Prowl (G1)/toys
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Prowl has many toys! All of them are pricks.
Toys
The Transformers
- Takara ID number: 09
- Accessories: "acid pellet gun", left & right missile launchers, 3 "wire-guided incendiary missiles"
- Known designers: Kōjin Ōno (TakaraTomy)
- Originally a Diaclone "Police Car Fairlady Z", Prowl was one of the original assortment of Transformers Autobot Cars released in 1984. He transforms into a Datsun 280ZX Turbo sports car (known in Japan as a "Fairlady Z") decorated in Japanese police car livery, though with "Highway Patrol Police" markings in English (which had already been present on the original Diaclone version). In robot mode, he is armed with a silver-chromed hand-held acid pellet gun, and two shoulder-mounted missile launchers. The spring-loaded firing mechanism for these launchers was disabled by Hasbro, but remained intact on the Takara release of the figure.
- The original Takara Diaclone release of the figure featured a red "R" inside the yellow police star, as well as the word "Diaclone", as part of the factory-applied police badge stickers that decorated the car hood and doors, as well on the stickers for the robot's shoulders that were part of the included sticker sheet. While all releases and variants of Transformers Prowl omit the red "R", a very early production run of the "pre-rub" US release of Prowl still retained the "Diaclone" marking on the hood (but not on the doors or the shoulders!). This was eventually amended by a running change that dropped the "Diaclone" markings. The Chinese 1989 release, which was produced around the same time as the European "Classic Heroes" version (see below), again featured the "Diaclone" markings, this time not only on the hood but also on the doors. In 1985, a heat-activated rubsign was added to the front of Prowl's hood.
- In Europe, Prowl was released in 1985, in packaging branded not with the regular "Hasbro" logo, but rather that of newly-acquired Hasbro subsidiary Milton Bradley. This "MB" version of Prowl was in reality literally a repackaged and rebranded Diaclone figure originally intended to be released by European Takara licensee Joustra. Unlike the aforementioned early US Transformers version, the Joustra Diaclone figure already lacked both the red "R" and the "Diaclone" markings on the factory-applied stickers for the car hood and doors.[1] Meanwhile, the Joustra version's sticker sheet, which did still feature those markings for the robot shoulders, was replaced with the standard Hasbro Transformers version for the MB release.[2]
- Also in 1985, the Mexican release by Hasbro licensee IGA featured an even more more startling variation: this release of the figure rendered his helmet, arms, and boots black, plus his English "POLICE" decals became a Spanish "POLICIA". There was also a widely available running change variant (or just factory error) that left out the black paint on his car hood.[3][3]
- Prowl's toy has been reissued as part of the Classic Heroes line in 1990, The Transformers Collection in 2002, and the Commemorative Series in 2003. See below for individual entries on these releases.
- This mold was retooled to create the simultaneously-released Bluestreak, and again for Smokescreen.
| The Transformers mold: Bluestreak/Prowl | ||
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Version 1 (Bluestreak):
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- Turbo Cycle with Prowl (Action Blaster Vehicle, 1990)
- Accessories: Turbo Cycle, small cannon, 2 missiles, left & right engine intakes, shield/gas tank cover
- Known designers: Masakatsu Saito (concept artist)
- Released in the seventh and final wave of the original line (well, final in the US, at least), Action Master Prowl is a non-transforming action figure whose appearance is styled after his cartoon model, with a few toy-based liberties taken. His construction is broadly similar to that used by the G.I. Joe figures of the time, having a swivel neck, shoulders and knees, plus ball-jointed hips attached via a steel rod internally secured by a rubber "o-ring". His hands have standard 3 mm holes which allow him to hold any other accessory in the Action Master line, plus his feet have holes in the bottom to secure him to larger vehicles. On top of that, the hole in his back is compatible with 5 mm posts.
- As part of the "Action Blasters Vehicles" assortment, Prowl came packaged with the Turbo Cycle, which transforms from motorcycle to a gun emplacement. An undocumented feature of the Turbo Cycle is that the lower front cowling assembly can be pegged into the screw hole on Prowl's back, allowing him to somewhat mimic the original Prowl figure's door-wing appearance.
- Prowl (Classic Heroes, 1990)
- Accessories: "Acid pellet gun", left & right missile launchers, 3 "wire-guided incendiary missiles"
- The original Prowl toy was first reissued in Europe alongside several other early Transformers, as part of the "Classic Heroes" range. He is not entirely identical to the original, however: the paint operations for his forehead crest are now flat red, compared to the glossy red featured on all previous releases of the figure.
- Additionally, for reasons unknown, the Classics release of Prowl features the "Diaclone" markings on the factory-applied police badge stickers for his car hood and doors again, but not on the stickers for his robot shoulders, which were part of the included sticker sheet.[4]
| The Transformers mold: Bluestreak/Prowl | ||
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Version 1 (Bluestreak):
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Beast Wars
- Magnaboss (Ultra Class three-pack, 1997)
- Accessories: Tail
- Known designers: Takio Ejima (TakaraTomy)
The lion Prowl toy represents both the original Autobot and a latter-day Maximal.
- Beast Wars Prowl transforms from a lion into a robot, with his cat-butt turning into a "cyber tail claw" weapon. He is able to combine with Ironhide and Silverbolt, his package buddies, into Magnaboss. Prowl transforms into Magnaboss's head.
- This mold was used to make Lio Junior.
- The Magnaboss toy included no information about its three components beyond their names. The character was established by IDW to be Generation 1 Prowl in 2007's Beast Wars Sourcebook. By contrast in 2021, the Earth Wars mobile game opted to depict lion Prowl as a separate individual from police car Prowl.
