ACW0019: Transformers Torchbearer Skyburst

(arm)

*Item #ACW0020: Transformers Torchbearer Stormclash

(arm)

*Item #ACW0021: Transformers Torchbearer Dust Up

(leg)

*Item #ACW0022: Transformers Torchbearer Jumpstream (leg)

 

-Combiner Wars Superion, consisting of

*Item #ACW0023: Transformers Aerielbot Silverbolt

(torso)

*Item #ACW0024: Transformers Aerielbot Air Raid

(limb)

*Item #ACW0025: Transformers Aerielbot Sky Dive

(limb)

*Item #ACW0026: Transformers Aerielbot Firefly

(limb)

*Item #ACW0027: Transformers Aerielbot Slingshot

(limb)

*Item #AUW0001: Transformers Aerielbot Silverbolt

*Item #ACW0028: Transformers Aerielbot Alpha Bravo

*Item #AUW0002: Transformers Aerielbot Air Raider

*Item #AUW0003: Transformers Aerielbot Firebolt

*Item #AUW0004: Transformers Aerielbot Skydive

*Item #AUW0005: Transformers Aerielbot Sling

*Item #ACW0029: Transformers Aerielbot Powerglide

 

-Combiner Wars Defensor, consisting of:

*Item #ACW0030: Transformers Protectobot Hot Spot

(torso)

*Item #ACW0031: Transformers Protectobot Groove

(chest)

*Item #ACW0032: Transformers Protectobot First Aid

(right arm)

*Item #ACW0033: Transformers Protectobot Blades

(left arm)

*Item #ACW0034: Transformers Protectobot Streetwise

(right leg)

*Item #ACW0035: Transformers Protectobot Rook

(left leg)

*Item #AUW0006: Transformers Protectobot Hot Spot

*Item #ACW0036: Transformers Protectobot Rook

*Item #AUW0007: Transformers Protectobot Graze

*Item #AUW0008: Transformers Protectobot Groove

*Item #AUW0009: Transformers Protectobot Streetwise

*Item #AUW0010: Transformers Protectobot First Aid

 

-Combiner Wars Computron, consisting of:

*Item #ACW0037: Transformers Technobot Scattershot

*Item #ACW0038: Transformers Technobot Afterburner

(right arm)

*Item #ACW0039: Transformers Technobot Strafe

(left arm)

*Item #ACW0040: Transformers Technobot Lightspeed

(right leg)

*Item #ACW0041: Transformers Technobot Nosecone

(left leg)

*Item #AUW0011: Transformers Technobot Scattershot

*Item #AUW0012: Transformers Technobot Afterbreaker

*Item #AUW0013: Transformers Technobot Strafe

*Item #AUW0014: Transformers Technobot Lightsteed

*Item #AUW0015: Transformers Technobot Nosecone

*Item #ACW0042: Transformers Technobot Scrounge

*Item #ACW0043: Transformers Technobot Cybaxx

*Item #ACW0044: Transformers Technobot Scattershot (vehicle mode)

 

CW/UW Decepticons

 

*Item #DCW0001: Transformers Decepticon Megatron

*Item #DCW0002: Transformers Decepticon Armada Megatron

 

*Item #DCW0003: Transformers Decepticon Starscream

*Item #DCW0004: Transformers Decepticon Thundercracker

*Item #DCW0005: Transformers Decepticon Skywarp

 

*Item #DCW0006: Transformers Decepticon Skywarp

*Item #DCW0007: Transformers Decepticon Thundercracker

 

*Item #DCW0008: Transformers Decepticon Shockwave

*Item #DCW0009: Transformers Decepticon Viper

 

*Item #DCW0010: Transformers Insecticon Bombshell

*Item #DCW0011: Transformers Insecticon Chop Shop

 

*Item #DCW0012: Transformers Decepticon Buzzsaw

 

*Item #DCW0013: Transformers Decepticon Cyclonus

 

