Im sure the obvious expectaon of an arcle about the origins of the Transformers from a fan in the UK is that its going to be somewhat skewed towards the Marvel comic. Its certainly true that the comic held sway here in the UK, given the somewhat errac scheduling of the cartoon coupled with sporadic home video releases, the cartoon was hard pressed to ght o a fortnightly and then weekly Transformers comic. There was also the fact that the comic had a substanal lead me on the cartoon debung in 1984 while the cartoon didnt hit the screen unl 1985. That being said I wasnt in on the Transformers comic from the get-go. I read a handful of issues but it wasnt unl issue 37 that I was a regular reader. I did however, make a point of watching Transformers when it aired on TV-AM so I with no hint of decompression or excess arsc ourishes. Everything is in service to the story. The art is inconsistent as Frank Springer and inker Kim DeMulder struggle to get to grips with the likenesses of such a large cast and indeed as the issues progress we move further away from the curious toy/animaon model sheet amalgam into a look that is more in line with the cartoon. The colours of course by Nel Yomtov are more inconsistent (its become something of a hobby horse among fans to cricise Nels colouring) varying wildly. Aside from Steve Parkhouses Man of Iron series in the UK comic, this is sadly the last me where the Transformers will place as much emphasis on alien as it does on robot. Theres a curious detachment to them. They assume the vehicles are Earths dominant life-forms unl Prowl realises that the small pink
Autobots meant that it was a lile more dicult to humanise the characters. No surprise then that Bumblebee, who had been portrayed as the most human of the Autobots found himself with his animaon face come issue 3 (the same holds true for Ratchet as well). It took the interacon between Bumblebee and Buster Witwicky and family to draw an emoonal response from the Autobots towards humanity. Just prior to the monumental meeng between Buster and the full complement of Autobots at his dads garage the Autobots, well Mirage specically raised the point of simply taking what they wanted from humanity. A viewpoint not unlike the Decepcons. The key point though, is that nobody else reacted in horror but simply treated it as a suggeson in open debate. Prowl, ever the voice of reason sides with humanity,
The original four issues from Marvel by wrien by Bill Mantlo, Ralph Macchio, Jim Salicrup. Pencils by Frank Springer. Inks by Kim DeMulder, Ian Akin and Brian Garvey. Colours by Nel Yomtov. Edited by Bob Budiansky. Originally conceived as a four-issue limited series sales were strong enough that both Marvel and Hasbro were happy for the tle to connue. It would last a creditable 80 issues in its original form, along with two companion mini-series, a four part proles book and a crossover with G.I. Joe. was there at the start of it. Now dont worry Im not about to launch into any polemics about which one is beer (good-as thats not really in the spirit of the magazine Ed) they both have their strong points and their aws. The comic was ostensibly a four-issue mini-series but given sales was extended beyond that. We were treated to an incredibly dense story. Its absolutely packed and even with a 27 page rst issue it struggles to cope. Its a complete contrast to current comics things are their controllers. Even then we he calls on the Autobots to withdraw it seems more to do with the absorbon of this new informaon as opposed to any real concern with the potenal loss of life. The opening ght in the drive-in saw careless ghng and no doubt caused much devastaon. The Autobots it would seem were not quite as Heroic as their toy-boxes would say. The use of the toy versions of Ratchet and Ironhide coupled with some unusual facial designs on the although again coming more from a reasoned and logical standpoint than any kind of emoonal basis. Over the course of the four issues the Autobots become more human-like and emoonal in their outlook. The last real hurrah for their slightly alien outlook comes in issue three when Gears is apparently killed rescuing Sparkplug from the Decepcons. The super-hero SpiderMan (yes the rst four issues are set in the Marvel Universe proper) is disturbed by the apparent lack of concern at Gears T-25: A CELEBRATION 3

heavily dependent on humans. To me, a Transformer is a giant alien robot in disguise, and I would contend that Transformers arent Transformers at all in the absence of humans, because there is nothing for them to be giant, alien, or disguised in relation to. On Cybertron a Transformer is normal-sized, indigenous and a robot in a world where everything is a robot. The creators of the Masterforce cartoon series were perceptive enough to realise this, and, after two years of Transformers running around
Transformers story is as follows: Humans cease to be helpless victims to the robots in disguise in their midst, and start to take sides, and a new life-form emerges in the shape of an alien robot merged with a human. The Decepticons destructive ambitions ultimately fail due to the limits their human allies have when it comes to their capacity to do evil and cause harm to their homeworld. This story was told quite well, again by Bob Budiansky, in the four-part Marvel Headmasters comic miniseries in 1987, and the character of Lord Zarak, which he created, was developed further by Simon Furman. However, the second great Transformers story was told far better by the cartoon series Super God Masterforce, which aired in Japan a year after the Headmasters saga. Its no coincidence that the two stories I claim to represent the heart of Transformers are
in outer space, they brought them back to the planet that makes them special Earth. Most peoples rst reaction to Masterforce (as mine was) is that it isnt Transformers as we know it, which is correct in the sense that the animation style is completely different from what has gone before, and the focus is on robots that are controlled by humans. However, in many ways it is much closer to the original spirit of Transformers than the stories in the cartoons of the previous two years. The main reason Masterforce feels different from the Transformers stories that preceded and follow it is that rather than keep the series standing still and re-tread familiar themes, its creators allowed Transformers to evolve as a concept and progress to the next level. It is abundantly clear by now to all those reading that I consider Masterforce to T-25: A CELEBRATION 15

