Vehicon (Prime)

The name or term "Vehicon" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Vehicon (disambiguation).

Vehicons are Decepticons from the Aligned continuity family.

There are many copies, and they have a plan: to look bitchin'.

Vehicons may be Megatron and/or Starscream's cannon fodder and suffer from particularly poor marksmanship, but they do possess sweet alternate modes, be they sports cars, jets (a Seeker variant), helicopters, tanks or trucks.

If they're not slagged by an Autobot, they can be used for experimentation or even simply recycled for parts by a superior, but that's their lot in life, and by and large, they accept this. Their primary motivation is the thought that someday they might make a name for themselves —literally— and rise to the upper ranks. Thus they have a tendency to follow orders blindly, and are highly expendable.

They can appear in a large variety of colors, including black, silver (indicating "elite" soldiers), blue, red, green, yellow, and purple.

Many of them were placed on board the Alchemor after the defeat of Unicron and Megatron's self-exile.

They are also known as Eradicons, or simply as Decepticon Troopers.

Fiction

Aligned novels

The Nemesis had a complement of Vehicons, who were knocked unconscious by the ship's explosive space bridge journey. They were some of the last crew members to awaken in the aftermath. Exiles

Superion battered his way through hordes of Vehicons after crashing into the Nemesis while he made his way towards the engines to sabotage them. Retribution

Cartoon continuity

Prime cartoon

Voice actor: Steve Blum / Kevin Michael Richardson / Frank Welker / Daran Norris / Josh Keaton / David Kaye / David Sobolov / Peter Cullen (English), Yūki Tai, Yasunori Masutani (episode 49) (Japanese), Jaime Roca / Luis Vicente Ivars / Miguel Ángel Pérez / José María Carrero / Jorge Saudinós / Carlos López Benedí (Spain-Spanish), Arturo Cataño / Héctor Moreno / Sergio Gutiérrez Coto / Ricardo Tejedo / Héctor Emmanuel Gómez / Raymundo Armijo / Armando Coria (Latin-American Spanish), Klaus Lochthove / Uwe Jellinek / Roman Kretschmer / Matthias Klages / Jan Kurbjuweit / Raimund Krone (German), Frédéric Meaux / Bruno Bulté / Olivier Cuvellier (French), Élcio Sodré (Brazilian Portuguese), Lukasz Węgrzynowski (Polish, episode 6), Krzysztof Cybiński (Polish, episode 13), Hyeon Lee / Yeong-wung Jeong / Sang-hyeon Eom (Korean)

Possibly the most beautiful army-builders ever.

Airachnid had a couple of Vehicons at her disposal on Cybertron. They captured Tailgate, and were later blasted by Bumblebee during Arcee's rescue. Predatory The Nemesis had a complement of Vehicons on board. Starscream took them with him when he visited Shockwave on Cybertron. Out of the Past

When Starscream arrived on Earth, he brought a scrapload of Vehicons with him. A large squad of them jumped Cliffjumper and took him prisoner, and two were later sent to take out Arcee. They proved quite powerful opponents when it came to physical combat, able to get both Arcee and Bumblebee on the ropes without much difficulty; only Bulkhead's arrival caused them to withdraw. Darkness Rising, Part 1

Drones are people too!

When first Bulkhead and later other Autobots made an assault on the Nemesis, the drones did their best to hold them off but, while still doing damage, were taken down after a drawn-out battle. One managed to capture Jack Darby and Raf, while another came close to murdering the kids. Darkness Rising, Part 3 Darkness Rising, Part 4

When Megatron wanted to defend his space bridge, he sent in a squad of Vehicons with space-jet modes. In a pitched battle, the Autobots flattened them. Darkness Rising, Part 5

In the aftermath of Megatron's demise, Starscream delivered a stirring speech to the Vehicon troopers, only for one of them to question how they'd defeat the Autobots without Megatron's leadership. Starscream's pronouncements met with a lackluster response from the Vehicons, leading him to seek alternate help. The troops must have been pleased when Starscream recovered Megatron's body and placed him in sickbay. Masters & Students

Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang's deadlier cousins.

Some flying Vehicons shot down Wheeljack's ship, before he hacked them to bits with his swords. A bunch more presumably overwhelmed him so that Makeshift could take his place. Makeshift finished off two of the Vehicons once Bulkhead, Arcee and Bumblebee arrived, in order to maintain his disguise. Poor disposable Vehicons. Starscream prepared a battalion of Vehicons to go through the GroundBridge once Makeshift opened it, however Wheeljack killed his Vehicon guard and attacked them atop the Decepticon ship before escaping through the GroundBridge itself. When the GroundBridge opened a second time, the Vehicons rushed into it, only to be knocked over by Makeshift being thrown through it in the other direction. Yet more Vehicons were taken out a short time later when a bomb attached to Makeshift exploded. Con Job

"The Danger Zone looks greener than I was expecting."

