Puffer

Puffer is anAutobotfrom theWar for Cybertron Trilogyportion of theGeneration 1 continuity family.

From the people who brought you "Bumblejumper"and"Blast"...

Pufferwas created from a time anomaly, fusing theAutobotsPipesandHufferinto one being. Despite his rather bizarre origin, he can still tussle with the best of them.

Fiction

War for Cybertron Trilogymarketing material

Due to the effects of thequantum surge,a vortex in time and space was torn open which not only fused Huffer and Pipes into a single being but also sent them hurtling back in time to prehistoricEarthalongside theGoBotRoad Ranger.Golden Disk Collection Chapter 1The pair eventually met two more victims of the vortex, Puffer's fellow AutobotJackpotand his partnerSights,and joined them in their efforts to stopTerrorsaurand the mutatedTigatronfrom stealing theTranswarp cellaboard theNemesis.Golden Disk Collection Chapter 2The four of them managed to reach the ship before the beasts and delivered a surprise attack upon their arrival. After helping to defeat Terrorsaur, the restored Tigatron enacted a plan to prevent the vortex from ever opening by sending theNemesisback in time to the moment of the quantum surge. Puffer would be the only one to survive Tigatron's plan, as he and the Transwarp drive were launched in a pod away from theNemesisbefore the quantum surge hit and completely destroyed the ship, lessening the surge's impact on the planet below and putting history on itsproper path.Lucky him?Golden Disk Collection Chapter 4

Toys

War for Cybertron: Kingdom

• Autobot Puffer / Autobot Road Ranger(Golden Disk Collection 2-pack,2021)

• Chapter 1: Through the Vortex
• Accessories:2 pipe blasters

Part of the first release in theGolden Disk Collection,War for Cybertron: Kingdom"Autobot Puffer" is a redeco and retool ofKingdomDeluxe ClassAutobot Pipesin colors based on Pipes's Generation 1European variantrelease. His head is accurate to Pipes's Generation 1 toy head, sporting a visor, instead of the animation-influenced eyes and nose ofKingdomPipes. Puffer transforms into a cab-over truck in 16 steps, and includes a pair of pipe blasters that can store on his vehicle mode's back or as smokestacks. His robot mode is covered in5 mm portsas part of theC.O.M.B.A.T. System/F.O.S.S.I.L. Technologyplay patterns. He also has a torso transformation joint that functions as an ab-crunch.

As a carryover from Huffer, Puffer can towEarthriseOptimus Prime's trailer (or any of its redecoes).

Puffer was only available in a multi-pack with his mold-mate "Autobot Road Ranger".This set was revealed and made available for pre-order onSeptember 27,2021, and was the first of four daily announcements concerning the Golden Disk Collection; as with the other sets in this series, Puffer and Road Ranger's packaging is printed with a portion of aGolden Diskgraphic, and customers are encouraged to collect all four packs to unite the full image. The set is anAmazonandHasbro Pulseexclusive in theU.S.,Canada,and theUnited Kingdom.

Despite originally being scheduled for aMarch2022release, the set started to be released inDecemberof 2021.

Notes

A fusion of Huffer and Pipes… So he collects American consumerism then complains about it?

• Puffer is loosely based onthe toy Pipes receivedduring "Generation 1" only in some parts of Europe, which was a straight redeco ofHuffer's toyin Pipes-ish colors. We say "loosely based" because, rather than using the concurrentKingdomHuffer"G1 toy" version of the mold, Puffer is (mostly) a straight redeco ofKingdomPipes, except for the head (which is still based on Pipes's original toy, rather than any version of Huffer)… essentially making it Pipes in slightly-off Pipes colors. This was likely done so as to ensure all pretooled parts of the mold saw use, as was the case forSiegeIrontreadand later releases likeLegacyBurn OutandGalaxy Shuttle.
• The name "Puffer" is a deliberate portmanteau ofPipes and Huffer,a concept taken very literally by the published bio. The name had been devised by fans to refer to said European Pipes variant (as well as the similar, but distinct,IGAPipesreleased in Mexico), with the earliest known usage dating back to a post made in2000onalt.toys.transformers.^[1]Its use in the Golden Disk Collection marks another instance of a fan nickname beingcanonized,which the product description for the set notes with the baffling turn of phrase that it "features a fun fan nod (insert nod here)".

References