TF: Generations T30 Dreadwing (and Megatron)

Ah yes, Generation 2 Dreadwing... one of my top favorites in the third wave of Transformers Generations Thrilling 30 Deluxe Class figures (shown here alongside the originator of his mold, IDW Stealth Bomber Megatron). His existence is a rather weird story in itself, let me elaborate:

Back in 1994, at the height of Hasbro's Transformers: Generation 2 line, one of the completely new characters released was Dreadwing (who shared the same name as the combination of Dreadwind and Darkwing from 1988), a Decepticon who transformed into either a tank or a B-2 stealth bomber. And like his namesake, he also came with a character that docks with him in vehicle mode - Smokescreen (not the same character as the Autobot Datsun Electramotive 280Z), who transforms from a fictional sort of jet fighter.
Both Dreadwind and Smokescreen were planned to be recolored into new versions of Megatron and Starscream, respectively, but upon the fall of the Generation 2 line, the few samples that were produced never made it to stores (though ultimately, the Megatron & Starscream recolors were later made into BB & Starscream for the Japan-only Beast Wars II line).

Come December 2010, and Megatron's IDW comics incarnation sported a new black & purple body (designed by DonFig out-of-universe), which sported a powerful rail gun and transformed into a B-2-esque stealth bomber. This marked the very first time that the unreleased G2 stealth bomber Megatron idea made it into actual Transformers fiction, albeit redesigned by Don Figueroa for practicality's sake.

By 2013, when Hasbro released the very first figures in their Transformers Generations Thrilling 30 line (meant to celebrate the 30th birthday of the Transformers brand), one of the figures was an actual toy representation of the aformentioned IDW comics stealth bomber Megatron. Then came word of the figure sporting a new head and color scheme later down the line, and as revealed in test shot photos and a brief cameo in the IDW comics, that recolor was a different character - Dreadwing from the Generation 2 toy line.
And because the stealth bomber body already had subtle elements of G2 Dreadwing in it, it made the remold/recolor an extremely fitting choice. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that the cannon mounted onto the arm instead of the right shoulder as well as the "M" (as in Megatron) motif panel lines all over the body, the body would have made for a rather perfect new update of G2 Dreadwing since day one already.


So there you have it, the rather weird story behind this latest iteration of G2 Dreadwing. And with so many third party-made accessories coming out into the market as of late, one can wonder if someone is making a rotary launcher and tank treads for the figure already...


Transformers © Hasbro