Transformer Box Art Is Amazing!

In the red cloud at left, we have Optimus Prime with his off-model pistol, surrounded by Sunstreaker (yellow), Prowl (white), Sideswipe (red), Trailbreaker (black), and Bumblebee (yellow). Flying in vehicle mode behind them are another Trailbreaker (truck), Hound (jeep), and Ironhide, followed by an indistinct fleet of vehicles flying through space.

In the purple Decepticon clouds, we have Starscream with his own off-model pistol, Megatron below him in his Microchange prototype model (this was used as a basis for his animation model, which is why the cartoon/comic guy looks so different from the toy), Thundercracker firing at something off-page that we can't see, two Ravages, lots of Laserbeaks, and Soundwave with an unusually long gun on his shoulder.

This art was used in Japan in place of the one I voted as my fave, and was reworked to feature characters who were actually available to the Japanese audience. On the left we've got biggo Devastator. Then there's Grimlock biting Kickback, Slag floating above them, and Snarl menacing a fleet of incoming Constructicons and Insecticons. Swoop flies over the middle above Tracks in his red Diaclone colors. (A red Tracks would later become the character known as Road Rage, but this was before then.) Below not-Tracks is a transforming Grimlock, and Blitzwing shown in all three of his modes. There's a tiny Grapple off to the right, and Sludge above them. On the far right is what seems to be -- bizarrely! -- another Tracks, in his correct colors. Huh?? Finally, there's a cloud of Dinobots on the top right.

Oh yeah, and in the very middle, just above Blitzwing's nosecone, is a Jumpstarter in his Diaclone colors that they probably forgot to redraw from the American mural.

Here's my fave Mural of False's choices. We've got basically the same Dinobots from the other version. But no Constructicons, no triple changers, and no Autobot cars other than red Tracks. Instead of Constructicons on the left, there's a flock of Insecticons, including the rare Deluxe Insecticons Chop Shop, Venom, and Barrage. Ransack appears to be MIA. Oh, and these guys are all still in their pre-Transformers colors. Jetfire in his toy appearance flies in from the right with Whirl in helicopter mode below him. Shockwave is the purple dude up top blasting the space behind Grimlock.

Instead of tiny Grapple, there's a tiny Topspin, but his colors are reversed. And there are lots of Insecticons filling out the background. Given the era, it's pretty odd that there's no instances of Omega Supreme, Astrotrain, the new mini-vehicles, the new Decepticon jets...it's just an odd piece of artwork, and I love it for that.

Here we have a beautiful battle between an ominous Trypticon and a planet-bound Metroplex, both in their base modes. Scale is tweaked here so Metroplex feels big enough to accommodate all the Autobots of the era. Of course, in reality, he's pretty small, and only mini-vehicles and combiner limb dudes fit on his ramps. Anyway, hanging out on Metroplex are Springer (in car mode), Silverbolt (in robot mode), Hot Rod (in both robot and car modes), Blades (lifting off of the helipad), and pack-in car dude Scamper rolling out of Metroplex's pectoral garage.

On the left on plex's outskirts, we can see a very tiny Rodimus Prime, whose diminished role here probably suggests the artist didn't know much about Transformers: The Movie. Next to him is a slightly more imposing Ultra Magnus, and Stunticons Wildrider and Drag Strip rolling around in the dust. Prominently displayed in the sky above plex is a rare appearance for triple changer Broadside, shown in all three of his modes, amusingly starting in aircraft carrier way up in the sky. Oh, and he's in his early, pre-toy colors, which were used in the Marvel comic and some episodes of the cartoon. Below Broadside is Blurr, flying through the air in car mode, and Aerialbots Silverbolt (again) and Fireflight.

On the right side of Metroplex, we have the Stunticon Breakdown in car mode, as well as two of the Combaticons, Brawl (tank) and Swindle (jeep). Another Blurr is firing back at them.

Above the battlefield, Predacon Razorclaw is in robot mode firing at Metroplex's radio tower. He's also in lion mode just to the right. Below them is what I think is a very tiny triple changer Sandstorm in robot mode. Another triple changer, Decepticon Octane, is prominently shown in all three modes. Below him is Combaticon Blast-off in shuttle mode, then (I think) two more Predacons. The red guy with black arms has always vexed me - I think he's meant to be Tantrum? Below him is Rampage.

Finally, up in space there's Trypticon in his battle station mode, guns a-blaze. I like the ghostly image of his robot mode face floating behind him. Hard to tell who's off to his left, but I think it's another Combaticon. Wreck-Gar is also to Trypticon's left, transforming from motorcycle mode to robot mode. Rounding out the Decepticons is a very prominent Divebomb, amusingly shown with his bird-mode head in place of his robot mode head.

Conspicuous in their absence are Sky Lynx, Galvatron, Cyclonus, Scourge, and most of the Protectobots. Makes me wonder how the lineup for this image was decided.

This image feels the most "brand-realized" compared to the others, with a pretty focused selection of the most important characters introduced in the '87 lineup. Starting from the left, Scorponok is flying in his giant scorpion mode. Above him is croc-mode Skullcruncher, and a transforming Snapdragon shown in all three modes. Mindwipe changes from robot to bat to menace dragon-mode Doublecross. On the right, Chromedome showcases the Headmaster gimmick with Stylor jumping through midair to transform into Chromedome's head. Below him is Crosshairs demonstrating the Targetmaster lineup. We can also see Arcana linking up with Brainstorm just above Chromedome, and a very tiny Hardhead/Gort just to their left. Highbrow, the blue helicopter, is the only of the main four Headmaster Autobots not shown in all his modes. Way off on the right is Monsterbot Repugnus, hoping he's not too late to join the party.

On the left, Apeface surprisingly gets to be the most prominent Decepticon, shown in all three of his modes. To his right is Hun-Grrr - the only Terrorcon in the piece - and six-changer Sixshot, shown only in robot mode. Behind them is a small fleet of Targetmasters, featuring - I think - just Triggerhappy (left) and Misfire (right). Behind Misfire are some vague floating chunks which I think are supposed to be his other modes, and probably his Targetmaster, Aimless. Oh and Fortress Max is the big boy in the back.

It's curious that they chose to show all four main Autobot Headmasters, but left off one of the main Decepticon members, Weirdwolf. I'm also a little surprised that big-ticket guy Sixshot doesn't have a higher priority. And of course there's a marked lack of Technobots, Terrorcons, and Throttlebots, among others.