Machine Wars
- Prowl (Basic Class, 1997)
- Accessories: 2-part rifle
- Known designers: Takio Ejima (TakaraTomy)
- Sharing a mold with Machine Wars Mirage, Prowl transforms into a Penske PC-18 Indycar, and converts to robot mode with a spring-loaded, one-step transformation. His rifle-halves store in his legs in car mode. He —and the entire Machine Wars line— was available only at KB Toys stores.
- Prowl's usual function is "strategist", but, in this first non-police car form he is described as "chief of security". The "BOYC" sticker is likely a nod to Hasbro employee John Boyce.[5]
- This toy is gang-molded with the other three Basic molds in the line. Specifically, his shoulders and spine share plastic with Megatron's inner robot parts, his head shares plastic with Thundercracker's jet parts, his seat shares plastic with Hubcap's truck parts, plus he shares the pearlescent-gray optics plastic with, well, everyone.
- This mold was repurposed as a clone of Prowl and as drone clones of Prowl. A redeco of the rifle mold (both pieces) was also included in the Cyberverse Bumblebee vs Megatron two-pack.
| Generation 2 mold: Lightspeed | ||
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See also:
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The Transformers Collection
- Prowl (July 20, 2002)
- ID number: 2
- Accessories: "acid pellet gun", left & right missile launchers, 3 "wire-guided incendiary missiles"
- Takara's first reissue of Prowl was the second installment in their Transformers Collection line of reissues, and was mostly identical to the original figure, save for a few small differences: the text on his hip stickers is changed to "2002 08" from the original's "2800 ZP", his rubsign is relocated from its original obtrusive spot at the front of his hood to just below his windshield (winding up on the back of his head in robot mode), and like the Classic Heroes version, his forehead crest is painted. As with the previous Takara release of the figure, his missile launchers are functional.
| The Transformers mold: Bluestreak/Prowl | ||
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Version 1 (Bluestreak):
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Commemorative Series
- Prowl (2003/2006)
- Accessories: "acid pellet gun", left & right missile launchers, 3 "wire-guided incendiary missiles"
- In 2003, Hasbro released their own reissue of the original Prowl toy as part of their Toys"R"Us exclusive Commemorative Series IV that was available in the United States, Canada, and Australia. This version of Prowl featured all the modifications made to the original toy for Takara's Transformers Collection, and a few more besides. Like his mold-mate Bluestreak, released in the previous wave, Prowl's gun and missiles are cast in unchromed black plastic, and his missile launchers are once again disabled, in lieu of enlarging the missiles to the disproportionate length required for safety reasons (as was done for several other Commemorative figures). Where his original toy's launchers merely had their springs removed, leaving their trigger mechanisms intact to hold the missiles in place, this figure actually recasts the launchers as solid pieces with no triggers, into which the missiles are simply popped.
- In 2006, three years after the US release and long after the Commemorative Series had been discontinued by Toys"R"Us in America, Prowl and several other figures were released as Toys"R"Us exclusives in the United Kingdom. Unlike previous UK releases of Commemorative Series figures, the packaging for this batch was no longer multilingual, but in English only. Despite this, the packaging was not identical to the previous US version; it lacked the "Commemorative Series", "classic re-issue", and "choking hazard" safety warning labels and all trademark ™ and ® markings, and moved the "Ages 5+" recommendation to a new position.
| The Transformers mold: Bluestreak/Prowl | ||
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Version 1 (Bluestreak):
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Smallest Transforming Transformers
- Prowl (2003)
- ID number: GTF-09
- Released in Wave 2 of Smallest Transforming Transformers, this Prowl is the smallest possible transforming toy based upon the original Prowl toy. He faithfully reproduces the transformation sequence for the most part, but due to parts-cost limitations, he has little articulation, his legs cannot separate and his wheels do not roll.
- This mold was also used to make the Smallest Transforming Transformers version of Bluestreak.
Alternators
- Prowl (Alternator, 2005/2006)
- Alternator ID number: 16
- Binaltech ID number: BT-15
- Accessories: Engine/gun, traffic direction baton aka "Blight Stick"
- Known designers: Steve Bono (Hasbro), Marcelo Matere (packaging artist, rerelease)
- Alternators Prowl transforms into a fully-licensed 1:24-scale Acura RSX with police lights, opening doors, hood and trunk. His engine becomes a (non-firing) gun, while a clear-plastic nightstick is hidden under his car mode rear section. He was among the last of the "red box" Alternators, but was included in new "white box" assortments in 2006. The "white box" version of Prowl has additional Acura logos on the rear of the car that the "red box" version did not have.
- For his standard Japanese Binaltech release, Prowl got a different vehicle mode deco based on a real Japanese police car (the Hasbro version's deco being based more on the original Generation 1 toy), a different spoiler mold, "Type R" rims compared to the Alternators version's "Type S" rims, right-side steering, a Japanese police cherry blossom emblem instead of an Acura logo, and gray plastic instead of stony-blue. He was also labeled as a "Honda Integra Type-R" on the packaging, the model's make in Japan.
- Multiple reports suggest that at least the Binaltech version suffers from a design flaw: The wing mirrors are simply glued onto the doors for whatever reason, and the glue is not particularly strong. Trying to open a door by pulling on the mirror could likely result in the mirror snapping off.
- At OTFCC 2004, Hasbro stated that there was no Prowl Alternators toy in the works, but some other emergency vehicle (which got a chorus of boos). Considering the development schedule of Transformers toys, this was most likely referring to the fact that the Acura RSX sculpt was originally intended to be Red Alert, with a different head sculpt. Eventually, however, it was decided to release the toy as Prowl instead, even though the Subaru Impreza sculpt's robot mode had more resemblance to Generation 1 Prowl and the Acura RSX sculpt's robot mode had more resemblance to Generation 1 Red Alert. Control drawings of the figure with the originally intended Red Alert head sculpt can be found in the Japanese Transformers Collection 2007 book, among other places.
| Alternators mold: Prowl | ||
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- Prowl Vivid Blue Pearl Edition (Binaltech, 2005)
- ID number: BT-15
- Accessories: Engine/gun, traffic direction baton
- Like Meister, Prowl got two different Binaltech decos released in equal numbers. The second version, known as Vivid Blue Pearl Prowl, is a civilian version with no police lights, a mostly blue interior, a Honda logo (instead of the cherry blossom emblem) on the grill, and a solid blue car shell. His robot mode parts remained mostly the same color, however.
