Although efficient and loyal to their cause, they seemed dissatisfied with their ranks. So, in their greatest display of defiance ever, they took off on their own hoping to become the leaders of the Decepticons. Leading Starscream and Megatron into a trap, they went off and made their own "armies." Blitzwing took over a football stadium and, with the help of the Constructicons, turned it into his own fortress, while Astrotrain converted subway trains into his own personal army used to collect power. Eventually, though, Megatron got free and brought down the rebellion. Under threat from their former leader, the two Triple Changers relinquished command.
In 2005, Astrotrain was used to help the injured Decepticons escape the first battle of Autobot City on Earth. Along the way, Astrotrain advised his passengers of the need to reduce mass in order to reach Cybertron. Various Seekers and Insecticons were seen ejected from the ship, eventually followed by the badly damaged Megatron. [Editor's note: Astrotrain's request may seem odd due to fact that in space, inertia would allow them to reach Cybertron regardless of mass. However, it has been noted that with a lower mass, they would be achieve greater acceleration, thus allowing them to reach their destination faster. In this light, Astrotrain's statement "Jettison some weight or we'll never get to Cybertron" may actually refer to the possibility of running out of fuel before getting to their home planet.]
Both Triple Changers survived the hard times that followed the Battle of Unicron, when the Decepticons found themselves temporarily without a leader. Blitzwing was particularly faithful to the new leader Galvatron. Yet, Galvatron expelled him from the Decepticons after Blitzwing threatened to shoot him in order to stop a pointless fight. This occurred in a battle deep inside Cybertron, after the Quintessons tricked Galvatron into activating a master shutoff switch, a plan thwarted by Spike Witwicky. Despite an offer by Rodimus Prime, Blitzwing declined to join the Autobots and elected to remain a Decepticon in exile. There is uncertainty, however, as to whether he was permanently disowned.
Other Triple Changers were introduced in 2005. The Decepticons added Octane, a fueler, to their forces. However, he proved to be greedy and traitorous. He stole the super Decepticon city Trypticon to use for his own purposes. Galvatron became furious and tried to destroy him, but he befriended the Autobot Sandstorm and found refuge with him for a while, before teaming up with Starscream's ghost.
The Autobots added the Triple Changers Springer, Broadside, and the afore-mentioned Sandstorm to their ranks between the 1980's and 2006. Sandstorm was originally the leader of a group of pacifist Autobots on another planet, who joined with the ones on Cybertron after their planet was destroyed during an invasion by the Decepticons.
There are others who are not officially called Triple Changers, but may be considered as such. They are the Autobot city Metroplex (robot/city/battle station) and the Decepticon city Trypticon (Dinosaur/city/battle station). [Editor's Note: There are actually quite a number of Transformers with three modes, but since the term "Triple Changer" was never used as a formal group designation, it can conceivably be used quite loosely.]