Editing Circular reporting

[[File:AHM 15cvrB.jpg|right|thumb|200px|The cover for ''[[The Transformers: All Hail Megatron]]'' [[All Hail Megatron issue 15|issue #15]], featuring text from [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor's article on this wiki.]]]]
As befitting a franchise that has run continuously for {{#expr: {{CURRENTYEAR}}-1984}} years, the [[Transformers brand|''Transformers'' brand]] is a vast and sprawling one. However, as an intellectual property based around the inherently transient medium of [[To sell toys|merchandising]], both [[Hasbro]] and [[TakaraTomy]] have, historically, taken a laissez-faire approach to storytelling and don't have a complete, centralized repository of internal reference material.

As a result, the largest compendium of ''Transformers'' knowledge is, in fact, this [[TFWiki.Net|very website]] you are reading this article on right now, and many creatives have confirmed that they have used our wiki when writing stories or looking for toy references. While wikis have a few advantages over "in-house" lore bibles—they can be edited by anyone, not just professionals, for instance—their main downside is that... well, they can be edited by anyone. Although we at {{SITENAME SHORT}} strive for accuracy and neutrality when covering ''Transformers'' topics, there have been cases where inaccurate, misleading or misinterpreted information on this very wiki have gone on to inform official ''Transformers'' toys and fiction.

Of course, people working on official Transformers work use references outside of the wiki, namely other sites reporting on ''Transformers'', leaving the door open for many, many more errors. See the [[Miscolorings based on the Generation 1 cartoon|miscolorings]] page for more information.

This phenomenon is formally termed '''{{w|circular reporting}}''', commonly nicknamed '''citogenesis''' due to a 2011 [https://xkcd.com/978/ xkcd webcomic strip] that satirized the concept. This article provides a non-comprehensive cross-section of such mishaps.

{{quote|Some of the biggest shows and franchises you follow have zero in-house continuity documents. They do everything off of fan wikis.|{{w|Gail Simone}}|Twitter<ref>{{citesocial|quote=Now, I am not talking about some niche comic book property, I am talking about massively successful film, game and tv properties. Some of the biggest shows and franchises you follow have zero in-house continuity documents. They do everything off of fan wikis.|link=https://web.archive.org/web/20200913142152/https://twitter.com/GailSimone/status/1304831678045585408|name=Gail Simone|site=Twitter|year=2020|month=09|day=12}}</ref>}}

{{TOC|limit=3}}

==Hasbro's in-house continuity documents==
[[File:Ultimateguide.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Comprehensive. Definitive. Authoritative.]]
In the mid-2000s, Hasbro licensees were provided with copies of [[Simon Furman]]'s ''[[Transformers: The Ultimate Guide]]'' as reference—notably, [[Roberto Orci]] and [[Alex Kurtzman]] regularly consulted the guide while writing the 2007 ''[[Transformers (film)|Transformers]]'' movie. In a similar vein, [[IDW Publishing]]'s reprints of [[Dreamwave Productions]]' ''[[Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More than Meets the Eye]]'' profile series were directly referenced for ''[[The Art of Transformers: Fall of Cybertron]]'', and have been used by other licensees such as [[Fun Publications]] and [[Space Ape Games]].

The only known example of a high-level continuity document designed solely for internal use was the 2010 [[Binder of Revelation]], compiled to help new creatives in the franchise get up to speed with key characters, concepts, and settings, to bring the various stories they were producing at the time into alignment. This lore bible went on to inform vast swathes of modern ''Transformers'' storytelling, most notably the ''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Prime]]'' cartoon, which proved extremely influential in its own right.

As the creatives behind the Binder have moved on from the company over the years, however, it appears to have fallen by the wayside, with Hasbro happy to have different concurrent media diverge entirely so long as some key synergies remain—such as the ''[[Transformers: Cyberverse (cartoon)|Cyberverse]]'' cartoon being informed by the script for the 2018 ''[[Bumblebee (film)|Bumblebee]]'' movie—directing writers to the wiki for lore nitty-gritty. ''Cyberverse'' showrunner [[Randolph Heard]] cites this as one reason for the show's starring roles for many more obscure fan-favourite characters.<ref>{{citesocial|quote=I came to this, again, without a lot of ''Transformers'' knowledge, and I was directed to TFWiki, and I started reading TFWiki and I'm like, oh my god, I don't understand ''anything'', is this a multiverse, or- why- why are there so many variations on things? I'm never gonna learn this thing or understand it. And fortunately my staff were very helpful in that regard. But I think that ''Cyberverse'' to me was like, because I came from the outside in a way, I looked at it as a big box of toys, and I could play with any of them. And you know, that's how kids are, right? They're not going to distinguish between a [[Marvel Comics|Marvel]] toy, a [[DC Comics|DC]] toy, and something else—if they're cool they'll make a battle between anything. And so to me I felt the freedom, like, yeah, I'll just pick stuff and no-one said no. In fact they seemed delighted that we were bringing back characters. [...] I researched lists of 'weirdest Transformers ever.' [...] I said I don't, you know, I confessed to [[Mikiel Houser]], and he said that's fine, check out the TFWiki and that'll tell you everything you need to know, and I was kind of like- it told me too much, you know? It was overwhelming. And I love TFWiki—they have such great writers, they're hilarious.|link=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vindAiN7YNY&t=1087s|name=Randolph Heard is too kind,|site=Keyan Carlile's Transformer Channel|title=The cancelled TF show BEFORE Cyberverse! (Randolph Heard talks Early Development & Seasons 1-2)|year=2021|month=11|day=20}}</ref> Another franchise newcomer, [[Brian Ruckley]], writer of [[IDW Publishing]]'s rebooted ''[[Transformers (2019 comic)|Transformers]]'' series, plucked a large number of obscure characters from the wiki, in particular a great many [[female Transformer]]s. All of this is to say that the referencing of fan wikis is perfectly normal and can often be positive. It's also why the wiki should strive for completeness and accuracy when documenting the ''Transformers'' universe—as the following cautionary tales show...
{{-}}