S c o r p o n o k s transformation was never the most elaborate so all Double Punch had to do was lie back, stretch out his arms and tuck his knees in to make a fair approximation of the originals scorpion mode. Add a couple of ip-out guns and he was actually quite convincing. Perhaps the zen-like redundancy of being an Action Master with a vehicle mode is what makes the Elites so expensive in the secondary market. Alternately, it could be that these four are among the rarest mass-market toys in the Transformers line and each have a small pile of equally small accessories. The presence of Black Zarak in the Elite lineup along with Galaxy Shuttles sudden appearance in Italy suggests that somebody at Hasbro or GiG (most likely GiG, given their close relationship with Takara as far back as Diaclone) liked what Takara were doing and wanted to bring the moulds and characters over to Europe.
No combining please were British
Hasbro UKs 1992 catalogue read not so much like a greatest hits of the last eight years, but more like someone had numbered all the previous sub-lines then picked them by throwing three darts at a board. The Classics line gained the original triple changers bar Blitzwing and Broadside for unknown reasons. The lucky four were joined by all six Throttlebots and the Constructicons in their dapper new yellow colour scheme but without the parts to form Devastator- a crushing blow to those of us who had encountered Woolworths grey imports of Bumblebee, Hubcap
My eyes, my poor useless eyes
Look him up on www.TFU. info. I dare you. Thundercracker and his Dayglo Dungarees of Doom (all the 1991 vehicles formed exo-suits - more elaborate, full-body versions of the single gures backpacks) and Wheeljacks evil twin Slicer in his motorised pink beach buggy have become the poster children for the clashing colours of the Euro exclusive era, although theyre no brighter than T-25: A CELEBRATION 22
T-25: A CELEBRATION and the original Constructicons in 1992, had managed to nd ve out of the six and whose Devastator-to-be was a lower body with a pair of arms sitting on the ground next to it. Not that Im bitter or anything. The removal of parts became a cost-cutting theme as the fantastically named Breastforce from Takaras Victory line were recoloured as Autobots with their breastplates/animal partners removed and some parts replaced for the team to better resemble rescue workers rather than conquerors. Their combined form (spelling varies, but Liokaiser seems to be the consensus) only required the addition of a helmet, which was removed along with Hellbat and Guyhawk, the two characters who became the arms for no readily obvious reason. Its possible that Hasbro & GiG decided that European fans werent fussed by combiner teams so the extra parts were an unnecessary cost, although its an odd departure from the business model that saw four combiner teams re-released in the previous two years. Continuing the theme of un-combine-able combiners, Liokaisers nemesisthe Brainmaster trio had their parts to form Road Caesar nipped out and the group was given the more catchy moniker of Motorvators, along with some shufing of colour schemes for reasons known only to the production team. One area that no expense was spared on for these chaps was the Box Back Battle- the painted jobs from the rst few years were studied relentlessly by a generation of children who wondered why Tracks was red and there were six Grimlocks but they were still genuine works of art. The Classics so far had presented only at, basically-coloured affairs but in 92 the art of painting a scene for the back of a box was renewed. It sounds like a lot of effort to go to to crosssell four toys, until you take a look at it and see what the three Motorvators in the foreground are charging away from at top speed. Overlord. A Scorponoksized behemoth groaning with artillery and packed with accessories and play features, supported by two Powermaster partners or energon minigures as the bio called them. What a bio it was. He was talked up as some sort of apocalyptic engine of death. He divided into two massive, chunky vehicles and opened out into a sprawling base playset, and unlike every other imported gure in 1992 he came with every part and accessory he had in his original release. His box-back painting depicted him looming over the horizon like some vengeful elder god. Hasbro worked hard to convince parents that Overlord was worth his 29.99 asking price. Someone on the team really liked this guy.

