The Transformers Thunderous Thirty #1 - Hound

As long-time readers are already aware, 2014 marks the thirtieth anniversary of the Transformers franchise. To celebrate this milestone, Hasbro is releasing a set of figures with a "Thrilling 30" logo (this seems to include a list of 30 specific anniversary figures — each numbered as "X of 30" — as well as a whole host of other figures not a part of that list). The first of these figures have already reached stores all over the country. In that vein, it seemed a good idea to give this blog a much-needed shot in the arm by producing its own set of Transformers-anniversary-based posts. But what to call them? Rather than simply steal "Thrilling 30" outright, I decided to look for another appropriate adjective. Thus, the "Thunderous Thirty" is about to become a reality!

For the next thirty weeks, expect to find a new feature every week, each one related to one character from the first series of Transformers figures to come out in 1984 (and this will be done without simply reposting any features on specific toys I've already covered sometime within the last eight years!). Actually, that only gets me 28 characters, so there will be two weeks where I highlight characters from some other point of the franchise, just to make it an even thirty. Who will those special characters be? Well, you'll just have to wait and see....

In the meantime, let's get started with character number one: Hound

A line in Hound's original Tech Specs bio says that he "secretly desires to be human." I'm not entirely sure the desire is all that secret. He's always expressing awe over the wonders of Earth, especially its natural terrain and features, so entirely different from the metallic terrain of Cybertron. This fits in with his role as the Autobot scout just fine. He gets to go on missions that enable him to explore the planet he is so enamoured with, all while helping the Autobot cause.

Like most of the original Transformers characters, Hound's alternate mode has changed a bit as new toys have come out for him, but even with these changes, Hound has pretty much always been a Jeep, or at least something undeniably Jeep-like (at least, so long as we're only counting toys that actually did manage to get released). Perfect for exploring all that rugged earthen terrain!

Besides being one of a handful of Autobots known for loving things related to the planet Earth (we'll get to some of the others before this series is done), Hound is most remembered for his ability to cast convincing holograms using a "hologram gun" that came with the original toy. Nothing like this weapon is included with the 2008 Universe toy seen here, nor is the ability even mentioned on the brief bio on that toy's package. Even so, it's hard to imagine Hound being without his signature ability, so I just assume it got transferred to the rocket launcher Hound still carries in both modes.

A final note related to how this "Thunderous Thirty" series is going to work. Fans familiar with this toy know that it came with a certain accessory, which itself is another character from the first year of the Transformers franchise. Traditionally, Transformers features on this blog have focused on the toy, and anything packaged together gets featured all at once. For the "Thunderous Thirty" series, I'm going to try to focus more on the character, using a toy not already depicted on the blog (if possible) to show that character off a bit. I'll get around to other characters potentially packaged with depicted toys in their due course.