Ask Vector Prime A Question Archives
  December 23rd, 2005  

Vector Prime

Yes, I did notice that Hasbro updated earlier this week, but I update on Friday nights. In any case, here's the link to the official site.

Q: Are you the legendary guardian of time and space?
A: Whose legend? I've never run into any records of me on Cybertron. Or Earth, for that matter. I do appear in a few Vok myths as a legendary meddler, though.

Q: How did Megatron get Unicron armour?
A: There were bits and pieces of Unicron left over when he got blown up in Energon. Megatron collected those up and made a new body for himself.

Don't ask how Megatron survived flying into the sun, though.

Q: Who is the strangest person you ever met?
A: Blinky is pretty strange. So are most of the people who send me questions, but fortunatrely I never meet any of them in person.

Q: Will there be a girl Alternator Transformer?
A: It doesn't matter. I'm all for it, of course, but if there does end up a female Alternator, the fans will complain bitterly. Why? Because Alternators are bulky and mechanical-looking.

Look at it from an Autobot's perspective, humans - we find mechanical-looking car-kibble attractive. Femmebots weren't designed to your aesthetic ideals. Get over yourselves.

Q: Why do the Transformers look different in every new season?
A: Marketing. A new look means a new toy to sell to the kids. As well, new toys gives the fans something to complain about.

Besides, do you look the same all the time? Transformers also like to change their appearence every so often, and we like to keep up with technology. You upgrade your computer every three years, we upgrade our bodies whenever something new and interesting comes along.

And here are the questions sent straight to the Insecticons, unfortunately filtered through Shrapnel.

Q: If you were to be kitbashed into anything you wanted, an alternate color scheme, really large cannons with which to take revenge on the 'Cons, et cetera, what would you want?
A: More red and gold bits, but the Insecticons have threatened to string me up as a disco ball if I glitter any more. Maybe if my electronic feature was that the concave bit on my midsection lit up when my Cyber Key was installed, so it would look more like my attack on the cartoon. Those few times I get to use it, I mean.

Shrapnel says: CAAAARE BEARRRR STAAAAARE!

... All right, bad idea.

Q: I reran the image as a .jpeg, see if that works.
A: It does this time. Here:

Arcee in a carwash, by Trainman

Q: Is it true that the Minicons are canned in the next half of the series?
A: "Do you have Minicon In A Can? Then you'd better let him out, out."

Ignore the Insecticon.

But they totally had Minicon Inna Can out! We saw them back when we went to the States last summer, summer! 'Tiny Tins' or suchlike, suchlike.

It was a cartoon question, not a toy question.

Hee, 'Tiny Tins', tins. What's Minicon for, "And Primus bless us, every one"?

Ah, "Beep beedle bip -" - argh! Stop changing the subject!

Q: And how goes your "harem's" new paint schemes? Wayward getting anywhere yet?
A: Not far, alas. Four have been dyed in preparation for later painting and some slight helmet remoulding has happened, but work on Twelve Months Of Arcee won't truly begin until January.

Q: How many have the Insecticons drugged and drug under the mistletoe as of yet? ( And that's mistletoe as in an Earth-based plant, not something Bruticus fires out of his left foot, Shrap. )
A: Plants in the same room as Insecticons tend to get eaten. Besides, being Insecticons, they only really celebrate the parts of Christmas that interest them - consumerism and gluttony. Yes, I know there are supposed to be other meanings to this season, but I'm in no place to speak of them - I'm waiting for the Boxing Day sales in hopes of purchasing myself a Thunderblast harem.

Q: Any pictures of you in a Santa Hat yet? ( Not that I'm waiting for any ... I hear Megs would pay a good amount for those though. )
A: Unfortunately, it has already happened. I got coerced into wearing the Santa costume for this year's Christmas Insecticomic. I hate everyone.

Q: Should the G1 reissue of Astrotrain been white or purple?
A: That depends on the preferences of the buyer. On one hand, it would have been nice to have a grayish-purple, cartoon-accurate colourscheme - the anime repaint version is close, but still rather gray. On the other, the black and white colourscheme is interesting, as it makes his shuttle and train modes opposite colours, instead of all three modes matching. I think Astrotrain would more appreciate the white, as it adds to the disguise and confusion of his vehicle modes.

Q: Who hits you the most?
A: Safeguard if he thinks I've been seeing other Minicons. After that, it's Starscream. I think it's because he also has swords.