dictated by faction) inserted into the back of the head and running through the eye sockets gave the robots a glow that made them look almost alive (to an eight year old). Today every second toy has this feature, and we have Ejima to thank. Turbomasters were also the rst Transformers vehicles to boast fully integrated weaponrynot just left to the side or slapped on top in vehicle mode as in years past, but becoming a fundamental part of the vehicle mode- either a turbocharged engine, an articulated turret, or both. This design ethos has become the standard in all realistic vehicle Transformers, particularly in the Alternators, Movie and Animated lines. Engine to gun is still one of the most popular design options. The Predators werent quite so ashy with their sidearms, but they had arguably the most impressive gimmickSupersight. The larger vehicles had integrated (in the case of the vast Skyquake) or attached (for the smaller Stalker) scopes which kids could look through to see an image of one of the Turbomasters in an elaborate targeting reticule. This image could be swapped out with one of the others attached to the smaller jets that can clip onto the scope. The image panels stow unobtrusively on the smaller jets when not in use. This level of integration has not really been seen since in Transformers, but WWE and 2003s Masters of the Universe line showed similar thinking with chips in the feet of their gures that activated sounds and features in the larger playsets. This along with Turbomaster leader Thunderclashs rapid-ring gravity feed missile system have not been seen since the Euro era, but they still serve to demonstrate what a visionary Ejima was when it came to new methods of play. Speaking of missiles, one reason why none of these characters ever made T-25: A CELEBRATION 23
Supersonic choking Hazards
All the reissues and Japanese imports were introduced under the Classics banner, which had up till this point been a sub-line leaving room for a line of new releases. Enter Takio Ejima from Takara, who would have his work cut out for him until Generation 2. He was commissioned to create an entire new line for European release- four small gures, one medium and one large for the Autobots and Decepticons. It might not sound like much, but the Turbomasters and Predators featured some pretty wild ideas that are still with us today. The Autobot Turbomasters and Decepticon Predators hardly looked out of place from their peers- a variety of vehicles that, while not licensed, were at least identiably Earth-based, that turned into robots with big guns and brightly coloured missiles. The only thing that stood out was the glowing eyes- a chunk of translucent plastic (colour

comic gimmick was rounded out this time with more proles and a once-in-a-lifetime competition to win every single Transformers Generation 2 toy. It seemed that Transformers UK was once again on the up. Issues #3 and #4 marked a noticeable shift in both style and quality. Although the editorial continued to be aimed at the younger end of the Transformers fan-base, the actual content of the magazine had grown much darker thanks to a decision to begin reprinting Simon Furmans US G2 run. While not necessarily a bad thing story wise, the vibrant art style of Robin Smith had now been replaced by Manny Galans ham-sted super-heroes-withwire-necks pastiche of the dark and brooding style Derik Yaniger had previously developed on the early US G2 issues. Moreover, given that the previous issues had provided a vastly different backstory compared to the US editions, many fans were confused by the apparent
GENERATION 2 COVER GALLERY
The Gatefold poster from Transformers: Generation 2 Isssue 1
continuity clashes: Why had the Dinobots painted themselves in such garish colours in issues #1 and #2 only to return to their G1 colours later? Why did Bludgeon use the same strategy to attack the Earth twice? When did human scientists build Megatrons new body? Featuring a garish cover created from an enlarged interior panel drawn by Manny Galan, and a somewhat out of context reprint of US story The Power and The Glory, issue #5 was a sorry state of affairs marking the end of Transformers: Generation 2 UK. While it did introduce UK readers to the concept of biomorphic reproduction as a lost Cybertronian art, the abrupt ending to the series was deeply unsatisfying. Despite Fleetways attempt to breathe some life into Transformers comic franchise, it would be another eight years
before a Transformers comic would again hit the UK shelves. Such a negative reection on the UK G2 comic obviously begs the question: if Fleetways Generation 2 comic only lasted a meagre ve issues, why on Earth does it deserve a place as 1994s Transformers event of the year in the Auto-Assembly T25 magazine? While Fleetways G2 comic itself was one of the more throwaway items of the Transformers mythos in the UK, it had just as much, if not more inuence on the way Transformers has developed since than the original Marvel run. Although decreasing sales (not helped by the noticeable decline in quality) lead to the comic being cancelled after only ve issues, the end of Fleetways Generation 2 comic ironically was just the beginning
for many fans. The editorial of issue ve contained an advert for the Transmasters UK fan club along with samples of Matt Dallas seminal Continued Generation 2 fanzine which would later go on to showcase the creative talents of unknown (and now IDW) TF artist Nick Roche amongst others. Indeed, many of the people responsible for AutoAssembly and the magazine you now hold in your hands (this author included) initially became involved in TF fandom because of the editorial in issue #5 of the UK G2 comic. For that reason, and without wishing to sound like a Dreamwave copy editor, the death of Fleetways Transformers: Generation 2 comic truly was a case where The End Was Just The Beginning.

