Conehead
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
The Transformers cartoon
The Coneheads arrived on Earth sometime during the war along with Blitzwing and Astrotrain. A generic Conehead appeared in "Five Faces of Darkness".
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
Animated cartoon
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
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
Cyberverse cartoon
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
Bumblebee film
Various coneheads were among the Seeker hordes under the command of Shockwave. They took part in an attack on the launch pad to prevent the Autobots from evacuating Cybertron. Bumblebee Instead of the traditional conical helmets, these Seekers' coneheadedness manifested as a triangular crest behind their heads, giving the impression of the classic silhouette.
Games
Transformers: Devastation
Several generic Conehead-style Seekers were encountered by the Autobots during Megatron's plan to cyberform the Earth. There were three types encountered: Warriors (standard), Heavy Weapons (use missiles), and Elites (use swords).
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
Toys
The Transformers
- Decepticon Planes (1985)
- 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
- 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 | ||
|---|---|---|
Henkei! Henkei! Starscream Ghost Version | ||
Masterpiece
- 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.
Cyberverse
- 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 halfa "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.
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.
- 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.
- 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,[1] but this did not come to fruition before the cartoon's conclusion.