-Combiner Wars Devastator, consisting of

*Item #DCW0014: Transformers Constructicon Long Haul

(torso)

*Item #DCW0015: Transformers Constructicon Hook

(head & shoulders)

*Item #DCW0016: Transformers Constructicon Scavenger

(right arm)

*Item #DCW0017: Transformers Constructicon Bonecrusher

(left arm)

*Item #DCW0018: Transformers Constructicon Scrapper

(right leg)

*Item #DCW0019: Transformers Constructicon Mixmaster

(left leg)

*Item #DUW0001: Transformers Constructicon Long Haul

*Item #DUW0002: Transformers Constructicon Hook

*Item #DUW0003: Transformers Constructicon Scavenger

*Item #DUW0004: Transformers Constructicon Bonecrusher

*Item #DUW0005: Transformers Constructicon Scrapper

*Item #DUW0006: Transformers Constructicon Mixmaster

 

-Combiner Wars Menasor, consisting of:

*Item #DCW0020: Transformers Stunticon Motormaster

(torso)

*Item #DCW0021: Transformers Stunticon Blackjack

(chest)

*Item #DCW0022: Transformers Stunticon Drag Strip

(right arm)

*Item #DCW0023: Transformers Stunticon Dead End

(left arm)

*Item #DCW0024: Transformers Stunticon Brake-Neck

(leg)

*Item #DCW0025: Transformers Stunticon Breakdown

(leg)

*Item #DUW0007: Transformers Stunticon Motormaster

*Item #DCW0026: Transformers Stunticon Offroad

*Item #DUW0008: Transformers Stunticon Breakdown

*Item #DUW0009: Transformers Stunticon Drag Stripe

*Item #DUW0010: Transformers Stunticon Dead End

*Item #DUW0011: Transformers Stunticon Wildrider

*Item #DCW0027: Transformers Stunticon Blackjack

 

-Combiner Wars Bruticus, consisting of:

*Item #DCW0028: Transformers Combaticon Onslaught

(torso)

*Item #DCW0029: Transformers Combaticon Vortex

(right arm)

*Item #DCW0030: Transformers Combaticon Blast Off

(left arm)

*Item #DCW0031: Transformers Combaticon Swindle

(right leg)

*Item #DCW0032: Transformers Combaticon Brawl

(left leg)

-Combiner Wars G2 Bruticus, consisting of:

*Item #DCW0033: Transformers G2 Combaticon Onslaught

(torso)

*Item #DCW0034: Transformers G2 Combaticon Vortex

(right arm)

*Item #DCW0035: Transformers G2 Combaticon Blast Off

(left arm)

*Item #DCW0036: Transformers G2 Combaticon Swindle

(right leg)

*Item #DCW0037: Transformers G2 Combaticon Brawl

(left leg)

*Item #DUW0012: Transformers Combaticon Onslaught

*Item #DUW0013: Transformers Combaticon Vorter

*Item #DUW0014: Transformers Combaticon Swindle

*Item #DUW0015: Transformers Combaticon Brawl

*Item #DUW0016: Transformers Combaticon Blast Off

*Item #DCW0038: Transformers Combaticon G2 Shockwave

 

-Combiner Wars Liokaiser, consisting of:

*Item #DCW0039: Transformers Decepticon Dezarus

(torso)

*Item #DCW0040: Transformers Decepticon Guyhawk

(right arm)

*Item #DCW0041: Transformers Decepticon Fellbat

(left arm)

*Item #DCW0042: Transformers Decepticon Drillhorn

(right leg)

*Item #DCW0043: Transformers Decepticon Ironbison

(left leg)

*Item #DCW0044: Transformers Decepticon Ion Sythe

(sword)

 

UW-EX Woman Destron Combined Female Soldier Megatronia, consisting of:

*Item #DUW0017: Transformers Destron Megaempress

(torso)

*Item #DUW0018: Transformers Destron Lunaclub

(arm)

*Item #DUW0019: Transformers Destron Moonheart

(arm)

*Item #DUW0020: Transformers Destron Flowspade
(leg)

*Item #DUW0021: Transformers Destron Trickdiamond

(leg)

 

Count: 124

 

Toys Review – the Combiner Wars Combaticons!

