Conehead

France! We come from France!

Conehead is a tongue-in-cheek fan term for the Seekers that were released in 1985—Thrust, Dirge and Ramjet. Though the toys were virtually identical to the original Seekers, their animation models were given a distinctive transformation that left the jet nosecone pointing up, hence the nickname. Another difference is that their wings don't flip up to appear as part of the upper body, and instead seem to be part of their legs. (Thrust's wings do change orientation—the leading edge of his wings faces down in robot mode, unlike the other two—but they remain part of his legs.)

The animation models for the Conehead Seekers were designed by Floro Dery, whereas the season one Seekers were done primarily by Japanese designer Shōhei Kohara. The name "Coneheads" is taken from an early "Saturday Night Live" sketch (and later, movie) about a pointy-headed family from outer space France.

A simple way to remember which of the core six G1 Seekers are Coneheads, is that the names of the Coneheads are real words, as opposed to made-up words such as "Starscream".

Fiction

Generation 1 continuity family

The Transformers cartoon

If Dan Aykroyd was a robot *sigh*

The Coneheads arrived on Earth sometime during the war along with Blitzwing and Astrotrain. A generic Conehead appeared on Chaar in "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1". The Transformers

Marvel Comics continuity

Transformers '84

The Conehead trio were part of Decepticon High Command and part of the crew of the Nemesis. When Shockwave's absence risked delaying the launch, the Coneheads were to sent to the Project Dreadnought hub to retrieve him, later boarding the ship. Secrets & Lies #1

When the time came to attack the Ark however, Megatron ordered the Coneheads to remain outside the Autobot ship in jet mode in case any Autobots attempted to flee. As a result, the Coneheads were spared the crash landing. Retreating to the Nemesis, the three informed Shockwave of what had happened only for the scientist to infect them all with a scraplet virus, leaving them convulsing while he went planetside. Secrets & Lies #2

The three were healed by the Nemesis's environmental protocols and made tracks after Shockwave. Their entry into the atmosphere was detected by AUNTIE who constructed drones in the likeness of Grapple, Hoist, Skids, Smokescreen, and Tracks to meet the trio. Instead of Shockwave, the three found the Ark and engaged the drones in combat, caught off-guard by their utterly ruthless foes. Secrets & Lies #3

As the battle raged, Grimlock and Megatron burst out of the Ark. Seeing that the latter was channeling anti-matter, the three fell back, shouting a warning to Grimlock that Megatron was being controlled. Returning to the Nemesis, the Coneheads tried to return to Cybertron but found themselves unable to engage the ship's propulsion systems. Ringing up Straxus, they informed him of their findings and requested a rescue ship. The Regional Liege agreed to send rescue on the condition that they conveniently forget where the Ark, and Megatron, lay. Faced with the alternative of Straxus brutally killing them, the three readily agreed. Secrets & Lies #4

Dreamwave Generation One continuity

Among the three Aerospace Extermination Squadron units that went after Getaway, there was one conehead. War Within: The Age of Wrath

G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers

At least one conehead was among the Transformers captured and enslaved by Cobra, who modified him into a Rattler aircraft. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #2 Though they were eventually released from Cobra's control, the conehead was killed by an energy beam fired by the out-of-control SPS Satellite. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #6

Since Cobra painted all their Rattlers blue, the identity of the conehead is unknown. He couldn't have been one of the main trio anyway, as Dirge, Ramjet and Thrust were all seen on Cybertron later on. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II #1 The Art of War #5

Transformers vs. G.I. Joe

An anonymous conehead stood guard at Trypticon when Destro arrived through the M.A.S.S. Device. Funeral for a Friend A yellow conehead participated in the attack on Metroplex and battled the G.I. Joe forces in the sky. Everybody Hates Metroplex

War for Cybertron Trilogy cartoon

War for Cybertron Trilogy is the only continuity thus far in which the coneheads are affiliated with the Mercenaries, rather than the Decepticons like in the past.

