BotCon 2005 Ricochet

Despite adding new entries for over 15 years now (if one goes back all the way to my first blog, Transforming Seminarian), I try not to repeat work that I've already done very often, making exceptions only when I feel that my original feature was so far off of what I would do now that an update is worthwhile. In the case of BotCon 2005 Ricochet, I really didn't even do a feature, but rather only my second (and final) attempt at a Marvel Transformers Universe-style bio, and my original entry no longer even links to a legible bio, so I'd need to do an update just to provide a more current bio link. If you're interested, here is that bio, which simply reformats the text from the card provided with the original toy. 

Generations Red Alert (2010)

It is acknowledged that disproportionate attention has long been given to characters created within just the first few years of the Transformers franchise. Arguably, this is because, having been featured in the Transformers cartoon of the 1980s, these are the characters with the most significant nostalgic appeal. Even taking this comparatively small cross-section of the franchise, we're talking about several dozen characters, and most of those got minimal time on-screen during the cartoon's run. Red Alert was a particular victim of this scarcity.

Platinum Edition Blitzwing and Astrotrain (2015)

Although the technology to produce toys has evolved in incredible ways over the 35-plus years of the Transformers franchise (so far!), there's still a demand for the occasional reissue of the original molds from the 1980s. Usually, I've treated such reissues more or less the same as I would have treated the original toys, but this set is a special case.

Thrustinator (2014)

As I've noted before, when Fun Publications came up with ideas for their exclusive toys, they had to work with molds that either Hasbro or Takara had already created, but giving them new color schemes, and perhaps a new part of two (usually a new head) to evoke the concept of a character other than that for which the mold was created. On occasion, the resulting exclusive toy was something truly inspired. Thrustinator was such an inspired concept. 

Micromaster Air Strike Patrol (1988)

In the past couple of years, the word "Micromasters" has returned to the vernacular of the Transformers franchise. Once thought replaced by the concept of the "Mini-Con," it is now possible to find toys labeled "Micromaster" on the shelves of toy stores once again. Of course, the Micromasters of today aren't quite the same as those of 30 years ago, as a quick look at one of those teams of yesteryear will demonstrate.

Animated Swindle (2008)

When I learned the sad news that legendary comedian Fred Willard passed away a couple of weeks ago at the age of 86, my immediate thought was to do a re-post of his contribution to the Transformers franchise, Animated Swindle, believing that I had featured the toy when I did a spate of Animated toys in the lead-up to BotCon 2011 (if not elsewhere). Of course, I quickly learned that I had not done a feature on Swindle at that time, so I've pulled the toy out to rectify that error now.

BotCon 2007 Dreadwind

BotCon 2007 is well-remembered among Transformers fans for the boxed set of exclusive toys that came with it. While these toys were extremely popular, they were also extremely controversial. As I've written regarding Thundercracker (and elsewhere), most of the controversy surrounds the use of the "Seeker" jets in the set, thus consigning them to exclusivity rather than allowing them to be regular retail releases. I don't agree with this interpretation for a whole host of reasons, but this article isn't about the Seekers. Rather I'm looking to discuss a figure that has largely been ignored in this debate for over a decade now: Dreadwind.