==Examples of circular reporting through TFWiki.net==
<!--Please don't add any new entries without explaining the mistake or change and the source thereof, as it may not be obvious otherwise.-->

===Absence of evidence===
[[File:SpotlightHardhead-CaughtInAVortex.jpg|left|thumb|200px|The original Tailwind that went undocumented on this wiki...]]
[[File:BeforeAndAfter-DriftTailwindTentakil.jpg|thumb|200px|...and this guy showed up! Maybe if he gets hurt, [[Mario (ROTF)|he'll shrink back?]]]]
In the [[2008]] comic story ''[[Spotlight: Hardhead]]'', the [[Micromaster]] toy character [[Tailwind (G1)|Tailwind]] was given a cameo as one of the many [[Gorlamite]]s attacking [[Hardhead (G1)|Hardhead]] and [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]]—but for many years, Tailwind was the only one whose appearance in that comic was not documented on his own wiki page. As part of a general desire to make use of characters who had yet to be introduced to the [[2005 IDW continuity|IDW continuity]], writer [[James Roberts]] evidently decided to check him off the list by writing a full-sized Cybertronian Tailwind into [[Before & After|''More than Meets the Eye'' #12]], being bisected by [[Drift (G1)|Drift]].

{{anchor|Trickshot}}
Similarly, the 2007 online [[Transformers Collectors' Club]] profile for [[Flashdrive]]—based on the Japanese-exclusive Mini-Con Processor—refers to a teammate called "[[Trickshot]]", clearly intended to be his fellow [[Micron Booster]] toy Triac; the wiki failed to note this, and soon thereafter the Mini-Con bio regimen ended without Trickshot's own profile being published. Thusly, the 2015 [[Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime]] column would instead give Triac the localized identity of "Bingo".
{{-}}

===Text transfer===
====(Heavy) Artillery Drones====
[[File:Sparkwar3 Heavy Artillery Drone vehicle.jpg|thumb|left|240px|Once we were nameless...]]
[[File:Sparkwar3 Heavy Artillery Drone robot.jpg|thumb|200px|...until a mix-up gave us our name!]]
The [[Vehicon (BM)|Vehicon drones]] belonging to [[Strika (BM)|Strika]] were never named in the [[Beast Machines: Transformers (cartoon)|''Beast Machines'' cartoon]], [[Beast Machines: Transformers (toyline)|toyline]], or related media. Back when TFWiki started out on Wikia (now Fandom), [[fandom:transformers:Special:Contributions/72.48.102.5|an anonymous user]] created the article for Strika's drones in [[2008]] using the fan name "Heavy Artillery Drone". Due to an oversight (as no one knew that it ''wasn't'' an official name), this remained the article's name for nearly a decade. 

In a non-visual, text-only instance of this roundabout reporting, the [[2016]] prose story "[[Derailment]]" officially named Strika's drones as "Artillery Drones" based on the wiki's use of the name "Heavy Artillery Drone". The article was soon moved to "[[Artillery Drone]]" shortly after in early [[2017]], to reflect the official name. But, the official name only came about in the first place because of the wiki unknowingly using a completely made-up fan name.
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====''Rise of the Beasts'' Stratosphere bio====
{{stub}}

====Blokees Classic Class====
{{stub}}

====2023 ''Transformers'' letter pages====
{{Stub}}

===Incorrect colors in official media===
The use of {{SITENAME SHORT}} images as color references can occasionally result in... interesting... new color schemes when characters appear in official media. Original colors are given to the left when possible.

{{anchor|Horri-Bull}}
====IDW ''Robots in Disguise'' Horri-Bull====
In the [[IDW Publishing]] comic issue [[The Autonomy Lesson (issue)|''Robots in Disguise'' #1]], [[Horri-Bull]]'s colorization is apparently based on photos of a [[Photodegradation|photodegradated]] example of his original toy that was once used on his page. When asked, colorist [[Josh Perez]] said he chose to use the yellow to "help him stick out a lot more".<ref>{{citesocial|link=https://www.allspark.com/forums/topic/84653-idw-rid-teaser-images/page-5|name=Josh Perez|site=The Allspark forums|defunct=yes}}</ref>

<center><gallery heights=200px widths=200px>
File:G1toy-Horri-Bull.jpg|''Original 1988 toy pictured''
File:Horribull bullhorn toy.jpg|''Degraded toy pictured''
File:Autonomy Lesson Horri-Bull Zetca.jpg|''2012 comic scene pictured''<br>[[Photodegradation|It's canon folks!]]
</gallery></center>

{{-}}{{anchor|Vortex}}
====''Fall of Cybertron'' Vortex====
[[Vortex (FOC)|Vortex]]'s color scheme in ''[[Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (video game)|Fall of Cybertron]]'' is an unusual red and beige, derived from [[Vortex (G1)|G1 Vortex]]'s ''[[Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More than Meets the Eye]]'' character art that is his main page image—in particular, our previously-used scan of the artwork makes it appear to have a much warmer tone than it does in print, shifting the gray towards brown and the lilac towards pink. These tones influenced the coloring of Vortex's ''Fall of Cybertron'' [[:File:FOC Vortex.jpg|concept art]], which evolved to the in-game colors.

<center><gallery heights=200px widths=200px>
File:G1Vortex toy.jpg|''Original 1985 deco pictured''
File:MTMTE2003-Vortex.jpg|''Better scan of 2003 art pictured''
File:MTMTEVortex.jpg|''Worse scan of 2003 art pictured''
File:FOC-HMS-render-Vortex-robot mode.jpg|''2012 game render pictured''
</gallery></center>

{{-}}{{anchor|Roadburner}}

====''Legends'' Roadburner====
[[Roadburner]]'s 2013 appearance in the ''[[Transformers Legends (mobile game)|Transformers Legends]]'' mobile game can only be described as a fit of insanity.  His appearance is based on a catastrophic misinterpretation of this wiki's photography for the toy, depicting his partner [[Wheel Blaze]] as white... because they didn't understand the greyed-out photo this wiki uses to indicate ''which toy the article isn't about''.  To make matters worse, it is highly likely Roadburner ''wasn't supposed to be in the game to begin with.'' Considering that the theme of [[By Land, Sea, or Air|the event he appeared in]] was basically "These Autobots with military alt-modes do stuff," and the fact that [[Roadbuster (G1)|Road''buster'']] would make more sense given [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]]'s prevalence in said event... yeah. Not helping matters is that when in the process of typing "Roadbuster" into this wiki's search bar, Roadburner shows up first in the search results. Someone must have been in a hurry.

