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02/02/2004: New Article: The Transformers Decepto-Pack!

It’s been a long while since the last Transformers-related article, so why the Hell not. Here’s a look at the Decepto-Pack Armor Set, a clever pile of plastic that let any kid with a really small nose and a penchant for scratches on their face dress up like an honest-to-goodness Decepticon warrior. The elusive kit included a mask, shield, gun and breast-plate, which could then be transformed into a backpack. And then it all made sense. Article also includes a bonus section on Transformers “Decoys,” those small rubbery figures you might’ve forgotten about. Enjoy.


Posted by Matt. E-mail me!

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Discussion Thread: 94 comments

I remember having a couple decoys, none of them really impressive, but one was a red coloured decepticon. Soundwave I think.

Ghosted by TheJosh @ 02/03/2004 3:05 AM EST

I found all my decoys in with my other Transformers, but I forgot all about that little comic. The part that got to me as a kid was that First Aid was actually Ratchet.
Excellent review as always.

Ghosted by Maximus Prime @ 02/03/2004 3:28 AM EST

I know this is probably like asking a 13 year old to masturbate to Brittney Spears, but can someone show me a good Transformers site?

By good, I mean not yours.

Ghosted by Chopstick Sensei @ 02/03/2004 6:59 AM EST

Matt, if you go over to my site and read my blog, you will realize what a great amount of depression an article related to transformers toy is causing me. In all seriousness though, yours is my absolute favorite site on the entire web. Keep up the good work. And respond to me once in a while.

Ghosted by Skitzo at stupid5pin.com @ 02/03/2004 8:43 AM EST

Yyyyeeeessssssss! It’s been far, far too long since the last Transformers article. Nice! Aside from just providing a funny article, this one also sparked memories of a similar item I used to have- the official Optimus Prime helmet that modified your voice to really sound just like him! You know, in theory. In reality, you sounded exactly the same as you did when speaking through the Snake Mountain microphone, but whatever, that was still cool as hell.

BTW, Matt, been meaning to ask- what’s your opinion (if any) on those new Transformers toys, Alternators, based on real car designs? I remember that you weren’t a big fan of much of Armada or Energon (can’t say I disagree), but these things are pretty cool; complex, but a lot more like the originals. Just curious.

[And CS, try http://www.bwtf.com, http://www.cliffbee.com, and http://www.seibertron.com.

And those Dinosaurs Attack figures were awesome. Since I was a dinosaur nut, even as a kid I knew how inaccurate they all were (why were all the herbivores eating people?), but the image of that one with the Allosaurus melding with the camper still creeps me out to this day. Gah.

Ghosted by The Lucky One @ 02/03/2004 11:11 AM EST

D’oh! Make that "cards," not "figures".

Ghosted by The Lucky One @ 02/03/2004 11:13 AM EST

I used to have that Hordak costume. I don’t remember the crossbow actually firing a projectile, though. It was basically a larger version of the figures crossbows.

Now review "Mac and Me".

Ghosted by A-wel Cruiz @ 02/03/2004 12:18 PM EST

That’s not First Aid in the comic, it’s Ratchet.

Ghosted by Fangry @ 02/03/2004 12:21 PM EST

Whoops, it enter too soon. Yeah, I don’t care if it says First Aid, that’s definitely Ratchet.

Ghosted by Fangry @ 02/03/2004 12:22 PM EST

Forgive me, it’s been a while since I watched the movie, but wasn’t Ratchet (First Aid/ambulance boy) get fragged in the first few minutes of the movie? That was one of the most shocking moments of my childhood, seeing the characters get wasted like that. Then again, I’m being picky about a Decoy comic. C’est la vie.

Ghosted by Deceptamuppet @ 02/03/2004 12:23 PM EST

Decepta — yes and agreed. :) It was completely shocking at the time. Little tidbit: did you know that Duke was supposed to die in the G.I. Joe movie? (pretty much the same deal as Optimus) Because of the backlash against Prime’s death, they upped Duke’s condition to a coma. That’s why you only hear that he’s alive and well through a voiceover where none of the characters are speaking onscreen.