TRUKK NOT MUNKY

Before I say anymore, I have to say categorically that I hate Transformers with a passion! Okay, before you throw your arms up in horror, thats what I *would* have said to anyone who would have asked me back in 1996 when Beast Wars aired for the rst me. The whole Transformers phenomenon passed me by rst me around as Id already entered my teens although my younger brother owned a few toys and started collecng the Marvel UK comic for a few months but me. Id already entered my tech-geek phase and begun my collecon of computers and games consoles! The closest I had got was buying issue one and two of the comic for the free scker album and sckers (as I collected Panini scker albums at the me) and receiving the G2 toy Blowout as a joke birthday present one year (which I sll have!). Beast Wars turned things around completely for me and turned me from a general sci- fan who was
T-25: A CELEBRATION 1997 Beast Wars he truly shone, no more so than in the remarkable Code Of Hero, arguably one of the best Transformers episodes ever. We also had the chance to grow with Cheetor, seeing him develop from what could be best described as a gawky teenager to young Cybertronian warrior and Rarap develop from a hard-nosed cynic to a. errr. hard-nosed cynic with a Transmetal upgrade! It was never a case of seeing the same characters week in and week out though - you could see how the characters grew from one episode to the next and how every acon, every event changed and shaped them and not always for the beer. Despite being a completely new show taking Transformers in a new direcon (which certainly upset many purists at the me who loathed the very thought of Transformers without vehicle modes), it certainly didnt forget the original series though and there were numerous references and links in the stories themselves to G1 but was this in part, done to aract the G1 fans? Bob Forward explained this further, Actually, it was because there was just such a wealth of rich Transformers history out there, and it seemed a shame not to ulize it. Really a win/win situaon as far as we were concerned. It enriched the stories and helped give the whole series depth, plus brought a whole new generaon of viewers into the whole TF mythos. The Agenda was probably the best example of this - Bob Forwards masterpiece and one Beast Wars story that is essenal viewing and establishes all of the links between Beast Wars and G1 and sees the return (albeit briey) of a few old favourites. One thing that was originally hoped for with the script was an appearance as part of the voice cast was a return for Frank Welker reprising his role as Megatron! Beast Wars truly captured my imaginaon in a way I could have never imagined. I actually started to take an interest in Transformers when we held our rst Auto Assembly event in 2000 and it was there where I purchased my rst ever Transformer of my own - Beast Machines Mirage. Even then, I sll hadnt really been sucked into the whole Transformers community but it was the warmth of fans who were at Auto Assembly that made me feel so welcome T-25: A CELEBRATION 34 that ignited my passion for all things Transformers and that one toy became two, two became four. and half the house is now over-run with Beast Wars, RiD, G1 and toys from all manner of ranges and Ive even managed to convert the wife and daughter as well! From being a bystander and assisng with the rst couple of Auto Assembly convenons, Ive now taken on the role of running them completely and become a die-hard fan alongside prey much all of you who are reading this and if it wasnt for those fateful evenings watching Beast Wars, none of this would have started. Certainly I dont think I would have put as much energy into the convenons if I didnt have a series that I felt as strongly about driving my enthusiasm forward and you can imagine that I was in fanboy heaven when I had the opportunity to bring David Kaye over to the UK back in 2006, and again this year with Ian James Corle! To have had the chance to not only meet these actors, but to have had such close contact with them over the years has been phenomenal and its been an incredible experience. From knowing relavely nothing a decade ago and not really caring about Transformers at all, to being as passionate and enthusiasc as I am now, Beast Wars certainly has a lot to answer for. We may have only had a few short years of monkeys instead of trucks bur for me, those were the most important years in my life as a Transformers fan.

(B) EAST WARS FIGHT!

Illustration from Ben Pirrie As I sit here with my cup of tea and my slice of fruitcake I wonder what it would have been like to see the Beast Wars movie in the cinema, on the big screen and with the big sound system. There wasnt a Beast Wars movie you say? Ah, but there was. There are more things in Beast Wars than are dreamt of in either of our philosophies. Whilst we all know of the Beast Wars that raged on prehistoric Earth, what of the bales on Planet Gaia and all across the universe? We may not have seen these bales in this part of the world, but Japanese audiences witnessed the bales between Lioconvoy and Galvatron, and Big Convoy and Magmatron. <Oooh! Lioconvoy! He was a big hero! Artemis thinks he is great!> Hello Moon. What are you doing here? <I thought maybe I could help. Oh, Cake! Can I have some?> No Moon, thats my elevenses. <Oh! Its just that helping makes me hungry.> Well maybe later, if you do help out. Now, where was I? <The Beast Wars!> Ah, yes. Thank you. As I was saying Japanese audiences saw the Beast Wars that we saw, more or less, but also saw things that we didnt. It all began with the rst season of the original Beast Wars. The Japanese version would have looked fairly familiar to us, but for a few small changes. The two sides were renamed, from Maximals and Predacons to Cybertrons and Destrons the same two facon names as in all previous Japanese Transformers series. Megatron kept his long-established name, whilst Opmus Primal gained the name of the original Cybertron leader, the Japanese name of Opmus Prime himself Convoy. You mean Convoy wasnt called Convoy in the English version? No. Oh. I think Im geng confused. Anyway, the rst season of Beast Wars was prey much like the western version, right up to its explosive nal episode. But there Takara realised they had a problem. The episodes werent going to be dubbed and ready to air as quickly as they would like. The answer was simple if there wasnt enough Beast Wars to be had they would have to make some
Karl Thurgood shares some his thoughts on the japanese beast wars series.
more of their own. So began the odyssey of Beast Wars Second.This took place on a mysterious planet where the Destrons and Cybertrons fought over a mysterious energy source called Angolmois. Galvatron <He was scary. Good job he spent a lot of the me napping!> and his brother Megastorm led the Destrons, who turned into tanks, jets and construcon vehicles in schemes to destroy the Cybertrons and control the Angolmois. <If they turned into vehicles then why is it called _Beast_Wars anyway?> Good queson Moon. The answer is that the Cybertrons, being more in tune with nature, transformed into animals Lioconvoy was a lion, and his team transformed into things like apes, frogs, elephants and Tasmanian Devils. <So Tasmania Kid turns into a real animal then? Yes. Oh, I thought it was just a cartoon one.> Sounds a lot like the original Beast Wars? <Yes.> Well, it was in some ways, but it wasnt quite the same. For a start it was animated very dierently. Whilst Beast Wars was computeranimated, Beast Wars Second was created the old-fashioned way by hand-drawn cel-animaon. <People in America draw animaon on their computers then?> Yep. <Doesnt it make the monitor screen smudgy aer a while with all the ink marks?> No, you see.. Ill explain later Moon. <Ok. You can explain while I have some cake!> The method of animaon wasnt the only thing that made Beast Wars Second a lile bit dierent. Like its parent series it mixed a lile bit of humor with its acon and drama, but the humor was seen through a disnctly dierent lens. So you had Tasmania Kid, a young Cybertron who looked forward to geng a fearsome beast-mode like a mighty eagle, but didnt quite get what he bargained for. Or the heroic Jointron brothers, who combined to form Tripledacus (a version of Tripredacus), a group of apparently Mexican Insectrons who were accompanied everywhere by a personal soundtrack of mariachi music. The Destrons schemes didnt escape the slightly skewed look at things either. Forget Megatrons rubber duck,