<center><gallery heights=200px widths=200px>
File:G1-toy Roadburner.jpg|''1990 toy pictured''
File:TFLegends-Roadburner.jpg|''2013 art pictured''<br>"What grade did you get today, honey?"
</gallery></center>

{{-}}{{anchor|Azimuth}}

====IDW ''Transformers'' Azimuth====
[[Azimuth (COP)|Azimuth]] was originally a minor character who appeared in ''[[Transformers: The Covenant of Primus|The Covenant of Primus]]''. Beyond a brief namedrop, she went unseen for several years until 2015, when the [[Ask Vector Prime]] Facebook feature revealed that she sported a body based on the gold MC-6 ''[[Kronoform]]'' toy. However, when [[Azimuth (G1)|a new incarnation of Azimuth]] appeared in 2020, in IDW's ''[[Transformers (2019 comic)|Transformers]]'' comic, she was colored silver—a mixup that almost assuredly stems from the photo on Azimuth's wiki article more prominently displaying ''that'' figure, with the "correct" gold figure tucked away on the far right.

<center><gallery heights=200px widths=200px>
File:Aligned Azimuth Toy.jpg|''Original 1993 deco pictured''
File:Mc-06 Micro Change catalog.jpg|''Catalogue scan uploaded to the wiki in 2015'' <br> Hey, she got a [[Azimuth (G1)#Toys|''Transformers'' toy]] out of it.
File:Tremors-Azimuth.jpg|''2020 comic scene pictured'' <br> You know what, you're welcome.
</gallery></center>

{{-}}{{anchor|Dile}}

====''Earth Wars'' Dile====
In the ''[[Transformers: Earth Wars]]'' mobile game, [[Dile]] was revealed as a forthcoming character in early September 2020, sporting an unusual gray and purple deco which doesn't match his toy's colors at all. The following month, [[Space Ape Games]] put out a new render via their official newsletter, explaining that the original colors were based on the washed out scan of his card art seen at the top of his TFWiki character page. This makes it one of the few known instances where circular reporting was caught and corrected before release. The new render instead uses a more light-green and silvery hue based on a somewhat color-corrected version of the card art, rather than the much more pronounced green of [[:File:G1toy dile.jpg|the toy itself]]. However following a total overhaul of the game's UI, he wound up using the initial render instead whilst his in-game model's colors remains the same finalized color scheme. Potentially due to the game's official wiki still using [https://tfew.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4733799213343-Dile-Overkill#toc1| that same render on his page].

<center><gallery heights=200px widths=200px>
File:G1toy dile.jpg|''Original 1987 toy pictured''
File:G1 Dial boxart.jpg|''Scan of 1987 art pictured'' <br> A washout, that's all you are! A washout!
File:Early Dile-EarthWars.jpg|''Initial 2020 CG model pictured''
File:Dile Fixed-EarthWars.jpg|''Finalized 2020 CG model pictured''
</gallery></center>
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====''Siege'' Ion Storm====
The stock photography for ''Siege'' [[Ion Storm]]'s jet mode mistakenly showed [[Thundercracker (G1)/toys#War for Cybertron: Siege|Thundercracker]]'s jet instead—which is nearly identical apart from red highlights. With the 2019 [[Rainmaker]]s set being hard to come by, this erroneous image was used on the wiki for a couple of years, and appears highly in Google Image searches—leading Ion Storm's jet mode to be colored accordingly as Thundercracker in [[Volcanicus comic 2|a TakaraTomy comic]] released in September 2020 and in [[Lord of Misrule: Sea of Rust II|an IDW comic]] released in September 2021.

<center><gallery heights=200px widths=200px>
File:TF-Generations-WFC-S-Rainmaker-3-pack-Ion-Storm.jpg|''Erroneous 2019 vehicle mode pictured''
File:Siege-toy IonStorm.jpg|''True 2019 vehicle mode pictured''
File:GS-Volcanicus comic 2-Rainmakers.jpg|''2020 comic scene pictured''
File:SeaOfRustPartII-Rainmakers.jpg|''2021 comic scene pictured''
</gallery></center>
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===Incorrect decos for official toys===
On rare occasions, coloring misadventures as described above can even escalate to the point of affecting actual ''new toys'' of those characters. Once again, original colors are given to the left when possible.

{{anchor|Igu}}
====''Prime 10 Year Anniversary'' Igu====
The ''[[Transformers: Prime (toyline)#Post-Prime releases|10 Year Anniversary]]'' reissue of [[Igu]] ([[Vehicon (Prime)|Jet Vehicon]]'s [[Arms Micron]] partner from the [[TakaraTomy]] ''[[Transformers: Prime (toyline)#Takara Prime toyline|Prime]]'' toyline) mistakenly colors him bright silver, as opposed to the black of the original release.

This can be attributed to the set designer using the first image in the "Toys" subheading of Igu's wiki page for reference—which was actually an "elite" redeco packed with [[Vehicon (Prime)#JetGeneral|Jet Vehicon General]]. The original black release of Igu is used as the article's mainpic instead of being used in the "Toys" section, due to a lack of images of his vanishingly few fictional appearances. From a toy design perspective, this error means that the now-silver Igu breaks aesthetic cohesion with his mostly-black partner Jet Vehicon.

