Title:
Scourge 6th Robot Mode Toys"R"Us Nemesis Prime
Description:
Black Convoy (July 2000) / Scourge (Super Class, 2002)
Takara ID number: D-012
Accessories: ”Black Sword/Sword of Fury”, ”Plasma Gun”, 5 discs, 10 small missiles, 2 large missiles
First released in the fifth wave of Takara’s Car Robots toyline, Black Convoy is a redeco of the Generation 2 Laser Optimus Prime mold, transforming into a Western Star 4964EX truck with black and teal paint apps, thick foil stickers, and pink transparent plastic that works exceptionally well for light-piping. The toy lacks all of Laser Prime’s electronics to keep costs down, the entire back of the cab is now covered with a black sticker to hide the empty battery compartment.The chromed oil-tanker trailer has a top-mounted disc launcher, and opens up into a battle station. In this mode is has the disc launcher, a spring-loaded five-missile launcher (which can also be held in the robot’s hand), a large air-pressure rocket launcher, plus the robot’s double-barreled Plasma Gun can be mounted at the top of the tower. All of these weapons can be stored inside the trailer mode. Care should be taken when opening the trailer into base mode, as the springs in this version are very strong compared to other releases, and will scratch the chrome sides by slamming them into the ground. The toy also suffers from mild mold wear in that the Plasma Gun’s rear clip is somewhat warped and the figure’s shoulders have a harder time staying upright than Laser Prime’s. Due to the Generation 2 Autobot symbols sculpted on Black Convoy’s launcher discs, Takara made Black Convoy’s faction symbol the Generation 2 Autobot one, but upside down. By extension, this also explains the faction symbol for the Combatrons.The later Hasbro Robots in Disguise release of the toy, under the name Scourge, was sold exclusively at Toys”R”Us in the USA. The clear pink plastic has been replaced with blood red, the metallic gray plastics are a darker shade, the stickers are now matte gray with Decepticon logos instead of silver foil with ”negative-Autobot” logos, the sword has blunted tip, and the discs are retooled to remove the faction symbol altogether (save the small hole in the crest) with thicker edges. The only notable paint changes are that Scourge has Decepticon sigils tampographed on his doors, while lacking Black Convoy’s teal stripes along the sides of the cab’s nose. The license plate sticker on the tanker now states ”SCOURGE D-012” (a reference to Black Convoy’s ID Number). The toy lacks electronics like the Takara release, but instead of having a large sticker over the battery compartment, the battery lid is simply glued shut.An early wave of Scourge sold on the Toys”R”Us website had the Hasbro stickers and mold changes, but retained the Japanese cab paint applications and pink plastic. A late variant leaves the bottom finger of both hands unpainted for whatever reason.Scourge’s box has one of the worst stock photos ever, depicting the figure about half transformed—his shoulders are folded down oddly and his legs haven’t been extended at all, making him hilariously stubby. Considering how simple the figure is and how bad the crude early photoshoppery looks, one can only assume there was a hell of a tight deadline. Similar errors would continue to make their way into other stock images of the toy.This version of the mold was later reused by Sonokong as Car Bot Black Convoy in the South Korean market, identical to the Hasbro release but with Black Convoy’s foil stickers.
Takara ID number: D-012
Accessories: ”Black Sword/Sword of Fury”, ”Plasma Gun”, 5 discs, 10 small missiles, 2 large missiles
First released in the fifth wave of Takara’s Car Robots toyline, Black Convoy is a redeco of the Generation 2 Laser Optimus Prime mold, transforming into a Western Star 4964EX truck with black and teal paint apps, thick foil stickers, and pink transparent plastic that works exceptionally well for light-piping. The toy lacks all of Laser Prime’s electronics to keep costs down, the entire back of the cab is now covered with a black sticker to hide the empty battery compartment.The chromed oil-tanker trailer has a top-mounted disc launcher, and opens up into a battle station. In this mode is has the disc launcher, a spring-loaded five-missile launcher (which can also be held in the robot’s hand), a large air-pressure rocket launcher, plus the robot’s double-barreled Plasma Gun can be mounted at the top of the tower. All of these weapons can be stored inside the trailer mode. Care should be taken when opening the trailer into base mode, as the springs in this version are very strong compared to other releases, and will scratch the chrome sides by slamming them into the ground. The toy also suffers from mild mold wear in that the Plasma Gun’s rear clip is somewhat warped and the figure’s shoulders have a harder time staying upright than Laser Prime’s. Due to the Generation 2 Autobot symbols sculpted on Black Convoy’s launcher discs, Takara made Black Convoy’s faction symbol the Generation 2 Autobot one, but upside down. By extension, this also explains the faction symbol for the Combatrons.The later Hasbro Robots in Disguise release of the toy, under the name Scourge, was sold exclusively at Toys”R”Us in the USA. The clear pink plastic has been replaced with blood red, the metallic gray plastics are a darker shade, the stickers are now matte gray with Decepticon logos instead of silver foil with ”negative-Autobot” logos, the sword has blunted tip, and the discs are retooled to remove the faction symbol altogether (save the small hole in the crest) with thicker edges. The only notable paint changes are that Scourge has Decepticon sigils tampographed on his doors, while lacking Black Convoy’s teal stripes along the sides of the cab’s nose. The license plate sticker on the tanker now states ”SCOURGE D-012” (a reference to Black Convoy’s ID Number). The toy lacks electronics like the Takara release, but instead of having a large sticker over the battery compartment, the battery lid is simply glued shut.An early wave of Scourge sold on the Toys”R”Us website had the Hasbro stickers and mold changes, but retained the Japanese cab paint applications and pink plastic. A late variant leaves the bottom finger of both hands unpainted for whatever reason.Scourge’s box has one of the worst stock photos ever, depicting the figure about half transformed—his shoulders are folded down oddly and his legs haven’t been extended at all, making him hilariously stubby. Considering how simple the figure is and how bad the crude early photoshoppery looks, one can only assume there was a hell of a tight deadline. Similar errors would continue to make their way into other stock images of the toy.This version of the mold was later reused by Sonokong as Car Bot Black Convoy in the South Korean market, identical to the Hasbro release but with Black Convoy’s foil stickers.
Theme:
Robots In Disguise RID
Manufacturer:
Hasbro
Year:
2003
Country:
United States
Series:
Robots In Disguise RID
Date Added:
2022-05-08 21:38:20
Automatic Estimated Date:
2024-01-25
Date Added:
2022-05-08 21:38:20