Who became Cyclonus? Skywarp, Bombshell or an Insecticon Clone?

There are certain debates that run in fandoms, sometimes for decades.

Star Wars: Why didn’t Anakin’s rich princess girlfriend ever buy Anakin’s mother out of slavery for him, and why when he was a powerful Jedi did he wait so long to go back for her?

Star Trek: How was it Kirk could spend decades surviving every danger in the galaxy, even getting into a fight with God, yet was killed by a rickety bridge on  some backwards planet?

Harry Potter: If Voldermort had no nose, how did he smell?

 

In the 1986 film The Transformers: The Movie, amongst numerous other animation errors, there was at one point two of Cyclonus.  One seeming to be reformatted from Bombshell, the other from Skywarp.  The second Cyclonus (sometimes called ‘Armada’) quickly disappeared.

So fans have been arguing for decades – Who became Cyclonus?  Bombshell or Skywarp?

Well truth be told, there is no real answer.  In the original script, just like how Scourge (reformatted from Thundercracker) had a slew of identical looking bots to him called The Sweeps, so the script called for there to be multiple bots that looked like Cyclonus.

Toys Review – Studio Series Hot Rod & Scourge

This idea was dropped from the script, but not before the animation had been produced and included, which resulted in there being two of Cyclonus on screen.

So no, there is no official answer.  It’s an animation error, plain and simple.

 

So perhaps the question should be.  Which bot does it make more sense for to be turned into Cyclonus – Bombshell or Skywarp?

 

Some fans argue vehemently that it should be Bombshell as he was the closer one to screen during the reformatting.  Bombshell was most prominent, so therefore it should be Bombshell.  There have also been a few pieces of ancillary media, such as the Transformers Universe comic and a 2003 video game that state Bombshell became Cyclonus.

Cyclonus & Skywarp side by side

But at this risk of irritating these fans, and thus reigniting a geek-war which has never truly died, I argue that it should be Skywarp.  In fact, I argue that Bombshell should not even be considered as it makes more sense for it to have been an Insecticon Clone.  Let’s look at why.

 

Vehicle Symmetry

Thundercracker, the blue jet, was reformatted into Scourge, a blue Cybertronian flying craft.  Therefore it makes sense for Skywarp, the black jet with purple accents, to be reformatted into Cyclonus, a purple Cybertronian flying craft.

 

Toy placement

1985 Catalog

In the 1985 catalog there were 6 Decepticon jets, Starscream, Dirge, Ramjet, Thrust, Skywarp and Thundercracker.  In the 1986 catalog, Skywarp and Thundercracker were replaced with Cyclonus and Scourge.

1986 Catalog

 

Loyalty

Skywarp & Megatron

Skywarp was never shown to betray Megatron, whereas the Insecticons were famous for it.  Cyclonus is intensely loyal to Galvatron, showing none of the disloyalty the Insecticons did.

Cyclonus & Galvatron

 

DVD Releases

In several DVD releases of the movie, in special features it states that Skywarp becomes Cyclonus.

 

Japanese Continuity

Unlike with many western audiences, the Japanese take on the continuity has always been relatively free of debate.  Indeed in the story Macrocosmic Seekers Cyclonus regresses and rediscovers the teleportation ability he once possessed as Skywarp.  The bio for the latest Masterpiece Skywarp also states that he eventually becomes Cyclonus.

 

Replication

So many Insecticon Clones…

The Insecticons Clones have been shown to replicate.  The Sweeps are also assumed to replicate, since no matter how many get destroyed (only 3 were initially created by Unicron in the movie) there always seems to be more.  In the episode ‘Call of the Primitives’ one is heard to say ‘Sweeps 6 & 7 coming in for a strike’.  Skywarp had a teleportation ability, not a cloning ability, so it makes no sense for him to have become a Sweep.