A squadron of flying Vehicons were sent to search out and destroy the Autobots during a mission. They succeeded in destroying Prime's trailer before landing and confronting the Autobots themselves. Then they mostly got pounded, but one managed to ram Prime in the face with a tree, sending him over the edge and temporarily knocking him offline. Convoy

Dissatisfied with the progress of Megatron's recovery, the crew voted to bring in outside help, and Starscream summoned Knock Out and Breakdown to repair their leader. One single Vehicon was with Starscream, Knock Out, and Breakdown when they were going to drain an energon seam using the recently stolen Energon Harvester. When Knock Out tried to correct Starscream on who was responsible for obtaining the device, Starscream demonstrated the Harvester's abilities by using it on the Vehicon, draining it of its energon. Deus ex Machina

A couple of Vehicons were present when Starscream chewed out (and subsequently punished) Knock Out for his going out on a street racing escapade one too many times. Speed Metal

The Vehicons were put to work repairing the ship's electromagnetic shielding after it failed, and despite working as fast as they could, it was taking a while. Partly because Starscream was drawing them from their duties to smack them around. Sick Mind While controlling Bumblebee, Megatron trashed a bunch of Vehicons in the Decepticon ship. Another batch of them came running when Megatron revived in his own body, and were promptly ordered to destroy Ratchet and Bumblebee. Out of His Head

A lone Vehicon was manning the Decepticon GroundBridge when Starscream requested an emergency bridge back to the ship. Starscream yelled at it to keep quiet about his activities, and it silently watched him leave the room. Shadowzone Four Vehicons accompanied Starscream in an attempt to rescue Breakdown, who had been captured by MECH. By the time they arrived, Breakdown had already been rescued by Bulkhead. They prepared to attack the Autobot, who flattened them by throwing Breakdown at them. Operation: Breakdown

Several Vehicons were fighting Bumblebee and Arcee when the latter had to leave suddenly. Luckily Bumblebee was more than capable of taking care of the rest of them on his own. Crisscross Breakdown was escorted to the bridge by a couple of Vehicons when he returned to the Nemesis with Airachnid. Metal Attraction A couple of Vehicons were on guard on the Nemesis bridge when Megatron ordered Airachnid and Starscream to go find the wreck of the Harbinger. Partners

The Black Baron

Knock Out and Breakdown were assisted in their quest to grab a Cybertronian data cylinder by a squad of Vehicons. Another squad accompanied Megatron when he attempted to capture Bulkhead who had the data from the cylinder in his head. The Autobots pretty much trashed those Vehicons, after which Megatron decided no one was having the cylinder and flew off. T.M.I. Vehicons played a large role in the collection of more energon. A number of them aided Knock Out and Breakdown during a transport mission, and were pounded by Ratchet. Others of them protected a miner, though not very well as they were trashed by the Autobots. Yet more Vehicons in an energon mine were smashed up when the Autobots went to rescue Ratchet. Stronger, Faster

Several squads of Vehicons attacked a military base to retrieve a power source for the Decepticons' new space bridge, and were wiped out by Optimus, Arcee and Bulkhead before they could get away. One Shall Fall None of the Vehicons were particularly keen to go against Airachnid when she decided Megatron probably wasn't coming back from his trip to see Unicron. A group of them were on the bridge to bow subserviently when Megatron eventually did return. One Shall Rise, Part 3

Megatron informed the Vehicons to be careful with their words around the amnesiac Optimus Prime. Some of them accompanied Knock Out and Breakdown in a raid on a military installation to get a power source. Arcee busted up a bunch of them when she got on board and hunted for Optimus. Starscream encountered a good number of them when he sneaked on board to steal energon cubes too. Orion Pax, Part 1 The Vehicons caught up with Starscream, but were unable to stop him escaping the ship. The Autobots mowed their way through the Vehicons guarding the Decepticon space bridge. Orion Pax, Part 2

Two Vehicons were assigned to guard Orion after he discovered the truth. He appealed to them to help him warn the Autobots of Megatron's plans, and they responded by beating him. They didn't do so well after he worked out he had guns. Orion Pax, Part 3 Megatron used Vehicons to unearth the Spark Extractor, but abandoned them to be trashed by the Autobots in order to return to the Nemesis. Operation Bumblebee, Part 1

Two Vehicons accompanied Knock Out when he presented his latest find, a powerful force-field generator, to Megatron. When Megatron performed an impromptu test of the device by shooting at Knock Out, his companions quickly scampered away. Operation Bumblebee, Part 2

Vehicons could be seen going about their regular duties as Dreadwing first pledged his loyalty to Megatron.Loose Cannons

Dreadwing and a squadron of flying Vehicons came to Megatron's aid when he was surrounded by Autobots. Though Dreadwing promised to let the Autobots go if they spared Megatron, Megatron himself ordered the Vehicons to destroy the Autobots. Naturally, that didn't work out for the Vehicons. Crossfire The Vehicons later responded to a Decepticon beacon Bulkhead had triggered on the Nemesis. They approached what they thought was Starscream and pursued him instead. They later helped Megatron fight against incoming Insecticons. Armada

The Nemesis later crashed and Megatron used Dark Energon to bring it back online. As a consequence, the ship started having a mind of its own and Megatron sent the entire ship's crew to stop the Nemesis. They failed and were stasis locked. The Vehicons and the rest of the Decepticons started regaining consciousness when Jack disabled the ship's Dark Energon influence. Flying Mind

Four of them were dispatched to Antarctica with Dreadwing to find one of the relics. They mostly ended up guarding Starscream, and were all dispatched during the course of a fight with Optimus Prime. Triangulation Only Soundwave was successful in retrieving the relic he was sent to fetch, and the Vehicons manning the bridge once more got an earful of Megatron chewing out the rest of his subordinates for their failures. Triage A couple of Vehicons made their feelings about the Insecticons clear within earshot of Hardshell, resulting in a brawl between the two groups. Hurt Some Vehicons and Insecticons were sent to investigate a crashed Decepticon escape pod. Those that weren't killed by the Autobots perished when the pod exploded. New Recruit A bunch of them attempted to defend a military base while Soundwave hacked the computer. They pretty much all got slagged, including one who was blasted by the orbital death laser Soundwave was controlling. The Human Factor

Megatron had some with him when he was trying to recover the Star Saber. Amazingly several actually escaped destruction when the Autobots attacked and returned to the ship with their leader. Legacy Smokescreen found them easy to evade with the phase shifter, though once he jumped off the Nemesis, an enraged Megatron flung a Flyer and a Trooper after him before ordering more Flyers after him. Two Flyers crashed once Smokescreen phased through the ground while the screaming Trooper blew up after them. Two Flyers accompanying Megatron surveyed the wreckage. Inside Job

Starscream cosplayers are a terrible force to be reckoned with.