Ghosted by Matt @ 02/03/2004 12:25 PM EST

I cried when Optimus Prime died… when I was like 17. But I’m a girl, so I can get away with it. At least they brought him back, and in a cool way, not like on a soap opera where people just randomly wake up all the time from comas or wander into a dinner party and explain that they were buried alive but thanks, they’re fine now.

Ghosted by Gabbylicious @ 02/03/2004 12:39 PM EST

Share your ideas with the producer of the new live-action Transformers movie, Don Murphy: http://www.donmurphy.net/board/forumdisplay.php?s=8e33fcfd24efd6559d9279b7660016c3&forumid=8

Ghosted by ME @ 02/03/2004 12:40 PM EST

Yup, and the manner in which they brought him back made half the planet think that their Ultra Magnus figures were actually reborn Optimus Primes. I hope somebody here gets that.

Ghosted by Matt @ 02/03/2004 12:41 PM EST

Nope, didn’t know about the Joe movie and Duke… I do get the Ultra Magnus reference. I always loved how they gave figures a different color scheme (Bumblebee and Cliff Jumper, the Decepticon Jets, etc.) to get us to buy even more of the figures. Great site Matt. BTW, your moment of glory on the old Star Wars arcade game? I had a similiar moment with the Indiana Jones pinball game.

Ghosted by Deceptamuppet @ 02/03/2004 1:08 PM EST

i got it.

Ghosted by kingklash @ 02/03/2004 1:21 PM EST

Transformers the Movie is great and all, yes, but what you need to get the Robotix movie! I love it!

Ghosted by Chad E. Biz @ 02/03/2004 1:46 PM EST

Perhaps the transformed costume backpack was able to hold massive amounts of the Decepticon or Autobot decoy army?

That would work…only it would be weird….and stuff. Then again, sending a child dressed as a Decepticon to delpoy the decoys is a decoy in and of itself and would be something they’d do…

Ghosted by Ian, Just Ian @ 02/03/2004 3:51 PM EST

I remember those… I never had one though, I was always had those freakin trapper keeper things (which I would slit the thin clear plastic at the bottom and insert KISS pictures in.) But I thought the concept of this backpack was cool, I don’t recall ever actually wanting one though. Anything to do with school I usually tried to avoid, even if it did have some kind of gimick into tricking me into learning. Show’s you how times have changed now though, you’d probably see college kids with these backpacks now if they were out, and not only that but kids in grammer school where I’m from aren’t allowed to have backpacks in school anymore, not even high schoolers.

Ghosted by Guitarmageddon @ 02/03/2004 5:34 PM EST

I think I saw my uncle frank in one of these once. He wore the it to my Birthday party and he looked quite odd in it. In fact he used twine to strap it to himself. Made it great for my friends, since they needed something to laugh at. Really made my 22nd birthday party.

Ghosted by Mangus Dangus @ 02/03/2004 5:36 PM EST

I still have my Sunstreaker decoy. They were cute little things. I’m glad Matt put up the minicomic, since I messed mine up trying to staple it to resemble a regular comic book. (I really like the fact that the new toys have minicomics. That’s what really killed the new MOTU line–no more minicomics.:)

I never had the Decepto-Pack, or his Autobot cousin. Most of my costumes were homemade. One year my Mom actually made me a costume based on "The Greatest American Hero", since we were all fans of that show. Another year, my Dad turned a cardboard box into a coocoo clock (and another one of those old-style telephones you see in old black & white movies). I could even squash down and you didn’t know it was a costume. Knock on the door, person opens door and sees clock, I see them through the coocoo door, and say my line, I get candy. Worked nicely. And don’t all little kids like playing in cardboard boxes anyway? :)

Ghosted by ShadowWing the Technorganic Autobot @ 02/03/2004 7:44 PM EST

Robotix – yes! I re-acquired the R-2000 set a few years ago (Mom threw mine out…had to resort to ebay)…what fun! I loved those things…’cept I was disappointed as a kid when I got it and it didn’t make the dinosaur sounds like it did in the commercials. Damn.