them into Cyborg beasts, half-and-half fusions of organic and roboc forms in both modes with Megastorm becoming the fully mechanical dinosaur Gigastorm. It also created Lio Junior, a young clone of LioConvoy, who teamed up with two experienced warriors from Cybertron to form the Magnaboss combiner team. <Lio Junior was very headstrong.> Yes he was Moon, but I was about to explain what the Angolmois was. <It was a very bad, evil robot. The most evil robot ever!> It was indeed, it was eventually revealed that far from just being a mysterious form of energy the Angolmois was actually the life force of one of the greatest enemies of Cybertron. <Unicron, it was Unicron!> Yes Moon, I was working up to that. <Sorry.> Its alright. Where was I? <Unicron!> Thank you. The Angolmois was in fact the life energy of Unicron, which had somehow collected on Gaia aer his defeat at the hands of Rodimus Convoy and the Matrix of Leadership, and if it was ever collected together then Unicron might be reborn. (Good job Lioconvoys Cybertrons were eventually able to thwart the Destrons and scaer the capsules of Angolmois they had accumulated into space then!). It was certainly an unexpected development for much of its run Second had seemed somewhat removed from the preceeding saga of the Transformers, even more so than the rst season of Beast Wars, which aer all featured a guest appearance by Starscream as well as references to the preceding series. Then suddenly Second had its Agenda-esque moment that changed its relaonship to Transformer history. It certainly wasnt something you would have seen coming from the start of the series, that much is for certain. With the Destrons overcome, and the Angolmois capsules scaered into space, though Lioconvoy and his Cybertrons had completed their work and it was me for their series to end. <Awwwww.> But it wasnt the end of the story of Beast Wars in Japan. <Hooray!> Beast Wars Neo took up the story from where Second had le it. A whole new crew of Cybertrons, under the unwilling and unimpressed leadership of Big Convoy a grim loner of a Cybertron commander who was not impressed at being saddled by Cybertrons ruling council with a band of raw young cadets to teach (and learn from) set out in the void in pursuit of the Angolmois. Determined to gain the Angolmois before them was Magmatron <Who was he?> You dont know? <He wasnt in Beast Wars Second, so Artemis and I didnt see T-25: A CELEBRATION 36

