Strafe (AOE)
From Transformers Wiki
| This subject of this article goes by multiple names that apply to other articles as well. See Strafe (disambiguation), Swoop (disambiguation). |
- Strafe is an Autobot Dinobot from the Age of Extinction portion of the Movie continuity family.
You'd be forgiven if, upon seeing Strafe (aka Swoop) appear on the battlefield, you had some sort of embarrassing evacuation of waste. After all, the sight of a gigantic, two-headed, fire-breathing metal dragon-like pterosaur swooping down on you with lightning speed like some kind of movie monster would shake the toughest fighters. However, Strafe is an interesting contradiction in terms; while a powerful and merciless warrior on the field, off of it Strafe is one of the most friendly and approachable individuals you're ever likely to meet.[1] He is very good friends with Bumblebee.
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Fiction
Age of Extinction film
Strafe was among the Dinobots freed from Lockdown's ship, and subsequently yielded to Optimus Prime's command. During the battle in Hong Kong, Strafe aided Bumblebee as he battled Stinger. The two fought on Strafe's back until Stinger was defeated, and Strafe got to munch on Stinger's head. Strafe aided in escorting the Seed to safety until Lockdown returned and unleashed his magnetic vortex upon the group. Though he briefly freed Slug from the vortex, the Dinobots were trapped in it again until Optimus destroyed it. Strafe helped hold the line on a bridge until the Seed was transported to safety and Lockdown was defeated. The battle over, Strafe and the Dinobots were freed from Optimus' command and parted on good terms with their new allies. Age of Extinction
How to Ride your Dinobot cartoon
Strafe found himself the unwilling target for Bumblebee's first Dinobot riding lesson. Strafe ensured the Autobot had a rough first lesson, flying out of his reach for the majority of the time while trying to feed on scrap metal. Bumblebee laid a trap for Strafe with a tasty gear, and finally held onto a rope that had snared around his leg... but Strafe happily flew Bumblebee into a mountain's wall. Bumblebee seemed to have learned not to mess with Strafe, since he destroyed the Dinobot-riding instruction manual and quit listening to that maddeningly unhelpful narrator. Getting on a Dinobot
How to Ride a Dinobot! comic
Strafe was minding his own business in a Chinese forest when Optimus Prime and his Autobots arrived, intent on learning how to ride the mighty Dinobots into battle. After Hound tried to boss about Slash and got hurled away for his efforts, Bumblebee attempted to earn their favor...by giving them treats. This went over a bit too well, and Strafe was forced to rescue the Autobot from the Dinobot stampede; but the Dinobot immediately sent Bumblebee falling to the ground when the Autobot attempted to ride him. When Grimlock caught the scent of Decepticons, Strafe rolled out with his fellow Dinobots into battle, finally letting Bumblebee ride him. How to Ride a Dinobot!
Games
Transformers: Shadows Rising
Toys
Age of Extinction
Robots in Disguise
- Dinobot Strafe (Power Battlers, 2014)
- Japanese ID number: LA11
- Part of the initial wave of Power Battlers, Strafe features a simple transformation from a mechanical, two-headed pterosaur into a robot. In robot mode, squeezing Strafe's legs together causes him to rotate at the waist for a spin attack.
- The Japanese release of this toy, sold as Battle Attack Strafe, features a different color layout that adds a lot of silver.
- Bumblebee & Strafe (Dino Sparkers, 2014)
- Known designers: Emiliano Santalucia (concept artist)
- Dino Sparkers Strafe is a non-articulated, friction-motor pterosaur cast in semi-translucent plastic. When rolled along, "cold" sparks flash inside the creature's back end. Mounted to Strafe's back is a simplified figure of Bumblebee wielding one hella-long sword.
- Dinobot Strafe (One-Step Changers, 2014)
- Known designers: John Warden (Hasbro)
- Part of the fourth wave of One-Step Changers, Strafe transforms from robot to Pteranodon in a single step.
