License plate

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A license plate, officially a vehicle registration plate, also called a number plate or a Vanity plate, is a metal plate attached to a an Earth vehicle, usually a car, a truck or a motorcycle, that contains a unique registration ID with an official authority within the country the vehicle is operating in. It typically consists of numbers, letters or a combination of both. Some countries require license plates for the front and rear bumper of a car, while others (such as the USA) only require a rear license plate.

Since a lot of Transformers use Earth vehicles as their alternate modes, they often also sport a license plate as part of their disguise. Sometimes the license plates reveal the character's name, sometimes they contain a coded message, and sometimes they are just random numbers and letters.

Toys

Alternators/Binaltech

  • Smokescreen has "S30WRT" for the Alternators and the "#8" variant of the Binaltech version and "S40WRT" for the "#7" variant of the Binaltech version. Both were the authentic license plates used by the real-life Subaru Impreza WRC cars during the 2003 Rallye Monte Carlo.
  • Likewise, the Binaltech-only retool Smokescreen GT comes with the license plates "OT53 SRT" for the "#1" variant and "CT53 SRT" for the "#2" variant. Again, both were the authentic license plates used by the real-life Subaru Impreza WRC cars during the 2004 Corona Rally Mexico.
  • Both Alternators Side Swipe and Binaltech Lambor have a rear license plate sporting an abbreviated form of the character's US name, "SIDE SWP", with an Autobot logo in the middle.
  • Alternators Silverstreak and Binaltech Streak both have two license plates, with the front one only sporting an Autobot logo and the rear one sporting an abbreviated form of the character's then US name, "SLV STRK", again with an Autobot logo in the middle.
  • Both versions of Hound only sported a license plate with an Autobot logo on the front bumper.
  • Both versions of Dead End feature a rear license plate sporting his name, "DEAD END", with a Decepticon logo in the middle.
  • Alternators Autobot Tracks and both the yellow and blue variants of Binaltech Tracks simply sport an Autobot logo on the rear license plate.
  • All versions of Meister, including the Binaltech-only red version (aka "Zoom-Zoom"), feature a rear license plate that contains an Autobot logo followed by his name, "MEISTER".
  • Similar to his mold-mate Hound, both versions of Swindle only feature a front license plate sporting a lone Decepticon symbol.
  • Both versions of Grimlock feature a rear license plate sporting an Autobot logo followed by his name, "GRIMLOCK".
  • Alternators Windcharger has the first difference with his Binaltech counterpart, what with them being different characters and all. He features a rear license plate sporting an Autobot logo followed by an abbreviated form of his name, "WNDCGR".
  • Meanwhile, his Binaltech counterpart Overdrive has the same layout for the license plate, but sports an abbreviated form of his name, "OVRDRV", instead.
  • Alternators Battle Ravage and Binaltech Ravage both feature a rear license plate sporting a Decepticon logo followed by an abbreviated version of the Japanese toy's (and Hasbro's Generation 1 toy's) name, "RVG". Early test shots of the Alternators version still sported an abbreviated form of the Hasbro name for the toy, "BTLRVG", which implies an intentional change.
  • Alternators Shockblast features a rear license plate sporting a Decepticon logo followed by an abbreviated form of the character's Generation 1 toy's name, "SHKWAV". The Binaltech counterpart, Laserwave, replaces that with an abbreviated form of its Japanese name, "LWAVE".
  • Both versions of Wheeljack feature a rear license plate sporting an Autobot logo followed by an abbreviated form of his name, "WHLJCK".
  • The Alternators-only retool of Windcharger, Decepticharge, features a rear license plate sporting a Decepticon logo followed by an abbreviated form of his name, "DCHRG".
  • The Alternators-only retool of Tracks, Swerve, features a rear license plate sporting an Autobot logo followed by his name, "SWERVE".