- This mold (the Japanese blue Prowl variant, combined with parts from American police Prowl) was used to make Alternators Autobot Camshaft. This toy was also repurposed as Prowl 2.
| Alternators mold: Prowl | ||
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- Prowl Satellite Patrol Edition (Binaltech "USA Edition", 2005?)
- Accessories: Engine/gun, traffic direction baton
- The Hasbro version of Prowl, using the Hasbro red box packaging, was supposed to have been released in Japan as an exclusive "USA Edition" to a satellite TV provider named Takarand. The only notable difference from the Hasbro version was the "Satellite Patrol" (spelled "satillite" in official preview photos) markings on his doors. It is unknown if this toy was ever actually released, however, as Takara changed owners around the same time. The toy is also notable for containing the only pack-in story neither written by Hirofumi Ichikawa nor connected to the wider Binaltech storyline.
| Alternators mold: Prowl | ||
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Universe (2003)
- Prowl (Autobot Spy Changer, 2005)
- Accessories: Rifle
- A redeco of the Robots in Disguise Spy Changer Prowl 2 mold, Universe Prowl transforms into a modified Chevrolet Caprice police car with through-axle construction for super-speedy rolling on smooth surfaces. His gun hides as his car mode's tailpipe.
- Originally only available as a KB Toys exclusive in packaging with no sub-line markings, his entire assortment was later repackaged under the Universe banner and sold through "dollar store" chains like Family Dollar.
- This mold was also used to make the Universe incarnation of Robots in Disguise Prowl. It was originally intended for an unspecified character in Generation 2.
Universe (2008)
- Prowl (Deluxe Class, 2008)
- Series: Classic Series
- Accessories: Gun
- Known designers: Bill Rawley, Hisashi Yuki (TakaraTomy), Marcelo Matere (packaging artist)
- Universe Prowl transforms into a modified Nissan 350Z similarly to Prowl's appearance in IDW Publishing's Generation 1 comics. Like previous Generation 1 Prowl toys, his paint job is based upon that of a Japanese police car. The prototype and pre-production versions of Prowl featured a traditional American-style rectangular light bar, but the production toy features a swept-back modern light bar.
- Many buyers have reported that after repeated handling of the toy, the paint on the pieces of Prowl molded from translucent plastic (his doors, his roof, the sides of his hood and front bumper) quickly becomes sticky to the touch and begins to smear and rub off. Presumably, this owes something to the plastic and paint failing to bond properly, although what allowed the toy to leave factories with this flaw undetected is unknown. Sticky paint has not been reported on every Prowl; there is some suggestion that temperature and humidity play a role in whether or not it occurs. It has been suggested that the problem only affects the first run of Prowl figures, but sticky figures have been purchased at retail when the line was launched in Europe just over a month after its American debut. Also, on a lot of the UK release toys, all the pieces that are molded white plastic have a very faint pink tinge.
- This mold was redecoed for Timelines Streetstar and retooled to make Universe Silverstreak and Smokescreen and Timelines Rapido. The lightbar was also used for Universe Ratchet and Generations Red Alert. This toy also served as the model for the non-toy Shattered Glass incarnation of Prowl.
| Universe (2008) mold: Prowl | ||
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Henkei! Henkei!
- Prowl (September 19, 2008)
- ID number: C-08
- Accessories: Gun
- The Japanese Henkei! Henkei! Prowl is a retool and redeco of Universe Deluxe Class Prowl, changing the swept-back American light bar with a more rounded Japanese lightbar, and having a more consistent coating of white paint. He also features vacuum-metallized silver parts such as his gun, Acid Blasters and his vehicle mode spoiler. Universe Prowl's orange Autobot symbol was changed to the more standard red for the Henkei release.
- Soon after his release, some customers have reported that Henkei Prowl suffers from the same sticky paint problem that plagued many Universe Prowls.
| Universe (2008) mold: Prowl | ||
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Titanium Series
- War Within Prowl (2008)
- Accessories: Display stand
- This version of Prowl transforms into a Cybertronic hovercar, based on his design from the Dreamwave The War Within comics. Initially canceled due to the end of the Titanium Series line, Hasbro eventually released this figure as a Toys"R"Us exclusive in the fall of 2008.
- The vehicle mode as pictured on the packaging for this toy contains two transformation errors (compared to the instructions). His toes (sticking up at the rear of the vehicle) should be folded back, revealing small red and blue emergency lights. Also, the left and right sides of the vehicle should be slid outwards, turning them into nacelles rather than integral parts of the main body.
Transformers (2010)
- Prowl (Legends Class, 2011)
- Known designers: Joe Kyde (Hasbro)
- Released in the second (and final) wave of the 2010 Transformers toyline's Reveal the Shield Legends Class toys, Prowl transforms into a police car resembling his 2008 Universe toy, transforming into a modified Nissan 350Z. He has a heat-sensitive rubsign on his hood/chest.
- The Reveal the Shield Legends figures saw exceedingly limited release at large-scale retail chains in the US. Throughout 2011, they eventually started appearing in discount stores like Ross, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and Tuesday Morning, with perhaps the largest and most consistent outlet being Five Below stores.
- This mold was also used to make Safety Prime and, without the lightbar, Chronicle Streak and Generations Bluestreak. The instruction line art on the back of Prowl's packaging gave a hint of this by showing a robot mode with no lightbar on the back.