Generations
- Dinobot Strafe (Deluxe Class, 2014)
- Series: M4: #005
- Japanese release date: 2014-07-19
- Japanese ID Number: AD-24
- Accessories: Crossbow/launcher, missile, 2 swords
- Known designers: Hironori Kobayashi (deco, TakaraTomy)
- "Generations" Strafe is a more complex and less gimmick-focused version of Strafe than the "Robots in Disguise" toy. Strafe transforms into a twin-headed Pteranodon monster. Like all the other Dinobots, Strafe's design is based on medieval knights. Twin swords peg onto his wings, and the swords can also be hand-held in robot mode. He also comes with a pressure-launch missile-firing "crossbow". Pegs on the crossbow allow the swords to attach and create a larger weapon. Both the crossbow and the swords seem to stem from unused concept art, as seen in this page. His tails are made of soft rubber, but due to his packaging, they are almost always bent at an extreme angle out of the package. This can be fixed by soaking the rubber in hot water and then correcting the bends.
- The Movie Advanced Series version of Strafe features several different paint apps.
- Black Knight Strafe (Deluxe Class, December 2014)
- Accessories: Crossbow/launcher, missile, 2 swords
- A redeco of Generations Strafe, this time in a predominantly black colour scheme with blue highlights, presumably representative of the mainly dark gray appearance of the Dinobots in the movie. Black Knight Strafe is a Takara exclusive, and was obtainable at Cybertron Satellite participant stores.
- Dinobot Strafe (Evolution 2-Pack, 2014)
- 26 OF 30
- Accessories: Crossbow/launcher, missile, 2 swords
- Available only at Toys"R"Us stores in the US, UK, Canada, and Germany, this two-pack features the "Generations" Deluxe Strafe toy, with no known differences from the normal retail release, packaged with 'classic' Strafe, a seemingly-unchanged re-release of the Dark of the Moon Mini-Con Rav. The packaging mistakenly[2] uses the Technobot Strafe's art instead of Swoop's G1 art and lists him as a "stealth fighter" (what our wiki described the 2010 Transformers Strafe toy as).
- Bumblebee with Dinobot Strafe vs. Decepticon Stinger (3-pack, 2014)
- Accessories: Crossbow/launcher, missile, 2 swords
- Known designers: Ramon Campos (Hasbro)
- Another unchanged release of the "Generations" Deluxe Strafe toy, only this time he's packaged in a "Scene Pack" with Cyberverse versions of Bumblebee (redecoed from his Revenge of the Fallen Legends class toy) and Stinger (a redeco of Transformers: Prime Legion class Knock Out).
- This three-pack was available exclusively at Walmart stores in the United States, at Asda stores in the United Kingdom, at Müller drug stores in Germany, and at Auchan stores in Italy...thus making Strafe the only "Generations" toy from the AOE toyline to be officially released in Italy.
- Bumblebee & Dinobot Strafe (Two-pack, 2014)
- Accessories: Submachine gun
- Known designers: Ramon Campos (Hasbro)
- This bizarre entry is a redeco of Beast Wars Terrorsaur, a mold that, at the time of this release, was nearly twenty years old and thought to have been lost. He transforms from an organic, one-headed Pteranodon to robot mode with a spring-loaded one-step transformation. A small gun stores in his robot mode back which can be removed, unfolded, and pegged into his robot mode fist.
- This figure was only available as part of a two-pack with a Cyberverse Legion Class version of Bumblebee that was exclusively to Walmart stores in the United States and to Asda stores in the United Kingdom.
- This mold was also used to make Fractyl, and was the basis for the all-new-tooling Lazorbeak, which then begat Beast Wars Neo Hydra and Dinobots Terranotron. This particular mold use was repurposed as Garboyl.
| Beast Wars mold: Terrorsaur | ||
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- Dinobots Unleashed 5-Pack (Platinum Edition, 2014)
- Accessories: Crossbow/launcher, missile, 2 swords
- Redecoed from the Age of Extinction Deluxe Class figure, Strafe sports a vaguely screen-accurate gray color scheme, with heavy use of chrome and transparent plastic. He comes packaged with similarly-themed redecoes of Scorn, Slug, Grimlock, and Slog.
Construct-Bots
- Strafe (Dinobot, 2014)
- Pieces: 27
- Part of the first wave of Dinobots, Strafe can transform from a two-headed Pteranodon monster into a robot. Like all the other Dinobots in the line, Strafe can be ridden by any of the smaller Dinobot Rider toys.
- Like all Construct-Bots Dinobots, Strafe features a gear-driven gimmick. Spinning the gear on Strafe's back causes his wings to flap.
- His nominal Dinobot Rider partner is Bumblebee.
