Turret gun

Hound has a turret gun that is capable of projecting holograms. Or not. It's all very confusing, really.

Fiction

Marvel The Transformers comics

In his jeep mode, Hound's turret gun functioned like a radar scope, scanning the surrounding landscape and storing this information as a topographical map with the help of internal 3-dimensional simulation circuitry. In robot mode, the turret gun became an infrared radiation collector that he could use to track machines as well as humans. Hound's Universe profile

During the Transformers' first battle on Earth in 1984 at a drive-in movie theatre, Hound faced off against Ravage and projected a holographic missile from his turret gun which caused the Decepticon spy to flee in terror. The Transformers

Later, as the Autobots sought to rescue their leader Optimus Prime's head, held captive by Shockwave at the Blackrock Aerospace Assembly Plant Number One, they overheard Shockwave tell Prime that his head would be dumped in a nearby swamp. Pulling over, Hound then projected a holographic map of the region from his jeep mode's turret gun. Prime Time!

Dreamwave Generation One continuity

Hound's turret gun used a variation of radar scanning to sweep over terrain and store information that he could project as a three-dimensional holographic topographical map. Hound could also use its simulation circuitry to cast simple holographic illusions. As a rifle, it could fire relatively weak energy blasts or be used as an infrared tracking device. Hound's More than Meets the Eye profile

Notes

• So it's like this:
  • The original Hound toy (as detailed in his instructions) came with a missile launcher, three missiles, a "hologram gun", and a "poseable machine gun".
  • The bio accompanying his Tech Specs notes that he uses his "turret gun" as a radar scope and infrared radiation collector that tracks machines as well as humans, while his hologram gun projects 3-dimensional grid laser-light topographical maps.
  • His Marvel Universe profile states that the turret gun becomes his handheld weapon in robot mode and splits its radar and infrared functions between modes, as noted above. To confuse matters further his hologram gun is said to be "shoulder-mounted", implying that it's his missile launcher that projects holographic maps and simple illusions.
  • To confuse matters further, in the first issue of the Marvel comic, Hound projects a holographic missile from his handheld weapon, which he calls his turret gun, and in "Prime Time!" he projects a map from the turret gun in jeep mode.
• In the Generation 1 cartoon, the source of Hound's hologram projections is similarly inconsistent:
  • Introducing his abilities to Spike in "More than Meets the Eye, Part 2", Hound projects a holographic driver into his jeep mode with no obvious source. In part 3, he projects holograms of Megatron and a rocket base apparently just by waving his hands around.
  • In "Heavy Metal War", Hound projects an image of a giant Autobot warrior with twin beams of light emanating from each of his fists.
  • Conversely in "The Immobilizer", he projects a hologram of Laserbeak with a single beam of light emanating from his chest.
  • Finally, in "Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 1", Hound once again projects a hologram of Megatron, but this time using his handheld weapon.