Chronicle
- Prowl (EZ Collection, 2011)
- Chronicle Prowl is a slight redeco of the Transformers Legends Class Prowl toy, without a rubsign. Like other Chronicle Legends toys, he is sold in a blindpacked box.
Kre-O
- Prowl (2011)
- Set number: 30690
- Pieces: 190
- Kreons: Prowl, SWAT Commander
- Accessories: Small pistol
- Kre-O Prowl can be rebuilt from a robot to Generation 1 Prowl-inspired highway patrol police car that seats a Kreon. He also comes with two Kreons: Prowl and a human SWAT Commander. Kreon Prowl oddly has black door-wings... maybe he's Mexican Prowl?
- This set was also available in a Costco-exclusive two-pack with the Starscream kit, which was basically just the two packages shrinkwrapped together.
- Kreon Class of 1984 (Kreon figure set, 2014)
- Set number: B0090
- Voted: Best Logic Processors
- Accessories: Blaster
- This version of Prowl has much more extensively-detailed toy-based tampographs than his prior version. Oddly, his door-wings are still black.
- He was only available in a San Diego Comic-Con 2014 exclusive pack of 30 Kreons dubbed the "Kreon Class of 1984". Remaining stock was to be sold at Hasbro Toy Shop online, only there was no remaining stock after the show.
- Prowl's title (Best Logic Processors) is most likely swapped with Shockwave's (Best Optics). This is supported by their classic Generation 1 counterparts' bios—it is Prowl who can track and analyze the trajectory of 800 moving objects while Shockwave is the servant of logic.
- The Prowl kit was among many re-released as "dollar store" budget versions in 2015. Though the contents of the box are exactly the same as the original, with the full complement of 190 pieces, the large robot-mode build has been completely excised from the box-art and instructions, leaving you with 41 extra parts... which "explains" the on-box parts count of 149 pieces. You can still build the robot mode, it just isn't in the directions.
Bot Shots
- Sentinel Prime / Prowl / Bumblebee (2012)
- Series: 1
- Number: BP003
- Fist strength: 540
- Blaster strength: 255
- Sword strength: 835
- A redeco of Bot Shots Barricade, Prowl is a teeny little police car with a spring-loaded automatic transformation to robot mode triggered when his front bumper is pressed. He has a "spinner" in his chest that shows his three attack types and power levels. He was only available in a three-pack with Sentinel Prime and Bumblebee.
- This mold was also used to make Bot Shots Protectobot Streetsmart. Prowl's main car body, arms and legs were also used to make Bumblebee, Lockdown, Mirage, and Topspin.
- Prowl (
2013)- Series: 2
- Number: B013
- Fist strength: ???
- Blaster strength: 557
- Sword strength: ???
- Part of the unreleased fourth wave of Bot Shots Series 2, Prowl is a Jump Shot that transforms into a heavily modified police car and carries a gun in the right hand.
Proceed on your way to oblivion. |
BeCool
- Patrol Car (Prowl) (2012)
- ID number: B01
- BeCool "Patrol Car" is a practically identical to the Bot Shots Prowl toy, the only difference being that his power level stickers have been replaced with simple drawings of a lightbar, a traffic light and a rope.
EZ Collection Gum
- Prowl (Candy toy, 2012)
- ID number: 3
- Release Date: July 30 2012
- Part of the EZ Collection Gum candy toy series made by TakaraTomy A.R.T.S., this Prowl is a redeco of the Universe Legends Class mold, this time cast in pearlescent white plastics with metallic paint deco. This release also utilizes the retooled arms/side doors used for the GDO release of Bluestreak (though he lacks the accessory those were made to accommodate, and plus the running change omitting the side doors handles.
- As per the toyline's name, he comes with a yellow candy-shelled piece of lemony-flavored gum.
Masterpiece
- Prowl (September 28, 2013)
- ID number: MP-17
- Accessories: Semi-automatic Rifle, missile launcher (Amazon.co.jp only)
- Known designers: Shogo Hasui (TakaraTomy)
- Masterpiece Prowl transforms into a licensed Nissan Fairlady 280Z-T. As with other figures in the Masterpiece line, he is intended to be an accurate representation of his cartoon model, and even features an extensive glossy white and black paint scheme. Roughly as tall as a Voyager Class figure, he is also in scale with MP-10 Optimus Prime, and can fit inside Prime's trailer in vehicle mode. In contrast to previous larger entries in this line, Prowl lacks die-cast parts, and his tires are cast in hard, non-rubberized plastic. There are some issues concerning aligning the car's roof onto the body of the figure. In order to properly attach the back/roof top of the mold, the mid chest panel located in front of the torso must be tilted slightly forward and attached to the small indentation under the figure's "car hood". This will allow the back frame to straighten and get the two pegs on the windshield to lock into the two slots at the back of the car hood.
- For accessories, he comes with his rifle, which can be held with his hands, or can mount onto a peg-hole on the back of his light-bar via the separate peg on its jointed handle. He also comes with a pair of built-in shoulder cannons, based on Bluestreak's cartoon character model's cannons, that can be deployed in robot mode. Prowl's instructions even feature a screencap from the cartoon that depicts Prowl with the launchers; however, that is actually an animation error from the very first episode that has Bluestreak (with his very distinctive head design) colored as Prowl.
- If purchased in Japan through Amazon.com, one additionally gets a single non-firing toy-accurate missile launcher accessory, which can cover and replace either of his shoulder cannons, as well as tab onto the rear sides of his vehicle mode. If purchased in other Asian markets outside of Japan, a collector coin is included instead of or in addition to the launcher. The coin itself is star-shaped, and comes in a package shaped like a police badge.
- This mold was redecoed and retooled each time into MP-18 Streak and MP-19 Smokescreen. Streak and Prowl were to be released simultaneously, but Prowl was pushed back one month and Streak two months to meet demand.
| Masterpiece mold: Nissan Fairlady | ||
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Version 2:
Version 3:
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- Masterpiece Prowl (2014)
- 27 OF 30
- ID number: MP-04
- The Hasbro release of the figure, again available as a Toys"R"Us exclusive.