<center><gallery heights=200px widths=200px>
File:Prime-toy Igu.jpg|''Original 2012 deco pictured''
File:Primetoy-TakaraTomy-ArmsMicronIguS.jpg|''Secondary 2013 deco pictured'' <br> Please, "Igu S" was my father.
File:Prime-toy Igu 10Year.jpg|''2020 reissue deco pictured''
</gallery></center>

{{-}}{{anchor|T-Wrecks}}
====''Siege'' Caliburst====
''[[War for Cybertron: Siege|Siege]]'' [[Caliburst (G1)#War for Cybertron: Siege|Caliburst]] uses a colour scheme of black and indigo, as opposed to the paler blue seen in most of his other appearances. For years, the main pictures for [[Blowpipe (G1)#War for Cybertron: Siege|Blowpipe]] and Caliburst were erroneously reversed, which likely led to this extrapolated colour scheme.
<center><gallery heights=200px widths=200px>
File:BlowpipeRebirth.jpg|''Screenshot of Blowpipe from the '80s cartoon''
File:WFC-Siege-WFC-S30-Battle-Master-Caliburst.jpg|''2019 toy of Caliburst pictured''
</gallery></center>

====''Kingdom'' T-Wrecks====
The ''[[War for Cybertron: Kingdom|Kingdom]]'' Leader Class toy of [[T-Wrecks#Generations|T-Wrecks]] has a colour scheme which is much more drab than the original ''[[Beast Machines: Transformers (toyline)|Beast Machines]]'' Ultra Class iteration, with the brown-tinted torso being swapped for a dull grey, and the bright bronze of his helmet being swapped for the same red as his beast-mode skin. More noticeably, only the lower portion of T-Wrecks's crotch is molded blue, with the waist itself being left unpainted grey. It seems that these changes are the result of the wiki's photo of the original toy being primarily used for reference; the lighting in the image is a little misleading, and the toy's posed leaning forward such that its belly overhangs its waist entirely! The ''Kingdom'' T-Wrecks's eyes are also yellow rather than the green of the ''Beast Machines'' toy. It would seem that [[:File:Disclosure-Dinobots.jpg|some of the]] [[:File:TWrecksdinobotspackaging art.jpg|other pictures]] on his page may have played into this color change also. 

<center><gallery heights=200px widths=200px>
File:Beast Machines T-Wrecks.jpg|''Finalized 2000 deco pictured''
File: BM T-Wrecks toy.jpg|''Prototype 2000 deco pictured''
File:WFC-K T-Wrecks stock.jpg|''2021 toy pictured'' <br> His bronze and innocence: Gone.
</gallery></center>
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===The big ones===
{{anchor|Black Roritchi}}
====Black Roritchi's antennae====
For years, the main image for [[Black Roritchi]] on this wiki used an image from the [[2006]] [[Metrodome]] release [[Transformers: Super-God Masterforce (cartoon)|''Masterforce'' cartoon]] depicting him against a pitch-black backdrop, which his equally-black antennae blended into. When ''[[Generations Selects (toyline)|Generations Selects]]'' Black Roritchi was produced in 2020 as a redeco of [[Fasttrack (G1)#Generations|Fasttrack]], the figure was given a custom head solely to remove the antennae under the mistaken belief that he didn't have them. Color-correction in later re-releases of the cartoon would reveal Black Roritchi to have blue antennae against a starfield. The timing of those re-releases? [[2012]]. Oops.

<center><gallery heights=200px widths=200px>
File:MF-toy Black Roritchi.jpg|''Original 1988 toy pictured''
File:Mf35 guardminder leader.jpg|''2006 [[Metrodome]] version of <br> 1988 anime scene pictured'' <br> He's literally about to turn his head and show off his black antennae.
File:Black roritchi masterforce.jpg|''2012 [[Shout! Studios|Shout! Factory]] restoration pictured'' <br> Uh, make that blue antennae.<br> 
File:GS-toy BlackRoritchi.jpg|''2020 toy pictured'' <br> The only time people wouldn't care if Hasbro [[Rotorstorm (G1)#Generations|accidently forgot to show off the new head]].
</gallery></center>

{{-}}{{anchor|Scrapmetal}}

====''Studio Series'' Scrapmetal====
[[File:ROTF Constructicon concept.jpg|thumb|250px|left|{{SITENAME SHORT}}'s beautiful son. Our little guy.]]
[[File:Studio-Series-MV2-41-Deluxe-Scrapmetal.jpg|thumb|250px|Nobody tell him he was an accident.]]
The character that the wiki identifies as "[[Scrapmetal (ROTF)|Scrapmetal]]" was created through a complicated, decade-long tennis match between the wiki and Hasbro. In 2009, shortly after the theatrical release of ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'', the wiki created a page for the then-nameless character under the half-jokey title "Ze little one". Rather than assuming that the character was a [[Scrapper (ROTF)|Scrapper]] clone, wiki editors at the time decided that he was his own character, as the scene where [[Constructicon (ROTF)|Constructicons]] went underwater featured a yellow Volvo excavator that didn't match to any of the other characters. "Ze little one" quickly picked up an ironic fan following, and by December 2009 Hasbro called him "Scrapmetal" and identified his alternate mode as "the bulldozer."<ref>[http://www.tfviews.com/news/main/hasbro-q-and-a/641 Hasbro Q&A December 2009 at TFviews.com]</ref> The wiki documented this and moved on. Around the same time, ''Revenge of the Fallen'' [[Devastator (ROTF)|Devastator]]'s page noted that the film version of the character was formed from [[Unknown Constructicon shovel|an extra bulldozer]] compared to the official list of his components. 

Almost ten years later, Hasbro announced a giant, fully-articulated ''Revenge of the Fallen'' [[Devastator (ROTF)#Studio Series|Devastator]] toy formed from multiple Constructicon figures from the ''[[Studio Series]]'' toyline. It is not 100% clear, but what appears to have happened is that whoever was planning the character selection looked at both Devastator and Scrapmetal's pages and decided to marry these two random tidbits by making Scrapmetal the extra bulldozer. ''Then'', the individual(s) assigned to design Scrapmetal's toy consulted the wiki page to figure out who the character was and instead made them a yellow excavator with the robot mode of the concept art randomly chosen for the main picture of the article—the result of the wiki stringing together tidbits of contradictory information from the movie.

