How many Sweeps do you need?

[Paulbot]

Now that there's an official Scourge toy about to appear on our shelves, it's a no-brainer to buy multiples and set up your army of Sweeps.

But how many Sweeps should be in the army?

Two? Unicron created two when he created Scourge in TFTM.

Three? A third one appeared as soon as Cyclonus' armada disappeared off screen in the movie.

Five? That's how many TFwiki reports were ever on screen at the same time.

Seven? That's at least how many BotCon suggested there were.

As many as possible??


My childhood perception was that there are three Sweeps, and because the Sweeps used to be Insecticons (well at least two definitely were) they could clone themselves the same way the Insecticons did. So I am thinking I will get three Scourge toys to serve as Sweeps.

[jaydisc]

I'm witchyoo

http://itfdb.com/temporary/tf/my_blue_heaven.jpg

[Gutsman Heavy]

eh, no Peg. *flushes toilet*

[UltraMarginal]

I'm kind of expecting that at some point there will be an official re-paint of this figure into a sweep colour, I'll grab extras then.

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

I'm just after one, while I intend to get 3 sweeps I'd rather have them as different molds i.e. one Titanium, 1 Botcon, 1 Generations and G1 Scourge for Scourge.

[Skullcruncher]

I just buy as many G1 scourges as possible! :D

[GoktimusPrime]

0.

To me Scourge =/= Sweep (just as Wreck Gar =/= Junkion). As a kid, I only had 1 Scourge and I'd just used that one toy to represent the entire army of Sweeps. You'd just _imagine_ there were heaps of them. Same with Stormtroopers, COBRA Vipers and any other "generic soldier" toy... I never bothered with army building. I'd rather spend the money on getting new toys.

Currently when I play with my G1 Scourge I use my Titanium Series Scourge as my "Sweep". Likewise with Classicsverse Scourge I'd probably still use Ti Series Scourge as the Sweep. If they released a redeco as a Sweep I'd get it, but I'm not going to buy two Scourges and pretend one's a Sweep.

And I generally dislike buying multiples as it just feels... greedy. I don't like the thought of buying toys that are really surplus to my needs if it means other collectors/children are missing out (unless the toy's a chronic shelf-warmer... I don't think anyone would be greatly inconvenienced if I bought a second ROTF Legends Devastator (not that I would)). :p

[ITZTRU]

In call of the primitives, "Sweeps 6 and 7 came in for a strike." So one would assume there were at least 7 sweeps?

[Vector Prime]

I'm not into army building, but will most likely pick up 2 more Hasbro Scourges to represent the Sweeps (as I already have one) and a United one to represent Scourge himself.

[Doubledealer]

I'm kind of expecting that at some point there will be an official re-paint of this figure into a sweep colour, I'll grab extras then.

+1 :D Well said m'laddo

[gekisou]

0.

To me Scourge =/= Sweep (just as Wreck Gar =/= Junkion). As a kid, I only had 1 Scourge and I'd just used that one toy to represent the entire army of Sweeps. You'd just _imagine_ there were heaps of them. Same with Stormtroopers, COBRA Vipers and any other "generic soldier" toy... I never bothered with army building. I'd rather spend the money on getting new toys.


What he said. :)

[Paulbot]

What if the Sweep repaint is just a lighter blue Scourge in a two pack with a Kup repaint (like RTS Cyclonus/Rodimus). Could make the army building more expensive!

I assume also that many people buying Hasbro Scourge for their sweeps might be using a United Scourge as their prime toy?

The Junkions had completely different looks to Wreck-Gar, but the Sweeps were exact copies so it's not really the same question with the two toys when it comes to army building.

[Doubledealer]

Wouldn't United Scourge stick out like a sore thumb next to Henkei Cyclonus & Galvatron? The Hasbro release seems to best fit in with what's come before, that's why I'll be using Generations Scourge as my main man. :D

[liegeprime]

Hoping it wont be shortpacked or worse we skip it here in Aus, so my vote is as much as I can get my hands on heheheh, army building!!!:D

[autobreadticon]

thanks Paulbot that made alot of sense, two Cyclonus must be Thundercracker and Skywarp, i'ii get three Scourges to represent the three fallen insecticons, i remember in the cartoon Cyclonus referred to them as disposable and replaceable

[Fonecrusher]

I'll just be getting one, epsecially with the Ratbat/Leozack/Redeco which will be coming from this mold.

[Oilspill]

Quite a few I'd say:

http://everseradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/chimney-sweeps.jpg
:D

[Lord_Zed]

There were no sweeps in the comics, at least up until IDW era. So One Scourge is enough for me. If I see some Scourges going REAl cheap I might get some more, but with other toys to buy can't really see the appeal of getting more at full price.

