| HUBCAP
(DIE-CAST)
PROJECT #344
CLASSIFICATION: KITBASH
BASE VEHICLE: PARTY FAVOR
MEDIA APPEARANCE: N/A
"Weapons can win battles, but words can win
wars."
Comments: Hubcap's a bit of an enigma
in that he's the only one of the 1986 Mini Autobots who had no official media
depiction. He didn't show up with the others in "Five Faces of Darkness"
or any other point in the cartoon, and he was completely ignored by Marvel
Comics (he didn't even get a TRANSFORMERS UNIVERSE profile).
I suspect that no official animation model for Hubcap was ever created,
though the precise reasons for this are not known to me. What's even
more strange is that this largely forgotten character was among the Mini
Autobots offered by Hasbro through mail order (one supposes Cliffjumper might
have been Hasbro's first choice, since he was identified as such in the catalog,
but the mold had been permanently altered to create Hubcap); he was also
part of the Mini Autobots assortment for the Transformers: Generation
2 toy line.
Speaking of permanent alterations, I wanted to
make some changes to the base vehicle
(I gave up trying to find another Penny Racers toy like I did with
Cliffjumper, but this is the same
base vehicle I used for Bumper so I wanted
to make it look different, especially with both characters being the same
color). I carved out the side windows a bit (not easy to do with die-cast
metal) as well as the roof panel for his Autobot symbol; I also shaved down
the front bumper and added some stuff like the spoiler and side view mirrors
and tail lights and that panel behind his head. (The other Mini Autobots
from this era all have black windshields in the cartoon, a literal interpretation
of their respective toys, so I followed suit.) |
