Can we get Douglas a medal, please?

 

The Underbase Saga may have been Bob Budianski's coup de grace during his long tenure on the G1 Marvel comic, but for my money nothing sums up his contribution quite like Ratbat. This was a character who managed to rise to the highest office not by scheming, backstabbing or brute force, but by simply being good at his job. That alone would make him unique among his peers, but to do all this while being a mere Soundwave accessory? That's the ultimate achievement.

I doubt there was ever any single person who had more power over Transformers fiction than Budiansky. As well as being the primary writer for the American end of the comic for the lion's share of its run, it was Budiansky who wrote all the original bios for the characters in the early days, bios that would largely influence the cartoon as well (although there are notable deviations, hello Shockwave). So when you discovered that that extra special new toy you got for Christmas was a stone-cold badass or a complete bellend, that was Budiansky.

And Ratbat? Ooooh, Ratbat. He could have been a spy like Ravage or cannon fodder like Rumble, but nope, Bob had bigger plans for Ratbat. Ratbat was to become... an accountant. Seriously, he was in charge of monitoring fuel consumption and keeping the Decepticons efficient. That alone gives a character a tremendous amount of power, in that they can decide who gets first dibs on the energon supply and who loses out. And while this power didn't necessarily give Ratbat authority at first, it turns out all he needed to do was just wait for everyone else to screw up enough that he became in charge by default. It's quite brilliant to watch, as he never actually needs to depose Shockwave, just hang around being efficient enough that everyone just starts taking orders from him instead, until Shockwave arses up enough to get himself killed. And for good measure, Ratbat's record as leader is one of the most effective in Transformers history. And he weaponised a car wash.

No wonder Tony Blair was so worried about Gordon Brown.

So this is the Fall of Cybertron Ratbat toy, probably the simplest thing that I have in my collection. All spring-loaded automorph, he turns from a chunky disc thing into... I guess you could charitably call it a bat. It certainly has a bat's head, but being a retool from Laserbeak he mostly just looks like a generic flying thingy. This is hardly a problem because... whisper it with me... G1 Ratbat never looked much like a bat either. Still, dangle him down from any extraneous light fitting, tree branch or giant robot dinosaur arm, and he looks suitably sinister. The transformation only really involves turning the wings around 180 degrees and folding everything up, but the real fun comes from transforming him back. Just drop it bottom down onto a flat surface and the automorph will kerboing him into bat mode in a single ridiculous flip. Hours of fun!



So why this Ratbat? I have a Masterpiece version as well, albeit a knockoff because, ha, buying a whole new MP Soundwave in black just for Rattlebattle? Nope nope nope. Somehow the simplicity of FOC Ratbat just makes him all the more charming, and there really isn't much else like him in my collection. I don't have FOC Soundwave to carry him around in, so Ratbat just gets to be his own guy. Fitting for the unsung champion of the Decepticon leadership. The MP RattusMcBattus is a direct descendent of his G1 self, only now with a bit more complexity, no partsforming and a better looking head. Still doesn't look that much like a bat, but at least he can disguise himself as a mini-cassette, even if my KO version doesn't lock together all that well. Considering MP Soundwave's tape deck likes to gum up even with proper mini-cassettes, I'm sure as hell not going to risk jamming it up for good with Splatbat.

Neither of these is exactly a prestige item, despite the hoops you have to jump through to get a legit MP Ratbat. They both just turn into shapes, and the upcoming Siege micromaster version is no different, even though he's now too small to ever be an actual thing. I've always liked the look of the Takara Legends version retooled from Scourge and representing his senator days in the IDW stories, but... it's not the same. Or perhaps it lessens the impact of having a silly little purple bat guy becoming the one in charge. Hell, it's like putting a Mouser in charge of the Foot Clan, or Stinky in charge of Moomin Valley.

I like Ratbat. I like him for being such a nerd. I like him because he's he leader the Decepticons need, but don't deserve, and certainly would never ask for. I like him because he proves there's still room for base competence in the bad guy ranks. I like him especially because the toy could have been relegated to being another cannon-fodder nobody who occasionally gets barfed out of Soundwave's chest (pretty much his entire role in the cartoon) but, on a whim by Bob Budiansky became one of the most powerful and dangerous members of the Decepticon hierarchy, and eventually, their leader. Not bad for a guy without hands.