  • All versions of Prowl, including the Binaltech-only blue civilian variant, feature a rear license plate sporting an Autobot logo followed by the character's name, "PROWL".
  • Both versions of Skids feature a rear license plate sporting an Autobot logo followed by his name, "SKIDS".
  • Alternators Sunstreaker features a rear license plate sporting an Autobot logo followed by his full name, "SUNSTREAKER", as does the Binaltech Asterisk version. In fact, the license plate is one of the two elements of the two versions' decos that are identical, the other being the paint mask for the head. An earlier test shot of Alternators Sunstreaker sported an abbrviated form of the name, "SUN STRK", in a different font, with an Autobot logo in the middle.
  • The Alternators-only redeco of Swindle, Rollbar, was the first to feature a state-specific rear license plate, in his case his name, "ROLLBAR", registered in Colorado. Like Hound, he also features a front license plate sporting nothing but an Autobot logo.
  • The equally Alternators-only redeco of Silverstreak, Ricochet, followed suit, with a rear license plate sporting his name, "RICO-CHET", registered in the Garden State of New Jersey. Like Silverstreak and Rollbar, he also features a front license plate with a lone Autobot logo.
  • Alternators Optimus Prime features a rear license plate sporting an Autobot logo followed by the second half of his name, "PRIME", styled after a California plate but replacing the state name with his home planet of Cybertron in the same font.
  • Alternators Mirage features a rear license plate sporting his name, "MIRAGE", registered in the Great Lakes state of Michigan. His e-Hobby exclusive clear Binaltech counterpart, "Rijie Electro-Disruptor Mode", simply has an Autobot logo followed by his Japanese name, "RIJIE", with no state-specific plate.
  • The Alternators-only redeco of Prowl, Camshaft, features a rear license plate sporting an abbreviated form of his name, "CAM SHFT", registered in the Ocean State of Rhode Island (also Hasbro's home state). Since the toy's deco was originally conceived with the Diaclone version of Generation 1 Bluestreak in mind, early samples sported an abbreviated form of that name, "BLU STRK", instead.
  • The Hasbro Toy Shop/San Diego Comic-Con 2006 exclusive redeco of Optimus Prime, Nemesis Prime, has a rear license plate sporting the first half of his name, "NEMESIS", registered in California with a date of July 2006, referring to the place and date of the toy's release. The Wonder Festival 2007 Winter exclusive Binaltech counterpart, Black Convoy, replaces that with his Japanese name, "BLACK-CONVOY", with no state-specific plate.
  • The Walmart exclusive, Alternators-only mold Decepticon Rumble features a rear license plate sporting his name without a trademark-induced prefix, "RUMBLE", registered in the Aloha State of Hawaii.
  • The second toy of Ravage (the Jaguar XK), equally Alternators-only, but only Walmart exclusive in the USA (it was available at mass retail in various European countries), features a rear license plate that sports his name "RAVAGE". Since Jaguar is a British manufacturer, it's the only license plate registered in the European Union, with a "GB" country identifier for Great Britain.
  • The Hasbro Toy Shop/San Diego Comic-Con 2007 exclusive retool of Mirage, Rodimus, features a rear license plate sporting the slogan "TOO HOT", registered in the Golden State of California with a date of July, referring to the place and date of the toy's release.
  • The final four Binaltech-only redecos simply feature license plates with white text on a black backdop, like vehicles on display at a car show. The redeco of Streak, "Bluestreak", has front and rear plates with the car's model, "IMPREZA", the redecos of Meister (with parts taken from his retool, Laserwave), "Argent Meister", and the redeco of Decepticharge, Arcee, both also have rear plates with the car's models, "RX-8" and "S2000", respectively, and Optimus Prime's Binaltech counterpart, Convoy, has a rear plate with the manufacturer's name, "DODGE". All names are matched to the official manufacturers' logos and fonts.

