Not sure if anyone else agrees, but as I'm rewatching S1 I noticed that Breakdown's design with a new head and melee weapon would actually make a brilliant Roadbuster.

Also maybe turn a vehicon into I dunno, Camshaft?

Very late realization that they could have introduced two Autobots were they not so freaking afraid of reusing models and well... the behind the scenes nonsense

 

i always thought that he was much closer to armada/energon demolishor. a large brute, the shoulder protrusions, the eye patch, the loyal to the cons but some sense on honor.

 

And don't forget about the wasted potential  

 

I mean retooling the design into Roadbuster.

Like how Skyquake and Dreadwing are the same character model

 

Well, they used Airachnid and Vehicon animation models in RID, so maybe it's not too late? Besides, it would be great for a release of Breakdown (even if not the Takara figure) in the US.

 

It just clicked.

Also, Vroom instead of Camshaft for the Vehicon; get Discount Sandstorm back in the game. and if people complain about mold choice, it's a Pretender

 

I don't think Prime wanted to reuse designs. The only exceptions were Skyquake/Dreadwing and Tailgate/Cliffjumper. Maybe we can see Roadbuster and Vroom in Robots in Disguise?

 

And Magnus was a retooled Optimus.

So really Prime had no issue reusing models. I mean, the toyline had repaints anyway. There's absolutely nothing wrong with resuing models to bolster the number of robots, especially in a series like Prime that definitely needed some generics of the Autobot side to make things feel less empty, even if they weren't main characters and just appeared in flashbacks/cameos or something.

 

Well I only say Vroom and Roadbuster from the Vehicon and Breakdown because the builds would work for them.

By the same token, Slicer or Exhaust could have appeared on the Decepticon side, or the Battlechargers from Cliffjumper.

But no complaining about issues stemming from them wanting to imitate the movies. This is just fanwank that arrived too late

 

hell effectively slicer was even in the toyline, just with the wrong symbols

 

Easilly fixed with some leftover decepticon emblems from one of the Arms Micron toys.

As for reusing breakdown's model and giving the autobots some cannon fodder. Why not paint the big man white and make some Autotroopers?

 

yea i used some reprolabels i had laying around for my dark energon wheeljack to turn into slicer, effectively the dark energon deluxes could all represent different characters though i never figured out a good use for knockout