1999: PETAL TO THE METAL

Graham Thomson shares some thoughts on the Beast Machines animated series. Tankorr illustration by Ed Pirrie.
children. On the surface, Beast Machines provided enough chasing, shooting and sarcastic dialogue to entertain casual viewers, but on a deeper level, the slow-burning narrative enthralled those with longer attention spans. Once Beast Machines had settled on its single-minded storyline and started its course, there was no going back. Any viewers nding themselves uninterested in the material would soon abandon ship knowing full well thered be no new developments up ahead. The story and concepts had been locked in from the very beginning. There was no escaping it. Toying with gures Traditionally, Transformersbased ction (be it comics, cartoons, colouring books or audio tapes) has existed primarily to sell Hasbros toys. Usually, a priority shipment of new toys would arrive on the desks of producers with notes attached along the lines of put this one in. But with Beast Machines, it seemed that Hasbro were always playing catch up. The rst episode premiered almost a year before the accompanying toys hit shops. It seemed like the characters came rst and the toys second. Traditionally, it was the other way around. The television series went one way, and the toyline went another. The action gures vaguely (if at all) looked like their onscreen counterparts. Some toys, such as Supreme Optimus Primal and Megabolt Megatron, were developed so late in the day, they were actually released in Robots in Disguise packaging long after Beast Machines stopped showing and its replacement cartoon was in full swing. Other madness included giant sized toy versions of smaller characters such as Nightscream and Cheetor and tiny toys of the Beast Machines, a 26episode computer-animated television series, polarised the views of Transformers fans in 1999. With expectations high after the phenomenal success of Beast Wars, Beast Machines had a lot to measure up to! And by success, I mean that Beast Wars warmed many a fans nostalgiahardened heart. Beast Machines, with its cold outlook and bleak portrayal of an organic cast on a machine world, somehow failed to warm up many viewers hearts. It would be easy to pick fault with the series, to idly rue what it got wrong and what it didnt do at all. But Beast Machines should be celebrated for the risks it took. This was a television series that, while aimed at children and had a purpose to sell toys, broke away from its remit and evolved into something so much more. Beast Machines was a brave series, unafraid to conform to expectations. It took risks. Lets count the ways, shall we? One episode, 26 chapters Unlike previous Transformers television series, largely made of diabolicalschemes-of-the-week, Beast Machines didnt hit the plot reset button after the alloted 23 minutes, instead telling a single story across 26 episodes. As the story progessed, the series rewarded viewers that paid attention. Of course, it sometimes felt that certain chapters were padding, but on the whole, after nearly 9 hours of continuous storytelling Beast Machines provided a deeply layered, conclusive story. There was a beginning, a middle and an end. Perhaps Beast Machines expected too much from its viewers. Asking for a loyal audience with good memories to stick with the series from the get-go was a tall order, especially for an animated show aimed at evil Tank Drones. The adventures shown on screen did not match what was transpiring on bedroom carpets. At all. If Beast Machines is to be viewed as a marketing vehicle for selling its characters as toys, then it fails miserably. Of course, thats not necessarily a bad thing. but the risk Hasbro and the shows producers took here was to tell a story rst and sell toys second. Unreal CGI Within the constraints of their budget, the animators behind Beast Wars worked their hardest to provide as photo-realistic computer animation as possible. The animals moved and looked as real as they could, so too the sparse environments and special effects. The computer models were lit and textured as if real. Beast Machines, instead, opted for a more unique approach. While its fashionable these days for computer animated cartoons to utilise cel-shading and other visual techniques, back in 1999 when CGI was desperate to be taken seriously, Beast Machines gave itself its own look. In contrast to Beast Wars, Beast Machines was slick, shadowy and highly stylised. Taking cues from science-ction lms like Blade Runner and 2001 - A Space Odyssey, the series did away with any notion of photorealism and viewed itself with a bruised and moody lense. It was CG-noir, if you will. The fallen land hard One of the series most controversial decisions was to make a few good robots turn bad. Although it was revealed that Silverbolt-as-Jetstorm enjoyed his tenure as one of Megatrons Vehicon generals, it was Rhinoxas-Tankors fall from grace that shocked the fans. Rhinox, feeling abandoned and betrayed by T-25: A CELEBRATION 37

T-25: A CELEBRATION 40

- the Generaon Two Laser Rod Opmus Prime, repainted in black as the villainous Black Convoy and gued of its electronics. Fans lapped it up, and unknowingly started a craze for black evil Opmus Prime repaints that would connue to this day. (see how the enemy forces have moved to vehicle modes as the line has progressed) The other repainted toy was Brave Maximus - a night me repaint of the HUGE Fortress Maximus. Fort Max remains a dicult toy to acquire complete and cheap so this was a godsend to many fans. OK the weapons & extra robots were missing but he sll ew o the shelves. Prices today indicate a strong demand for the toy, theres a lasng trade in fan made Brave Max weapons and a rerelease wouldnt go amiss (hello TakaraTomy !) In the middle of the big repaint rush came one completely new toy: God Magnus - an obvious Ultra Magnus descendant. Now today Ultra Magnus is no big thing. Weve had Overload/Ultra Magnus in Armada/Micron Legend, weve had Ultra Magnus as a repaint in Energon, Universe, Classics & Titanium weve had animated versions, weve got Magni coming out of our ears. But back then this was the rst new Ultra Magnus. It takes the car transporter mode and makes it life accurate then builds a new robot round that with a transformaon so evil that one of my friends threw it out of the window in disgust. Its got missile launchers, its got electronics, and its got enough space for all three Car Brothers. Superb. And when you think you couldnt ask for more they make it so it combines with Super Fire Convoy in the largest robot mode seen in Transformers for many,
many years ! Alongside all this weve got a cartoon series running that goes back to tradional style animaon that helps support the line. But heres the real measure of Car Robots success: Hasbro looked at it, saw it was good and imported it wholesale to the rest of the world. Sure we lost Brave Max for Safety concerns, Black Convoy became a store exclusive and the line was embellished with a few more repaints but essenally Robots in Disguise is Car Robots westernised lock, stock and barrel. *AND* that set the paern for Transformer toy ranges for years to come with vehicle transformers baling each other. But none of them have been as good as the line that restarted it all. Philip Ayres Phils Toy Review Website reviews most of the Car Robots & RID toys - see hp://uk.geocies.com/ philip_ayres@btopenworld.com/ review_index.html

SKY-BYTE SAVES THE DAY

Gav Spence tells how after years of being free from the urge to collect plastic robots, one demented robot shark and the toyline which spawned him brought him back into the fold. While Gav is happy, his wallet has not forgiven him.