- Prowl (September 29, 2018)
- ID number: MP-17+
- Accessories: Semi-automatic Rifle, two missile launchers
- A TakaraTomy Mall exclusive re-release of Masterpiece Prowl in a color scheme much closer to the character’s on screen appearance, including off-white paint replacing the pure white seen on the original release, baby blue windows and headlights, a white rifle, and red lower headlights. His Autobot logo is bigger and uses the cartoon variant. He is missing the "Highway Patrol Police" lettering from the doors.
- He comes with two missile launchers that share a mold with the Amazon exclusive from the original release. If purchased from a seller supplied by Hasbro Asia, he includes a collector coin. Although sharing a similar "sheriff's badge" motif with the original release's coin, MP-17+'s is a new design, and comes mounted on a folding card resembling his hood/chest on the front, and his waist detail on the inside.
EZ Collection (2013)
- Prowl (EZ Collection, April 27, 2013)
- ID number: EG03
- This EZ Collection Prowl is another slight redeco of Transformers (2010) Legends Class mold, utilizing the deco from the Chronicle release, but does not use the retooled arms/side doors from the GDO exclusive Bluestreak toy. Deco-wise, differences include is the blue windows being replaced with gunmetal, and the Generation 1 Autobot insignia is replaced with a movie-style livery.
Q-Transformers
- Prowl (December 26, 2014)
- ID number: QT-06
- Q-Transformers Prowl transforms from super deformed Nissan Fairlady 280Z-T police car to cute little robot. He comes with a code for unlocking Prowl as a playable character in the Q-Transformers: Mystery of Convoy Returns game.
- This mold was retooled into Q-Transformers Smokescreen.
Combiner Wars
- Prowl (Deluxe Class, 2015)
- Accessories: "acid core" blaster, dual "missile launcher" gun/fist/foot
- Part of the fourth wave of Combiner Wars Deluxe class toys, Prowl is a retool of Protectobot Streetwise sporting a new head. Being a Combiner Wars figure, he is able to form either an arm or leg for any Combiner Wars-style Voyager Class figure or into one of Legends Godbomber's legs but is, of course, was intended to combine to form Optimus Maximus. He is also officially associated with Betatron and Magnaboss. A sticker sheet was sold at BotCon 2016 to enhance Prowl's resemblance to the original Beast Wars figure. Unlike Streetwise, the pegs on Prowl's legs seem to have signs of mold degradation, as the legs/vehicle rear had a small gap while they're attached together.
- Prowl comes packaged with the comic book "Onyx Interface Part Three: ONoffON". In Canada, Latin America, and Europe, he was available in different types of multilingual packaging including a character card featuring his comic book cover/package art instead. He and the last three waves of Combiner Wars Deluxe and Voyager figures later showed up at TJ Maxx in the U.S. at reduced prices with the collector card.
- As a part of the third and fourth wave promotion in Hasbro's Asian markets, a free sticker sheet for the Protectobots and Optimus Maximus was given out when purchasing any four Deluxe Class toys from those waves. As such, Prowl was given Generation 1 toy-esque stickers for the owner to apply if they wanted.[6]
- This mold was originally heavily retooled from Dead End, was redecoed as Smokescreen, and was differently retooled as Dust Up.
| Combiner Wars mold: Dead End | ||
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Unite Warriors
- Convoy Grand Prime (giftset, February 27, 2016)
- ID number: UW-05
- Accessories: Weapons, 4 Gun/Fist/Foots
- Released as part of the TakaraTomy Mall exclusive Convoy Grand Prime set, Takara's iteration of Combiner Wars Optimus Maximus is sold in a gift set including all five Autobots (minus the Rodimus mold).
- Compared to the Combiner Wars release, Prowl has numerous changes in deco to better match his look in the Generation 1 cartoon: his white, grey, and black unpaintable parts are swapped, additional paint applications are featured on the feet, waist & flip-out chest, and his silver headlights are replaced with the same metallic blue from his windows. In addition, the shoulder badge from the Generation 1 toy is also added on the hood.
- The Generations Selects comic cast this Prowl as the left arm of White Convoy Grand Prime.
| Combiner Wars mold: Dead End | ||
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Alt-Modes
- Prowl (Alt-Modes, 2016)
- Series: 1
- Collection: 1
- Alt-Modes Prowl is a super deformed toy whose body transforms into a car when the Autobot faction symbol on his head is flipped. He was blind-boxed and available in the first case of the first series.
- This mold was redecoed into Alt-Modes Smokescreen and Bluestreak.
Cyber Series
- Prowl (Cyber Battalion, 2017)
- Released in part of a second wave of Generations: Cyber Series Cyber Battalion figures, Prowl is a roughly voyager-sized mold that changes from police car to robot and back in a few easy steps. He has a chunkier design and is intended for a younger audience, but despite that he has an excellent range of poseability. This figure was sold in the United States at Walgreens stores after being available in Latin American and Asian markets.
- This figure was retooled into Cyber Series Sideswipe.
War for Cybertron: Siege
- Prowl (Deluxe Class, 2019)
- Hasbro ID number: WFC-S23
- TakaraTomy ID number: SG-23
- TakaraTomy release date: May 31, 2019
- Hidden message code: PRAXUS
- Accessories: Blaster, light bar (combine to form "W-45 Acid Pellet Strikeblaster")
- Known designers: Michael DiTullo (vehicle mode concept)[7], AJ Piejko-Brown (packaging)
- Part of the second wave of Siege Deluxe Class figures, Prowl transforms from robot that is partially inspired by his Alternators toy into a Cybertronian police car. He includes a gun compatible with the C.O.M.B.A.T. System, as well as a detachable light bar. They can combine to form the "W-45 Acid Pellet Strikeblaster," as a blaster or an axe that he cannot actually hold like an axe. He also features multiple hardpoints to accommodate "Fire Blasts" from the Battle Masters assortment, which can be used to simulate blaster fire or explosions. Unlike most Siege figures, Prowl is basically spotless, with no battle damage paint applications anywhere on his body. Prowl is also noticeably smaller than most Deluxe scale figures in both modes, only just barely bigger than the original Scout size class.