{{-}}{{anchor|Sideways}}
====Sideways the dimension-hopper====
[[File:Sidewayses.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.5|''Can you see all of me?<br>Walk into my mystery<br>Step inside and hold on for dear life''<br>''Do you remember me?<br>Capture you or set you free<br>I am all, I am all of me'']]
Oh dear.

In [[2002]], Hasbro released two motorcycle toys bearing the same name: ''[[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2001 toyline)|Robots in Disguise]]'' [[Sideways (RID)|Sideways]] and ''[[Transformers: Armada (toyline)|Armada]]'' [[Sideways (Armada)|Sideways]]. The Hasbro toy bio for the latter recycled much of the same text from the bio of the former, nearly verbatim. This led to speculation at the time about whether or not they were meant to be the same character, ''regardless'' of the differences in toyline release since ''Robots in Disguise'' Sideways also came packaged with [[Axer (G1)#Robots in Disguise|Axer]], whose own bio hinted at his being the same person as [[Axer (G1)#The Transformers|his Generation 1 namesake]], having crossed dimensions from Generation 1 to ''Robots in Disguise''.

In [[2004]], Takara's ''[[Robotmasters (franchise)|Robotmasters]]'' line released another motorcycle toy named [[Sideways (RM)|Double Face]], who shared the exact same colors and Japanese name of ''Armada'' Sideways. Since the ''Robotmasters'' series was a big crossover event similar in concept to the concurrent ''[[Transformers: Universe (2003 franchise)|Transformers: Universe]]'' series, compounded by the then notoriously scattershot documenting done for the Japanese side of the franchise, fans in the West initially mistook ''Robotmasters'' for a [[multiverse|multiversal]] event, with characters crossing dimensions from different universes to team up with each other in a Generation 1 setting (as was the case in ''Universe''). In actuality, ''Robotmasters'' only featured time travel, not dimensional travel. But because of the initial misconception, what came next was very easily believed.

In early [[2005]], a mere two months after Double Face's release, a [https://groups.google.com/g/alt.toys.transformers/c/lKVCHWhYoJM/m/1NhElIcSnwwJ fan-given claim] was made online about Takara's official [http://web.archive.org/web/20070618040111/www.takaratomy.co.jp/products/robotmasters/main2.htm ''Robotmasters'' website] supposedly declaring Double Face to be the same character as ''Robots in Disguise'' Sideways. When the [[Sideways (Armada)|original TFWiki article for Sideways]] was first being put together in [[2006]], this same claim was reiterated several times on the article's [[Talk:Sideways (Armada)|talk page]], which misled the article's original creators to believe it and treat the ''Robots in Disguise'', ''Armada'', and ''Robotmasters'' characters all as the same Sideways, assuming that ''Robotmasters'' had confirmed the character to have dimension-hopped from another universe into Generation 1 (when it actually ''hadn't'').

With the wiki article treating all three as the same person, able to jump from universe to universe, the article went on to inspire later versions of Sideways, like ''[[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Animated]]'' [[Sideways (Animated)|Sideways]] and [[Ask Vector Prime]] [[Sideways (AVP)|Sideways]], who not only were ''explicitly'' presented as dimension-hoppers, but also had ''implicit'' ties to the originally-unrelated ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (franchise)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' [[Sideways (ROTF)|Sideways]], which only led to even ''more'' debates about how ''that'' Sideways related to the others, and whether or not ''every'' Sideways was really the ''same'' individual!

It wasn't until late [[2022]] that the validity of the original claim about ''Robotmasters'' Double Face was finally investigated; the results of this investigation revealed that there had actually been ''zero evidence'' in support of the claim found anywhere on the Takara ''Robotmasters'' website. And thanks to this false claim influencing the wiki, Sideways went on to have a reputation for being a multiversal mischief maker who jumps across multiple realities, which was never originally supposed to be the case.
{{-}}
<center><gallery heights=200px widths=200px>
File:RIDtoy-Sideways.jpg|''[[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2001 toyline)|Robots in Disguise]]'' [[Sideways (RID)#Toys|Sideways]]
File:Armadatoy-Sideways-wrongways.jpg|''[[Transformers: Armada (toyline)|Armada]]'' [[Sideways (Armada)#Armada|Sideways]] / <br> ''Legends of the Microns'' Double Face
File:RMtoy-Doubleface.jpg|''[[Robotmasters (franchise)#Toys|Robotmasters]]'' [[Sideways (RM)#Toys|Double Face]]
</gallery></center>
{{-}}

===The littlest one===
====Spelling the word Robo-Smasher====
In perhaps the amusingly smallest example of circular reporting from this wiki, the "[[Robosmasher]]" from the 1985 cartoon episode "[[The Secret of Omega Supreme (episode)|The Secret of Omega Supreme]]" was in fact written as one plain word in the episode's script. However, as is prone to happening with televised media, the original dialogue's text was not consulted when a TFWiki article for the device was created in [[2006]], under the hyphenated spelling "Robo-Smasher". This spelling was thus used by the [[Ask Vector Prime]] Facebook page as well as ''[[Beast Wars: Uprising]]'' text stories in [[2015]] prior to the wiki article being amended in [[2017]] to acknowledge the original spelling.

==Misuse of the TFWiki==
It's sometimes the case that even ''accurate'' content on the TFWiki gets misused, misappropriated, or misinterpreted by people working for Hasbro. Look, we try our best, but there is literally only so much we can do.
 
====''The Loyal Subjects'' Swoop====
Hasbro licensee [[The Loyal Subjects]] frequently, ah, took ''inspiration'' from the wiki's writeups for its various [[Tech Spec|bio cards]]. Most memorably, this resulted in [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]]'s 2014 motto being given as the image caption from his main picture.

