The Energon Pub

So I used to have the toy of Transmetals Rhinox and Waspinator. They stayed normal on the show. I feel the show kinda jibbed me

There have always been Toy-only characters and decos, all the way back to the Jumpstarters in G1. They can only fit so much into a half hour show unfortunately.

wigglez323 wrote:So I used to have the toy of Transmetals Rhinox and Waspinator. They stayed normal on the show. I feel the show kinda jibbed me

It was more of a matter of economics. The toy line has plenty of characters, but only a certain few could appear. Back then, CG was very expensive and time consuming, but the trade-off is lots of character development and a deep story. Another notable consequences was that Wolfang, the suggested polar scout, was replaced by Tigatron thanks to him looking like Cheetor, thus needing only a slight tweak.

I think Wiggle's getting at the fact Rhinox and Waspinator were in the show, yet didn't change bodies like everyone else.

It is odd, I agree. Perhaps it simply came down to time, that the artists didn't have the time or budget to make new models of these two. But I doubt that, it's not like the show was made 'on the cheap', they knew what they were doing. Running out of time and falling two character models short just doesn't happen.

I reckon it's because the creators of the show had an affinity or special liking for Rhinox and Waspinator, and thought their new appearances would be deleterious to their character and appeal.
The gentle Rhinox, reimagined as a snarling tank-beast? The goofy Waspinator as a mass of whirling serrated spikes and blades?

I truly think the people working on the show liked these two just the way they were.

AdamPrime wrote:I think Wiggle's getting at the fact Rhinox and Waspinator were in the show, yet didn't change bodies like everyone else.

It is odd, I agree. Perhaps it simply came down to time, that the artists didn't have the time or budget to make new models of these two. But I doubt that, it's not like the show was made 'on the cheap', they knew what they were doing. Running out of time and falling two character models short just doesn't happen.

O trust me, it did. Let's examine how many models were made:

S1 1st half: 10
Optimus Primal
Cheetor
Rattrap
Rhinox
Dinobot

Megatron
Scorponok
Tarantulas
Terrorsaur
Waspinator

S1 Second Half: 4
Tigatron (tweak of Cheetor)
Airazor

Blackarachnia
Inferno

S2: 10 (excluding Transmutate)
TM Optimus Primal
TM Cheetor
TM Rattrap
Silverbolt
Depth Charge

TM Megatron
TM Tarantulas
Quickstrike
Rampage
Ravage (Tweak of TM cheetor)

S3: 6
Optimal Optimus
TM2 Cheetor
Tigerhawk
TM2 Blackarachnia

TM2 Megatron
TM2 Dinobot

AdamPrime wrote:I think Wiggle's getting at the fact Rhinox and Waspinator were in the show, yet didn't change bodies like everyone else.

It is odd, I agree. Perhaps it simply came down to time, that the artists didn't have the time or budget to make new models of these two. But I doubt that, it's not like the show was made 'on the cheap', they knew what they were doing. Running out of time and falling two character models short just doesn't happen.

I reckon it's because the creators of the show had an affinity or special liking for Rhinox and Waspinator, and thought their new appearances would be deleterious to their character and appeal.
The gentle Rhinox, reimagined as a snarling tank-beast? The goofy Waspinator as a mass of whirling serrated spikes and blades?

I truly think the people working on the show liked these two just the way they were.

I can dig the fact that they were expensive to change up Rhinox and Waspinator Except for the facet that Megs, OP and Cheetor got a third form along with Dinobot, BA and Silverbolt getting TM2 form. But story wise, no. They could've changed them up because I remember getting the toys before BW went into Beast Machines. I'm just sayig it would've been awesome to see Rhinox use his skills to do some research on a transmetal maximal and becaome a transmetal himself so he can get around faster like everybody else.

Might depend on the lead time required? Who knows when Hasbro announced these new moods to the TV team, or even if they were intended to be this characters from the outset?

wigglez323 wrote:I can dig the fact that they were expensive to change up Rhinox and Waspinator Except for the facet that Megs, OP and Cheetor got a third form along with Dinobot, BA and Silverbolt getting TM2 form. But story wise, no. They could've changed them up because I remember getting the toys before BW went into Beast Machines. I'm just sayig it would've been awesome to see Rhinox use his skills to do some research on a transmetal maximal and becaome a transmetal himself so he can get around faster like everybody else.

