Botcon have unveiled their third 2014 convention exclusive, which is sure to please a lot of fans. The third 2014 exclusive is from the “Knight” faction, and is the one and only Devcon, a retooled Generations Scourge with a new head.
This is the first time that the character Devcon will have appeared in toy form. The character was introduced in the 1985 cartoon episode “The Gambler” where he helped the Autobot Smokescreen recover the rest of the Autobots from an alien fighting arena. His brief appearance as an Autobot aligned bounty hunter has afforded him a sort of “Boba Fett” kind of mystique, and he’s been included on many lists of “obscure Transformers deserving toys”.
(Although we say this is the first time that Devcon will get a toy release, a Devcon from Energon Slugslinger was one of many exclusives planned by former license holders 3H for their 2005 convention, but their loss of the license meant this never materialized).
jamarmiller
After watching the g1 ep, I feel this verson of devcon has way too much red. Wish they would have kept the red to what it was in the show
Hollywood Hoist
I'm with you, not having the knight symbol decreases the interest in the figure for me. I understand a lot of people have been looking forward to this character, but for me he's part of the Botcon set and if he doesn't fit the theme then why include him.
BowserPrime
This may or may not be a bit irrelevant, but does anyone else think that with a different head and the right paint job, this mold would make a pretty good Alpha Trion?
Primal Sabbath
First, do you live in a humid climate?
Stickers don't last too long down here, even when kept in a year-round climate controlled facility. Humidity is EVERYWHERE in Louisiana, unfortunately.
The same could have been said for Pirates, as well. It's not so much "they didn't put the symbol I want on it" that irks me. It is again, the double standard of "well this technically is the first Devcon, so we'll ignore the theme," when the theme is put there for a reason in the first place.. If they had figures that they wanted to place in the theme, that would interfere with that theme due to possible fan out-cry, then change the theme. Or wait until you can produce the figure accordingly (as Pete so commonly puts it, "when it makes sense.") Devcon makes since as a knight. A knight with questionable ethics, but a knight nonetheless, but It's starting to feel like he was forced. And when they have to start forcing characters/figures in the set, I become somewhat worried. If it's explained in fiction, I may start to retract from being so pushy on the subject; but until then…
WhiteMocha
Eh, I dunno…. I've got 30-year-old G1 toys whose stickers are still colorful and still adhering just fine. And even if they aren't, stickers can be easily reproduced. I feel like more people would want to take their chances with that than to permanently damage a limited-edition toy by taking rubbing alcohol to it.
FP probably reasons (rightly so, judging by the initial responses when this year's theme was announced) that the whole "knight" thing has sort of a niche appeal, whereas the market for the first real G1-based Devcon toy is much larger. So they likely erred on that side. This is just my opinion, of course, but I think it was the right decision.
Primal Sabbath
I think it would have been mass-accepted either way. It's a double standard. They want to adhere to the theme, but then out of nowhere one of the "Knights" isn't rocking that faction symbol? IMO that's stupid. Ferak has giant Star Seeker logos on his wings, and a Decepticon symbol on his head. That's the first Ferak figure we're getting, so what's the difference? Doing the same with Devcon would cement the theme, and the figure would fit a lot better within the theme.
I know they could and probably will do a sticker for his chest or something, but what happens when that sticker peels away through time? I think there should be a Knight symbol painted/tampo on the chest. And if the G1 or "hardcore" Devcon fans don't like that, they can just grab some rubbing alcohol and a cotton ball to fix the problem.
mrduce1018
Tornado Facebook page has been updated with Ferak's Pirate log.
Star Saber
The face looks very very good. Great for the Classics crowd! Good job with this one Fun Pub!
mrduce1018
Agreed! The mass appeal/desire for this figure increases exponentially (completely my opinion, no hard facts) by them using the Autobot symbol rather than the Kinght symbol.
Devcon has been desired for a while now so using the Autobot symbol is a smart move on FP's part.
PoweredConvoy
This was likely the case and a smart move on their part.
Randy
Lumpy
oh hot damn, i'd totally buy that!
don't forget all the updated Action Masters who actually transform now…
I love the Duocons, but this is pretty damn funny…
mrduce1018
No, there were announcements over the PA system at last years convention that if you go up to the info booth and ask for the sticker, they would hand them out there.
From what I understand the original MW Skywarp that was released at KB toy stores was the only figure to have a G2 symbol and that the Botcon version did not, so they offered a G2 symbol sticker to make the figure more realistic to the original toy.
Fallout
made even better because of botcon sandstorm being a redeco of DOTM skyhammer.
Thundershot
Wait, what Skywarp sticker? Is it in with the bio cards? Because I never opened them…
mrduce1018
Yeah I think they might want to do the sticker like they did last year with Skywarp. I think they decided to go with the Autobot symbol because this is the FIRST toy of Devcon we have ever had and while it is cool that Botcon has a PvK theme, most people who have been looking forward to this figure want it to have the Autobot symbol.
This might be a case of anticipating a backlash and dealing with it a head of time, kind of thing. I for one would like the Autobot symbol, but for those that want the Knight symbol a sticker like last year would be perfect.
Primal Sabbath
So I'm probably still in the minority here, but I really wish they'd put that Knight faction symbol on him.
Maybe they'll do like they did with Skywarp last year and give us a sticker? Although I'd really prefer it to be painted/tampographed on the figure..
allew
Oh I can't say no to a Pretender homage, very clever! I think you do have a winning hand there indeed!
Thundershot
That is an AWESOME IDEA!
Bass X0
Marvel UK.
Flywheels was a prominent character in the City of Fear story and although he transformed into both jet and tank modes, he never done so simultaneously like the toy. The other vehicle mode would simply disappear without being referenced to.
Vexwing
You're correct, it was actually Marvel UK that depicted them directly transforming between their modes.
Still, in their limited fictional appearances they're triple-changers almost half the time, there's precedent. I get that the separation aspect was important to the original character concept, it's why they're called Duocons. But there are plenty of characters who have evolved past their original gimmick over the years, I mean, does anyone really care if Bludgeon or Thunderwing are pretenders anymore? I sure don't.
Hasbro tends to avoid giving classics updates to highly gimmick based characters. Targetmasters and Headmasters get dropped on a regular basis, we'll likely never see a Pretender again, and we've even gotten several combiner leaders who no longer combine. Given that, I don't think the Duocons are going to be high on Hasbro's list of characters to re-do with their gimmick retained.
So a lot of fans would rather get what we can rather than nothing at all, and the new Springer and Blitzwing have bodies that work really damn well at evoking them in the right decos.
Besides, it's a pretty stupid gimmick.
Random Decepticon: Hey Flywheels, we're going to go attack that Autobot encampment, you in?
Flywheels: Sorry, I can't. It's across the lake.
Random Decepticon: What?! Can't you fly?
Flywheels: Well, my torso can, but my legs would have to drive there. I could send them on ahead I guess, can we attack in a mega-cycle?
Random Decepticon: This would be so much easier if you were a triple changer…I can see why no one likes you.