Pinpointer (G1)

Pinpointer is an Autobot Targetmaster from the Generation 1 continuity family.

A rare image of him NOT running beside Crosshairs

Pinpointer is a Nebulan of few words. Pinpointer is focused on avoiding waste in all things, be it natural resources, movement or even the amount of words used in a conversation. To say he's very businesslike and efficient itself would be a waste of words, when simply calling him rude would suffice for most.^[1] He's binary bonded to Crosshairs. Crosshairs is similarly obsessed with avoiding waste with regards to combat and ammunition, so he understands where Pinpointer is coming from. They get on fairly well. Pinpointer transforms into a dual rocket-propelled grenade launcher who can lock on a target in less than .0003 seconds, but usually trusts Crosshairs to tell him when to shoot.

Fiction

Marvel The Transformers comics

Pinpointer was a biomass recycling engineer on Nebulos. Pinpointer's Universe profile After Galen and his Autobot allies were smeared in the public eye by Lord Zarak, Pinpointer one of a select few Nebulans who didn't buy the Decepticons as their saviors (due in part to his ability to think back several days to when the Decepticons were laying siege to the capital). Adopting a codename and working in secret, Pinpointer and his allies reinvented the bio-mechanical engineering process as a means of rearming the Autobots. Six of the Autobots' top warriors had disarmed themselves as a show of peace to the Nebulans when they first arrived, and were sorely lacking firepower now that the Decepticons had arrived. The binary bonding allowed Pinpointer to convert into a double-barrelled rocket-propelled grenade launcher, teaming with the Autobot weapons supervisor, Crosshairs.

Pinpointer and fellow Nebulans were getting a guided tour of the Nursery from head botanist Selani when Scorponok arrived with the Terrorcons in tow. The six Nebulans transformed to their new weapon forms, and the Autobot Targetmasters unleashed their new firepower. Though the group fared well enough, the Autobots ended up retreating to spare the Nursery utter destruction from the battle. Brothers in Armor!!

At some point before leaving Nebulos, Pinpointer and the rest of the Autobot and Nebulan Targetmasters were kidnapped by the Decepticons. They were rescued by the Autobot Headmasters. Worlds Apart!

When the Autobots abandoned Nebulos to prevent their war from consuming the planet, Pinpointer and the other Targetmasters went with them. On the planet Earth, Pinpointer and the Targetmaster accompanied Fortress Maximus in an assault on the Decepticons' island base. The Desert Island of Space!

The Transformers cartoon

Voice actor: Frank Welker (English), Masaki Aizawa (Japanese), Imo Heite (German, "The Rebirth, Part 1"), Gerd Wiedenhofen (German, "The Rebirth, Part 2" and "The Rebirth, Part 3")

Pinpointer and Duros were out scouting for Hive activity when they spotted a group of Autobots roaming Nebulos. Dismissing Duros's suspicion that they weren't Hive machines, he asserted that they need to get back to their secret base and warn the other resistance fighters. A trap was promptly set up to capture the Autobots. Although the human Spike Witwicky spoke up for his mechanical friends, Pinpointer maintained that it must be some sort of Hive trap. The Rebirth, Part 1

Once the Decepticons mounted an attack, he seemed to change his mind and later was all too happy to become a Targetmaster partner for Crosshairs. When introducing himself to Optimus Prime, he claimed to be a better shot than Spoilsport. The Rebirth, Part 2 Returning with the Autobots to Cybertron, he and his fellow Nebulons helped Spike avert the destruction of the Autobots and bring around a new Golden Age. Later they all returned to Nebulos, promising to destroy the Hive's machines. The Rebirth, Part 3

Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity

The Headmasters cartoon

Pointech and his five friends were refugees, having fled their home planet of Master when Scorponok and the Decepticons began an all-out siege on the world. They were being chased through space in their starship by the Decepticons when they came across the Battleship Maximus. Fortress gave them safe haven aboard his starship, and the Master citizens attempted to show their gratitude by removing the deadly plasma energy bombs Fortress was trying to dispose of. Their efforts came too late, however, as the plasma energy bombs exploded aboard their ship in space, bathing everyone nearby with energy. Miraculous Warriors, Targetmasters (Part 1)

Pointech survived the explosion, and in fact underwent a miraculous transformation. He and two of his fellow refugees were each now binary bonded to one of the Autobot warriors who had been trying to save them when the plasma bombs went off. The smaller Master warriors could each transform into a powerful weapon and fuse with their larger partner's fist, creating Targetmasters. Pointech and his new partner Crosshairs became soldiers together under Fortress's command. Miraculous Warriors, Targetmasters (Part 2)