 

Ironhide as Mr Meaker,
Blurr as Timothy Claypole
Trypticon as Dobbin

 

Belatedly recognising this as incontrovertible, 100% accurate, truth.

<3

 

That would be triffic. Bit short ATM but I'll give you a shout when I have some money, thanks mate!  

I still think they could have gotten a nice chunky Straxus out of the mold, using Generations Darkmount as a base.

DON'T GO INTO THE UNDERBASE!

 

Can we have a SG Ratbat based on Gordon Brown, who sells off the entire energon supply to the Autobots while it's at a record low?

 

I keep forgetting about Ratbat's accounting days. I need to adjust my classics shelf accordingly to account for this. You could also say the simplicity of the FOC figure is the most efficient one, so that's the one he uses.

 

Now Come ON! That's totally absurd!!!




The egotist jester would clearly be Hot Rod - they even share fashion sense!

 

You getting the new one me yes

 

Love it! You know, I actually met Gordon Brown during his PM days and shook his hand. I'll say this about him, if nothing else - excellent handshake. Absolutely top notch. Firm, but not dominating, not too long or too short, just the right amount of eye contact (singular) as well. I was escorting a bunch of young people I was working with at a local youth charity to a political event where they kept the guest's identity secret for security reasons - which looking back was a dead giveaway who he was. No-one would have bothered to do a terrorism on Alastair Darling.

Ah, there's a justification I wish I had. That's much more logical! I just liked the daft wee bugger.

Doubt it. I don't have Siege Soundwave so there's not a whole lot of point. It'd be going from one Ratbat who can't fit in anyone's chest to an entirely different Ratbat who can't fit in anyone's chest. Plus if I dangle the micromaster one above the rest of the Deceptileader shelf he'll be so small as to be invisible.

 

Got foc soundwave the siege fit him well which is your soundwave

 

Oddly enough, RID. I really like him, especially the blank visor. No cassettebot interactivity though which is a shame. He has the benefit of not towering over my deluxe Starscream.


I also have MP Soundwave but he's too big to be part of the main collection. But he's as good a transforming Walkman as there will ever be.

 

Umm, actually.. god, I'm a dickhead.

Watched Kuma's review of Banana Force's take on Car Robots Fire Convoy earlier. Another non-transformable piece - these are gaining traction in my collection - and while I had my doubts this one looks fantastic in his overview.

Some odd stylistic choices thinking on things (unarmored form is half arsed, he has God Fire Convoy's head(!) and no ladder, rather an over the shoulder cannon) but the articulation, colours and old school super robot aesthetics are tipping me over the edge. I can imagine how it feels in hand and it's making me giddy.

It's expensive but there's apparently rumblings of a price drop on it - currently it's only a tenner cheaper than 3A Blitzwing and that's what is holding me back as it doesn't seem in the same league.

 

Sinister.



Botcon brothers-in-arms.



The betrayal.

 

For the retro heads....

Was given an Amiga 500 by an old Gremlin programmer a few weeks ago. Was beaten up but had a fair few accessories. Varta battery had leaked on the memory upgrade card so I wasn't holding my breath the innards were any better. Ordered an rgb scart, removed the 512k expansion and waited.....

Until today....



It's alive!! Both drives are even perfectly working!

Next stop. Turrican 2.

The Amiga scene is still incredibly vibrant so a new memory expansion card, accelerator card and a sd card expansion with whdload to top it off.

Commodore heaven  

 

Not having a regular Prime head is a crime man. Fire Convoy's core body is the only Prime I've bought multiple times to display in different modes because he's so darn nice uncombined.
Been thinking of picking up a second Armada and Energon fat Prime to display traditionally, I've always displayed them combined with Jerfire and Star Sabre respectively.

 

Well said old chap! The ladies and gents in blue in the UK often get a bad rap, but having met quite a few, they are simply human beings doing a bloody amazing job given the stresses they must work under. If there happen to be any roaming this here forum, please remember that All Coppers Are Brilliant.

Anyway, back on topic; Kapow invoice for FT Jabber received.... Just a Wheelie away from a full MP/3rd party/custom Autobot movie crew

 

No worries. As it stands they have 15 and I *think* this price is until the 4th November. They seem to have them available for home delivery at the moment as well. Could always try that and if it falls through let me know.

 

Definitely Blurr, his mania and mini claypole - wheelie on a stick.

Hey teacher, leave them cops alone.