Ghosted by cyberelf @ 02/03/2004 7:50 PM EST

Who’d win in a battle between Muscle men and Transformer Decoys?!

Ghosted by Thomas @ 02/04/2004 12:11 PM EST

I loved Service Merchandise back in the day. One stop shopping for BB guns, Nintendo games, Legos, GIjoes, TMNT, etc. I kinda miss that place, even though waiting for your stuff to come down the conveyor belt was a pain in the ass.

Ghosted by Usagi Yojimbo @ 02/04/2004 8:40 AM EST

I loved Service Merchandise back in the day. One stop shopping for BB guns, Nintendo games, Legos, GIjoes, TMNT, etc. I kinda miss that place, even though waiting for your stuff to come down the conveyor belt was a pain in the ass.

Ghosted by Usagi Yojimbo @ 02/04/2004 8:42 AM EST

I had some of the decoys as a kid… odd thing to me was, it was the Decepticon decoys that came with Autobots, and Autobot decoys which came with Decepticons… I guess it was something for them to shoot. The only exception I can recall was Goldbug coming with his alter-ego, Bumblebee.

As for the Autobot pack, I sort of had that. I can’t remember what all it came with, but I remember it had the same gun, a belt with a hook(not a holster, a hook) for the gun, and an Autobot symbol badge, which I’ve managed to keep to this day… somewhere. Don’t remember it having a mask or wristbands, however.

LBD "Nytetrayn"

Ghosted by LBD "Nytetrayn" @ 02/04/2004 11:20 AM EST

A battle between M.U.S.C.L.E. and the Decoys? The Decoys have lasers! "It’s Buffoloman off the top turn buckle, and…ooooh Shockwave burns a hole in his chest!" Quick match. :)

Ghosted by ShadowWing the Technorganic Autobot @ 02/04/2004 4:29 PM EST

The article was ok. Never saw that Deceptiopack whatever…just something more for Hasbro to milk from parents back then (and now for that matter with all the new TF junk) . . . as for the Decoys . . . ok there too . . . but you got the wrong decoy represented as Starscream. The Starscream decoy had /both/ arms down. After that, one seeker had one arm up and the other had both arms up. So actually you have Thundercracker and Skywarp shown as Thundercracker and Starscream. BUT I cant remember just /who/ had both arms up verses one arm up (I dont have the decoys myself of them and the check list to double check).

So if you ever feel like correcting your article, Starscream has both arms /down/ . . . and the check list should tell you just who the seekers are you have represented. Look at the number on the bottom and then the number on thecheck list . . .

The Starscream decoy was pretty rare and was actually first released in the Autobot red rubber material (that one is more desirable to collectors) then the traditional purple material.

Ghosted by Starscream @ 02/04/2004 6:36 PM EST

Is it just me or does that blue shield thing look like a deformed/modified TIE Fighter solar panel?!

Ghosted by Justus Cade @ 02/04/2004 9:14 PM EST

I love the Transformer gear. It works too….I mean it transforms you into a dork…and protects you from objects being hurled at you by cooler people.

Ghosted by TomAce22 @ 02/05/2004 12:49 PM EST

Neat article, par for the course for Matt, but the Shockwave toy was DEFINITELY Shockwave. The toys always come before their cartoon selves. I have 295 Transformers and would know this. Don’t argue with me… I’ll break you.

Did you notice that Ultra Magnus, in the Decoy comic, called Ratchet "First Aid?" Well, he did! I really am a nerd!

On a side note, I have a closet FULL of 80’s toys, cartoons, and video games, which is what attracted me to the site. It was WrestleCrap that made me stay, however.

