The Energon Pub

[Insurgent]

Skyfire got kicked by Kickback in his first ep and got stuck in robot mode.

Someone did once attack a combiner as they were combining. In the second Headmasters ep, the Predacons are starting to merge and as they are pulling themselves together, Hot Rod plows right through the middle of them. It knocks them all back into robot mode and he ended up stuck in some ice when Menasor plodded over and started using him as a shield.

As for when do the limb become toughened, I would say when the robot has transformed into the limb, regardless if it has attatched yet or not.

My theory on the Rumble/Frenzy thing in the movie (that I just came up with) is because they were standing on a metal ground that wasn't exactly stable, the vibrations were amplified and shook apart the joints between the components. We see on numerous times with numerous combiners that a sharp enough jolt will force them to dissasemble so that vibrating them to death makes sense.

[Malicron]

If you can atack a combiner during it's transformation, go for the torso-bot. The combiner would be helpless.

Some disembodied legs, arms, and a head just aren't that scarry.

[Thanatos Prime]

That is the only explanation for how gestalts are battle-winning instruments of war, rather than fantastic target practice.

Hmm... perhaps, but I think it would take one heavy blow to take out a gestalt while merging. A lucky pistol or rifle shot would probably just make the gestalt more angry when it finished.

"It would take one heavy blow to take out a gestalt while merging."
*Points to Transformers: the movie, 80's edition.*
Hello, Rumble & Frenzy take out Devastator by shaking him....

I guess I was thinking more of the Tarantulas thing, not just the gestalt coming apart but the actual component bots being servely injured.
Rumble and Frenzy just disasemble Devs, they don't do any physical damage...

Plus the 80's was silly anyways, since when did those guys have decent aim?

[Night Striker]

*laughs* They still have sucky aims. Airrazor is the only one that fires without missing in most cases. BA too I think. I wonder if 4 million years manged to make the Autobots and Decepticons need glasses.