Weapon

A weapon is a tool or device used to cause pain, injury, or death. Transformers of every sort and every allegiance use a wide variety of weapons, both in war and in occasional peacetime pursuits (such as the hunting of turbofoxes).

Transformer weapons may be broadly classified as melee weapons, which are hand-held or affixed to the body, and used to directly attack an enemy; or as ranged weapons, which can attack from afar. Ranged weapons can be further classified into groups that involve material projectiles or missiles, and directed-energy weapons, which fire a beam or ray of energy. Directed-energy weapons are often called ray guns, beam weapons, or simply blasters.

Yet another distinction exists between those weapons which are accessories and may be wielded at will, and those which are built-in, inherent to a Transformer's body. For example, Tantrum may attack with his hand-held sword, or with the electrical dischargers built into his horns.

Toys
Transformers toys are equipped with a polymer arsenal of pantomime destruction, and here again there are several classes of weapons.

Weapons may be a permanently attached feature of either or both modes. Sometimes these are elements of one mode that is not otherwise used in the other except as detail and to simulate a weapon. Hot Rod's triple exhaust pipes, simulating forearm blasters, are a good example. Melee weapons may also be added this way, as when a figure's beast-mode claws are left in a position accessible for combat use.

Weapons may also remain hidden in either or both modes, and then deployed at will. This is a major feature of several subgroups of toys, including the Triggerbots and Triggercons.

Accessory weapons may also be given. Guns are common, as are missile launchers. Often these attach to the main figure with pegs, though some use other means. One notable exception, the Alternators line, features guns with square handgrips, and poseable fingers to hold them, but these weapons still use pegs to keep them against the figure's palm.

Any of these weapons may be no more than dummies, molded to look like weapons, or they may be functional. This function usually involves launching missiles, but it may instead use electronic lights or sounds.