Sheep Hunter

The Sheep Hunter is a Beastformer Head Hunter vehicle from the Generation 1 continuity family.

You can hear the rock opera playing in the background for this one.

One of the legendary Head Hunter vehicles, the Sheep Hunter (シープハンター Shīpu Hantā) utilizes a combination of fusion engine (fueled by converting ordinary matter into energy, giving it a nigh-inexhaustible power supply) and the "Psycho Brain", which can draw out, amplify, and direct the inherent Psycho Energy of a Beast, making it capable of astounding feats of power. It can achieve speeds of 2,000 kilometers an hour with a burst of Psycho Energy, and is even capable of traveling underwater. Its twin ram-horns can attune themselves to the natural vibration frequency of any target, and fire a burst of Psycho-Sonic Energy through its twin cannons that only attacks the intended target, causing it to instantly burst into flames. While the Hunter can only target one frequency at a time, there is seemingly no upper limit to the number of objects with the same frequency it can attack simultaneously. One or a thousand, it can wipe them all out in an instant. And if that isn't enough, it has a powerful fusion cannon in its mouth for broader-scale destruction.

But this power comes at a cost. Over-use of the Hunter's Psycho Brain can twist and damage the mind of its pilot, driving them to reckless actions and wild rampages. With this Hunter now commanded by the impulsive Rabbit Kid, the young King is going to have to learn self-control or lose himself to the machine....

Fiction

Beastformers comic

The three Head Hunters were created long ago by the Three Wise Ones who, deeming their power too dangerous, hid them away. Legend of the Three Wise Ones During the war with the Laser Beasts, Rabbit Kid searched for and found the Sheep Hunter, which he brought back to the front lines and used to send the enemy fleeing. In response, the Laser Beasts developed the Battlecruisers which were able to topple the Sheep Hunter in a later battle. Beastformers VS Laser Beasts

Legends comic

Rabbit Kid used the Sheep Hunter in the Beastformers' war with the Laser Beasts. LG51 Doublecross Prologue

Toys

Beastformers

Rock soundtrack, sadly, not included.

• Sheep Hunter (Beastformer Head Hunter Vehicle, 1988)

Released in the Takara Transformers-less Beastformers sequel series, the Sheep Hunter is a large blue-purple robotic ram-head "chariot" with a pull-back motor: pulling back and releasing the vehicle sends it rolling forward, slowly at first then dashing forward with a burst of speed, with the lower jaw rapidly moving up and down. The back end pulls out to allow a Beastformer or Laser Beast figure into the control section, pushing back to "lock" them in. Each side of the control station features a pair of swing-up gray bars, used to secure other Beastformer figures by slipping under their arms.

This Head Hunter vehicle came packed-in with Rabbit Kid, which has been ever so slightly retooled from his individual release. His ears are slightly shorter, and his tail has been rounded off more. Why these changes were made is unknown. While late-series runs of the individually-sold Beastformers could have full-color Fire/Water/Wood rubsigns, it is unknown if the box set toys could have them.

What was not packed in with the Head Hunters was a collector's card for the vehicle, slightly unusual since the larger Fortresses got cards.

Notes

• The Head Hunters' packaging has virtually no information about the vehicles' fictional powers outside of the generic "sealed away for being too powerful" backstory, plus they lack "bio" cards. The most you get is a "function" over the name, with the Sheep Hunter being the "Mountain Mobile Tank" (山岳機動戦車 Sangaku Kidō Sensha). The Hero Special 12: Laser Beasts mook, which simply calls them the "Hunters", goes into far more detail on their powers and weapons... and ignores that "mountain" part.
• In the Hasbro Battle Beasts line, the "Battle Chariots" came with a semi-random selection of Beasts. Supposedly, this is the source of many of the rarer variants in the Hasbro line, like the pink War Weasel and Crusty Crab, whose decos match up with their Takara releases, but more carded samples of these toys would help confirm that.
• Speaking of Battle Beasts, the Takara-release Hunters' customer-applied decal sheets are the same as the ones packed in with the Hasbro versions of the toys, using the Battle Beasts logo and having "©1987 Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved" on them.

Foreign names

• English: Battling Big Horn