Gunbarrel (Armada)

This article is about the Armada Mini-Con. For the live-action movie Decepticon, see Gunbarrel (Movie).

Gunbarrel is a Mini-Con from the Armada portion of the Unicron Trilogy continuity family.

Here he leads with his iron foot.

Gunbarrel leads the Air Military Mini-Con Team with an iron fist. He's domineering, overbearing, and mean to the core. He's even carved victory notches and his personal motto "Death from above!" into his armor. He's basically a huge hardass, but he's also one that gets undeniable results. His Team is feared and respected on both sides of the conflict, and that's the way Gunbarrel likes it. He also respects the strength and skill of others when he comes across it.

An alternate-universe incarnation of Gunbarrel is partnered with the herald of Unicron, Ramjet, but shares none of Gunbarrel's personality traits... he hasn't got a personality anymore. Untold millennia of servility to the dark Transformer have left him -and his fellow Mini-Cons- little more than drones, utterly subservient to his master's will.

Japanese name: Glide

Fiction

Cartoon continuity

Armada cartoon

Gunbarrel and the Air Military Team were hidden away in storage on the moon, apparently trapped there for a million years unlike their fellow Mini-Cons who had been scattered over the Earth. They were found and recruited by Thrust to the Decepticon cause, and incorporated into his battle strategies. Alongside the Air Defense Team, the Decepticons now possessed a rather large air force for vanquishing the Autobots. After Thrust lured the Autobots into a tight ravine with a false Mini-Con signal, Gunbarrel and his flying partners joined with Starscream in strafing the trapped Autobots. They were eventually overcome when Hot Shot fired on the jets, bringing them down. Tactician

The Air Military Team and Air Defense Team were used in Thrust's next offensive as well. Gunbarrel and the others used the Autobots' prohibition against firing on Mini-Cons against them, keeping Jetfire distracted and surrounded in mid-air, cut off from his landbound fellow Autobots and unable to fire back at his attackers. Linkup

Toys

Armada

• Air Military Mini-Con Team (Basic, 2003)
  • Japanese ID number: MM-11

Gunbarrel transforms into a multi-engined military cargo plane of undetermined model. He also has a third "weapon" mode, a six-barreled (non-firing) cannon. He was normally only available in a three-pack with his teammates Terradive and Thunderwing.

This mold was also used to make Combusta, Effect, Cybertron Sky Lynx and Hyakurai.

• More information on Gunbarrel at TFU.info

• Thrust w/ Air Military Micron (Multi-pack, 2003)
  • Japanese ID number: MS-06

The entire Air Military Team was packaged with Thrust and Inferno in a special Japanese multi-pack as well as the normal individual releases.

• Air Military Micron X-Dimension (Basic, 2003)
  • Japanese ID number: MM-12

For their X-Dimension redeco, the entire Air Military Team was redone in black, clear-black and white plastics, plus given a light white paint-wash. This set was released at normal retail, but in smaller numbers than the normal coloration.

• More information on X-Dimension Glide at TFU.info

• Unicron with Dead End (Bonus pack, 2003)

Late in the US line, Wal-Mart stores received exclusive Unicron toys that came with the Air Military Team in a bubble attached to the top of the box. This set was sold for the normal retail price of Unicron... hey, free Mini-Cons!

Universe (2003)

• Ramjet w/ Thunderclash, Gunbarrel, Thunderwing, & Terradive (Multi-pack, 2004)

Available as part of a Toys"R"Us exclusive "Spring Value Pack" with his master Ramjet, this version of Gunbarrel was redecoed in mostly darker shades of his original colors. This set also came with redecoes of the Mini-Cons Thunderclash, Thunderwing and Terradive.

• More information on Spring Value Pack Gunbarrel at TFU.info

File:Universe2003 Gunbarrel (Whirl) toy.jpg

• Autobot Whirl with Makeshift & Gunbarrel (Ultra, 2004)

Gunbarrel was redecoed again in Universe, this time for normal retail release, in an Ultra-level multi-pack with Whirl and the Mini-Con Makeshift. The packaging for this toy lists both Mini-Cons as Autobots.

This toy was repurposed as Cybertron Thunderstick.

• More information on Universe Gunbarrel at TFU.info

Notes

• The packaging for the Toys "R" Us Universe Ramjet sets shows an Air Military Team in very different colors. Gunbarrel is pictured with a deco extremely similar to the Generation 2 Skyscorcher Terradive.