PANINI ARMADA TRIBUTE QUIZZES
Now to celebrate the short-lived Panini Armada comic book and here we have a selecon of quizzes that wouldnt have looked out of place in the comic.
Rad and Grindors Transformers Quiz:
Rad and Grindors Transformers quiz.
Grindor has been teaching Rad all about the Transformers. But how much do you know? (Score one point for every correct answer) 1) High Wire, Sureshock and Grindor can not only transform but they can also combine into a larger robot. What is their combined form called? 2) Which Evil Decepcon transforms into a heavily armed helicopter? 3) Opmus Prime, the leader of the Autobots can combine with two other Autobots to increase his power. What are their names? 4) In the Transformers:Armada cartoon series, in what ancient city was the rst of the Mini-cons that form the Star Saber found? 5) Which Autobot, who was a wise teacher, was rst thought to be a Decepcon? 6) Autobots and Decepcons come from Cybertron, but where do Minicons come from? 7) When Megatron received his powered-up form he wanted to be called something new. What was his new name? 8) Who is Opmus Primes loyal Mini-con friend? 9) Mini-cons can join with a larger Transformer in order to increase their friends power. What is the name of this process? 10) He is the most hot-headed and reckless of the Autobots, but he is a brave and courageous warrior. What is he called?
Highwire and Carlos Great Brish Quiz:
Highwire snuck into school with Carlos and they have been learning all about Britain. They have set a lile quiz for you, do you know as much about Britain as they do? (score one point for each correct answer):1). This ancient king of Britain had so many knights that he had a special circular table made for them. Who is he? 2). There is a column in Trafalgar Square in honor of one of the Admirals who commanded Britains navy. Which Admiral stands on top of the column? 3). This famous circle of stones stands on Salisbury Plains. What is its name? 4). Highwire has learnt that humans drink milk to help make their bones and teeth strong, but what animal does milk come from? 5). Scotland is one of the countries in Great Britain, what musical instrument is most oen associated with Scotland? 6). Robert Louis Stevenson was a human who invented Earths rst steam locomove. What was his steam engine called? 7). Great Britain has a Queen that rules over it, where does she live? 8). Between Britain and America there is a large ocean. What is it called? 9). Which clis on the coast of Britain are famous for their colour? 10).Britain provides an important denion of me, where is this Mean Time measured?

actively seek to develop time travel technology, rather than leave anything to chance (and dont get me started on chance). If Im meant to travel in time, I will. My rst breakthrough came in 1992, with the Flashback Doorway. Aneurism-inducing temporal feedback ultimately rendered the Doorway useless, but by then I had already concluded that the retro-directional, non-corporeal nature of psycho-sensory time travel was too limiting. In the late 1990s my failed attempts to transport physical objects into the past led me to develop the Quantity Theory of Time Travel, according to which the need to keep the balance of matter in the universe constant prevents additional mass arriving from the past or the future. And so here I am in my secret lab, just me and Bolt and a collection of living specimens. Bolt is the galaxys foremost temporal engineer. It was Bolt who took mass displacement technology - which I had originally used to create shrinking Transformers - and applied it to the physics of time travel; it was Bolt who, in 2004, invoked the concept of an inter-dimensional holding pen (Limbo) that would make it possible to circumvent Quantity Theory; and it was Bolt who drew up plans for the time machine that he is also building, right now, in front of me. (4) Ravage / Eastern Wyoming / 2 January 1989 Galvatron was expecting a visit from a contingent of Autobots and Decepticons, but said that they would need a little help nding us. He sent Scourge to take a few pot shots at them you know, stir up trouble. I watch the explosions on the horizon. A second later, Scourge thunders over my head, transforms and heads inside the base, clenching and unclenching his sts as he tries to work off the nausea brought on by a thwarted kill (hes one of those Decepticons who feels physically ill when ordered to miss a target). I wait until the light and sound fades away and wonder whether the Wreckers and the Mayhem Attack Squad have taken the bait. I sniff the air, satised. They are coming! Apparently, the Wreckers and the Mayhems have been sent to Earth to contain us. Well, to contain Galvatron and Scourge; they dont know T-25: A CELEBRATION 51
2006 from me. Any minute now, Springer and Carnivac and a dozen others are going to wander in through that door and well have our hands full. You remember the battle, do you? From my perspective, I mean. Not exactly. Galvatron holds up his free hand to forestall Megatrons next question. I dont have time to explain. Now, hold out your hand. I edge closer as Galvatron tips something into Megatrons open hand and, with uncharacteristic tenderness, folds his ngers closed. Keep it safe. Put it -- oh, whats the point? You dont listen to me anyway. Galvatron turns to leave. Meet me at the top of the access shaft in six minutes. We have an entrance to make. Ill come with you now. No, not yet. You have to stay here. Youll see why. And with that he walks away from Megatron, who gingerly prods the bundle of circuitry in his hand. As Galvatron walks out of the door he looks at the oor - not directly at me, but close - and he says, under his breath, Pay attention to what happens next, Ravage. I freeze, hackles up, claws out, ready for -- for what, I dont know. Hes disappeared down the corridor before I can fathom the implications of whats just happened. It doesnt make sense; I was cloaked; I was hidden. Theres no way he could have seen me. But wait a second. he didnt see me. He just seemed to know that I was there. Im heading back outside when I hear Megatrons voice coming from the chamber behind me. Unnerved by Galvatrons parting comment, I decide to stay where I am and eavesdrop from a distance. But what I hear makes no sense: What is this? Whats going on? Is this your doing, Galvatron.? Then what trickery is this.? 1989. If you are who you say you are, you should know where I am. And one youve not yet answered, imposter. You havent explained whats going on. You think Id take a single step closer.? What? Thats the second time Ive had that said to me today. And Im still not convinced. What did you call me? What the hell did

