Micron Booster

The Micron Booster (マイクロンブースター Maikuron Būsutā) sets are Japanese-exclusive Mini-Cons, sold in individual, blind-packed boxes. The plastic bags inside the box were opaque black as well. As such, buyers did not know what Mini-Con was inside the box until they opened them.

Micron Booster Ver.0

• Release date: August 7, 2003

The first assortment of Micron Boosters was sold as part of the Micron Densetsu (the Japanese name for Armada) series in August of 2003. The versions of the Air Defense Mini-Con Team and the Race Mini-Con Team in this assortment are cast in a slightly-sparkly plastic with slightly-sparkly paint, but are otherwise nearly identical to the standard retail releases.

Ver.0 includes...

1. Rod (Lamborghini Diablo)

2. Atlas (Lamborghini Diablo)

3. Mach (Jetstorm) (Concorde Super Sonic Transport jet plane)

4. Jetter (Runway) (Boeing Sonic Cruiser concept jet plane)

5. Shuttler (Sonar) (VentureStar concept shuttle)

6. Drift (Dirt Boss) (Volkswagen Lupo Rally Car)

7. Spin (Downshift) (Audi R8 TDI LeMans-style race car)

8. Indy (Mirage) (Formula racer)

Rod and Atlas were later identified as members of the Rogue Team.

Micron Booster Ver.1

• Release date: January ??, 2004

New for the Super Link (Japanese Energon) series, the second assortment of Micron Boosters set the stage for the following waves. This time, the number of toys in the assortment brought up to twelve, and every single toy was redecoed as a new character.

Ver.1 includes...

1. Chrome (Cybertronic sports car)

2. Thyristor (Road Rebel) (Cybertronic sports car)

3. Synapse (Cybertronic sports car)

4. Lens (Cybertronic shuttle)

5. Quantum (Cybertronic jet)

6. Beacon (Snowblind) (Cybertronic starship)

7. Mile (Missile speedboat)

8. Hover (Missile hovercraft)

9. Solar (Solar turbine-driven boat)

10. Torque (Off-road pickup truck)

11. Crunch (Dune buggy)

12. Spoil (Snow groomer)

Chrome, Thyristor, and Synapse were later retroactively identified as the Stealth Augmentation Team. Beacon, Lens and Quantum can combine to form the Blizzard Saber; they were later given the team name Blizzard Intervention Mini-Con Team. Meanwhile, Mile, Hover, and Solar were named the Littoral Reconnaissance Mini-Con Team and Torque, Crunch, and Spoil the Off-Road Mini-Con Team.

Micron Booster Vol.2

• Release date: June 7, 2004

The third Micron Booster set, still part of Super Link, introduced the "chase" toy to the mix; only half of the cases had the "headliner" Mini-Con Saber in it. As such, a full set of twelve Mini-Cons went for considerably more on the secondary market than an incomplete set of 11 without Saber in it. It didn't help that this assortment ended up being exclusive to Lawson stores.

Vol.2 includes...

1. Saber (Barnstorm) (Cybertronic gunship)

2. Processor (Flashdrive) (Cybertronic gunship)

3. Triac (Bingo) (Cybertronic gunship)

4. Effect (Bomber plane)

5. Seeker ("Flying wing" stealth bomber)

6. Blitz ("Blackbird"-like stealth jet)

7. Cluster (Crash-response truck)

8. Rotor (Twin-rotor helicopter)

9. Groove (Cybertronic police car)

10. Brake (Breakage) (Dirt-racing motorbike)

11. Damper (Mudbath) (4-wheel ATV)

12. Filter (Kickflip) (Cybertronic hovercraft)

Saber, Processor, and Triac were later identified as the Apocalypse Brigade Mini-Con Team. Brake, Damper, and Filter can combine to form Frenzy; they were later retroactively given the team name Extreme Competition Team. Meanwhile, Effect, Seeker, and Blitz were later retroactively identified as the Sky Scorcher Mini-Con Team and Cluster, Rotor, and Groove the First Responder Mini-Con Team.

Micron Booster Ver.3

• Release date: March 10, 2005

The series continued with a single set in the Galaxy Force (Japanese Cybertron) series. Unlike previous assortments, buying a case of twelve did not guarantee you all eleven of the "common" Mini-Cons. Though it has yet to be confirmed, this is most likely due to the four "partner" Mini-Cons in the assortment who were made in larger numbers than the others, due to being gang-molded with their larger partners, who were part of the normal retail Galaxy Force line. As such, each case often had multiples of a couple of the "partners", missing some of the others, on top of the one-in-every-two-cases chaser piece Bug General.

This series does not assign a faction to any of the Mini-Cons within. Keeping in tune with the Galaxy Force planet-specific packaging, it seems that everyone in the set hails from Cybertron... though some later fictions would retcon that for a few of them.

Ver.3 includes...

1. Bug General (Chromed "moon")

2. Bug Drone ("Moon")

3. Gauge (Skidmark) (Motorcycle)

4. Clamp (Grip-Lock) (Claw vehicle)

5. Trigger (Heavy Barrel) (Cybertronic tank)

6. Wrench (Drag racer)

7. Socket (Toyota GT-1 a Le Mans style race car)

8. Plier (Dodge Ram pick-up truck)

9. Bit (Bubble-domed helicopter)

10. Dice (Cadillac XLR luxury car)

11. Jack (Mercedes C-class luxury car)

12. Plug (Saleen S7 luxury car)

Socket, Plier, and Bit were later retroactively given the team name Battlefield Maintenance Mini-Con Team while Dice, Jack, and Plug were named the Highway Domination Mini-Con Team.

Micron Booster Ver. 4: Endless Battle - Eternal Prisoner

• Release date: July??, 2007

In July 2007, Takara brought back the Micron Booster series with a set of redecoes using the Classics Mini-Con molds (which had not been released in Japan previously). This set was available only at Japanese Circle K, Sunkus, Three F and Lawson stores. As far as chase pieces go, this set ups the ante by having two chases, Detectas and Chromebite, with only one of those two in a single case. Because there are only ten individuals in a case of twelve, that means two duplicates in any single case.

Although the title and subtitle for the series suggest some sort of story associated with the toys, the only known fiction is from the shipping/display case: "The battle between the Cybertrons and Destrons never ends. A new battle of the Micron Warriors has begun."

This series uses the "classic" Transformers logo, so presumably it takes someplace in the Japanese Generation 1 continuity family, but with the inclusion of characters bearing the Maximal and Predacon sigils.

This assortment includes...

Autobots

1. Radrogue (Police car)

2. Gredator (Robotic wolf)

3. Apexus (Robotic tiger)

4. Windrazor (Motorcycle)

5. Detectas (Police car)

Decepticons

1. Gnashteeth (Robotic tyrannosaurus)

2. Reptix (Robotic pteranodon)

3. Ironlunge (Robotic triceratops)

4. Refuser (Dump truck)

5. Rockblade (Payloader)

6. Chromebite (Robotic tyrannosaurus)

External links

• Micron Booster 4 at TakaraTomy's TF website