Megatron and a large number of Vehicons went to Cybertron with the Omega Keys to find the Omega Lock. They were ambushed by the Autobots, and the Vehicons who survived the attack were taken out by the spark extractor that Smokescreen dropped in their midst. Regeneration Vehicon reinforcements surrounded the Autobots after they were forced to drop their weapons, but didn't last long once Optimus grabbed the Star Saber again. Many flying Vehicons with spanking new paint jobs took part in the attack on the Autobot base. Darkest Hour

They were tasked with searching through the rubble of the Autobot base for bodies, but found only Airachnid and the Forge of Solus Prime. A couple were sent to attack Arcee and Jack Darby, and were blown up in a gas station explosion. Some more of them accompanied Knock Out to Cybertron and managed to dig up the Apex Armor. Darkmount, NV A Vehicon execution team totally failed to execute Wheeljack, but as it turned out, this was part of Starscream's plan as he had counted on them failing. Oddly enough, the flying Vehicons he sent to dispatch Wheeljack and Bulkhead failed too, as they fell into a trap and were blown up. Scattered

A squad of Vehicons bore witness to Shockwave bringing his Predacon experiment to Earth, and unleashing it to track down Wheeljack. Prey The Vehicon forces were subsequently spread thin all over America as Starscream dispatched them to investigate "Autobot mischief." Those that remained at Darkmount had to deal with various fronts of attack from the Autobots, the invaders were all eventually taken prisoner... until Optimus returned in an upgraded body. The tide of the battle turned once more, and the Vehicons were defeated en masse by the Autobots. Though Megatron planned to use the fortress's fusion cannons to destroy nearby metropolises, this plan when to scrap as well when Optimus threw his nemesis into the cannons' power core. With the battle ultimately lost, Starscream ordered a couple of Vehicons to escort Megatron back to the warship, despite their leader's protests. Rebellion

Shockwave had a squad of Vehicons with him in Texas, while digging up Predacon remains. They didn't last particularly long against Bumblebee and Smokescreen. Project Predacon A team of Vehicons searching for Predacon fossils in Scotland was taken out by Ultra Magnus and the Wreckers. Starscream took two seekers with him to investigate the team's disappearance, and both of them somehow managed to survive an encounter with Miko Nakadai in the Apex Armor. Chain of Command

Arcee and Wheeljack managed to bridge into the middle of a squad of Vehicons in New Mexico and took the lot of them out without breaking a sweat. Meanwhile, Starscream attempted to have a couple of Vehicons repair the communication dish on the Nemesis with little success. Plus One

When Cylas was turned into a sort of energon zombie in an experiment, Starscream was confident that the highly trained Vehicons would be able to deal with it. Surprise! They didn't. A bunch of them got infected and turned into more energon zombies instead. A cleanup team headed by Soundwave eventually eradicated the infected Vehicons. Thirst As a result of the infection, Vehicon numbers were cut by a half. That didn't stop the Decepticons using a number of them as bait to lure the Autobots to Shockwave's off-site laboratory. Evolution

A group of Vehicons accompanied Shockwave to the Solaris particle collider installation. Minus One They all died. Five Seeker Vehicons joined Starscream in an attack on the Autobot base and all managed to survive, despite the US military sending a squad of Skystrikers against them. Persuasion They didn't survive an encounter with Optimus Prime when they were sent out with Starscream to intercept a signal though. The Vehicons on the Nemesis meanwhile had to cope with first one of Predaking's rampages, and then an invasion of Autobots. Synthesis Though they put up a desperate defense, the Vehicons were unable to fight off the Autobot assault. Their remaining numbers presumably evacuated the Nemesis in escape pods. Deadlock

A handful of Vehicons (ineptly) attempted to help Bulkhead build a new space port for those who returned to Cybertron. Most of the others were kept locked up with Knock Out. When Starscream arrived and freed them all, the Vehicons attempted to help him retake the warship, only to be blasted by the Autobots. Predacons Rising

2015 Robots in Disguise cartoon

Finally they don't die!!!

Voice actor: Jim Cummings (English), Fred Tatasciore (English)

Glowstrike had a number of colorful Vehicons at her command, Metal Meltdown using them to guard her Mini-Con prisoners. Portals

Two Vehicons who were guarding Decepticon Island were very impressed with the supposed captures made by Grimlock, who was forced to knock his admirers out when they got suspicious. Decepticon Island (Part 1) Vehicons were some of the many Decepticons who helped Steeljaw in his attempt to capture the invading Autobots. Decepticon Island (Part 2)

Japanese cartoon continuity

Adventure toy bios

Certain Vehicons who displayed particular talent were promoted to the rank of Ground Vehicon General, becoming soldiers considered above and beyond regular Vehicons. Following the Decepticons' defeat and disappearance of the Vehicon armies, one of these generals fell in with Black Shadow. Ground Vehicon General bio

e-HOBBY comics

During an intrusion from Cloud World into his universe, a Vehicon witnessed the bloodthirsty Deadlock shoot a downed Override in the head. Decepticon Jaeger Deadlock

IDW Prime comic

GO, GO, Vehicon Rangers!