- His car doors read "Police" in Autobot script.
- This mold was redecoed into Siege Bluestreak (trading the lightbar for some shoulder cannons), and retooled into Siege Barricade, Generations Selects Smokescreen, and War for Cybertron Trilogy Sparkless Bot. According to Smokescreen's Hasbro Pulse page, Prowl is a Praxien character to add to the "Praxus-native collection," along with the aforementioned Smokescreen and Barricade.[8]
War for Cybertron: Earthrise
- Autobot Alliance 2-Pack (Multi-pack, 2020)
- Hasbro ID number: WFC-E31
- TakaraTomy ID number: ER EX-18
- TakaraTomy release date: February 20, 2021
- Accessories: Blaster, lightbar
- Known designers: John Warden (Hasbro)
- Released in the Autobot Alliance two-pack with Ironhide in the Earthrise toyline, Prowl is a redeco of Bluestreak, which is itself a retool of Smokescreen with a new head and front grill. Exchanging Bluestreak's shoulder cannon accessories for a new lightbar, Prowl transforms into an Earth police car none too dissimilar from his original Datsun mode. His transformation scheme shares many similarities to his Siege counterpart but uses completely new parts. Prowl comes with a single blaster, and though he does not include this mold's shoulder cannon accessories, he can use the ones included with his moldmates.
- As a straight redeco of Bluestreak, Prowl's head lacks the characteristics of his divergent character model. Enterprising customizers should be warned that the head of Prowl's Siege toy makes use of a differently-sized ball joint, resulting in a tight fit on Earthrise Prowl's body. While swapping is feasible without modification depending on tolerances, Earthrise Prowl's ball joint can be sanded down to provide an easier (and safer) fit; though, note that this process is irreversible. Two different variants of Prowl exist with slightly different knee joints, one of which adds a tiny tab of plastic to the inside of the kneecap and includes additional tabs behind the car hood to secure the car mode better. It was unknown if the TakaraTomy release would use one of the two variants.
- His shared map piece is the previously unknown Nebulon Station, next to a Dead Universe portal…
- This pack was exclusive to Amazon in the U.S. and Canada. Unfortunately, the demand for the characters, combined with low stock and the COVID-19 pandemic complicating shipping issues, caused the 2-pack to command high prices online.
| Earthrise mold: Smokescreen | ||
|---|---|---|
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Version 1:
Version 2:
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Buzzworthy Bumblebee
- Ironhide / Prowl (Multi-pack, 2023)
- Series: Studio Series
- Movie: The Transformers: The Movie
- ID number: 86-20BB
- Accessories: Blaster rifle, 2 large 3-part Fire Blast effects, "Decepticon Shuttle Ambush" backdrop
- Known designers: Evan Brooks (Hasbro), Yūya Ōnishi (TakaraTomy)[9], Mario Carreiro, Christina Murphy and Amy Bence (packaging),[10] Marcelo Matere (backdrop artist)
- A redeco and retool of the above Earthrise Prowl figure, Buzzworthy Bumblebee Prowl is a morbid, albeit hilarious version of the character during his death in The Transformers: The Movie (orange mouth smoke not included). In addition to a new, distressed headsculpt (one that correctly uses Prowl's head design unlike the original figure) and movie-accurate deco, his chest has been retooled to feature blown-off armor and a 3 mm peg to accommodate a Fire Blast effect, to further emphasize that he's in the process of being shot. The windows and headlights on this figure are also opaque as opposed to the translucent ones on the Earthrise figure.
- According to Hasbro designer Evan Brooks, he initially pitched this set as a joke that essentially got way out of hand. He also notes they originally intended Prowl in particular to exhibit the aggressive depigmentation symptoms he displayed in the film before the Takara team talked them down from making a full-on corpse toy. Again.[9]
- He was available in a 2-pack with a similarly morbid Ironhide retool, along with two purple recolors of Siege Jetfire's Fire Blast effects.. Like the rest of the Buzzworthy Bumblebee line, this figure was exclusive to Target in the United States, with Hasbro Pulse receiving small quantities of the pack.
| Siege accessory mold: Jetfire's Fire Blast effects | ||
|---|---|---|
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Merchandise
Transformers Milk Caramel
- Prowl (1985)
- A soft rubber figurine—known in Japan as a keshigomu— of Prowl was released as part of the second wave of Kabaya's Transformers Milk Caramel candy toy range. He came packaged with chocolate-covered caramel candies, and was available in red, blue, and yellow.
Transformers Choco
- Prowl (1985)
- A solid-color, snap-together model kit of Prowl was released by Kabaya as part of their Transformers Choco line of candy toys. It was available in various colors, and came with candy-coated chocolates.
Transformers Gum
- Prowl (2009)
- Released in the second wave of the revived Transformers Gum series in 2009, this transforming model kit of Prowl is made from black and white plastic, with a lot of stickers for detail. It's based on the Henkei Prowl toy.
Decoy
- Cybertron Hero Collection 22 (multi-pack, 1986)
- Prowl was among the many characters rendered by Takara as part of their series of 1.5" keshigomu figurines. Like all the Autobots in the series, Prowl was molded in soft red rubber, and featured a number sculpted into his back that was the sum total of his Tech Specs, for use in the various games that could be played with the figurines. Prowl was available as part of a 22-piece box set of Autobot figures, and later, in a peach coloration randomly packed as part of various other box sets.