Binaltech Asterisk

  • The Asterisk-only retool of Streak, Alert, again has a front plate only sporting an Autobot logo, and a rear late sporting an Autobot logo followed by his Japanese name, "ALERT".
  • As mentioned above, Sunstreaker features a rear license plate sporting an Autobot logo followed by his full name, "SUNSTREAKER", just like his Alternators counterpart.
  • Broadblast features a rear license plate sporting an Autobot logo followed by an abbreviated form of his Japanese name, "bRBL", with the lowercase first "b" and the uppercase second "B" being a reference to the vehicle's Japanese name, the Toyota bB.

Kiss Players

  • Convoy features a rear license plate sporting an Autobot logo followed by his Japanese name, "CONVOY".
  • Hot Rodimus features a rear license plate sporting an Autobot logo followed by his Japanese name, "HOT RODIMUS".
  • The 1:24 scale toy of Autorooper features identical front and rear license plates sporting a Japanese kanji and a number, "子・・04". The kanji stands for "rat", one of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac, identifying the Autrooper unit's platoon, whereas the number identifies the individual Autorooper unit. The license plate is registered to the Earth Defense Command's Tokyo precinct, as a shown by the kanji "東京" for Tokyo and the abbreviation "EDC".

Movie

  • Bumblebee's toys alternatively sport two different license plates: The more prevalent one is "4NZZ454", based on the CG robot model of the "Concept Camaro" body used for the movie. It can be found on the Deluxe Class "Classic Camaro" toy's robot mode stomach (in contrast to the license plate the movie used for this body), which has a blank license plate on the vehicle mode's rear end, on Ultimate Bumblebee in both modes, and on the non-transforming Unleashed, Robot Replicas, Cyber Stompin' Robots and Tiger's Beatmix Bumblebee figures' robot mode stomachs. Ultimate Bumblebee and the Robot Replica, Unleashed and Beatmix toys also sport a California registration, while the Deluxe and Cyber Stompin' toys simply have a red line evocative of the "California" logo.
  • The Deluxe Class "Concept Camaro" toy, meanwhile, adds an extra "Z", making it "4NZZZ454" for the robot mode's chest, again with a red line evocative of the "California" logo, while the vehicle mode's rear end again features a blank plate. This plate is also used for the battle damaged redeco from the Target exclusive "Bumblebee: Evolution of a Hero" two-pack, the Screen Battles "Capture of Bumblebee" redeco, the Target exclusive "AllSpark-enhanced" redeco and the Premium Series redeco/retool. The Premium version also adds the same license plate to the vehicle mode's rear end.
  • The "Classic Camaro" Battle Chargers toy does something else entirely, with a rear license plate sporting an abbreviated form of his name, "BUMBL-B", with a line evocative of a "California" logo above it... except both the letters and the line are blue. In robot mode, the license plate on his stomach is blank.
  • Meanwhile, the Legends Class toys including the Cliffjumper redeco, the Cliffjumper redeco and the "Stealth Bumblebee" redeco/retool of the "Concept Camaro" Deluxe sculpt, the "Concept Camaro" Bumper Battlers toy, the Fast Action Battlers toys and the legless Bumblebee figure available as part of the Screen Battles "Final Stand" set with a minor redeco of Deluxe Class Longarm all sport blank license plates in both modes.
  • Most of Barricade's toy sport blank license plates. The only exceptions are the "Recon Barricade" redeco of the Deluxe Class toy, which features a rear license plate sporting the name "SAGE2764", referring to the screenname of a member of a Chinese toy newsgroup pertaining to Recon Barricade's deco designer Joe Kyde, and the Premium Series redeco of the Deluxe, whose license plate sports an abbreviation of his Decepticon allegiance, "DCPTCN".
  • All other toys with vehicular modes sport blank license plates, despite often having the space for them specifically sculpted.

Universe (2008)/Henkei!