Vehicons were stationed on Cybertron, building Starscream's space bridge. They captured Cliffjumper and were visibly agitated when he refused to translate Optimus Prime's encrypted message for them. They were prevented from executing him when Arcee came and killed them all. The rest of Starscream's troops in Kaon were killed when she blew up the space bridge. Transformers: Prime

Titan Prime comic

"Have you seen Blue, my puppy?"

After the Autobots accidentally uncovered a nuclear warhead, a group of Vehicons mistook the energy signature for an energon trace and headed toward Autobot Outpost Omega One to investigate. They were welcomed to the neighbourhood by Optimus, Arcee and Bumblebee, who comprehensively dismantled them. The Safe and the Failsafe

After a hypnotised Raf opened the GroundBridge, the Decepticons sent wave after wave of Vehicons through it into the Autobot base. The Autobots valiantly kept them at bay until Raf recovered and reconfigured the GroundBridge to suck the Vehicons back through, though there were a few loose parts left behind. Tinker, Tailor, Gamer, Spy! The Vehicons had trouble flying the Nemesis through a storm when Megatron tasked Starscream with finding a way to flush out the Autobots. Starscream took a bunch of them with him to then take Air Force One hostage, and secured the plane's passengers within the Grand Canyon. Though the Autobots took the bait, they easily dispatched all of Starscream's troops in their rescue attempt. All the President's 'Bots!

Megatron forced the Vehicons to engage in a series of deathmatches in a cave below the Erta Ale volcano. This included pitting Starscream against one of the larger Vehicons, Fearstorm, however Starscream used his wits to defeat his foe. Megatron's Law Some land and air Vehicons accompanied Knock Out to Zhejiang Province, China to test his neuron refractor on Optimus Prime. They actually managed to subdue Bulkhead and Arcee when the pair came looking for their leader, but once Optimus was back on his feet, the surviving Decepticons fled. The Mind Trap! After Bulkhead destroyed an energon store, Megatron and six Vehicons tracked him through the forest, eventually dog-piling him and taking him back to the Nemesis. Later, a couple of the Vehicons found the Autobots' kids trying to free the prisoner, but were dispatched by Optimus before they could do anything about it. The Battle for Bulkhead

He ain't no dummy,
He's chummy,
And he's myyyyyyy mummy!

Many Vehicons took part in a battle against the Autobots in The Wave. Some of them tried to outflank Team Prime, only to be smashed to pieces by Bulkhead's wrecking ball. The Evil Shred A good number of them accompanied Megatron in an attack on the Statue of Liberty, only to be smashed up by Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. The final indignity came when Bumblebee threw a lifeless Vehicon in an attempt to knock Megatron off the statue. Protecting the Lady When Knock Out and Breakdown took over the TV show Down and Out, they were accompanied by four Vehicons who disguised themselves as mummies to fit with the show's muddled Aztec/Egyptian theme and attacked Optimus and Bulkhead. Bulkhead took care of them while Optimus rescued the human hostages. It's a Knock-Out

Eaglemoss Prime comic

Vehicon 367 complained about being under-appreciated by Megatron. Issue #44

IDW Robots in Disguise comic

Three Vehicons, designated XL-917, XL-571, and Steve were assigned by Starscream to establish an energon mine. Many years later, unaware that the Decepticon army had been defeated, the trio continued to toil until they were discovered by Steeljaw. Steeljaw convinced them that he was a superior officer, and had them help him kidnap Fixit and Russell Clay. Robots in Disguise #5

Together with Steeljaw's men, the Vehicons set about mining the energon. When Bumblebee and his team arrived, the Vehicons joined in the combat, revealing the bomb which Starscream had left them. Optimus Prime arrived and revealed that the war was over, the Decepticon army defeated, and Steeljaw was not part of Starscream's command, at which point the Vehicons turned on their would-be leader. Though Optimus offered them an olive branch, they instead opted to go back into hiding and await Megatron's inevitable return. Robots in Disguise #6

Adventure

A Ground Vehicon General was witness to Deadlock killing Override. Decepticon Jaeger Deadlock

Decepticon's Storytime Theater

Voice actor: Mark Hamill

A jet Vehicon told his audience about the sad tale of Stumble Bee. The Story of Stumble Bee

Commercial appearances

• After Optimus and Bumblebee received some new secret weapons from Ratchet, they turned their new acquisitions on legions of Vehicons. Weaponizers commercial

• Ratchet and Bumblebee used the Optimus Maximus mech to blast legions of Vehicons. Optimus Maximus commercial

• A bunch of Vehicons watched video footage from various strange realms, and one realm vaguely familiar, along with footage from their own universe on a screen somewhere on the Nemesis while chanting "Huboom!" Huboom! Saturdays

• A couple of Vehicons reacted to Megatron's answers as he took questions from his adoring public. They mostly seemed dismayed at his replies. Ask Megatron

• As Megatron read A Visit from St. Nicholas, three Vehicons discussed the stirring preferences of mice, landing on Egg Nog. Megatron then threatened to put them on the naughty list. 30-Second Holiday Special: "Decepticon Holidays: Naughty List" Several Vehicons sang about figgy pudding until Megatron shouted them down. One of the Vehicons then asked for a pony. 30-Second Holiday Special: "Decepticon Holidays: Pudding" Two rogue Vehicons decorated the Nemesis in Christmas lighting. 30-Second Holiday Special: "Decepticon Holidays: Holiday Schmoliday"