Ramjet, Dirge, and Thrust were members of Doubledealer's crew of Mercenaries, Earthrise episode 1 hired by Deseeus to bring in the Autobots aboard the Ark. However, after Deeseeus refused to pay them, the coneheads helped the Autobots escape and battled the Quintesson's forces. Earthrise episode 2 By the time Deseeus took a hands-on approach by controlling Doubledealer's mind, the coneheads cut their losses and defected from the Fool's Fortune crew. Earthrise episode 6

2019 IDW continuity

Ramjet, Dirge and Thrust were an infamous mercenary trio. Following the Decepticons taking over the Senate, they found themselves in Thunderwing's employ at Hexagon. When the Technical Specialists arrived at Hexagon to arrest Vigilem, the three guided the Autobots around the station for a while before Thunderwing's true intentions were revealed. When the Specialists fell into the experimental Combination Core and reemerged as Computron, the Coneheads distracted the combiner long enough for Thunderwing to detach the segment that the giant was in. Light/Star

Animated cartoon

"Now Swindle can't tell me apart from the bright orange one!"

Swindle gave the lying Starscream clone a cone shaped helmet in order to tell him apart from Sunstorm. Decepticon Air He later created Dirge and Thrust and outfitted them with the same type of helmet. The AllSpark Almanac II

Cyberverse cartoon

Tweedledee and Tweedledirge.

Prior to the Great War, Ramjet and Dirge were personal bodyguards for Starscream, accompanying him to a game of Cube and helping him in conducting some mischief. Cube

When the Autobots tried to send the Allspark off Cybertron, Ramjet was among the Decepticons who attacked the space bridge in a failed attempt to stop this plan. Allspark

Afterburner was among the Mercenaries who froze and attempted to loot Cybertron during the signing of the Treaty of the Wall. Bug Bite often referred to him as a "crummy conehead". The Immobilizers

Bumblebee film

Various coneheads were among the Seeker hordes under the command of Shockwave. Among them was Thrust, who rallied behind Starscream as they attacked the Autobots' launch pad to prevent them from evacuating Cybertron. While they succeeded in this task, all the Autobots save Optimus Prime managed to escape before the launchpad tower fell. After Prime was attacked by Ravage, coneheads and other Decepticons closed in to attack the Autobot leader. Despite this, Prime managed to escape the planet. Bumblebee

One film

Many coneheads were among Cybertron's High Guard. One of them was part of a duo who captured Orion Pax, D-16, Elita-1, and B-127 to be brought before Starscream. During Airachnid's raid on the High Guard base, several were killed in the attack. One

Games

Transformers: Devastation

Grape, cherry, licorice.
(Left & middle: standard Seekers. Right: Elite Seeker.)

When massive steel structures and swarms of Insecticons emerged in New York City, Megatron deployed vast armies of Seekers alongside Ground Soldiers to stymie the incoming Autobots while he investigated the source of this new machinery. Crowds of purple Seekers sniped at the Autobots from the air and rooftops with a variety of firearms (including sniper pistols, machineguns, and rocket launchers, but only used their arm-mounted guns in jet mode on strafing runs), but proved no match for Autobot firepower, which dropped them down into melee weapon range for easy pickings.

When Megatron ejected the Plasma Core from the Proudstar —which had been buried long ago under what would eventually become New York City— red-armored Seekers were stationed both underground and on Liberty Bridge alongside their purple brethren, blocking the only roadway to where the Core had landed. While the Autobots were able to break through the defensive line, Starscream snatched the Core before they could secure it, and black-armored, sword-wielding Elite Seekers joined the forces sent to keep the Autobots from giving chase.

With the Plasma Core returned to the Proudstar, Seekers of all types were dispatched (alongside lots and lots of Ground Soldiers, Insecticons, and every Decepticon Megatron could summon) to try and keep the Autobots from reaching the Ferrotaxis within it, the repository of Cybertronian culture that was tied in with the Proudstar's other systems, which enabled the ship and its Insecticon swarm to terraform planets. The red Seekers also brought energy shields into play to protect their positions, though by that point the Autobots had gotten a lot of practice breaking Decepticon shields. The Decepticons failed, and the Autobots were able to save the Earth from devastation. Transformers: Devastation

Transformers: Bumblebee Overdrive

Purple Coneheads were among the Decepticons defending their multiple bases against Autobot invasors. Transformers: Bumblebee Overdrive

Angry Birds Transformers

Coneheads is a squad containing Ramjet, Dirge and Thrust. All three are portrayed by Minion Pigs. Angry Birds Transformers

How does Thrust still have his cone on his head? The world will never know.