[heroic_decepticon]

I assume also that many people buying Hasbro Scourge for their sweeps might be using a United Scourge as their prime toy?


that's my intent. But with these flying off the shelves, I am just going to get whatever I can get my hands on.

I'm thinking 7, but could be as many as I can get my hands on. The resons is that there is such an imbalance on Autobot/Decepticon numbers in season 3. The "main" Decepticons were basically Galvatron, Cyclonus and Scourge, while there must be 3 to 4 times more Autobots than them. I need a Sweep army to even up the playing field.

Right now, I have 3 Generations Scourges; 1 more to come from Ultra Magnus; 1 United Scourge reserved in Singapore; and another 4 or more reserved in HK.

The mix in colours do not bother me. The "real" Scourge would be the one holding the Japan exclusive Fracas!

[UltraMarginal]

"A sweep is as happy, as happy can be."

[Mechbiter]

Assuming I can find any I'll probably grab 3. I don't like my chances of getting any of the Botcon/Japanese/etc versions.

[Defcon]

Just 1 Scourge is enough for me. I would be more inclined to army build Junkions or Sharkticons.

[heroic_decepticon]

I got the 8 I need. 02 x United Scourges ordered too....
I started on Junkions too... heh.

http://inlinethumb50.webshots.com/48113/2266203990100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2266203990100811158CNrsEV) http://inlinethumb48.webshots.com/35951/2378082050100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2378082050100811158EYMokT)

[Mechbiter]

Wow... that looks awesome. Cyclonus should be in the pic somewhere however. ;)

[lcz128]

I think 7 is right for me - I have my 7 Generations Sweeps up top (one of them is holding 'targetmaster fracas' (lol - same mould, wrong colours) until my United Scourge comes in - but I think I'm pretty set with Scourges/Sweeps :)
(but my botcon ones are still below...)
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/lcz128_photos/Transformers/05148211.jpg

[jaydisc]

We need a similar Junkion thread.

[liegeprime]

I think 7 is right for me - I have my 7 Generations Sweeps up top (one of them is holding 'targetmaster fracas' (lol - same mould, wrong colours) until my United Scourge comes in - but I think I'm pretty set with Scourges/Sweeps :)
(but my botcon ones are still below...)


I was actually thinking of doing the same thing since it IS the same mold for so much less and the bluish tinge matches Scourge better.:D:D

[GoktimusPrime]

Yeah go for it. Fracas isn't all that and isn't worth paying a premium price for IMO.

But thanks for posting that pic of Scourge w/ Fracas, HD... I've had Fracas for quite a while now and still don't have Scourge - so I've been curious to see how that toy would look like with Scourge. Scourge doesn't have any Mini-Con ports in vehicle mode, does he?

[heroic_decepticon]

Scourge doesn't have any Mini-Con ports in vehicle mode, does he?

Nope. It's a smooth hovercraft, no ports...

[griffin]

Not sure where the number 7 is from, as the 3 BotCon Sweeps were just assigned random numbers, without suggesting that there were only 7. In fact, the first page of the comic (http://www.botcon.com/BotCon09/images09/pg_1_3.jpg) has at least 23 Sweeps!

I felt that 3 Sweeps was the most commonly seen number in the original cartoon. And before I decided against having duplicates in my collection, I had a TM Scourge and 3 non-TM Scourges as his Sweeps, to reflect that.

Unfortunately, the actual number in official media has been all over the place, as noted by tfwiki.net (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Sweep).
- 2 were Created in the Movie, but more were seen seconds later, and throughout the Movie. (the more logical number would be 3 from the Insecticons, and Cyclonus & Scourge were from Skywarp & Thundercracker... but unfortunately the inconsistent animation of the Movie didn't reflect that - it would also explain how more Sweeps could appear if they had inherited the Insecticons' cloning ability)
- at least 7 existed during 'Call of the Primitives', due to two being called '6' and '7'... which is likely to be the source of BotCon naming two of their Sweeps as '6' and '7'.
- several still existed during the time of the Headmasters cartoon (the JP replacement for Rebirth).
- at least 10 existed in the Marvel Comic universe (Movie Adaptation), but none were seen in any post-movie stories.
- at least 5 Sweeps were created in AHM for the IDW universe (5 were seen, but an ambiguous number of outlines were seen in the 'fire').
- and an unknown number of Sweeps were used in Volumes 2 and 3 of DevilsDue GIJoe Vs the TFs comics, because we see in Volume 2 (issue 3) a skyline with dozens in the air, suggesting that there could be hundreds or even thousands patrolling the Earth.


And did someone say 'Army Building (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Army-building)'?

