Dirt Boss (Cybertron)

Let's see what you can see... This article is in need of images. Specifics: Pictures needed of TRU value pack and Downshift "Tiny Tin" two-pack.

Dirt Boss is a Velocitronian Decepticon and later Autobot from the Cybertron portion of the Unicron Trilogy continuity family.

Can't...break...free...from...package...art...!

A resident of the Speed Planet’s “baja” sector, Dirt Boss is one angry Transformer. Constantly filled with an unrelenting, psychotic rage, Dirt Boss really only has one goal in life: to win. Not to win against just anyone, mind you, but to win specifically against Velocitron’s leader Override. Why? Well that part’s anyone’s guess, but his devotion to winning against her goes beyond the bounds of factions, sanity, or reason. In fact, his obsession runs so deep, and leads to such anger and instability, that he’s even been effectively manipulated by Ransack and Crumplezone.

Don’t let this fool you into thinking that Dirt Boss is a ‘bot to laugh at, though. Being an inhabitant of the Speed Planet, he’s actually startlingly fast despite his size, and on the track he can call upon the power of a Cyber Planet Key to give him oversized tires to run over the competition. With all of that in mind? Forget what we said last–he is kind of a laughingstock.

Fiction

Cybertron cartoon

Voice actor: Michael Donovan (English), Takayasu Usui (Japanese), Bruno Lähteenmäki (Finnish), Guy de La Berg (Swedish), Leopoldo Ballesteros (Castilian Spanish), Jerzy Dominik (Polish)

Dirt Boss was the first Velocitronian encountered by Hot Shot and Red Alert, when he jumped from the plains to the road and used his Cyber Key to spread his wheels, lowering his center of gravity. Space

Aren't they meant to be driving towards the camera?

Some time thereafter, Ransack and Crumplezone beat him up in an attempt to persuade him to join the Decepticons. Dirt Boss initially refused, wanting to beat Override without anyone's help; however, when Override herself arrived to save him, he decided to take up Ransack and Crumplezone's offer out of spite. Search Unfortunately for Dirt Boss, the troublesome twosome soon tricked into accepting a race against Hot Shot, with the prize being a one-on-one race against Override, but which was actually just a ruse to blow up the Autobot. Dirt Boss didn't take this well, but was still willing to accept their help in the Planet Cup. Hero

Dirt-powered, not air-powered.

In the first Planet Cup heat, he battled Override and Hot Shot for first place, leaving the rest of the racers some distance behind. Due to Ransack and Crumplezone's eagerness to please Megatron and general jerkiness, they caused him to crash into Hot shot, costing him several places. Still, he was able to recover by going off-road and thus avoiding several corners, allowing him to take third place. Race

In the second heat, Dirt Boss quickly fell into third place behind Hot Shot and Override. The racetrack included a "stairs section," and Dirt Boss used his jumbo tires to take a quick pace through it without having to transform to robot mode. He ended up being tricked by Ransack's sign switching trick, sending him on a long detour. However, when Hot Shot told Override about the deception, Dirt Boss overheard, and got back on track by breaking through the roadside wall.

Soon after, Crumplezone tried to collapse a tunnel near the finish line to take out the rest of the pack. Hot Shot smashed through the rubble but stopped to talk to Override, allowing Dirt Boss to power ahead and finish first. Detour Between this victory and his large tires, perfect for the upcoming desert course in the next leg of the race, Dirt Boss grew confident that he could win the Planet Cup on his own. Savage

In the third heat, Dirt Boss got off to a swift lead due to his off-road capabilities. Coming upon Hot Shot struggling to escape a sand-trap, he attempted to take him out, but was stopped by Jolt and Brakedown. Dirt Boss then returned to racing and battled for first place with Override. Ransack and Crumplezone tried to help him for once by shooting Override, but they missed and naturally hit Dirt Boss instead. At this insult, Dirt Boss finally snapped and started shooting back, only to get trapped in a sand pit himself, sending him out of the race. Loser. Sand

At some point thereafter, for undisclosed reasons, he apparently turned over a new leaf. While still obsessed with defeating Override, he was willing to work with the Autobots for the greater good, which he demonstrated by helping Clocker and Brakedown dig up the Ogygia. Warp Later, he looked up into the sky in horror at the growing Unicron Singularity. City He also accompanied Clocker and Brakedown through the space bridge to the final battle against Megatron (now calling himself Galvatron), a journey which he tried to turn into another race, and still got beaten by Override. Homecoming In the battle, he joined the Velocitronian offensive against a scaled-up Crumplezone. End When Galvatron attempted to send Jungle Planet careening into Cybertron, Dirt Boss and several other Transformers arrived to save it from utter destruction at the hands of the mad Decepticon tyrant. Unfinished

After the conflict had ended, he took part in the Speedia 500, but came in second, beaten by Hot Shot. Loser. Beginning

Cybertron toy bios

When a space-time anomaly sent an alternate-universe incarnation of the Mini-Con Downshift to Velocitron, Dirt Boss managed to capture him and used his added power to pillage cities along Velocitron's equator. This naturally drew the attention of Override, who brought along her new Mini-Con partner Mirage (who hailed form the same alternate universe as Downshift) in order to free the captive Mini-Con and stop Dirt Boss's rampage. Wal-Mart exclusive two-pack toy bio

Games

Roll Out online game

During Optimus Prime's search for the Cyber Planet Key of Velocitron, the hooligans Ransack, Crumplezone, and Dirt Boss tried vainly to stand in his way. Roll Out

Bot Shots Battle Game!