Games

Transformers Prime: Terrorcon Defense

Wave after wave of Terrorcons attacked the town of Jasper and its surrounding area in a bid to amass as much Dark Energon as possible before launching an assault against the Autobots' headquarters. They were defeated by Bumblebee, Arcee and Optimus Prime. Terrorcon Defense

Transformers: Prime - The Game

Voice actor: Steve Blum (English, Car and Truck), Josh Keaton (English, Car and Jet), Fred Tatasciore (English, Helicopter and Tank), Frédéric Souterelle (French), Helmut Winkelmann (German)

The Fabulous Adventures of Steve the Eradicon Vehicon

The Vehicons were the primary foot soldiers of the Decepticons, coming in five variants with different alternate modes.

• Car Vehicons don't have access to blasters, instead relying exclusively on melee combat.
• Jet Vehicons slowly fire lasers and will stop shooting for a while after enough shots.
• Helicopter Vehicons act as snipers, firing lasers when in vehicle mode. In robot mode they aim at the player with a laser sight for some seconds before firing a powerful projectile that can knock them out.
• Tank Vehicons are heavyweights that use a shield that completely protects them from damage. The shield can be only broken if the player uses the vehicle attack.
• Truck Vehicons, also known as Tankers, can use the energon tanks on their backs to create a damaging shield that knocks the player out if it touches them. They can also use a vehicle mode attack similar to the player characters.

See the Gallery below for images of all of these Vehicon variants.

Transformers: Prime - The Game

Transformers Prime: Battle For Energon

Eradicons pestered Bulkhead on his missions inside a Dark Energon cave, the Nemesis, and the Autobot headquarters. They blasted incessantly at the Autobot until they were themselves destroyed. Transformers Prime: Battle For Energon

Transformers Prime: Decepticon Strike

Hordes upon hordes of Vehicons weaved across the sky before Optimus Prime, pestering him with weapons' fire, as the Autobot leader fought his way through Megatron's troops. Decepticon Strike

Transformers Universe

Due to the game mechanics, Vehicons generally never miss (unless the player has a miss effect) along with the fact due to their special abilities, they tend to be challenging to take on alone. Vehicons occasionally scout for Autobots, sometimes they appear in High Grand. When a player first enters the game the Vehicons will appear in the tutorial, informing Switchblade a new recruit has arrived. Transformers Universe There are many types of Vehicons for example:

• Vehicon Captain: Wields a large sword and noticeably taller than other vehicons
• Vehicon Scorcher: Carries a flamethrower (similar to Sparkscape). This Vehicon's special ability allows it to deal spark damage over an area.
• Vehicon Bombardier: Carries a grenade launcher (similar to Astraea).
• Vehicon Gunner: Carries a rifle (similar to Duststorm). This Vehicon's special ability allows it to spawn a Smoke/"miss" field on the next hit by the rifle.

Toys

Prime

First Edition

Is that a Danny Elfman score playing?

• Vehicon (Deluxe Class, 2011)

• Number: 006
• TakaraTomy release date: December 28, 2011
• Accessories: Gun, stand (Hasbro only)
• Known designers: Eric Siebenaler (Hasbro)

Part of the second wave of Prime: First Edition Deluxe Class toys, this larger-scale Vehicon transforms into a sleek roadster of made-up model. It comes with a gun that can be tabbed and mounted on the vehicle-mode hood or stored in the vehicle mode underside, or be (loosely) hand-held in robot mode. It features a 5mm port on the foldable door panels just below each of the hands, and flipping either hand back into the arms reveals another port behind each of them, allowing the gun to be mounted directly onto the arms, giving the appearance of integrated weaponry.

The Hasbro version includes a removable cardboard stand assembled within the packaging.

The instructions say to swing down the rear wheels from the shoulders for robot mode, bringing them closer to the elbows, when they are actually meant to be kept in the shoulders for show-accuracy. The stock photography also depicts it with blue hands and knee spikes, when the former are black and the latter are purple in the final product.

The mass-retail release of wave 2 First Edition toys was canceled in Hasbro's US markets, so for about a year, he was only available in Hasbro's Canadian and Asian markets, and in the Japanese TakaraTomy version of the toyline. Later, Toys"R"Us picked up the Vehicon, along with a lot of other items, as part of a large number of holiday-time exclusives in the US market for 2012, which eventually filtered into closeout stores like Ross months later.

• More information on First Edition Vehicon at TFU.info

Cyberverse

For the cheapskate army-builder.

• Vehicon (Cyberverse Legion, 2012)

• Series / Number: 2 / 002
• TakaraTomy name: Decepticon Vehicon
• TakaraTomy ID number: EZ-07
• TakaraTomy release date: March 31, 2012
• Accessories: Blaster
• Known designers: Joe Kyde (Hasbro)

Part of the first wave of Prime Series 2 Cyberverse Legion Class toys, this tiny, simple version of the Vehicon transforms into the usual sleek roadster. It also comes with a soft translucent purple blaster based on the in-show model, featuring two 3mm posts and a hole, allowing it to mount onto its hands, doors/arms, and roof/back, as well as combine with other Cyberverse weapons.