<center><gallery heights=200px widths=200px>
File:TVMagSwoop.jpg|"Him Swoop have legs that go for miiiles."
File:HimSwoopHaveLegsThatGoForMiles.jpg|All the good mottos were taken.
</gallery></center>

====''Shattered Glass'' Hailstorm====
In IDW's ''[[Transformers: Shattered Glass II]]'' miniseries, [[Shattered Glass II issue 4|the fourth issue]] focused on a ''Shattered Glass'' incarnation of [[Flamewar (G1)|Flamewar]]. Put bluntly, writer [[Danny Lore]] appears to have worked out the backstory for [[Flamewar (SG)|this mirror-universe version of Flamewar]] by giving her existing TFWiki article a cursory skim; in particular, the incongruous presence of [[Hailstorm (SG)|Hailstorm]] in the comic is likely extrapolated entirely from a cropped panel used on the article, where Flamewar is seen hanging out with Hailstorm in the multiversal melting-pot of [[Axiom Nexus]].

<center><gallery heights=200px widths=200px>
File:HailstormDeceptichargeFlamewarCMW.jpg|[[Flamewar (G1)|Flamewar]] hanging on the arm of [[Hailstorm (TF 2010)|Hailstorm]] in [[Axiom Nexus]]
File:SGHailstorm.jpg|[[Hailstorm (SG)|''Shattered Glass'' Hailstorm]]
</gallery></center>

====BotCon Ladybug/Cliffjumper====
In [[2025]], when unofficial ''Transformers'' convention BotCon began promoting their convention-exclusive figures—produced under official license from Hasbro, via licensor [[Yolopark]]—the wiki duly created a new page for "Ladybug", a female Decepticon based on the G1 "red Bumblebee" toy [[variant]], being touted by BotCon to be a brand-new character. In the first sentence of the toy's writeup, the word "unofficial" was used to describe BotCon, as the convention is organised by a third party, Agabyss. Representatives from BotCon tried to have this word removed from the article, for reasons which were—at the time—totally unclear. Then, in the run-up to the convention, social media posts from BotCon inexplicably appeared to walk back the characterisation of "Ladybug"; she was instead referred to simply as [[Cliffjumper (Yolopark)|Cliffjumper]], and depicted as an Autobot.

At the convention itself, the people involved gave an explanation: apparently, someone at Hasbro had come across the wiki's article for "Ladybug", seen the word "unofficial", and somehow completely misread this to mean that "Ladybug" was a ''pre-existing, fanmade'' character. At it happened, this was actually true: many fans (including [[Dave Edwards|Zobovor]], going back to the days of [[alt.toys.transformers]]) had independently come up with the idea of calling the red Bumblebee toy "Ladybug", though the BotCon staff reportedly had never heard of this. Presumably for legal reasons, Hasbro became adamantly against the "Ladybug" character, and for simplicity's sake suggested that she be called "Cliffjumper" instead. Unhappy that the toy didn't really resemble previous Cliffjumpers, BotCon argued that they should produce a pack-in comic to give the character a backstory and justify its existence: "[[A Cliffjumper(s) Tale]]". This in turn led to [[The Sound of Science|an equivalent comic]] being produced for the accompanying Soundblaster/Glyph two-pack from the same convention. In other words, the presence of one little word on one of our pages killed a character and created two comics.<ref>{{citesocial|link=https://tfwiki.net/wiki/User_talk:Sabrblade/BotCon_2025_report|name=Sabrblade|site=TFWiki|title=BotCon 2025 report|year=2025|month=06|day=18}}</ref> Disturbing!

==Non-TFWiki misreporting==
Of course, people working on official ''Transformers'' material make use of unofficial reference material outside of this wiki, and errors in ''Transformers'' scholarship elsewhere are just as capable of leading to incorrect or occasionally, outright made up, information making it into the final product.
<!--Please don't add any new entries without explaining the mistake or change and the source thereof, as it may not be obvious otherwise.-->

===Incorrectly-colored animation models===
[[File:Incorrect R.E.D. Soundwave Shins.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|''Inaccurate model at left'' <br> ''Accurate model at centre'' <br> ''Off-model 2020 product at right'']]
{{main|Miscolorings based on the Generation 1 cartoon}}

The [[1984]]-[[1987]] [[The Transformers (cartoon)|''The Transformers'' animated series]] that has become a centerpiece of the brand was, to be blunt, not a high-quality production in the animation department. All four seasons were prone to [[animation error]]s, adding an additional challenge to modern fans attempting to isolate simple views of any given [[character model]]. To make matters worse, Hasbro and licensees have often relied upon a set of fan-colorings from the Ukrainian ''Transformers'' fan website, [https://www.transformers.kiev.ua/index.php?pageid=g1encyclopedia Transformers.kiev.ua,] that attempted to recreate Sunbow animation models using screen captures of episodes, while eye dropping the colors from said screen captures, and then replacing the heads of the models with traced headshots also taken from episode screen captures. These fan-colorings regularly make rounds on the web since they are readily available on Pinterest and Fandom wikia pages, making it hard not to come across them through a simple Google Search.

On top of all of this, the models Transformers.kiev.ua would frequently use were also the ones published in [[The Ark series|''The Ark'' series]] books as they were the only real source available for Generation 1 animation models at the time. In the years since, better copies of animation models have surfaced through eBay and various Japanese auction sites, revealing that a large majority of the models used in the books were actually out of date pre-final models that had been revised anywhere from once, to several times afterwards. The author of the books, [[Jim Sorenson]] has also stated in conversation with the wiki team that due to the condition of some of the models he had found or been given access to, [[Bill Forster]] had to sometimes trace, redraw, and digitally mend models, such as the [[Junkion (species)|Junkion]]s, to make them more presentable for publishing; this has also led to several inaccuracies with the original model sheets that have surfaced since.

As can be seen in the example at right, the 2020 ''[[Transformers R.E.D.|R.E.D. <nowiki>[</nowiki>Robot Enhanced Design<nowiki>]</nowiki>]]'' [[Soundwave (G1)/merchandise#RED|Soundwave]] figure's shins were incorrectly left blue instead of being painted silver/gray due to Hasbro once again basing the figure on the [https://www.transformers.kiev.ua/g1/soundwaveg1.html Transformers.kiev.ua fan-colored model].

