Heavy Tread

Heavy Tread is an Autobot Micromaster from the Generation 1 continuity family.

Caught here in a rare moment of being able to see past his own chest.

Heavy Tread is quite popular among his Autobot comrades for using his sense of humor to relieve the stresses of war. Mostly because it involves pulling exceptionally mean and painful pranks on the Decepticons right before he scraps them. His teammates on the Monster Truck Patrol enjoy hearing his recounts of these punks, but it's all beginning to take its toll on Heavy Tread. The pressure of coming up with newer, more inventive ways of being a jackass is mounting, and the idea that his buddies might lose interest in him if he doesn't keep out-doing himself doesn't sit well. The stress of having to constantly be entertaining and on the top of his game can actually affect his performance in battle.^[1]

Fiction

Dreamwave Generation One continuity

Heavy Tread defended Little Iacon during the invasion of Venom and his Decepticons. Recipe for Hate He also showed up with the other Micromasters when they interrupted the fight between the guzzler factions. Victims of the Revolution

2005 IDW continuity

Heavy Tread was captured by the Decepticons around the time of the Simanzi Massacre and converted into one of the many anti-personal mines with which they seeded the western provinces. He was found by the bomb negotiator Skids, who attempted to defuse him by shutting down his brain module. Unfortunately for them both, Skids made the mistake of promising Heavy Tread that Primus would look after him in the afterlife and this platitude "triggered" the unfortunate 'bot, causing him to literally explode with anger. Speak, Memory: Part 1

Beast Wars: Uprising

Heavy Tread served under general Hydraulic of the Micromaster 56th in Ky-Alexia during the Grand Uprising. While wrapping up their successful campaign against the Resistance Tol-Tech brigade, the Micromasters remarked upon the relentless Vehicon horde seen passing their position on the way to Iacon. Derailment

Toys

The Transformers

See, it's because he's a "funny" car. See what they did there?

• Monster Trucks Patrol (Micromaster Patrol, 1990)

Released in the seventh and final year of the original Transformers toyline in the US (sixth and non-final in Europe), Micromaster Heavy Tread is a tiny robot that doesn't actually transform into a "truck" per se, but a six-wheeled, double-engined, tractor-pull funny car. Due to the way his chest is designed, the flip-down hood cannot turn fully 180 degrees and thus it partially obscures his face, unlike the more flush chest shown on the artwork, or on the prototype on the back of the card.

Heavy Tread is gang-molded with his teammate Hydraulic, sharing the same plastic colors.

He was only available in a Micromaster four-pack with his teammates Big Hauler, Hydraulic, and Slow Poke.

• More information on Big Hauler at TFU.info

• Big Truck Team (Micro Transformer Team, 1991)

• ID number: C-361
• Accessories: Micro Trailer #1

Heavy Tread and his teammates were also released in Takara's Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers line, during the Return of Convoy year, with no notable physical changes from the Hasbro release.

This release also included Micro Trailer #1, and a decal sheet with trailer stickers and some optional deco decals for the Micromasters.

Notes

• In Dreamwave's More than Meets the Eye encyclopedia, Heavy Tread is drawn with six wheels in robot mode (on his shoulders and ankles), but only four in vehicle mode. Oops.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Heavy Tread (ヘビートレード Hebī Torēdo)
• French: Chenille (Canada)
• Italian: Grugno

References