- Prowl (1987)
- Decoy number: 19
- The figurine was later brought over to Hasbro markets as part of the Decoy promotion, largely identical to the Japanese release except for the fact that the number on his back was replaced with a simple "checklist" number. Like all Autobot Decoys, Prowl was a randomly-chosen pack-in available with the carded Throttlebots, Aerialbots, Protectobots, and Technobots.
Hard Hero
- Prowl (2002)
- A cold-cast porcelain bust labeled as number 3 in Hard Hero's series of Transformers busts, Prowl is sculpted to be six inches tall, having a seven-inch wide "wingspan", and wielding his acid pellet gun in his left hand. 100 copies of this product were signed by sculptor Jason Ray.
Attacktix
- Prowl (Booster,
2007)- Accessories: Missile
- Planned to be in part of the Series 2 wave of Attacktix, Prowl is a Captain class unit with the special ability to stun an opposing player unit. His sculpt is based upon his Generation 1 cartoon model with some additional details. His weapon is a hugely oversized version of his rifle, capable of firing a large silver projectile.
Game over. |
3D Battle-Card Game
- Prowl (2007)
- A 25-point "uncommon" character in the 3D Battle-Card Game's "Energon Wars" expansion, Prowl "transforms" into a black and white police car that vaguely resembles a Nissan Z. He uses the same parts layout as Movie Barricade, Bumblebee, Swerve, and Mirage.
Transformers - Mini Bust
- Prowl (Diamond Select, 2009)
- Released by Diamond Select Toys in 2009, Prowl was sculpted by Mark Wong of Art Asylum and was limited to 500 pieces. Prowl, along with his "brothers" Bluestreak and Smokescreen, is exclusive to online retailer Toyrocket.com. The bust features Prowl's acid pellet gun and twin missile launchers, and the missile launchers and car doors can be attached via magnets on either side of his head.
Robot Heroes
- Prowl & Laserbeak (Two-pack,
2009)
- Known designers: Bill Rawley (Hasbro), Alex Androski (deco artist), Marcelo Matere (concept artist)
- Universe Robot Heroes Prowl would have been a happy little non-transforming figure. The figure has the standard swiveling head and arms, and in a bizarre sculpting oddity, has a wheel well on one foot but not the other. He would have come in a two-pack with Laserbeak, but the Universe portion of the Robot Heroes line was canceled before they saw retail release. Several unpackaged samples have made it into the hands of collectors, however.
Proceed on your way to oblivion. |
Mighty Muggs
- Prowl (2010)
- Accessories: Gun
- This super-deformed, non-transformable Prowl figure mostly uses the standard Mighty Muggs body template, and features same door-wings molds as Jazz. He has swivel joints in his neck and arms, and comes with his trademark acid pellet gun. Prowl was originally meant to be released in the fourth wave of Mighty Muggs Transformers, but the Transformers section of the toyline was canceled before the wave was released. The toy was eventually made available as an exclusive at San Diego Comic-Con 2010.
Tiny Titans
- Prowl (Tiny Titans, 2015)
- Series: 1
- Number: 9/12
- Part of the initial assortment of Tiny Titans blindpacks, this version of Prowl is a very small, soft-plastic figure of him in robot mode, cast in dark grey plastic.
- He includes a collectible card that, interestingly, renders him in the 2015 Robots in Disguise styling. The card includes a scan-badge for the Robots in Disguise mobile game, which unlocks a random amount of Energon "currency" and a randomized bonus power-up item.
The Loyal Subjects
The Loyal Subjects Prowl is a Wave 2 figure with standard articulation. He is mostly based on his animation model. For every 16 figures, there are 2 Prowls. This toy was also recolored into Bluestreak and Smokescreen.
- Prowl (Gamestop exclusive, 2014)
Transformers Trading Card Game
- Prowl, Military Strategist (2018)
- Wave 1
- Rarity: UT
- Card Number: T31/T40
- Stars: 6
- Prowl, Military Strategist is one of forty double-sided character cards available in Wave 1 of the Transformers Trading Card Game.
- The artwork on the card is reused from the Transformers Legends mobile card game, and is based on the Transformers: Universe Prowl toy.
- Prowl, Strategic Mastermind (2019)
- Wave 2: Rise of the Combiners
- Rarity: UT
- Card Number: T35/T46
- Stars: 7
- Prowl, Strategic Mastermind was released as part of the Transformers Trading Card Game Wave 2: Rise of the Combiners. Like all other members of combiner teams released in the set, Prowl, Strategic Mastermind is a folding card, with the Bot and Alt modes being depicted when the card is folded in half, and a holofoil portion of the the combined mode depicted when unfolded. The reverse of Prowl, Strategic Mastermind depicts the lower right portion of Optimus Maximus', of whom Prowl forms the right leg.
- The artwork for Alt Mode is reused from the Transformers Legends mobile game, while the Bot Mode artwork uses the Combiner Wars Prowl figure's packaging art.
- Prowl, Strategic Mastermind can be used to form Optimus Maximus, Ultimate Defender with the use of the Action card Sentinel Enigma while he and the other Wave 2 Sentinels are in Bot mode on the battlefield and/or KO area.
- Major Prowl, Infantry-Strategist (2019)
- Wave 3: War for Cybertron: Siege I
- Rarity: UT
- Card Number: T08/T48
- Stars: 10
- Major Prowl, Infantry-Strategist is one of forty-eight double-sided character cards available in Wave 3 of the Transformers Trading Card Game, War for Cybertron: Siege I.
- The card's artwork is based on the Siege Prowl toy, with the Bot Mode artwork being reused from the toy's packaging art, and original artwork for Alt Mode, with line-art by Dan Khanna and colors by Kyxarie Peralta.
ReAction
- Prowl (2022)
- Accessories: Acid pellet rifle
- Released in the fifth wave of Super7's line of multi-property 3.75-inch "retro" action figures, ReAction Prowl is a non-converting 3 3/4-inch action figure based on his appearance in the original cartoon, with 5 points of articulation (swivel neck, shoulders, hips) and holes in his feet for use with some variety of stand.
