but WAIT! Trailcutter's tech specs! Oh noes!

G1 spec #s are represented by the glowing white dots, themselves forcefields to protect what's left
of Trailbreaker's self-esteem.

Okay, apologies to Hasbro, but I gotta point this out. Above is the tech spec from the Generations Trailbreaker, primarily the yellow line. I added the white dots because I thought something was amiss when I glanced at it. Mainly: this is one average Autobot. There is nothing special about him. All his stats range from 5 to 7.

So? Well, Trailbreaker has a forcefield, which in nearly every version of the G1 TF stories (cartoon, comics) has saved Autobot trunks time after time. See Megatron's Master Plan, when the Autobots were sent to the SUN, their ship blew up, and who kept them functional? Trailbreaker's forcefield, which I imagine was reason to give his endurance a "10" on his G1 stats. Did someone think, "well, his force field is a power, so his endurance doesn't come from his actual robot mode. Knock that down a few notches."

A superpower like a forcefield that protects your pals from an exploding ship a few miles away from the sun's devastating heat is weighed by his lack of speed, fuel consumption, and resulting insecurity. Maybe I am reading too much into these things (I am), but the Generations tech spec suggests a troop builder figure more than a specialist. And that's what makes the Autobots special: most of them aren't brave warriors (unless they're every damn Autobot in the movie universe, but whatever), they're architects and maintenance crews and theoreticians forced into battle and using their powers, despite their weaknesses, to overcome the Decepticon tyranny. They have strengths and failings. Bumblebee was a little guy who thought he had the most to prove, never a bad ass warrior who blows everything up at a moment's notice. Trailbreaker isn't an anonymous troop. He's a low key guy with self-image issues who has saved Autobot time after time with his one trick (see MTMTE).

Okay, rant over. I got the G1 #s, in white dots on the above spec, from Botch The Crab's site. That's the real reason for this post, go there and check things out. Fun.