Class Beta drone unit

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This article is about the mass-produced drones. For the individual Decepticon air warrior who looks just like them, see Payload (Movie){{#switch:{{#sub:Payload (Movie)|-1}} != .= ?= .

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Class Beta drone units are drones from the 2007 movie franchise in the live-action film continuity family.
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Drones have often been used on Cybertron for manual labor. It was Megatron who first put drones to use in the military when he had drones upgraded and refitted for combat. The Class Beta drones are combat-ready warriors specializing in land combat.

Dreadwing has been put in charge of the drone army.


Fiction

IDW Transformers movie comics

Class Beta drones were part of the crew of Starscream's ship that pursued the All Spark and Megatron to the Eshems Nebula. They were forced to turn back for repairs when the ship was damaged by an Autobot concussion chain. The Reign of Starscream #1

After Megatron was killed and the All Spark destroyed during the battle of Mission City on Earth, Starscream returned to Mars. While he was recuperating, a team of Autobots attacked, and drones, including Class Betas, were activated to defend the ship. The Reign of Starscream #3

Class Beta drones were among those assigned to guard the Autobot slaves who were being forced to build the new Cube. They brutally punished Warpath when he saw to the exhausted Grindcore. Later, after the new All Spark was completed, Payload arrived leading a team of drones carrying the massive generators required to drain the life force out of the Autobot prisoners and put it into the Cube. The Reign of Starscream #4

Toys

Transformers (2007)

  • Payload (Deluxe, 2007)
    • Japanese ID number: MD-17
The Payload toy could stand in for any Class Beta drone.
Payload transforms into a Bulldog II Armored Truck model based on the Decepticon-drone coloration and face type. In robot mode, his midsection has a large push-out grabber-claw that extends waaaaaaaaaaaaay far out. However, in order to do this, the claw-shaft sticks far out of his back in robot mode, making posing and display in narrow spaces difficult. It also makes him hard to balance.
Several pieces on Payload tend to pop off easily: his brush guard, midriff-plate/claw-center, and even his upper shoulder/head assembly. The mold was later retooled to include larger pegs for the shoulder/head assembly and an added tab on the brushguard, to connect to the new slot in the claw plunger. While this was intended to give the pieces a better fit, it actually puts more pressure on the parts and causes them to pop off even more easily. The chest piece, however, fits fairly well on either version but is still easy to remove.
Payload had a tendency to sit on shelves for weeks, with some examples of end displays filled completely with Payload figures. This has led to some fans affectionately renaming him as Pegload.


Merchandise

3D Battle-Card Game

  • Payload (3D Battle Card, 2007)
    • Card number:
In the 3D Battle-Card Game, the Payload is on the Decepticon side. Pieces punched out from two different cards can be assembled to form a SWAT truck or a robot, while a third double-sided card gives its stats and attacks for each mode. He uses the same piece layout as Ratchet, though his lens-head peeking up over the back end of his vehicle mode looks less doofy than Ratchet's does. His card art was done by Lucio Parrillo.

Notes

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