There is a molding variation with the Vehicon's weapon. In the initial run of figures, the "shield" piece on the side was thicker. Later waves thinned the shield a bit, tapered the ends, plus added a few more sculpted details. This weapon, in varying colors, was also used by Soundwave and Flamewar.

The TakaraTomy EZ Collection single-card release of the toy is virtually identical to the Hasbro release, except the tampographed production code on his right arm ("#37982" for the Hasbro version, "B2412" for the TakaraTomy version). You probably don't care, and we don't blame you. This release comes with a variant of the weapon.

• More information on Cyberverse Vehicon at TFU.info

"VEHICON BLASTER! SNEAK ATTACK!"

• Decepticon Set (Multi-pack, 2012)

• ID number: EZ-SP2
• Release date: November 24, 2012
• Accessories: Blaster

The EZ Collection Vehicon was also available in a six-pack of figures. This version is cast in metallic purple plastic, and once again, the weapon uses the variant from later releases of the original mold.

This set also includes metallic-plastic versions of EZ Collection Megatron, Breakdown, Starscream, Knock Out, and a clear-plastic Terrorcon Cliffjumper.

• Air Vehicon (Cyberverse Legion, 2013)

• Series / Number: 3 / 011
• Accessories: "Hooksaw Cannon"
• Known designers: Joe Kyde (Hasbro)

Part of the fourth wave of Prime: Beast Hunters Series 3 Cyberverse Legion Class toys, the Air Vehicon is an all-new mold, transforming into a jet-car as seen on the show.

Instead of the Vehicon blaster of the ground-mode Vehicon, this one comes with a "Hooksaw Cannon" chainsaw-bayonetted blaster with 3mm posts and two ports, allowing it to mount onto its hands, wrists, and the tops of his wings.

The cannon, in various colors, was also used by Smokescreen, Soundwave, Hun-Gurrr, and Bluestreak.

• More information on Air Vehicon at TFU.info

• Jet Vehicon (EZ Collection, 2013)

• ID number: EG-10
• Release date: October 26, 2013
• Accessories: chainsaw/cannon

Part of the second wave of TakaraTomy's EZ Collection single packed figures, the Jet Vehicon is a redeco of Hasbro's Legion Class Air Vehicon figure, replacing the purple base plastic color with black, while retaining the same paint masks, including all the various paint colors.

You're making my cannon angry. You wouldn't like it when it's angry.

• Ace Vehicon (Cyberverse Legion, 2014)

• Series / Number: 3 / 015
• Accessories: "Hooksaw Cannon"
• Known designers: Joe Kyde (Hasbro)

Part of the fifth and final wave of Series 3 Cyberverse toys under the Prime: Beast Hunters banner, the Ace Vehicon is a "Seeker"-colored redeco of the Air Vehicon, now in white and gunmetal with bright orange highlights. The Hooksaw Cannon is now cast in vibrant red plastic.

Curiously, the stock photo of the vehicle mode from the back of his packaging clearly shows a prototype figure, as it is completely unpainted. Furthermore, the last step of the instructions oddly shows the vehicle mode from behind.

Due to being slated for release after the Christmas season and right before the launching of the Age of Extinction toy line, Ace Vehicon and the other figures of this wave were skipped by US and Canadian retailers, ultimately only seeing release in Europe, Australia, and South America, in European packaging in all instances (an unusual occurrence for Australia).

Robots in Disguise

My backpack went to my legs.

Extra holes not added by Autobot artillery.

• Vehicon (Deluxe Class, 2012)

• Series / Number: 1 / 008
• TakaraTomy name: Decepticon Vehicon
• TakaraTomy release date: June 30, 2012
• TakaraTomy ID number: AM-14
• Accessories: Blaster Cannon (Hasbro only), "Noji" Arms Micron (TakaraTomy only)
• Known designers: Takashi Kunihiro (TakaraTomy)

Part of the third wave of Prime: Robots in Disguise Deluxe Class toys, this sleeker, smaller version of the Vehicon has much less backpack kibble, due to its transformation having the entire spoiler, trunk, roof, and hood panels of the vehicle mode fold into each other to form its heels and calves. Astounding. It also has an automorph head-reveal when transforming to robot mode, activated by pulling down the rear bumper and pushing it into its back. The Vehicon comes with a blaster cannon that can peg into both hands and the sides of the rear wheel-wells/shoulders. It also features a clip that allows it to be tabbed onto the sides of the vehicle hood, as well as be tabbed onto the arms once the fists are flipped back in, emulating the arm-weapon from the show model.

In wave six of the Robots in Disguise line, the Vehicon was put into new packaging, plus came with a DVD featuring the Prime cartoon episode "Loose Cannons".

Stock photography depicts purple paint details on the cannon, vehicle front, and robot feet that were omitted in the final product. It also depicts the cannon being pegged underneath the figure's hands instead of on top.

The TakaraTomy version, part of the fourth assortment of Japanese Prime toys, has been retooled to include new 5 mm post-holes just before the front wheel-wells, plus one on the back bumper to serve as a booster of sorts. In a minor deco change, it has a much more clear translucent purple-ish light-piping plastic for his visor. Many of its paint operations have been removed and replaced with customer-applied foil stickers... including, rather annoyingly, some painted details under the clear-plastic parts, like the faction symbol in the chest and the purple details in his headlights. The chest-window can actually be popped out by applying pressure to the pegs through the figure's back, enabling you to place the chest-sticker under the plastic... the headlamps, well, pretty much no.