Toys

The Transformers

The Transformers Dirge

• Decepticon Planes (1985)

• Dirge
• Ramjet
• Thrust

The original Coneheads featured retooled Seeker wings for each individual, but the same head sculpt as the original Seekers for each of them. It is possible to give them a more cartoon-accurate appearance by deliberately leaving the nosecone folded up for them, however. Thrust is notably different from his teammates in that he possesses normal Seeker null-rays instead of the new "cluster bomb" guns created for Ramjet and Dirge. The unique wing pieces possessed by the Coneheads deviate heavily from the standard Seeker wings - Dirge possesses delta wings with a front canard, Ramjet's wings resemble the prototype F-16XL's delta wings, and Thrust has his trademark VTOL ducted fans as well as rear stabilizers.

Classics

Timelines Thrust

• Deluxe (2006)

The brand-new Seeker mold had its head retooled to look more show accurate as a Conehead. Ramjet was released in the Classics toyline while Thrust and Dirge were exclusive toys featured in BotCon 2007. Ramjet features new wing pieces resembling his original toy as well as bulkier missiles than the original Starscream toy. Thrust was retooled to have VTOL fans like his original toy, but Dirge was just redecoed from the Ramjet toy. Gentei! Gentei! Dirge and Thrust received entirely new wing molds which would later be reused in the Generations toyline.

Classics mold: Seeker

Hasbro: Classics Starscream Skywarp Ramjet Universe (2008) Acid Storm Starscream Generations Thrust Dirge Thundercracker Fun Publications: Timelines Thundercracker Dirge Thrust Ramjet (Generation 2) Thundercracker (Shattered Glass) Bitstream Hotlink Sunstorm Nacelle G2 Starscream TakaraTomy: Henkei! Henkei! D-02 Starscream D-04 Ramjet Skywarp Thundercracker Gentei! Gentei! Dirge Thrust United Skywarp Starscream Thundercracker Dirge Ramjet Thrust Million Publishing: Henkei! Henkei! Starscream Ghost Version

Masterpiece

Masterpiece Ramjet

A larger-scaled update of the original seeker mold. Originally issued as Starscream in 2005, then extensively retooled and redecoed in 2016 as Ramjet, Thrust, and Dirge, each with uniquely tooled wing and tailfin pieces. Unfortunately, all three suffer from varying cases of joint looseness due to the age and frequent reuse of the original mold.

Masterpiece mold: Seeker (MP-11)
Version 1: TakaraTomy: Masterpiece MP-11 Starscream MP-11S Sunstorm MP-11A Acid Storm MP-11SW Skywarp MP-11T Thundercracker Hasbro: Transformers (2010) Thundercracker Masterpiece MP-01 Acid Storm MP-05 Sunstorm MP-07 Starscream Other versions: TakaraTomy: Masterpiece MP-11NR Ramjet MP-11NT Thrust MP-11ND Dirge
Hironori Kobayashi & Shogo Hasui See also: MP-3 Starscream | MP-52 Starscream

Cyberverse

Cyberverse Ramjet

• Ramjet (Scout Class, 2019)

• Action Attack: "Cranium Crush"

Cyberverse Scout Class Ramjet is a Legends-sized toy that transforms from a robot to a jet with a robot chest and head for a front half a "transformational" mode in five easy steps. His "Cranium Crush" Action Attack gimmick causes his head and chest to spin and pop out of jet mode when triggered. Unlike many Cyberverse Scout Class figures, Ramjet can basically assume a full vehicle mode in spite of the oddly-shaped cockpit.

Cyberverse Ultra Ramjet

• Ramjet (Ultra Class, 2021)

• Accessories: Two null rays, two jet thrusters

Ultra Class Ramjet converts from a 6.75" robot to his jet mode in 12 steps. In robot mode the figure has a spring-loaded Energon armor gimmick, activated by moving his left shoulder which gives Ramjet a bird-motif helmet. His jet thrusters can detach and peg together to form a double-edged staff.