Ghosted by Hollywood Narrator @ 02/05/2004 5:27 PM EST

Aye me too. I was born in 1976, so I was fortunate enough to live through and remember alot of the ’80s, and the toys I had..that’s why I like this site so much. Now if I could just invent a time machine and go back, oh wait…if I invent a time machine I won’t be able to go back farther than when the time machine was first created, then you have the whole paradox’s to worry about.

Ghosted by Justus Cade @ 02/05/2004 5:48 PM EST

Ahhhh! ServiceMerchandise! Slooooowly I turned……..

All I remember is that interminable wait for my friggn’ item to appear on that grimey conveyor belt. I could have been the only freaking person in the store and I would have to wait 20 minutes.

And those pencils– They weren’t even worth taking home to use for your refrigerator memos.

I actually bought my then girlfriend (and now wife), my first jewelry item there (In Paramus, NJ). Which I thought was a great idea (’bang’ for the buck). I learned otherwise when during the Broadway play "Me and My Girl" (great play btw) she suddenly exclaimed: "Oh my! Look at that!" And she looked at the pitch-black floor and said "Look! The clasp suddenly came undone and the bracelet fell to the floor. You had better return this because the clasp is defective!" …Yeah, right… From that point forward, she buys her own jewelery and charges it on my card.

RIP ServiceMerchandiser. It wasn’t worth the wait. And who tought of that GREAT idea anyway? A catalog store that actually takes as long as snail mail. Maybe this was a test to see how the internet would work.

Ghosted by ibinsomniac @ 02/06/2004 9:46 PM EST

hehe… i know there’s an easter egg on the :
http://www.cliffbee.com

I cant say where it is on the main page, but it is there!

Ghosted by excelonzero @ 02/07/2004 7:15 AM EST

Any kid who wore that or the Ghostbusters Proton Pack outside on our block (back when we still lived in NJ before the folks broke up.) Was on and only one thing a target for beattings. And ours where two brothers who ran the block with an iron fist. By there rules, no water gun fights cuz there mother wouldn’t get them the cool ones that fired water like a German MG-42. No Star Wars blaster/lightsaber fights, cuz again there mother wouldn’t let them have them. And oh yeah that went for toys in the backyard too.

Anyhow when those two moved away it was like a kid party on our block. All the toys came out, and me and one of my friends where having Jedi Duels with our Star Wars-Lightsabers (god those where the coolest).

And ahhhh ServiceMerchandiser my grandmothers fav place to shop. One of her little things was taking me and my sister shopping for whatever. And let me say this much, for a kid that was the most BORING place in the world. I mean if we went to the mall it would be boring till we got out of Sears. At that point Arcade here I come! Still we’d go there and spend hours online getting this one thing that was 50 cents cheaper then going to the mall.

Shame she died, she would have been in love with Online Shopping.

Ghosted by Beaker Mike @ 02/07/2004 7:58 PM EST

Any kid who wore that or the Ghostbusters Proton Pack outside on our block (back when we still lived in NJ before the folks broke up.) Was on and only one thing a target for beattings. And ours where two brothers who ran the block with an iron fist. By there rules, no water gun fights cuz there mother wouldn’t get them the cool ones that fired water like a German MG-42. No Star Wars blaster/lightsaber fights, cuz again there mother wouldn’t let them have them. And oh yeah that went for toys in the backyard too.

Anyhow when those two moved away it was like a kid party on our block. All the toys came out, and me and one of my friends where having Jedi Duels with our Star Wars-Lightsabers (god those where the coolest).

And ahhhh ServiceMerchandiser my grandmothers fav place to shop. One of her little things was taking me and my sister shopping for whatever. And let me say this much, for a kid that was the most BORING place in the world. I mean if we went to the mall it would be boring till we got out of Sears. At that point Arcade here I come! Still we’d go there and spend hours online getting this one thing that was 50 cents cheaper then going to the mall.

Shame she died, she would have been in love with Online Shopping.