Instead of the Hasbro version's clip-on blaster, the TakaraTomy Vehicon comes with the Arms Micron Noji, a robotic boar who, once assembled, turns into the Vehicon's distinctively-shaped blaster. Noji cannot clip onto the Vehicon's arm, however, and must be used as a hand-held weapon.

The Hasbro version of the mold was also used to make the BotCon 2014 "Pirate Clone Pounce".

• More information on Deluxe Vehicon at TFU.info

"Butterfly of DOOM! ...Okay, it's mostly my doom, but still..."

• Jet Vehicon (Deluxe Class, 2012)

• Release date: July 28, 2012
• ID number: AM-16
• Accessories: "Igu" Arms Micron

Part of the fifth assortment of TakaraTomy Prime toys, the Jet Vehicon is a redeco and extensive retooling of the normal Vehicon mold, now transforming into a jet-car. All of the dark-purple plastics and paint/sticker details from the ground-based Vehicon are now a brighter reddish-lavender.

It comes with a new Arms Micron partner, Igu, who transforms from a robotic iguana into the same blaster as seen on the show, but with the blaster's barrel being considerably longer than the previous Micron. Just as before, this blaster mode cannot be positioned as a "wrist blaster", and due to the retooled side-panels on the Jet Vehicon's arms, neither can the Hasbro Vehicon's blaster. Sorry.

The Jet Vehicon was originally exclusive to the Takara Prime toyline, making him rather hard to find for American fans who want him, until Hasbro's 10 Year Anniversary re-release.

This version of the mold was also used to make the BotCon 2014 "Pirate Clone Wingspan".

• Jet Vehicon General (Deluxe Class, 2013)

• Release date: February 23, 2013
• ID number: AM-34
• Accessories: "Igu S" Arms Micron

Part of the eleventh and final assortment of TakaraTomy Prime toys, the Jet Vehicon General is a silver redeco of the Jet Vehicon mold, based on (but not completely accurate to) the "Seeker" color scheme that debuted in "Darkest Hour".

The Vehicon now comes with Igu S, a silver redeco of the Igu kit.

10 Year Anniversary

• War Breakdown and Vehicon 2-Pack (Multi-pack, 2020)

• Accessories: "Igu" Arms Micron

Released to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Prime, this Vehicon is a mostly-unaltered re-release of the TakaraTomy Prime Deluxe Class Jet Vehicon, complete with decal sheet and un-assembled Arms Micron Igu (more on that in a moment). The only "major" difference between this and the original release is the addition of a tampographed product number on the Hasbro release's right leg. The Hasbro version also uses slightly less "red" lavender plastic and chestplate paint, but this is only really noticeable in a direct side-by-side comparison.

His pack-in Arms Micron partner Igu, however, is inexplicably cast in silver plastic, rather than the proper Vehicon-matching dark gray, making him kind of stand out weirdly when the Vehicon holds him in blaster mode.

In the U.S. and Canada, the Vehicon comes in a Hasbro Pulse-exclusive two-pack with a similarly-almost-unaltered War Breakdown. This set was made available for pre-order concurrently with Hasbro PulseCon 2020 on September 26, 2020, and mailed out in December 2021. This set was also available at general retail in Hasbro's Asian markets such as Hong Kong.

Kre-O

• Decepticon Ambush (2012)

• Set number: 38781
• Pieces: 80
• Kreons: Cliffjumper, 3 Vehicons

Released in the second year of the Kre-O building-brick line, this set features Kreon Cliffjumper busting through a Decepticon checkpoint guarded by three Vehicon Kreons. While all three Vehicons use the same base body and tampographs, each one is slightly different from the others: one comes with wheels on the legs, another has a Shockwave wrist-mounted blaster, and one has Wheeljack wings on its back and the Starscream arm-mounted blasters.

All three Vehicons use the same helmet as Megatron.

• More information on Vehicon 1 at TFU.info
• More information on Vehicon 2 at TFU.info
• More information on Vehicon 3 at TFU.info

• Vehicon (Kreon Micro-Changer, 2013)

• Collection: 2
• Bag number: ***** 71
• Accessories: Large rifle, logo brick (pre-2015), logo plate (2015 release)

Part of the second regular collection of blind-bagged Micro-Changer Kreons, the Vehicon comes with extra parts to rebuild it into a car somewhat roughly evocative of the old roadster mode.

This Collection was still in circulation at "dollar" stores and drug stores up through 2015. They eventually lost the individual-identifying bag codes, but other changes were hidden inside the bag. The 2015 releases replaced the 2x4 logo stand-brick with a new 3x4 logo plate. The Kreon was also given the slight retooling to the arm seen in the 2014 Kreons, making the "cuff" parts more sharp-cornered and better adapted to being used as studs. Some of the add-on pieces may also be slightly off-color, possibly due to a change in factories in mid-production.

• More information on Micro-Changer Vehicon at TFU.info

• Brick Box (2015)

• Set number: B2579
• Pieces: 82
• Kreons: Cliffjumper, 3 Vehicons

Part of the "red box" line for discount stores in the US (like Dollar General and Big Lots!), this "Brick Box" is just the "Decepticon Ambush" set repackaged and sold for a mere $5. Good deal! As with all the Brick Boxes, this set lacks the instruction manual, with the idea you're supposed to build whatever you can think of from it. It does retain the decals for the ATV and light post, however.

The box shows the render for Kreon Cliffjumper, who does come in the set, but give no other indication of what else is actually in the box, using the same generic pile of random parts as a background as all of the other "brick box" releases.