[Doubledealer]

After seeing the below comparison pic I've decided to shell out for a United Scourge. The Generations toy is still fantastic but I had no idea it was missing the pale blue colouring!

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y215/PoweredConvoy/Scourge_Comp.jpg

[liegeprime]

Aw jeez, that is a big difference, its like KO and original..... United is Scourge and the generations are all gonna be Sweeps plan confirmed even more....

[heroic_decepticon]

After seeing the below comparison pic I've decided to shell out for a United Scourge. The Generations toy is still fantastic but I had no idea it was missing the pale blue colouring!

*snip*

By pale blue colouring, you mean the strip on the wings?


Aw jeez, that is a big difference, its like KO and original..... United is Scourge and the generations are all gonna be Sweeps plan confirmed even more....

Hmm... I actually like Generations Scourge more, especially with the Decepticon symbol being on one side of the chest (which is like the G1 Scourge toy). I don't really like the tiny Decep logo for the United Scourge and the colouring seems less G1-ish to me...

[Doubledealer]

By pale blue colouring, you mean the strip on the wings?

No, I mean the pale blue that's predominant in his alt mode. Generations Scourge looks almost white whereas the United version has the more G1 accurate pale blue. I'm also digging the red toenails (lol) as it matches his fingers. What colour are the eyes on Generations Scourge? I'm guessing the United toy will also have the G1 accurate red eyes too...

I do however agree with you re: the placement of the Decepticon logo. It's spot on for the Generations release.

As an aside, is anyone else gonna mod their sweeps to make them all a bit different? One idea I heard was painting the beards diff colours, thought might be a good option. I'd also like to have Scourge with red eyes n the others with yellow eyes...What do you guys think?

[GoktimusPrime]

That sounds like a neat idea actually. I'm not into army-building myself, but if you're gonna do it, then I like the idea of individualising each trooper. You may even want to write up individual names and profiles for them too... make them like the Clone Troopers from Star Wars, they're all clones but have individual personas, names etc. ;)

I would sometimes do this when I used to collect/play Star Wars Minis... I'd occasionally give a random trooper an individual persona. For example I had a Rebel Trooper who's name was Cheney Chitmel... and an ARC Trooper named Sven (who had a bad Swedish accent :p). The annoying thing was that it made me care about these otherwise nameless minions... and of course, these generic troops are relatively easy to kill, so whenever Cheney and Sven would be killed, I found it more emotionally wrenching than just losing some nameless mook!! :D So I soon stopped doing that. :p Oh, and I also had an Ewok called Darth Cuddles -- he wasn't a playable character, but it was fun writing up a profile for an Ewok Dark Lord of the Sith (yub-nuuuubbbb!!). ;)

But when it comes to playing with toys I think it's definitely a neat and creative idea. :)

[Doubledealer]

That sounds like a neat idea actually. I'm not into army-building myself, but if you're gonna do it, then I like the idea of individualising each trooper. You may even want to write up individual names and profiles for them too... make them like the Clone Troopers from Star Wars, they're all clones but have individual personas, names etc. ;)

I'm not into army building by any means but with Scourge it just feels right to have three extras to represent the Sweeps (who I imagine to be the fallen Insecticons). The fact that they also help to even out the numbers of Autobots VS. Decepticons is just icing on the cake. :D

I wonder if the Scourge moulds wings can stick up behind him ala Kickback. Would be a nice little nod to his former self. ;)

[heroic_decepticon]

The fact that they also help to even out the numbers of Autobots VS. Decepticons is just icing on the cake. :D

That's spot on!



I wonder if the Scourge moulds wings can stick up behind him ala Kickback. Would be a nice little nod to his former self. ;)

hmmm...you can flay them out like seeker wings, but can't really have then facing skywards like kickback or jetfire wings...

[Lord_Zed]

That sounds like a neat idea actually. I'm not into army-building myself, but if you're gonna do it, then I like the idea of individualising each trooper. You may even want to write up individual names and profiles for them too... make them like the Clone Troopers from Star Wars, they're all clones but have individual personas, names etc. ;)

I would sometimes do this when I used to collect/play Star Wars Minis... I'd occasionally give a random trooper an individual persona. For example I had a Rebel Trooper who's name was Cheney Chitmel... and an ARC Trooper named Sven (who had a bad Swedish accent :p). The annoying thing was that it made me care about these otherwise nameless minions... and of course, these generic troops are relatively easy to kill, so whenever Cheney and Sven would be killed, I found it more emotionally wrenching than just losing some nameless mook!!

That's what happens when you play general, you gotta make the tough calls. I'm sure they all died with honour. ;)

Besides if your playing the Darkside then nothing is more fitting than sacraficing pawns for your sinister goals, that's the way the Darkside works.