- Bumblebee vs. Decepticon Stinger with Strafe (Walmart exclusive, 2014)
- Pieces: 44
- Known designers: Ramon Campos (Hasbro)
- Walmart exclusive Strafe is a redeco of the single-pack release and comes with Dinobot Riders Bumblebee and Stinger. Strafe retains all the gimmickry of his previous version. Unfortunately, his stock photo omits the robot mode leg/dino mode neck armor in beast mode.
Kre-O
- Cell Block Breakout (2014)
- Set number: A6951
- Pieces: 135
- Kreons: Bumblebee, Evasion Mode Optimus Prime, Vehicon.
- The Cell Block Breakout set includes a buildable Dinobot beast Strafe. Strafe also features a "Dino Force Technology" gimmick on its pair of leg claws, which Strafe can use it to capture the magnet-tipped prison cell, the Vehicons and the Evasion Mode Optimus Prime Kreons.
- Strafe (Custom Kreon, 2014)
- Part of the 3rd wave of the Custom Kreon Age of Extinction Collection, this Custom Kreon Strafe is based on his Age of Extinction counterpart. Gear-wise, he comes with a sort of forked spear, a shield, something that is either a shortsword or a very large knife, a spare clear torso, clear blue legs and helmet, and a pair of blue arms (originally from the Kre-O Battleship aliens). Like his wave mates, he saw limited release primarily in Hasbro's Asian markets, but did eventually make it to market in the US in very limited quantities through discount stores such as Amazing Savings.
Movie The Best
- Japanese ID Number: MB-10
- Accessories: Crossbow/launcher, missile, 2 swords, Bumblebee figure
- Movie The Best Strafe is an extensive redeco/slight retool of the first Generations figure, featuring a completely different deco on the Pteranodon heads, robot mode head, chest, thighs, and the dino claws/knees, and his Pteranodon wings are now cast in transparent plastic. He also features retooled pegs on his back, which is used for the included poseable-but-not-transformable Bumblebee mini-figure to attach to.
The Last Knight
- Strafe (Deluxe Class, 2017)
- Japanese ID number: TLK-23
- Japanese release date: 2017-09-16
- Accessories: Crossbow/launcher, missile, 2 swords
- Known designers: John Warden (Hasbro)
- The Last Knight Premier Edition Strafe is once again, a redeco of the first Age of Extinction Generations Deluxe Class figure, featuring metallic light blue and silver paint applications, but does not use the translucent wings and the retooled back piece from the Movie The Best figure.
Movie Edition
- Dinobot Swoop (Tiny Turbo Changer, 2018)
- Series: 4
- Bag Code: J
- Released in Series 4 of Tiny Turbo Changers (and having regained the trademark for "Swoop"), this figure is a small representation of Strafe in colors based off his Deluxe Class toy from The Last Knight, and can assume a crude two-headed Pteranodon mode. His dino-beak hands have small slots sculpted in them to accommodate 3mm post accessories.
Notes
- According to Transformers Manager of Global Brand Development Mark Weber at New York Toy Fair 2014, Strafe is named so not because of trademark reasons, but because the film's two-headed design was considered too great a departure from previous Swoop characters. Of course, this doesn't explain why various toys released around the same time that represent Generation 1 Swoop are also named "Strafe"; the fact that Swoop's Titans Return toy was named "Ptero" suggests that Hasbro had lost the trademark to the name "Swoop" until 2017. (The "Strafe" toy released in the Tiny Turbo Changers line, after Hasbro regained the trademark, was also named "Swoop.") Possibly the trademark was lost shortly before the film came out, as Titan's Transformers and the UK Transformers Annual 2015 both call Strafe "Swoop" in features.
- Also, Strafe's pterosaur mode looks more like a Darwinopterus than a Pteranodon, albeit two-headed, two-tailed and massively overgrown. Still, referring to Strafe as a Darwinopterus is more scientifically accurate than calling him a Pteranodon, seeing as how he has teeth and long tails. Of course, either way, Strafe is far too big compared to most of the cast...
- Strafe's two pterosaur heads in the movie have some noticeable differences, with the right head having a straight beak and a larger crest as compared to the left head that has a more curved beak, a smaller crest, and two large teeth on its lower jaw. Neither head is scientifically accurate, as discussed above.
Foreign names
- Japanese: Strafe (ストレイフ Sutoreifu)
- Mandarin: Sǎoshè (Taiwan, 掃射, "Strafe"), Fēibiāo (China, 飞镖, "dart")