Hasbro also tends to use the images from Transformers.kiev.ua whole-hog in their social media posts on Instagram and Facebook for memes, visuals for trivia, and holiday celebration posts, as well as using them as placeholder images for pipeline reveals of upcoming figures in the works. A notable example of this was the pipeline reveal of ''[[Transformers: Legacy|Legacy: Evolution]]'' [[Devcon (G1)#Legacy|Devcon]], whose [https://www.transformers.kiev.ua/g1/devcong1.html placeholder "model" image] isn't even a model at all, rather [[:File:Devcon-Body01.jpg|a couple of]] [[:File:Gambler Devcon vehicle.jpg|traced screencaps]] from the episode "[[The Gambler]]".<ref>[https://news.tfw2005.com/2023/01/31/transformers-jan-23-livestream-recap-legacy-evolution-wave-2-and-more-474374 Transformers Jan 23 Livestream Recap – Legacy Evolution Wave 2 and More!] at TFW2005</ref> The same had also been done for [[Snarl (G1)#Legacy|Snarl]], [[Bombshell (G1)#Legacy|Bombshell]], [[Dirge (G1)/toys#Legacy|Dirge]], and so on. It's one thing to use them as reference for toys and design inspiration, but the practice of taking them whole-hog without a background check, and using them in official posts is a bit of a shoddy practice, to say the least.
{{--}}

===Designs based on "third party" toys===
{{main|IP infringement#Third party designs in official products and marketing}}
Many illustrations and character models created in the franchise's recent history are based on unlicensed products.

===Other oddities===
====Discmaster====
This might be one of the earliest cases of circular reporting in the history of the ''Transformers'' brand and fandom (and one of the rare, non-visual, text-only cases). The [http://tflab.net/japaspe/second/bd20.html toy bio] for ''[[Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers|Beast Wars II]]'' [[Autolauncher]] refers to both himself and his rival [[Mantis]] with the turn of phrase ''enban tsukai'' (円盤使い, meaning "disc user"). When the bio was translated into English in the late 1990s/early 2000s, the phrase was written in English as "Discmaster", with the one responsible having likely taken some creative inspiration from [[Headmaster (technology)|the]] [[Targetmaster (technology)|various]] [[Powermaster|forms]] [[Godmaster (lifeform)|of]] "[[Brainmaster|-master]]" [[Micromaster|technology]] [[Powered Master|of]] Generation 1.

During the mid-2000s, when putting together the ''[[Transformers: Beast Wars Sourcebook|Beast Wars Sourcebook]]'', longtime fan [[Ben Yee]] (who was co-author of the ''Sourcebook'' with [[Simon Furman]]) took this translation to heart and applied the term to the book's profiles for both Autolauncher and Mantis—unaware that "Discmaster" was actually creative liberty on part of the fan translation and not an accurate representation of what was originally written in the Japanese bio text. As a result, the term "[[Discmaster]]" now referred to a martial art practiced by both characters, despite the term having never actually existed beforehand in the first place.

====''Transformers Legends'' Axe====
[[File:TFLegends Axe vehicle.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.5]]
In 2014, the ''Transformers Legends'' mobile game added a card based on [[Axe (G1)|Axe]], a character designed by [[Alex Milne]] for ''[[The Transformers: Drift]]''. However, for alt-mode reference, the card directly copied a piece of fanart created by Sara Guyon-Gellin.<ref>{{citesocial|quote=Nicely done, but the game's artist lacks some creativity IMHO. For the design of jet mode in particular. Done and uploaded in 2011. Nice to know my work is good enough that someone officially hired by Hasbro decided there was no need for further adjustment and simply copied his/her own pictures from it :( I mean, couldn't you at least have changed the tail rudders ? </sarcasm>|link=https://www.deviantart.com/alteride/journal/Nice-to-be-an-inspiration-for-official-TF-artists-494832421|name=Sara Guyon-Gellin|site=deviantART|title=Nice to be an inspiration for official TF artists|year=2014|month=11|day=16}}</ref><ref>{{citesocial|link=https://www.deviantart.com/alteride/art/Axe-alt-modes-studies-252754825|name=Sara Guyon-Gellin|site=deviantART|title=Axe alt modes - studies|year=2011|month=08|day=14}}</ref> Milne had intended the character to have a land-based mode!<ref>{{citesocial|quote=Too bad for the jet part, though, [Alex Milne] told me later Axe was land-based only. Voice of God :/|link=https://www.deviantart.com/comments/1/252754825/2172060396|name=Sara Guyon-Gellin|site=deviantART|year=2011|month=08|day=30}}</ref> Also, not cool.

{{-}}{{anchor|Menasor}}
====''Combiner Wars'' G2 Menasor====
At first glance, Hasbro's ''[[Transformers: Generation 2 (franchise)|Generation 2]]''-themed redeco of ''[[Combiner Wars (toyline)|Combiner Wars]]'' [[Menasor (G1)#CWG2|Menasor]] looks to be a simple homage to the original, canceled ''Generation 2'' toy. However, a closer inspection reveals that it took some notable inspiration from a 2014 fanmade digibash [http://air-hammer.deviantart.com/art/G2-Stunticons-Digibash-471989649 posted to DeviantArt] by longtime fan artist Air Hammer, which was itself based on another fan's [http://cybertron.ca/boards/showthread.php?p=76573 hand-painted customization] of the original Generation 1 Stunticons in an attempt to recreate the canceled ''Generation 2'' toys. As an extra, the official Transformers Facebook page [[:file:G2Offroad.jpg|posted a promotional pic of the set]] that used the aforemented digibashes of the individual Stunticons instead of their proper stock photos... which featured [[Offroad (CW)|Offroad]] as the fifth member of the team, rather than [[Wildrider (G1)|Brake-Neck]] (whose ''Combiner Wars'' version wasn't revealed yet when the digibash was made) as the official set.