• Vehicon (Kreon Micro-Changer, 2016)

• Collection: 2
• Accessories: Logo plate, large rifle

In 2016, Micro-Changers Collection 2 was re-released in a whole new production run for Dollar General stores in the US as part of a large collection of re-released Kre-O sets. But where most of these releases are nigh-identical to the originals, the re-released Micro-Changer blind-bags use the almost-entirely-retooled 2015 Kreon, with slightly-differently-hued plastics than the originals. (It is possible for some of the add-on pieces to be in the older hues.) The Vehicon's tampographs underwent a slight color change, replacing the light gray with shiny silver, changing the black Decepticon symbol to purple, and making the blue on the legs a darker shade. The front bumper, originally a 1x2 angled "roof" block, has been replaced by a plain 1x2 plate, presumably as the original part was no longer in production (a similar part changed happened to the remake of Kreon Blast Off).

Sadly, this release has no individual-identification code on the bag, requiring you to use the feel-through-the-bag method or just buy blind and hope.

Adventure

... is that you, Rom?

• Ground Vehicon General (Deluxe, 2015)

• ID number: TAV28
• Release date: September 19, 2015
• Accessories: Blaster

Released in the seventh wave of TakaraTomy's Adventure toyline (their version of 2015's Robots in Disguise), the Ground Vehicon General is a redeco of the Prime: Robots in Disguise Deluxe-sized car Vehicon mold, in a silver color scheme based on the Jet Vehicon General.

As Adventure doesn't make use of the Arms Micron gimmick, the Ground General uses the Hasbro version of the mold without the added 5 mm post-holes, and comes with the original blaster, plus a complete set of paint applications.

The Ground Vehicon General features a scan-badge on its hood which is compatible with TakaraTomy's Transformers Adventure app.

Notes

"Is this gonna happen every week?"
"Pretty much."

Vehicon: Code Red.

• The Vehicons were among the first Prime Transformers shown, in a preview clip from "Darkness Rising, Part 1" shown at Comic-Con 2010: two Vehicons walk under a bridge and one shows its hand to the camera, before Bumblebee arrives to heroically beat up the two guys who aren't doing anything.
• The Vehicons weren't referred to as such in the Prime cartoon until episode 59, "Plus One", only being referred to as "Decepticon Troopers" in the episodes prior to then. A single image on the Hub website refers to a trooper as "Eradicon" instead, and closed captions refer to the troopers as such. Conversely, they were always referred to as Vehicons in Titan Magazine's Prime comic.
• While they have been referred to as mere drones, Vehicons do appear to be sentient somewhat. Voting for Knock Out to be brought in for Megatron's repairs, questioning Starscream's leadership, and even insulting the Insecticons. Another factor to consider is that the Spark extractor actually worked on them.
  • At the Transformers Prime panel from San Diego Comic-Con International 2013 (included as a bonus feature on the Shout! Factory DVD release of Beast Hunters), an audience member asked if the Vehicons were meant to be drones or individuals. Apparently, season 2, episode 10 "Armada" was meant to suggest the Vehicons' being clones, "birthed"[sic] similarly to Starscream's clones, as evidenced by the Vehicons having faceplates similar to the "mono-eyed" protoforms found aboard the Harbinger.
• Vehicon body parts are available to use in the Hub website's Vector Sigma Bot Builder online game. Normally, you cannot configure a generic 'bot using all Vehicon parts, but you can see what one would look like at right through the magic of Photoshop.
• Although officially the Vehicons aren't in Fall of Cybertron, many Decepticon foot soldiers look extremely similar to them. This can be seen in greater comparison when Optimus Prime finds decapitated Decepticon heads in Grimlock's locker.
• The Art of Prime revealed that originally the Vehicons were not going to speak, with the decision being made late in production, hence the lack of mouth.
• As of episode 54, "Scattered", the silver Jet Vehicon General types have been referred to as "Seekers" by both Starscream and the episode's end credits. Whether the same applies for the normal-colored, non-General Jet Vehicons hasn't been confirmed, though the end credits referred to one of those as a "Trooper" instead.
• Both the ground and air Vehicons' designs were later used in More Than Meets the Eye as generic members of the Titan Hunters. The Vehicon design was also used for a Badgeless officer in the Windblade Holiday Special and as a pre-war civilian in the 2017 Transformers Annual.

Arms Up Modes

In the Japanese Prime toyline, the Vehicons have named powered-up modes when given various Arms Microns in certain configurations:

• Sky Attack Mode (スカイアタックモード Sukai Atakku Mōdo)
  • Arms Microns: Gora, Gul, Noji

The normal Vehicon's box-back Arms Up mode is just him using the Flame Cannon. Oooooh.

• Jet Attack Mode (ジェットアタックモード Jetto Atakku Mōdo)
  • Arms Microns: Gora, Igu, Zamu

The Jet Vehicon's box-back Arms Up mode is simply him using the Debris Hammer. Yeah. Real elaborate.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Vehicon (ビーコン Bīkon)
• Mandarin: Jīxiè Bīng (机械兵, "Machine Soldier")

Gallery

• 
  Alternate mode stock art
• 
  Concept art of a jet Vehicon from Prime - The Game
• 
  Concept art of a helicopter Vehicon from Prime - The Game
• 
  Concept art of a tank Vehicon from Prime - The Game
• 
  Concept art of a truck Vehicon from Prime - The Game
• 
  Jet Vehicon in vehicle mode.
• 
  Helicopter Vehicon in vehicle mode.
• 
  Tank Vehicon in vehicle mode.
• 
  Truck Vehicon in vehicle mode.