Generations

Earthrise Thrust

War for Cybertron: Earthrise featured the classic Coneheads as retools of the line's Voyager-class Starscream. Unlike the Classics mold that these toys take design cues from, the Seekers' signature cone heads are faux parts and not formed from the actual nosecones of the jets. Generations Selects also featured Ramjet in his Generation 2 colors and the first release of Ramjet redeco Sandstorm, while Legacy introduced Cloudcover; similarly based on an unreleased Generation 2 prototype. All of these figures were initially released as exclusives, though Dirge and Ramjet later received retail re-releases in Legacy and Thrust was ultimately reissued, though in unchanged Earthrise packaging.

Earthrise mold: Starscream

Version 1: Hasbro/TakaraTomy: Earthrise WFC-E9 Starscream WFC-E29 Thundercracker WFC-E29 Skywarp Studio Series 86-12 Coronation Starscream Hasbro: Buzzworthy Bumblebee Decepticon Seeker TakaraTomy: Beast Wars Again Ghost Starscream Dramatic Capture Series Starscream Thundercracker Skywarp Version 2: Hasbro/TakaraTomy: Earthrise WFC-E27 Ramjet Generations Selects WFC-GS24 Ramjet (Generation 2) Hasbro: Generations Selects WFC-GS21 Sandstorm Legacy Cloudcover Ramjet Studio Series Elite Seeker Other versions: Hasbro/TakaraTomy: Earthrise WFC-E26 Thrust WFC-E27 Dirge Hasbro: Legacy Dirge

Studio Series

Dying for a Switch port.

• Elite Seeker / Ground Soldier (Multi-pack, 2025)

• Game: Devastation
• Release date: July 20, 2025
• Accessories: 2 "null rays", 2 swords

Studio Series "MTMTE Collection" Elite Seeker is a redeco of the Earthrise Ramjet mould, transforming into a modified F-15 fighter jet with cranked-arrow delta wings based on the F-16XL prototype. As is typical for a Devastation-deco toy, his only cel-shading is on his cockpit.

Aside from the standard null ray accessories, he comes with a new pair of his in-game swords, whose design is based on Optimus Primal's swords. Thanks to ample 5 mm post-holes, the swords can tuck away under the wings in jet mode quite nicely.

He was released with the fellow generic Decepticon Ground Soldier in a Target-exclusive two-pack, with a small amount of stock also available through Hasbro Pulse.

Earthrise mold: Starscream

Version 1: Hasbro/TakaraTomy: Earthrise WFC-E9 Starscream WFC-E29 Thundercracker WFC-E29 Skywarp Studio Series 86-12 Coronation Starscream Hasbro: Buzzworthy Bumblebee Decepticon Seeker TakaraTomy: Beast Wars Again Ghost Starscream Dramatic Capture Series Starscream Thundercracker Skywarp Version 2: Hasbro/TakaraTomy: Earthrise WFC-E27 Ramjet Generations Selects WFC-GS24 Ramjet (Generation 2) Hasbro: Generations Selects WFC-GS21 Sandstorm Legacy Cloudcover Ramjet Studio Series Elite Seeker Other versions: Hasbro/TakaraTomy: Earthrise WFC-E26 Thrust WFC-E27 Dirge Hasbro: Legacy Dirge

Notes

• During Generation 2, a desert-themed redeco of the Ramjet mold was proposed as a new character, Sandstorm. Another mock-up deco variant of the Ramjet mold in sky colors is also known to exist; this may or may not have been intended as a new character. Possibly, Sandstorm and "cloud camo Ramjet" would have been coneheads as well had they been released circa 1995. Eventually, Sandstorm and "Cloudcover" received toys in the 2020s which confirmed this to be the case.
• In their Generation 1 Italian release, all three coneheads featured names related to birds of prey: Thrust is Rapax, an African eagle; Dirge is Sparviero, a sparrowhawk; Ramjet is Nibbio, a kite.
• Instead of the traditional conical helmets, the coneheads seen in Bumblebee have a triangular crest behind their heads, giving the impression of the classic conehead silhouette.
• In Cyberverse, Ramjet and Dirge are coneheads, but Thrust is not. Story editor Randolph Heard hinted that it would be significant in a future plotline, but this did not come to fruition. Meanwhile, the Cyberverse incarnation of Afterburner is a Conehead.