<center><gallery heights=200px widths=200px>
File:G2 Menasor and G2 Defensor.jpg|''Original 1994 deco pictured, left''
File:G2 Stunticons 1995 Tomart.jpg|''Purple-faced Menasor, as seen in the [[cross-sell]] from the figures' packaging''
File:Transformers-Generations-Combiner-Wars-G2-Menasor.jpg|''2015 deco pictured'' <br> Why, these limbs are the wrong toolings entirel- [[Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers (toyline)#1986 (Scramble City and 2010)|Oh, right.]]
</gallery></center>
{{-}}

====Warriorbot====
[[File:Warriorbot hobby lobby.jpg|thumb|150px]]
In [[2017]], a Hasbro license, [[Open Road Brands]], released a [[:File:Open road brands faction sign.jpg|tin wall sign]] exclusively to Hobby Lobby stores, meant to showcase the many [[Insignia|faction symbols]] from the [[Transformers brand|brand]]'s history, but one symbol stood out. The self-proclaimed "Warriorbots" were never a real thing. So were did they come from? The answer can be found on the "[https://transformers.fandom.com/wiki/Insignia?diff=prev&oldid=405151 Insignia]" page on the Transformers Fandom (formerly Wikia) wiki from 2014 to 2017, with it being listed among the others. In other words: Whoever designed it used that page as reference.    
{{-}}

====''Cyberverse'' character models====
While the core cast of the [[2018]] series ''[[Transformers: Cyberverse (cartoon)| Cyberverse]]'' was based on the [[evergreen]] characters being pushed at the time, the supporting cast drew from a range of pre-existing toys (mostly from the ''Generations'' line) and designs (mostly from [[IDW Publishing]]'s comics). Close inspection of character models reveals that, in some cases, specific pieces of artwork were used for reference—and in a couple of cases, the artwork in question wasn't actually official, but rather fan-work that crops up often in Google Images searches:
* [[Perceptor (Cyberverse)|Perceptor]] is based on a fan-colored version of [[Guido Guidi]]'s character model sketched for ''[[The Transformers: All Hail Megatron|All Hail Megatron]]'', which is where his grey feet come from (in IDW's comics, they were black).<ref>{{citesocial|quote=Coloring of Guido Guidi's Perceptor.|link=https://www.deviantart.com/vaderprime1/art/Perceptor-208339678|name=VaderPrime1|site=DeviantArt|title=Perceptor|year=2011|month=05|day=10}}</ref>
* [[Drift (Cyberverse)|Drift]]'s original "Deadlock" body is based on a piece of fanart by Guido Guidi.<ref>{{citesocial|quote=A fanart rendering based on G1 Springer repurposed as an hypothetical G1 Deadlock repaint (Drift former identity as Decepticon)|link=https://www.deviantart.com/guidoguidi/art/Retro-G1-Deadlock-model-sheet-526900626|name=Guido Guidi|site=DeviantArt|title=Retro G1 Deadlock model sheet|year=2015|month=04|day=15}}</ref>
* [[Alpha Trion#Cyberverse|Alpha Trion]] is based on a piece of fanart by [[Makoto Ono]], the original source for which has disappeared along with the rest of his DeviantArt account, but which still remains [https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/autobot-leader-alpha-trion-by-makotoonodeviantartcom-on-deviantart--375909900129440770/ floating around on the internet]. This is where Alpha Trion's hulked-out proportions come from, as well as the details of his lower legs.

====IDW ''Transformers'' Megaplex====
[[File:Megaplex Digibash IDW.jpg|thumb]]
In the IDW Publishing comic issue [[Rise of the Decepticons: Swindle's|''Transformers'' #20]], the ''[[Machine Wars: Transformers|Machine Wars]]''-based characters [[Starscream (MW)|Starscream]] and [[Megaplex]] make cameo appearances in a crowd. Line artist [[Anna Malkova]] drew Megaplex according to a 2012 "virtual redeco" of ''[[Transformers: Energon (toyline)|Energon]]'' Deluxe-sized [[Starscream (Armada)/toys#Energon|Starscream]] [https://www.deviantart.com/air-hammer/art/Machine-Wars-Megatron-and-Megaplex-Digibash-341964614 posted to DeviantArt] by fan artist Air Hammer (similar to the above case of ''Combiner Wars'' G2 Menasor). Given that "Starscream" is drawn according to his [[Starscream (MW)#Toys|original toy]], one imagines that Malkova intended to do the same for Megaplex—but as Google Images returns the fan-made digibash near the top of its search results for "''Machine Wars'' Megaplex", Malkova presumably believed it to be an official toy, and wound up drawing that design instead.

====''Legacy: United'' Rukus====
The [[2024]] modernised toy of [[Ruckus (G1)#Legacy|Rukus]] released as part of the ''[[Transformers: Legacy#Exclusives 3|Doom 'n Destruction Collection]]'' capsule subline of ''Legacy: United'' sports new [[paint operation]]s on his forearms. In addition, the suspension springs sculpted into his legs are upside down compared to the original toy and [[package art]]. The toy was clearly designed with reference to an incorrectly-[[sticker]]ed sample of the G1 toy, with the hip detailing mistakenly applied to the forearms, and the leg stickers placed upside-down. For several years prior to this incident, the TFWiki itself had been using [https://www.seibertron.com/transformers-toys/gallery/g1-1988/ruckus/124/1/ images from Seibertron] with misplaced hip stickers—but the upside-down springs on the legs point towards a different specific sample of the toy being the culprit.
<center><gallery heights=200px widths=200px>
File:G1 Ruckus toy.jpg|''Original [[1988]] toy with correct sticker placement'' <br> Many thanks to [[Sixo]]! You wreck and rule!
File:Misstickered G1 Ruckus toy.jpg|''Original 1988 toy with'' '''''incorrect''''' ''sticker placement, from Seibertron.com''
File:TF-Legacy-United-Deluxe-Rukus.jpg|''2024 toy pictured''
</gallery></center>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Fandom]]