T-25: A CELEBRATION essential for me to explore the feasibility of time travel. Things get a little complicated for us after 1989. I am on the verge of making history. You are witness to my latest breakthrough - a miniature rift in spacetime. I cant come through; what about you? Megatron! I shout, as everything nally makes sense. 17 years ago, shortly after I had pledged allegiance to Galvatron, I found myself hiding in the shadows, listening to Megatron talk nonsense in an adjoining room. Except I now realise that it wasnt nonsense: I was hearing one side of a conversation that was taking place across two time zones. Megatron! My line of sight changes as Megatron picks up the communicube and stares at me. Youd better have a phenomenally good reason for interrupting me, Ravage. I tell him about what I saw in 1989, about Galvatron giving Megatgron the remains of the time-jump trigger mechanism seconds before the time portal opened up. Megatrons expression softens and he puts me/the communicube back on his desk. I watch him turn back to a slash of light in the middle of the lab, through which I can see the old Megatron, the Time Wars Megatron. Show me whats in your hand. says my Megatron. The Megatron of 1989 answers back, but Im still too far away to make out what hes saying. The portal starts to shrink. I know what youre holding, my Megatron continues. Its the remains of a time trigger mechanism. I need that mechanism - it could hold all the answers I need. Try to pass it to me - quickly, before the window collapses. Hurry up - we dont have much time. That thing is the key to both our futures - literally.! Dont walk away from me! Come back! Megatron! Straxus.! I called you Straxus - after Lord Straxus, the voice in your head. I know what you went through. I know whats its like to question ones sanity; to question the provenance of every single thought in an effort to determine whether it is truly your own. How could I know that and not be you? Youve got to trust me. Try to pass me the time trigger components. OK, then listen carefully. I want you to do exactly as I say. When the Time Wars are over, you must return to Cybertron with Ravage. Go directly to Darkmount in Polyhex and head for Lab 244.
Precisely. Inside Lab 244 youll nd an operating table. Seal the time trigger components inside the table and leave them there. And then, in 2005, as me, you can retrieve them and use them to fashion a working device. The portal collapses and Futureshock transforms back into robot mode, exhausted. (7) Megatron / Darkmount, Polyhex / 30 December 2005 Its been a long time since I last visited my personal quarters, so Im not surprised when the entry panel fails to recognise my handprint: after three years without contact, the security system has assumed that Im dead and has switched to lockdown mode. Im in search of answers. For whatever reason, the Megatron of 1989 did not carry out my instructions. As soon as the time portal closed I began stripping the operating table, only to nd - nothing. No time trigger mechanism, no note, nothing. When Ravage returned from the Manganese Mountains he found me close to despair. I told him that although Futureshock had managed to open a window into the past, he was unable to repeat the trick. I was no closer to discovering a way to travel in time. Ravage told me what had happened, from his perspective, after the time portal had closed in 1989. After the Time Wars had ended with Galvatrons disappearance (he says that to this day he cannot say precisely what happened to him), he and Megatron stole a Decepticon shuttle and travelled to Cybertron. After deposing the ruling triumvirate, they headed for Lab 244 in Darkmount. Ravage described the breakdown that Megatron suffered when hed opened the doors to the lab. It hadnt occurred to me when I was giving my instructions, but Lab 244 had been used by Straxus as the base of operations for Project Rebirth. Straxus had built a replica of my body using a trooper, Peripeteia, as raw material. Having failed in his attempt to take over my mind, a mentally diminished Straxus had transferred his own mind to the replica, which eventually found its way to Earth. The Megatron who killed Cyclonus and fought alongside Galvatron and Ravage was T-25: A CELEBRATION 55

BLATANT PLUG ALERT

Just to nish things off here. This magazine has been put together by Transmasters UK. A long-running fan group whove put together many a fanzine over the years. If you want to know more about us and see other examples of our work or just to pop your head in and say hello then here are the places you should go. THE UNDERBASE http://theunderbase.co.uk an online library of TMUK comics and prose and character proles maintained by John Cullen. The TMUK Yahoo Group http://groups.yahoo.com/ group/tmuk/ an email based group with ction and the like. THE HUB FORUM http://tmukhub.proboards. com/ TMUKs message board and a friendly place to stop by. Loads of artwork, stories and good banter to be found. So with that done, thanks to everyone who pitched in to make this magazine and thanks to everyone who picked up a copy on the day. Hope you enjoy the magazine and I hope you enjoy Auto Assembly 2009! Andy!