Blastcharge (BM)

2024-06-07T03:47:14Z

Jedron215: Added trivia noting similarity of Blastcharge's alt mode to 1988 GI Joe Desert Fox Vehicle.

{{factions|vehicon|decepticon|autobot|ozsa}}
{{disambig2|the ''Beast Machines'' Vehicon|the ''Cybertron'' Decepticon-allied Mini-Con|Blastcharge (Cybertron)}}
{{picsneeded|Painted BotCon 2013 figure.}}
:''Blastcharge is a [[Vehicon (BM)|Vehicon]] from the [[Beast Machines: Transformers (franchise)|Beast Machines portion]] of the [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[File:Blastchargebm.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|"Truckery keeps the ritz sharp."]]
'''Blastcharge''' is big, strong and dumb. ''Really'' dumb. Regardless, of all the [[Vehicon General]]s, his strength is second only to [[Tankor (BM)|Tankor]], so while he may be dumb, he's huge and has big missiles. Which he sometimes uses as cudgels. Aheh.

You can occasionally find him parroting [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]]. Blastcharge figures that if Megatron's a genius, then he must say genius things, and so if Blastcharge says those same things, then maybe Blastcharge will be a genius too?

Remember, ''dumb''. But an "A" for effort.
{{--}}

==Fiction==
===3H comics===
[[File:Blastcharge wreckers.jpg|left|upright=0.85|thumb|Blastcharge can't actually count to ten, but he thinks it sounds cool.]]

With the emergence of the [[Wreckers]], [[Mutant (BW)|Mutants]], and [[Dinobot (BM)|Dinobots]] on Vehicon-controlled [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], [[Megatron (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Megatron]] needed more generals to counter the insurgents. From his vast collection he picked the [[spark]]s of Blastcharge and [[Quake (G1)|Quake]], who served Megatron's [[Megatron (G1)|namesake]] well, and put them in new Vehicon bodies and gave them [[Blastcharge's drones|new]] [[Quake's drones|drones]] to command.

Blastcharge and Quake were sent first underground, to track down a group of Wreckers. The Vehicon Generals tracked the Wreckers to the underground lair of [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]]. They missed the main group, but [[Fractyl]] was still there. The trip wasn't a complete waste—Blastcharge was able to fit a little target practice into his busy schedule, blowing a large hole in Fractyl's chest with a long-range plasma ultrarocket from a few feet away.

Megatron had sent [[Spy Streak]] and a sizable legion consisting of [[Stealth Drone]]s, "[[chase-model drone]]s", [[Demolition Drone]]s, Blastcharge's drones, and Quake's drones, to guard an old [[Autobot]] shuttle from the Wreckers, who wished to use it to get offworld. Blastcharge and Quake arrived late to the battle, as the tide was already turning in the Vehicons' favor. They should have stayed home. Quake was vaporized by the [[Vok]]-empowered [[Tigatron]], and as Blastcharge ranted impotently at the departing shuttle, Fractyl showed up in his shiny new body to pay Blastcharge back, slicing him neatly in half right down the middle. {{storylink|Departure}}

===''TransTech''===
[[File:Blastcharge withered hope.jpg|upright=0.85|thumb|Do you like my chest better up or down?]]
Blastcharge was a member of the [[Axiom Nexus]] [[Axiom Nexus Security Administration|Security Administration]]. He was part of the group investigating the discovery of [[Comet]]'s body. He may have been part of the security unit that confronted [[Demolishor (TransTech)|General Demolishor]] in the [[Heap]]. {{storylink|Withered Hope}}

Some time later, Blastcharge (or Sir Please Stop Thumping Me Across The Alleyway, as he is sometimes known) was performing a regular street patrol when he crossed some nut defragging in the streets. This 'bot claimed he was [[Bulletbike (TransTech)|Bulletbike]], 37th richest of all the [[Transcendent Technomorph|TransTech]] population. Blastcharge let him ramble for a little bit, but eventually just pointed him towards the [[Widow's Cafe Cybertronian]] to sleep it off, and went on with his patrol. {{storylink|I, Lowtech}}
{{-}}

===''Wings Universe''===
During the [[Machine Wars (event)|Machine Wars]], Autobot General [[Strika (BM)|Strika]] was given an army of [[Blastcharge Strika Drone|drones]] which were built to match her physical specifications. One of these drones, Blastcharge, was given a [[Spark]] so that he could lead the drone army while she was otherwise occupied, but his severely limited intelligence keeps him from being a worthy leadership replacement. Blastcharge is so easily manipulated it's probably just a matter of time before the Decepticons lure him away to their team. {{storylink|BotCon 2013|BotCon 2013 customization class profile}} At some point, Strika's drones gathered before her to await their orders, with Blastcharge leading at the front of the group. {{storylink|Interlude...}}

===Ask Vector Prime===
One version of Blastcharge hailed from [[Primax 603.0 Gamma]]. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime, 2015/09/28}}

==Toys==
===''Beast Machines''===
[[File:BM Blastcharge-toy.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|Michelin Man.]]
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-vh|'''Blastcharge''' (Deluxe, 2000)}}</ul>
:*''Accessories'': 3 long-range plasma ultrarockets
:*''Known designers'': [[Yuichiro Hira]] (TakaraTomy)