… and now so many Sweeps
Sweeps & Insecticlones – you never run out of either.

 

InsectiClones, not InsectiCons.

The Insecticons were still in S3 of the cartoon

To muddy the waters even more, in my opinion, it makes much more sense for it to have been Insecticon Clones rather than the original trio.  This is based on the Insecticons showing up further in the movie at later stages, as well as season 3 of the cartoon.  Since Insecticon clones have never been shown to exist without in some way being connected to their projinators, it makes sense that it was Clones, not the Insecticons themselves that were reformatted.  This again ties into the idea that this is why the Sweeps can replicate.  From a sales standpoint, the Insecticons were still being sold in 1986, whereas Thundercracker and Skywarp had been discontinued, so it makes sense for the characters to have not been killed off before thier toys were.

Season 3, Episode 1
Season 3, Episode 3
Season 3, Episode 5

 

Now I am aware that there are counterarguments to much of what I have cited, such as S3 of the cartoon is infamous for its animation errors.  Kickback was shown getting gravely injured by Kup, so it only makes sense for him to have been thrown out of Astrotrain etc.  Skywarp was way off in the background, so he is the one that became ‘Armada’.  I’m sure a dedicated fan with some spare time could pick holes in much of what I have said. Like mentioned earlier, remember –  there is no real answer, the whole debate is based on an animation error in a 38 year old movie designed to sell toys!

   But Cyclonus becoming Skywarp?  That makes the most sense to me 😉

Cyclonus: “Wait, some of you still think I was created from that little bug guy?!”

Do you agree, or are you adamant that it was Bombshell that became Cyclonus?  State your theory in the comments section below!

Transformers Collection – Generation One Decepticons

 

 

Video – My 100+ Generations Decepticons

For a bit of fun and a bit of comparison I pulled out of my storage crates a lot of my Decepticons.  In particular, toys that were updates of classic characters, mainly (but not exclusively) from G1.    I was amazed and how many characters have gotten new toys!

So enjoy this short video I made of the display.  Also below you will find some screenshots and a full list of the Decepticons on display along with links to reviews of many of the figures displayed here – have fun!

 

 

 

 

Acid Storm, Apeface, Astrotrain, Axor,

Banzaitron, Battletrap, Bonecrusher, Black Arachnia, Blast Off, Blitzwing, Bludgeon, Bombshell, Breakdown, Brawl, Bruticus, Buzzsaw,

Caliburst, Catgut, Chop Shop, Cyclonus,

Darkmount, Darkwing, Dead End, Devestator, Dirge, Doubledealer, Drag Strip, Dreadwind, Dreadwing,

Fangry, Frenzy, Full-Tilt, 

Galvatron, Gnaw, Grabuge

Hook, Hun-Grrr, 

Jhaixus,

Kickback, Krok,

Laserbeak, Leozack, Liokaiser, Long Haul,

Megatron, Menasor, Mindwipe, Misfire, Mixmaster, Motormaster,

Needlenose, Nightbird, Nightstick, Nemesis Striker,

Octone, Onslaught, Overkill, Overlord

Pounce

Quake

Ramjet, Rampage, Ratbat, Ravage, Rippersnapper, Rodimus Unicronus, Rumble, Runabout

Scavenger, Scourge, Scorponok, Scrapper, Shockwave, Singe, Sixshot, Shrute, Skrapnel, Skullgrin, Skullsmasher, Sky Byte, Sky Shadow, Skywarp, Slice, Slipstream, Slugslinger, Soundblaster, Soundwave, Spinister, Starscream, Submarauder, Sunbeam, Swindle

Tankorr, Thrust, Thundercracker, Thunderwing, Treadshot, Triggerhappy, Trypticon

Vortex

Waspinator, Wildrider, WingspanWindsweeper, Wolfwire,

Zputty