- As with all releases in the ReAction toyline, Prowl comes packaged on a small cardback that emulates the nostalgic packaging style of Kenner's Star Wars action figures from the late 1970s to early '80s.
Eaglemoss
- Transformers Gen-1 Chess Set (
2021)
- In the planned Transformers Chess Set by Eaglemoss, a relatively large and very well detailed statue of Prowl was slated to be one of the Pawn pieces on the Autobot side.
- A Kickstarter campaign to raise the necessary funds for this project was launched, but failed to meet its goal by September 24, 2021 and the whole thing was canceled.
Proceed on your way to oblivion. |
Jada Toys
- Transformers Series 1 18-pack (4cm Die Cast Figure Multipack, 2022)
- Released by Jada Toys, Nano Metalfigs Prowl is an incredibly small die-cast figurine molded holding his blaster. He has a little base attached to his feet for balancing reasons.
- He comes in an impressive multipack with seventeen other figurines.
- Transformers Series 3 18-pack (4cm Die Cast Figure Multipack, 2023)
- Nano Metalfigs Prowl was re-released with no noticeable changes in another impressive multipack with seventeen other figurines.
Magic: The Gathering
- Prowl, Stoic Strategist / Prowl, Pursuit Vehicle (2022)
- ID number: 001/015
- Set code: BOT
- Color identity: White
- Casting cost: {3}{W} (front), {2}{W} (back)
- Artist: Ken Christiansen
- "Prowl, Stoic Strategist" is part of the 2022 Magic: The Gathering Universes Beyond Transformers card set, found in Set Booster and Collector Booster packs of Magic's The Brothers' War set. It can be reversed to become "Prowl, Pursuit Vehicle", representing Prowl in vehicle mode.
- A variant of this card was available solely in Collector Booster packs, depicting Shattered Glass Prowl.
Transformers Character Card
- Released as part of the seventh wave of the e-HOBBY exclusive Transformers Character Card series, this pair of holographic trading cards depict super-deformed art of Prowl and "Laserwave" in their respective Action Master bodies along with character profiles and tech specs.
Blokees
Galaxy Version
- Prowl (2023)
- Series: Galaxy Version 01 - Roll Out
Exclusive Yearly Version
- Exclusive Yearly Version (2024)
- This special edition box set included gold redecoes of Galaxy Version Prowl as well as Optimus Prime, Ironhide, Long Haul, and Starscream.
Notes
- Prowl's Diaclone predecessor also came with additional, optional stickers that would identify him as being part of the police forces from existing Japanese cities, namely Tokyo, Sapporo, Sendai, Osaka, and Fukuoka. The original Transformers instruction booklet shows a visible Diaclone label sheet, complete with these optional stickers, which did not make it to the final product.
- Before creating Cheetor, Hasbro initially conceived the Beast Wars panther character as Prowl, with a potential head retool as Optimus Prime. Elements of this plan ultimately manifested as the McDonald's toy character Panther.[11][12]
- Also in early Beast Wars planning, Hasbro conceptualized McDonald's toys of vehicular Auto Rollers, including one of Prowl as a moon buggy[13] perhaps paralleling the unreleased Generation 2 APC Auto Roller ultimately used in Japan for Beast Wars II Autolauncher.
- Machine Wars Prowl's card-art is actually an altered version of the art for the Generation 2 Laser Rod Jolt.
- The BotCon 2013 redeco of Classics Mirage almost became Machine Wars Prowl, but it ended up being replaced by Machine Wars Mirage.[14]
References
- ↑ "Joustra Diaclone Fairlady Police" at TF-1.com.
- ↑ Milton Bradley Transformers Prowl at the 20th Century Toy Collector blog.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Mexican Black Prowl" at TF-1.com.
- ↑ "Oldies but Goldies" at the TFSource blog.
- ↑ "@rds9674 @MSipher @tfwiki Probably short and/or corrupted from John Boyce, another Hasbro designer with Brian Wilk, who is noted on Hoist. At that time they would've been working on a lot of the store exclusive product."—Andrew Franks, Twitter, 2021/05/15
- ↑ Protectobot and Optimus Maximus sticker promotion on TFW2005
- ↑ "Squad goals. Some of my latest work for the Transformers War For Cybertron line. I'm so excited this will be an animated series on Netflix! Can't wait to see these guys in action. #cardesign #toydesign #conceptart #conceptdesign"—Michael DiTullo, Twitter, 2020/03/31 (archive link)
- ↑ "Smokescreen joins Barricade and Prowl (each sold separately, subject to availability) as the third Praxian character designed in his native Cybertronian form."
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 June 20, 2023's Hasbro Pulse Transformers Fanstream on YouTube, with Ben MacCrae, Mark Maher, Evan Brooks, and Rich Pellegrino
- ↑ Transformers Panel at Hasbro Pulse Con 2024 with Ben MacCrae, Evan Brooks, Mark Maher, Marcelo Matere, and Nate Purswell.
- ↑ "Lastly the generically named "Panther' toy at one time had a familiar Transformers name: Prowl."—@roboticplanettoys, Instagram, 2020/12/21
- ↑ "The Beast Wars Creature Auto Rollers was an entire concept line that never made it off paper. Check out these cool illustrations of potential toys that would have completely changed the McDonald's Beast Wars Happy Meal promotion."—@roboticplanettoys, Instagram, 2020/12/21
- ↑ "The last proposed Happy Meal Transformers were not the familiar Beast Wars animals, and would have included Prowl, Starscream, Hound and Rumble as Vehicle Auto Rollers, functionally similar to the Creature Auto Rollers."—@roboticplanettoys, Instagram, 2020/12/23
- ↑ BotCon 2014 attendee report
Categories:
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