I think that it would have been awesome if the cast had more characters in BW, but the fact of the matter is that every tv show has a budget, even if it's a sizable one. That's one of the main reasons why there were a limited number of characters that appeared in the series, but it was to the shows benefit that there was a limited number of characters. Personally, I like Rhinox as the old wise man kind of character, but a TM Waspinator would have been kinda cool.

BTW, Silverbolt never had a TM2 form. He remained a Fuzor to the end of BW.

zipper wrote:BTW, Silverbolt never had a TM2 form. He remained a Fuzor to the end of BW.

The OP was probably thinking of Tigerhawk. He was a TM2, but also a fusion of a tiger (Tigatron) and a falcon (Airazor), instead of a wolf and an eagle.

Rhinox and Waspinator actually were animated...for the PS1 game "Transformers: Beast Wars Transmetals".

The best I can do to show you is a "Let's Play" I found on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xvwv3GsM2XQ

Part 1 does show them in the opening, and Part 2 begins story mode where you'll get a better look at TM Rhinox. I'll admit I haven't watched these videos in their entirety, but I did play the game years ago, and I think I remember a fair number of cut scenes. Hey, it's got some of the actual voice actors and is MUCH more true to the liscence than the original PS1 Beast Wars game.

Sadly though, Rhinox and Waspinator are NOT playable in the PS1 version of this game.

I would like to see a comic where they made it to transmetals at some point. I'd also like to see a comic where some of the fuzors that never made the show also joined the war. or even the mcdonalds toy characters. But with better design of coarse. If we got this, then the factions would probably get as big as the abots and the dcons. I know there are some comics that has some characters from the toy line that eventually made BW2 and Neo, but not all of them. And even the bat form of OP and the alligator form of Megs could've been clones or something.

wigglez323 wrote:I would like to see a comic where they made it to transmetals at some point. I'd also like to see a comic where some of the fuzors that never made the show also joined the war. or even the mcdonalds toy characters. But with better design of coarse. If we got this, then the factions would probably get as big as the abots and the dcons. I know there are some comics that has some characters from the toy line that eventually made BW2 and Neo, but not all of them. And even the bat form of OP and the alligator form of Megs could've been clones or something.

Not sure if you've read them, but there is Beast Wars: The Gathering and Beast Wars: The Ascending from IDW Comics:

http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Transformers%2C_Beast_Wars:_The_Gathering

http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Transformers:_Beast_Wars:_The_Ascending

While they certainly do take place in the same Universe as the TV show, it's more of a sidestory, and the TV show cast is mostly relagated to cameo's.

In terms of characters, nearly everyone from the American toyline makes at least an appearance somewhere, even Manta Ray from the McDonald's toyline in Ascending. However, with such a large cast and only two four issue mini-series, there's not a ton of characterization all around, but there are a few spotlighted bots.

Also, in my opinion, "The Gathering" is an awesome opener, and "The Ascending" is a rather epic ending, but sadly there is no middle series/second act, so don't be shocked by the change in tone. Still, very recomended.

****! I do need to read some stuff. I only saw a quick overview of the comics. And I mean really quick. Too bad there aren't alot other BW comics. I just like BW alot because that was IT when I was a kid. I wasn't born yet when G1 was on. And transmetals was awesome because it makes the characters look more Cybertronian than they did before then.

Yeah, Transformer comics(outside of Botcon and the pack-in) weren't being made at the time, and when Dreamwave came around Beast Machines was over, so there really wasn't much demand at the time for more Beast Stories. Dreamwave did do an 8 page special for Beast Wars in their Summer Special though:

http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Dreamwave_Summer_Special

It was mainly meant as a preview of sorts for the Dreamwave Beast Wars series which never came offically came to pass, but since "The Gathering" was adapted from the original script, this story could easily take place in the same universe.

Also might as well plug something else. Earlier in the year there was a Transformers Fan Comic called "Beast Wars: Second Chances" posted around several websites. Here's the story in it's entirety:

http://bwsecondchances.deviantart.com/gallery/28338510

It's essentially a "What if.." story about what happened on Earth after everyone else left. It also answers a sora cliffhanger introduced during the Beast Wars series, and includes a non-show character.

I scripted the Dinobot II segments, and overall I think it's a pretty awesome story myself .

That comic wasn't bad and I like how Starscream came back. I'm going to start looking for comics online after I get that BW boxset that has the timeline comic in it.