In a battle for the data of the Master Sword, Pointech bonded with Crosshairs to fight the Decepticons. The Master Sword Is in Danger!! Pointech again joined his partner when the Autobot Targetmasters landed on Master to investigate the possible presence of the Decepticons. The two forces battled each other, and the Decepticons were able to wash the Autobots away in a surge of water from an elevated lake. They were eventually able to pull themselves out of the new river and scouted the area for the hidden Decepticons, finding their cave hideout. As they were much smaller than their partners, Peaceman, Pointech, and Spoil volunteered to go ahead, using a small entrance into the factory where the Decepticons were creating the Zarak Shield. When their larger partners again came under attack by the Decepticon Targetmasters, they left the complex and rejoined their comrades, helping force the Decepticons into retreat. The Zarak Shield Turns the Tide

"Gimme a Kir Royale!"

With the Zarak Shield now known to the Autobots, they had a meeting to discuss strategy, which Pointech sat in. Following Pointblank's strategy, the smaller Targetmaster partners joined in an advance part to find the Decepticons. They were soon attacked by the Decepticons, who had detected them. During battle, the Decepticons were distracted by an aircraft sent by the natives of Master, allowing the Autobots to escape. Operation: Destroy the Decepticons After the Decepticons left Master for Earth, the Autobots followed. When Daniel was trapped at Daira, the Targetmasters went ahead to keep watch on Scorponok while the others rescued Daniel. My Friend Sixshot! They were spotted in the asteroid belt and pulled into a battle. The other Autobots came to their rescue, and the fighting ended when Sixshot challenged Chromedome to battle. Duel on the Asteroid

When the Autobots arrived on Earth, the Targetmasters were sent to investigate the Death Tower in Santiago, Chile. They met with Predaking, who was easily taken down by Peacemaker and Pointblank, and returned to the other Autobots with their data. The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 1) The Autobots soon went to Giza, Egypt, to catch the Death Tower there before it emerged. Pointech later joined the Autobots in the decisive battle at the North Pole and the Final Formation that ended Scorponok's machinations on Earth. The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 2)

Legends comic

Fortress recalled that Pinpointer was among the tiny non-transforming Transformers who fled Cybertron under his leadership and settled on Master. Bonus Edition Vol. 31 Years prior to becoming a Targetmaster, Pinpointer was one of six Master warriors who were kidnapped by Scorponok and exposed to plasma energy, removing their ability to speak. When Scorponok returned to Master in 2011 and tried to recapture them and continue his experiments, the six of them fled the planet. Mutant Targetmaster Birth Chapter

In 2021, Pinpointer and the Autobot Targetmasters were battling their Decepticon counterparts in space when Scorponok detonated a black hole, creating a plasma energy shockwave that caused the Targetmaster partners to vanish. Targetmaster Chapter Prologue When they were located in the void of space, the six had been supercharged with plasma energy and gathered together into a clump of guns. The Decepticon Targetmasters attempted to steal them away to the Legends World using Alpha Trion's ultra-drill, but the plasma energy was too dangerous and Trion instead scattered them across the dimension. Mutant Targetmaster Birth Chapter Furthermore, the combination of plasma energy with the Legends World's unique energies mutated the Targetmasters, granting them new powers. Bonus Edition Vol. 45

Pinpointer, Spoilsport and Peacemaker ended up underground in an unpopulated area where they further absorbed the proton energy used to create the Legends World. Bonus Edition Vol. 61 They were eventually found by Metroplex. Bonus Edition Metroplex only to be stolen by Pounce and Wingspan, who used the now extremely powerful Targetmasters to defeat Metroplex before setting their sights on world conquest. Fortunately Fastlane and Cloudraker managed to separate them from the three Targetmasters, who flew off to avoid being used for evil purposes. Bonus Edition Vol. 61 For reasons unknown, they then went berserk and began destroying Neo Akihabara City, but a powered up Windblade managed to grab Pinpointer and forcibly combine him with her sword, allowing her to defeat Spoilsport and Peacemaker. Bonus Edition Vol. 62

Pinpointer remained with Windblade as she became a Zamojin puppet, and she later gained the ability to use their connection to take remote control of Spoilsport and Peacemaker. She wielded her Pinpointer-sword when the Zamojin sent her to destroy the Legends World, using it to battle Twin Twist. Bonus Edition Vol. 65 Pinpointer was retrieved by the Jumpstarters after they defeated Windblade. Bonus Edition Vol. 66

Generations Selects Special Comic

In 2050, Crosshairs and Pinpointer were among the Autobots who warred with the Dinobots over the fate of the Selectors. Volcanicus comic 2