Q: Have the Insecticons ever hit on you? Or do they just hit you? ( Hey, it could quell some of the slashfic writers ... )
A: In fact, they do hit on me more than they hit me, but being half my size, they know I could kick them into next week if they got too close. Thus they stick with distance attacks. And in general, I'm not particularly worried about fanfiction writers. I'm old. They'd rather write about young characters.

Q: Vector Prime-san, why is Japanese G1 ( i.e. Headmasters, Masterforce, and Victory ) so ANTIpopular in US? Because, for example, here in Russia, Masterforce and Victory are even more liked than US seasons, and most times I see something about Japanese G1 on internet it's either bad reviews or "WTF-is-that?"-like stuff.
A: I couldn't say, not having seen any Japanese G1, unfortunately. Transfandom seems to be the opposite of most other fandoms with both American and Japanese componants - in most cases, whatever is made in Japan is preferred, but not so with Transformers. Except with the toys. Generally speaking.

Q: Lately I smacked `bout 10 mimicons with the butt of my rifle. I still don`t feel even a tiny bit miserable. What have I done wrong?
A: You smacked 'mimicons' instead of Minicons. 'Mimicons' is the kind of thing Sideswipe ( G1 ) would make up. Such as, "This place is so creepy, it's giving me the screaming mimicons!"

Q: Why do some Transfans find something to complain about on EVERY toy?
A: They would be bored otherwise.

Q: Since Megatron has cool Sith force lightning, do you have any sweet Jedi force powers?
A: I have the ability to see the future. In the next episode, I stand around and do nothing. Or I get backhanded by a Decepticon.

Q: First off, thank you. I used your help in creating a design for a Junkion Force Chip. I've included the picture in .jpg format. What do you think?
A:

Junkion Force Chip, by NuclearConvoy

Goodness, that's almost exactly the way I pictured it, except that you've got it flipped left to right.

Q: Most Excellent Time-Traveling Sir,

( I like this reader already. )

Why do some Transformers, like the Seekers from Generation 1 for example, have identical forms with only minor colouring alterations? If they're mass-produced, wouldn't they also have identical personalities and weaponry?
A: The differing personalities come from Vector Sigma ( or the Creation Matrix, or whatever personality-creating program you prefer. ) In any case, it's a random generator, which is why we end up with jets that are afraid of heights and boats that don't like the water. The differing weapons are to maximise damage - if all Seekers had, say, null-rays, we Autobots would simply find a defence against them. Since the Seekers have varied weaponry, there's no one way to defend against them.

Q: Also, is your time-traveling power processed by a flux capacitor and run by 1.21 jiggawatts ( jigga who? ) of electricity, or is the Doc just out of his head?
A: My time-travel power is processed by magic. Or something. I'm worried that if I try to understand it, something will explode. Just as long as it works. Safeguard might know - he does my repairs. I do know that I don't need to be moving at three-hundred miles per hour to time-travel, at least.

Q: What is your theme song?
A: The third movement of the Canthrethan Aishea. But I suppose you meant some human song instead of a Cybertronian one. For some reason, Wayward associates The Fixx's Saved By Zero with me.

We tend to imagine the theme from Shaft playing behind him, him.

... Why?

Because it makes us giggle.

Q: Have you met Dreadmoon yet?
A: Yes. He lives at the In Space offices with the rest of us, and I have encountered him in the Insecticomics. Unfortunately.

Q: Dear Vector Prime,
There comes a time in the life of every Transformer when parts of the anatomy just don't work the way they used to; Emirate Xaaron told me it was a part of growing old and nothing to be ashamed of; that all good Transformers eventually lose the ability to transform.
So, what's your secret to keeping so young and healthy? Is it simply that the secret to immortality is to grow rusty and bitter on the inside and thus spare the outside, or did you discover the 'fountain of youth' is found in Minicons, and that's why Safeguard is plugged into your arm, uh, veins.
Thanks, Veccy :D

A: It wasn't mere age that caused Xaaron to lose the ability to transform - his main problem was that he hadn't transformed in so long that those joints had seized up and become immoveable. But, to your question - some ancient Transformers remain 'young' by upgrading often, others merely always seem young because of their attitude towards life. In my case, between the strength of my spark and the powers granted to me to become the Guardian of Time, my physical form remains in generally good repair, despite it being some tens of millions years old.

Q: If all of the Starscreams from the various continuities ( G1, Armada, Energon, Cybertron ) got into this huge brawl, which one would come out victorious?
A: They all have their advantages, but I think this one would come down to a match between the G1 and Cybertron versions - both are cunning and seem to have the propensity to attract and merge with godlike powers. The outcome of this would be determined by which one found the Big Power Item Of The Week first ... or by which one shoots the other in the back first.

 

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