: Part of the third wave of ''[[Beast Machines: Transformers (toyline)|Beast Machines]]'' deluxes, Blastcharge is a tan, red, and silver Cybertronic six-wheeled armored vehicle with a rotating and elevating turret. This turret stores three missiles, but only the middle missile can be fired with the spring-loaded mechanism. His other spring-loaded [[gimmick]] is that the front portion of his vehicle mode can spring forward and turn independently of the rear portion. The missiles can also be used as clubs. His [[spark crystal]] is hidden inside his front grille.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2000/Vehicon/Blastcharge/blastcharge.htm More info on Beast Machines Blastcharge at TFU.info]''
{{-}}

===''Universe'' (2003)===
[[File:TFU03 Blastcharge-toy.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|"No, I'm the freakin' Smart Patrol."]]
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-d1|'''Blastcharge''' (Deluxe, 2005)}}</ul>
:*''Accessories'': 3 long-range plasma ultrarockets

: Part of the ninth and final wave of ''[[Transformers: Universe (2003 toyline)|Universe]]'' mass-release deluxes (and the only new toy in the assortment), Blastcharge is a [[redeco]] of his ''Beast Machines'' toy in black, silver, and purple. This version of Blastcharge does not have a spark crystal in its grill for some reason.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2005/Decepticon/Blastcharge/blastcharge.htm More info on Universe Blastcharge at TFU.info]''
{{-}}

===''Timelines''===
[[File:BC13-BlastchargeStrikaDrone.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|(''Unpainted sample shown'')]]
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-a1|'''Blastcharge Strika Drone''' (Customization class toy, 2013)}}</ul>
:*''Accessories'': Missile

:''[[Transformers Timelines (toyline)|Timelines]]'' "Blastcharge Strika Drone" is a [[retool]] of [[Transformers: Generations (toyline)|''Generations'']] [[Warpath (G1)#Generations|Warpath]], transforming into a four-treaded combat tank of almost certainly made-up model. Its robot mode head uses the ''Timelines'' [[Strika (BM)#Timelines|Strika]] mold newly-developed for the [[BotCon 2013]] toy set. A spring-loaded missile launcher is placed on its right shoulder, and rods in its legs and arms are compatible with c-joint accessories. In tank mode, its turret can rotate and the barrel can elevate.

: Created for BotCon 2013, fans were given two options to acquire this toy; the first involved attending the Customization Class on either Wednesday or Thursday, though this was limited to roughly 120 attendees. Each figure came unassembled and unpainted, resulting in an average of 4-7 hours spent sanding, polishing, and painting. On the downside, no enamel was available at the class to help seal each figure's paint job, nor was there a guide (beyond one quick hand-painted model) as to where the paints should be applied for anyone who wanted their figure to be as authentic to their original namesake as possible. For those who could not (or did not want to) attend the class, a number of unpainted figures were available for purchase throughout the weekend at the Collectors' Club store, though without the extra "flag" stickers available in the class.

: This mold was also used to make [[Treadshot (G1)#Timelines|''Timelines'' Treadshot]] and served as the basis of the non-toy ''[[Beast Wars: Uprising]]'' incarnation of [[Bazooka (BW)|Bazooka]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2013/Autobot/BCBlastcharge/blastcharge.htm More information on ''Timelines'' Blastcharge at TFU.info]''

==Notes==
[[File:GI_Joe_Desert_Fox_6WD_1988.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|"... The other half is heavy firepower!"]]

*Blastcharge had the preliminary name of '''Blastrax'''.<ref>https://groups.google.com/d/msg/alt.toys.transformers/f_-M55vdPn0/gBDdVeAcrm4J</ref>
*Blastcharge's alt mode appears to be inspired by the 1988 [[G.I. Joe (franchise)|G.I. Joe]] Desert Fox 6 WD vehicle, notably the near-identical grille design and the six-wheel configuration.
* In [[Bob Skir]] and [[Marty Isenberg]]'s season 2 arc notes,<ref>{{citesocial|quote=BM's Season 2 development notes. [https://mega.nz/file/8ylimRID#CVw5Ybk6U2oD7t3EbSE6prckyfyHtCXKd7F37o7rABE File on MEGA]|link=https://twitter.com/20thDan/status/1696297823048790079|name=20thDan|site=Twitter|year=2023|month=8|day=29}}</ref> the "Vehicon badgirl" character that would become [[Strika (BM)|Strika]] is described as transforming into a "segmented {{w|Humvee}}" that uses turret weaponry. This description is strikingly reminiscent of Blastcharge's vehicle mode, perhaps indicating that Strika shares a design lineage with him. Notably, Strika was the only on-screen Vehicon General to not correspond with a toy in the first year of the ''Beast Machines'' toyline, with her first figure, based directly on her final animation model, not appearing until the line's second-year ''Battle for the Spark'' refresh.
*Character art on the package of ''Universe'' Blastcharge shows his chest gun lowered flat against his abdomen. He is depicted like this in "[[Withered Hope]]" as well. The toy can't do that, however.

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Beast Machines Vehicons]]
[[Category:Law enforcement]]
[[Category:Timelines characters]]
[[Category:TransTech Decepticons]]
[[Category:Universe Decepticons]]
[[Category:Wings Universe Autobots]]

File:GI Joe Desert Fox 6WD 1988.jpg

2024-06-07T03:31:05Z

Jedron215: G.I. Joe 1988 Desert Fox 6WD Vehicle with Skidmark. Used with permission from Transformerland.com

G.I. Joe 1988 Desert Fox 6WD Vehicle with Skidmark. Used with permission from Transformerland.com

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Blastcharge (BM)

File:GI Joe Desert Fox 6WD 1988.jpg