3H comics

Crosshairs wielded Pinpointer during a battle with an army of Nightbirds. Departure

Dreamwave Generation One continuity

Pinpointer's pre-Targetmaster role was a police sniper. Crosshairs More than Meets the Eye profile

War for Cybertron Trilogy marketing material

During the war for Cybertron, Pinpointer was a Ground Command Artillery Private. War for Cybertron Trilogy toy packaging

Commercial appearances

• When the Transformers' war resumed its course on Nebulon, Pinpointer could be seen fighting alongside his fellow Autobot Targetmasters against their Decepticon counterparts, while Fortress Maximus and Scorponok grappled in the distance. Headmaster comic book commercial
• Pinpointer aided Crosshairs in battling against Misfire in the middle of a mechanical city. Crosshairs transformed from vehicle mode to robot, and both he and Pinpointer screeched down to running speed before getting tackled down by Misfire and Aimless, respectively. Targetmasters commercial

Toys

The Transformers

• Crosshairs (Targetmaster, 1987)

• Takara ID number: C-107

Released in the fourth year of Hasbro's US The Transformers toyline (third year in Europe and in Takara's Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers line), Targetmaster Pinpointer ("Pointech" in Japan) transforms into a "dual rocket-propelled grenade launcher". In weapon mode he can either be handheld or mounted on other toys via 5 mm posts.

He was only available packed in with his larger partner Crosshairs.

• More info on Pinpointer at TFU.info

Transformers (campaign item)

• Autobot Pinpointer (Arms Micron, 2012)

• Release date: March 31, 2012

Arms Micron Pinpointer is a redeco of Power Core Combiners Waterlog, transforming into a double-barreled blaster (though his official transformation differs from Waterlog's pistol mode) that can be held by any figure with a 5 mm post-hole.

His instructions only show the hand-held mode, but as he is a Power Core Combiners Mini-Con mold, he can also be converted into a compact weapon meant for vehicle-mode use (attached by his Powerlinx socket), plus an "armor" mode that connects to a Power Core Combiners Commander toy's chest or back-mounted Powerlinx plug for use in either of their robot modes.

He was only available as part of the Prime "Anime Debut Commemoration Campaign", with the purchase of 4000 yen's worth of Prime toys at Japanese Toys"R"Us stores on March 31, 2012. He was "limited" to 10,000 pieces, which is a really high number for a Japanese store-promo Micron.

This mold was also used to make United EX Rotorbolt.

Legends

• Targetmaster Windblade (Deluxe, 2018)

• Release date: February 24, 2018
• ID number: LG62

Released in the twenty-sixth wave of TakaraTomy's Legends toyline, Pointech is a new-mold Targetmaster based on the original, with increased posability in robot mode.

He was only available packaged with the Deluxe "Targetmaster Windblade", an utterly inexplicable addition. It's possible TakaraTomy was exploring the potential to do a new Crosshair in some manner and plans were skuppered, but budgets still allowed for some small additions to later-run toys.

War for Cybertron Trilogy

Surprise! Trenchfoot isn't me!

• Megatron (Voyager Class, 2020)

• TakaraTomy ID number: WFC-07
• TakaraTomy release date: December 19, 2020

War for Cybertron Trilogy "Captive Pinpointer" is a redeco of Siege Firedrive, transforming from robot to a "Dual Rocket-Propelled Grenade Launcher" in 5 steps. As a part of the C.O.M.B.A.T. System, he includes two "Fire Blast effect" pieces that can be used to simulate his blaster mode firing and can slot onto the various hardpoints found on other figures and weaponry from the same subline to simulate blaster fire or explosions. The outer peg of the effect parts can also attach to 5 mm ports. The actual gun barrel piece can detach from the back, revealing a 3 mm peg, and connect to his arm like a cannon. Due to the size of the piece compared to Pinpointer, attaching Fire Blast parts to his barrels will cause the figure to become too unbalanced to stand.

He was only available in a Voyager-plus-class War for Cybertron Trilogy box set (promoting the Siege season of the Netflix War for Cybertron Trilogy cartoon), packed with Megatron and "Captive Lionizer".

As with other Netflix-based figures, this release was exclusive to Walmart in the U.S. and Canada, and in Japan as a TakaraTomy Mall exclusive.

Notes

• An almost-realized BotCon exclusive from Fun Publications was a redeco of Generations Sergeant Kup into Crosshairs, with a redeco of either Universe Nightstick or an Arms Micron as Pinpointer.^[2][3]

Foreign names

• Japanese: Pointech (ポインテック Pointekku), Pinpointer (ピンポインター Pinpointā)
• Russian: Pycnometer (Пикнометр Piknometr)

References