Since I don't know if we ever had one (in which I'm sure we did, but God knows what happened to it), I've taken the liberty to start a new Alternate modes ID thread. The idea is to provide as much accurate information on each character's alt. mode as possible, specifying the year, manufacturer, and model whenever possible. I'll get the ball rolling: Generation One: Optimus Prime - White-Freightliner COE, circa 1980 Jazz - 1976 Le Mans Martini Racer #4 Porsche 935 Turbo Bumblebee - 1970s Classic Volkswagen Beetle Windcharger - 1970s-1980s Pontiac Trans Am Ironhide - 1983 Nissan Onebox Vanette Ratchet - 1983 Nissan Onebox Vanette (Ambulance Variant) Warpath - Sheridan Tank Powerglide - A-10 Thunderbolt or "Warthog" Tracks - 1983 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Sideswipe - 1977 Lamborghini Countach LP500s Sunstreaker - 1977 Lamborghini Countach LP500s (Customized tuning) Cliffjumper - 1983 Porsche 924 Turbo Huffer - 1980s Cabover (GMC, Isuzu, Ford?) Gears - Brawn - Land Rover Defender Hound - Jeep M59 Bluestreak - 1983 Datsun 280z Prowl - 1983 Datsun 280z (police variant) Smokescreen - Datsun ZX280 Turbo Wheeljack - Lancia Stratos Turbo Trailbreaker - Toyota 4WD Hilux Mirage - Citanes #26 JS 11 Ford F1 race car Megatron - Walther P-38 with U.N.C.L.E. accessories Starscream - F-15A Eagle Skywarp - F-15A Eagle Thundercracker - F-15A Eagle Blitzwing - MiG 25 Foxbat / T-72 Main Battle Tank Dirge - Experimental F-15 design Ramjet - Experimental F-15 design Thrust - Experimental F-15 design Soundwave - 1960s/1970s Micro-cassette Recorder (manufacturer possibly either Nippon or Aiwa, though may have been slightly redesigned to better accomodate the robot mode similar to how Warpath is slightly redesigned so the hatch that forms his head is centered as opposed to left-aligned as a true Sheridan Tank). If there are any discrepancies please feel free to offer corrections. Also, does anyone have a preference as to the cabover Huffer transforms into? I've googled, yahooed, etc, and cannot find an exact model of truck his alt. mode is based on. The door signifies either a GMC or Isuzu design, but I have not seen anything with huge smokestacks on the side (or smokestacks in general). One last thing. As this is a reference thread, I believe it should be stickied, just so there are no multiple threads on this. Thanks.
Ever visit TFarchive? There was once a GeoCities page that hosted photos of the actual racecars that Mirage, Wheeljack, Smokescreen and others were modeled on, but I can't find it now.
I hope Hasbro reads this thread and REMEMBERS that Cliffjumper is a PORSCHE and not a red-version of whatever Bumblebee is at the moment... If he can't get his own mold, I'd really prefer he be a Jazz-of-the-month repaint rather than a BB repaint. OK, pet-peeve catharsis over. Nice to know Blitzy was a Foxbat, makes sense, I always just assumed he was a really awkward F15. D/L
A better question is why the hell would Blitzwing reformat himself to be Soviet military vehicles when the Decepticons are based off the American West Coast? Especially during the 1980s? "heh heh, they won't fire at me because they won't know I'm a Decepticon". But they WILL fire at you if they assume you to be military hardware from a traditionally rogue state, you dumbass. No, I did not realize TFArchive had an alt modes list. Though seriously, what they have down for Huffer and Gears is pretty vague as it fails to mention vehicle mode manufacturer.
wait, whatever happened to nevermore's thread with pics of the original tfs and the cars they were modeled after in the same colors/viewing angles?
Depends on who you talk to. The Marines classify it as a light tank, but the Army doesn't. It carries the same gunlauncher as the M60A2 medium battle tank. (The M60 being a main battle tank, in its day.) I'd like to point out that Wheeljack is not a regular Lancia Stratos. He's a Lancia Stratos Turbo, which was the dedicated road racing version. I only point it out, because the two versions of the car look pretty different, and people calling Wheeljack a rally car (which the regular Stratos was) is a pet peeve of mine.