Ghosted by Beaker Mike @ 02/07/2004 7:58 PM EST

Any kid who wore that or the Ghostbusters Proton Pack outside on our block (back when we still lived in NJ before the folks broke up.) Was on and only one thing a target for beattings. And ours where two brothers who ran the block with an iron fist. By there rules, no water gun fights cuz there mother wouldn’t get them the cool ones that fired water like a German MG-42. No Star Wars blaster/lightsaber fights, cuz again there mother wouldn’t let them have them. And oh yeah that went for toys in the backyard too.

Anyhow when those two moved away it was like a kid party on our block. All the toys came out, and me and one of my friends where having Jedi Duels with our Star Wars-Lightsabers (god those where the coolest).

And ahhhh ServiceMerchandiser my grandmothers fav place to shop. One of her little things was taking me and my sister shopping for whatever. And let me say this much, for a kid that was the most BORING place in the world. I mean if we went to the mall it would be boring till we got out of Sears. At that point Arcade here I come! Still we’d go there and spend hours online getting this one thing that was 50 cents cheaper then going to the mall.

Shame she died, she would have been in love with Online Shopping.

Ghosted by Beaker Mike @ 02/07/2004 7:58 PM EST

Does anyone know if the Decepticon Decoys came exclusively with the Autobot toys and vice versa? This would explain my surplus of purple decoys as I was a child only allowed Autobots for reasons yet to be revealed to me from my "loving" parents.

Ghosted by Matt @ 02/11/2004 3:58 PM EST

It’s hard to tell transformers with different paint schemes apart when they’re reduced to one color, just thought I’d add that. Woo-hoo, I got to see Warpath in the background! What’s cooler than a maroon tank? Great site, Matt, I love the transformers-related articles especially. Keep ‘em coming!

Ghosted by phillip @ 02/13/2004 8:10 PM EST

What a shitty deal! You only got like two fucking accessories? I mean sure, the mask and breastplate are most important, but this package without the light-up laser gun is like a cake without frosting. I’m sorry, Matt, but you should’ve gone for something better. Either that or nothing at all. I know I would.

Ghosted by Nate @ 03/25/2004 9:19 PM EST

Your Mum and Dad wouldn’t let you have Decepticons, Matt? Did they not like the idea of you idolising evil characters, or did the Megatron toy’s rather suggestive positioning of the trigger make them wary of the Decepticons?

Is there any chance that Shockwave’s role in the comic could’ve had something to do with his Decoy’s popularity?
After all, in the space of two issues, he defeated all the Autobots bar one, hung their bodies from the roof of their ship, decapitated Optimus Prime, kicked the shit out of Megatron and had sex with Starscream(probably).

Ghosted by Metronome35 @ 04/01/2004 6:35 AM EST

Your Mum and Dad wouldn’t let you have Decepticons, Matt? Did they not like the idea of you idolising evil characters, or did the Megatron toy’s rather suggestive positioning of the trigger make them wary of the Decepticons?

Is there any chance that Shockwave’s role in the comic could’ve had something to do with his Decoy’s popularity?
After all, in the space of two issues, he defeated all the Autobots bar one, hung their bodies from the roof of their ship, decapitated Optimus Prime, kicked the shit out of Megatron and had sex with Starscream(probably).

Ghosted by Metronome35 @ 04/01/2004 6:36 AM EST

Your Mum and Dad wouldn’t let you have Decepticons, Matt? Did they not like the idea of you idolising evil characters, or did the Megatron toy’s rather suggestive positioning of the trigger make them wary of the Decepticons?

Is there any chance that Shockwave’s role in the comic could’ve had something to do with his Decoy’s popularity?
After all, in the space of two issues, he defeated all the Autobots bar one, hung their bodies from the roof of their ship, decapitated Optimus Prime, kicked the shit out of Megatron and had sex with Starscream(probably).

Ghosted by Metronome35 @ 04/01/2004 6:37 AM EST

HAHAHA!

Ghosted by Oba @ 06/02/2004 5:57 PM EDT

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