Glide past the people as they start to look and stare

Dirt Boss participated in numerous one-on-one matches against other Autobots and Decepticons, using his fists, his sword, or his gun to defeat his opponents. Sometimes, he even faced off against himself! Bot Shots Battle Game!

Toys

Cybertron

The green highlights the extra useful wheels that pop out for extra dirt traction. (Hasbro version pictured)

• Dirt Boss (Deluxe, 2005)

• Takara name: Inch Up
• Takara ID number: GD-06
• Takara release date: February 10, 2005
• Accessories: Speed Planet Key
• Cyber Key Code: d3h7
• Known designers: Eric Siebenaler (Hasbro), Takio Ejima (TakaraTomy)

Part of the Speed Planet theme, Dirt Boss transforms into a Velocitronian pickup truck with oversized clear-plastic tires. Plugging a Cyber Key into his tailgate causes his wheel assembly to open up and expand outward, making him a little lower and wider in truck mode. This gimmick needs to be activated to get him properly into robot mode, as the wheels do not really allow clearance for his backpack when locked back in "high rise" position. In robot mode, the same Cyber Key jack swings a pair of non-firing exhaust pipe "blasters" over his shoulders.

He was first released in the third wave of Takara Galaxy Force product as "Inch Up". This version lacks a faction symbol of any kind, and has a number of paint applications that the Hasbro version lacks (detailed below).

The later Hasbro Cybertron release of Dirt Boss, released in the first wave of Delxue toys, gives him a Decepticon sigil on his chest/truck roof. The details on the insides of his lower legs are unpainted, as while the sculpt is a mirror of the painted detailing on the outside of his legs, they end up on the underside of his truck-mode front and aren't easily visible. The flip-out clips on his forearms that go over his blaster-pipes in truck mode are also unpainted gray plastic, where Inch Up paints them purple, to better match the vehicle chassis. Like all Cybertron toys, his Cyber Key has a Cyber Key Code on its back.

• More information on Dirt Boss at TFU.info

• Value Pack (Multi-toy bundle, 2005)

• Accessories: Speed Planet Key
• Cyber Key Code: d3h7

For a while, Toys"R"Us and Walmart stores in the US sold "Value Packs" with two randomly paired, fully packaged Deluxes set in a cardboard sleeve and sold at somewhat less than the cost of two normal Deluxes.

This packs could include Dirt Boss, Hot Shot, Override, Red Alert, Sideways, or Snarl.

• Dirt Boss with Downshift (Tiny Tins multi-pack, 2006)

• Accessories: Speed Planet Key
• Cyber Key Code: d3h7

Part of a run of Walmart exclusive Tiny Tins sets, Dirt Boss was also sold in a larger box that came with a special redeco of the Race Mini-Con Team member Downshift, plus a special Tiny Tins carrying tin for the Mini-Con. Dirt Boss himself was unaltered from his normal release.

• Dirt Boss / Landmine / Snarl (Multi-pack, 2006)

• Accessories: Speed Planet Key
• Cyber Key Code: d3h7

Late in the Cybertron line, Toys"R"Us sold a special three-Deluxe set with unchanged versions of Dirt Boss, Landmine, and Snarl, sold for the price of two Deluxes. Bargain!

Bot Shots

• Cliffjumper / Decepticon Brawl / Dirt Boss (Multi-pack, 2013)

• Series: 2
• Number: Super Bot 005
  • Fist strength: 430
  • Blaster strength: 250
  • Sword strength: 940

Part of the first wave of Bot Shots Series 2 three-packs, Dirt Boss is a redeco of Series 1 Ironhide in translucent purple and opaque bright-green plastic. He turns into a wee pickup truck with a spoiler and automatically transforms to robot mode when his front bumper is pressed. He has a "spinner" in his chest that shows his three attack types and power levels. As a "Super Bot", he has more lopsided stats.

He comes in a three-pack with Flip Shot Cliffjumper and Flip Shot Decepticon Brawl. This mold was also redecoed to make Blitz Shot Autobot Hound and Swindle.

• More information on Super Bot Dirt Boss at TFU.info

Merchandise

Attacktix

Uh, wait, this isn't my missile!

• Starter Set (Multi-pack, 2006)

Dirt Boss was available only in the Transformers Attacktix Starter Set (along with Overhaul and two different Skyblast pieces (robot and jet modes)).

Dirt Boss uses a back-mounted missile launcher that fires a special two-pronged projectile (not pictured), which is styled after the cannons on his larger main-line toy. The missile's two prongs mean it needs to be positioned just right before firing (you'll want it turned so that both prongs will hit the target) for a knock-down.

His Special Power, Recruit, lets you put any Decepticon piece in play from your Back-Ups.

• More information on Attacktix Dirt Boss at TFU.info

Notes

• In Galaxy Force, Dirt Boss uses the first person pronoun "ore" (I) and occasionally "ore-sama" (I am).
• A Japanese preliminary name for the character was given as "Speedrecorder".^[1] Your guess is as good as ours for what they meant by this.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Inch Up (インチアップ Inchi Appu)
• Hungarian: Rühes (1st dub, "Scabby"), Kosz Góré (2nd dub, "Dirt Boss")
• Russian: Gryazniy Boss (cartoon, "Dirt Boss")

References