  • Universe Sunstreaker features a rear license plate sporting the phrase "WE R 84", spelled out "We are 84", referring to the launch of the original Transformers toy line in 1984. The same plate is also used for his Henkei! counterpart. Early Hasbro prototypes used for stock photos and comparison photos in Japanese magazines sported an incorrect "WE R 82" license plate, which was thankfully caught in quality control in time for the final release.
  • Sunstreaker's Universe redeco, Sideswipe, features a rear license plate sporting the second half of his name, "SWIPE". His Henkei! counterpart, Lambor, replaces that with his Japanese name, "LAMBOR".
  • Universe Ironhide features a rear license plate sporting the state name "OREGON", referring the the state where Mount St. Hilary, the mointain the Ark had crashed into, was located according to the Marvel comics. His Henkei! counterpart boringly replaces that with a blank plate.
  • Ironhide's Universe redeco, Autobot Ratchet, features a rear license plate sporting the message "H3L PU2", or "Help us", referring to the cover of issue 70 of the Marvel US comic. Again, Henkei! Ratchet simply replaces that with a blank plate.
  • Hot Shot features a rear plate sporting the message "JA AM", declaring the character's well-known love for the substance known as JaAm. His Henkei counterpart, Hot Rod, replaces that with his Japanese name, "HOT ROD".
  • Henkei Alert features a rear plate sporting his Japanese name, "ALERT".

Revenge of the Fallen

  • Bumblebee's Deluxe Class "preview" toy, a retool of the Movie Deluxe Class "Concept Camaro" Bumblebee toy, keeps that version's movie-inaccurate license plate "4NZZZ454" on the robot mode chest, but omits the red line evocative of a California registration this time. The vehicle mode's rear license plate is blank. The same plate is also used by Human Alliance Bumblebee, in both modes, both times with a red line evocative of a California registration.
  • The Movie Ultimate Bumblebee retool, "Ultimate Bumblebee Battle Charged", keeps the original version's movie-accurate plate, "4NZZ454" with one less "Z", in both modes, both times registered in California, like on the original.
  • All other Bumblebee toys (Legends Class, the Deluxe redeco Alliance Bumblebee, the elaborate Deluxe retool Cannon Bumblebee, its retool Battlefield Bumblebee, the Gravity Bots and the Fast Action Battlers) have blank license plates.
  • Human Alliance Barricade features a rear license plate sporting the message "2PN-SLV", referring to the infamous "To punish and enslave..." markings that are part of his police car deco.
  • Autobot Skids features a rear license plate sporting his name minus the trademark-induced prefix, "SKIDS", on his Deluxe Class, Gravity Bots and Human Alliance toys.
  • His brother Mudflap features a rear license plate sporting his vehicle mode's name, "TRAX", on his Gravity Bots toy and the initial shipment of his Deluxe Class toy. Later shipments of the Deluxe, including the Japanese TakaraTomy release, replace it with his name, "MUDFLAP", as do the Deluxe's redeco, Tuner Mudflap, and the Human Alliance toy.
  • All other toys have blank license plates, despite often having them specifically sculpted.

Generations

Transformers (2010)/United

  • Deluxe Class Tuner Skids features a rear license plate sporting the slogan "IH8CONS", or "I hate Cons" (as in "Decepticons").
  • Battle Ops Bumblebee sports the movie-accurate license plate "4NZZ454" in both modes, both times without so much as a red line evocative of a California registration.
  • Reveal the Shield Deluxe Class Perceptor features a rear license plate sporting the code "MR51409". The exact meaning has not been officially confirmed, the most prevalent theory suggests it might refer to the birth date of Bill Rawley's daughter. Surprisingly enough, his United counterpart, "Autobot Perceptor", keeps the plate.

Dark of the Moon

  • Leader Class Bumblebee features license plates sporting the combination "900 STRA" without a state-specific registration in both modes. This is in fact the plate used on the car props for all three movies (seen in the 2007 movie, Revenge of the Fallen and the Daytona 500 spot for Dark of the Moon), which is different from the plate used on the CG robot model's stomach.

Fiction

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