The Transformers (Toyline North America)

he Transformers (also now known as "Generation 1" or "G1" for short, though the line was never branded as such) started as a joint venture between Hasbro of America and Takara of Japan. After an idea to rebrand and sell Takara's Diaclone and Microchange robot toys as a whole new line with a new concept behind it (developed by Hasbro's partners at Marvel Comics), Hasbro ultimately created what would be one of the longest-running and most popular franchises for both companies. Starting in 1984, the line ran for seven years in America, eight in Europe and Japan (though Takara would break the line up into multiple sub-franchises). {| class="wikitable"

Contents
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 * 1 Overview
 * 1.1 Then Vs. Now
 * 1.2 Refining the Formula
 * 2 Hasbro The Transformers US toyline
 * 2.1 1984
 * 2.2 1985
 * 2.3 1986: "The Movie"
 * 2.4 1987: Headmasters and Targetmasters
 * 2.5 1988: Powermasters and Pretenders
 * 2.6 1989: Pretenders and Micromasters
 * 2.7 1990: Micromasters and Action Masters
 * 3 Hasbro (and others) Transformers European line
 * 4 Takara Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers line
 * 5 Mexican & South American Transformers
 * 6 Chinese The Transformers toyline
 * 7 Post-Transformers releases
 * 7.1 Reissue lines
 * 7.2 New "Generation 1"-based lines
 * 8 Notes
 * }

Overview
Having run for seven years, the line changed dramatically over its lifetime, going from pre-made items to all-new designs and greater focus on gimmicks beyond simply transforming. Thus, the more descriptive bits will be tackled year-by-year... but there's still plenty to talk about in the big picture.

Then Vs. Now
Page from the 1984 JC Penney annual catalog. A book hundreds of pages thick, which could devote an entire page or two to a single toy line. 80s kids craved these books. And yes, JC Penney used to carry toys.

The original Transformers came out in a very different toy environment than what exists today, and at a time when the market was venturing out from the slow-paced 1970s into undiscovered country.

First of all, the market itself was simply broader. There were a lot more retailers out there, both national and regional, muscling for market share, and virtually all had a sizable toy department. Sears and Kmart were the biggest retailers in the United States; Walmart and Target were just regional players poised to go nationwide. There were multiple large-scale toys-only chains, not just ToysЯUs (now RIP in the US). Even grocery stores and drug stores devoted a significant amount of space to toys year-round, and not just the cheap stuff! The idea that you could buy anything via computer, much less toys, was a novelty at best. No, you had to get out there and shop - or use a big printed mail-order catalog like the old Sears "Wish Book".

On top of that, there were far more toy companies scrabbling for shelf space. Mattel was still an action-figure heavyweight thanks to Masters of the Universe, which led the boom of cartoon-advertised toy lines (more on that in a bit) throwing out weird concepts in the hope of creating the next big thing. Transformers wasn't even the first shape-changing robot toy to US shelves, having been beat to the punch by then-competitor Tonka, who brought over Bandai's Machine Robo toys as GoBots six months prior. And then there were all the major sorta-likes, such as Kenner's M.A.S.K. with its transforming vehicles, Tomy's Starriors reconfigurable robots (a Zoids offshoot), and approximately eleventy-billion also-rans and cheap knockoffs from a host of now-defunct companies. (And yes, most of the previously-mentioned companies now fall under the Hasbro/TakaraTomy umbrella.)

While most modern toys have a shelf-life of maybe six months, in the 80s a single toy could ship steadily for two years, more if the line was particularly successful. The original Bumblebee and Starscream toys shipped for three, and some of the Mini-Cassettes for four. (Though the king of long-run shipping is surely Kenner's original Star Wars line: the single Darth Vader figure shipped for seven years.)

Not only did the toys ship longer, but the look of Transformers ' packaging did not change significantly for five years, only changing the logo and overall design in 1989 as part of a revitalization attempt. Today, even when a single line lasts more than a year, the packaging changes considerably at least every year.

Though even with all that, seven years was a long time for a toy franchise to run. Most of the bigger lines only managed about three years, and that third was typically a final flailing-for-its-life year as kids had moved on. That Transformers made as big a splash as it did and lasted so long before the revivals and reboots is remarkable. How'd it do that? Well...

Refining the Formula
To be honest, Transformers didn't do much that was really "new" outside of its central transformation gimmick, and that was one it shared with multiple competitors. Also, in more global terms, Hasbro's Transformers was originally just one of several international outlets for Takara's Diaclone and Micro Change figures, initially coexisting with Joustra's own version of Diaclone in Central Europe, GiG's Trasformer [sic] line in Italy (with the title of Hasbro's line possibly having been inspired by them, rather than the other way round), and Takara themselves were releasing Diaclone in Finland and had even made two short-lived attempts on the United States market with Diakron and Kronoform. However, what put Transformers above the others, both its domestic rivals and the other international licensees, was simply doing a great many things better than is competitors.

Many early articles on the "transforming robot toyline wars" opined that GoBots would win due to its reliance on a large number of small, inexpensive items easy for kids to pick up. (After all, that formula worked wonders for Star Wars.) And while Transformers did have a number of small, inexpensive "entry point" items, its larger figures would turn out to be a huge draw, a kind of playground status symbol. The boxed figures featured multiple accessories and add-on stickers for an extra level of interaction with the toy, giving them an extra air of quality. Sure you could get a GoBot or a Mini Vehicle just about any time, but the larger Transformers were something big and special for birthdays or saved-up allowances. Lotta reading going on in the toy aisles in the 80s. The packaging too was a step beyond what other lines were doing. Every packaging back had a hefty bio of the character, penned by Marvel author Bob Budiansky. Most lines gave their toys only a cursory sentence or two about the toy's imaginary powers (if that, GoBots didn't), but the Transformers bios truly "humanized" the alien robots, giving each one a distinct personality complete with motto, on top of a much more full description of the imaginary powers that character possessed. Attached was the "Tech Specs", numeric rankings of the character's stats. This information was (mostly) obscured and (sort of) unreadable without a red plastic "Tech Spec decoder" inside the boxed toys early on (though the red lens of a pair of 3D glasses would work too, and who didn't have at least one of those lying around in the 80s?), but eventually would move to easily-readable bars. Kids had a lot of these. The flyers, we mean, not the toys themselves. While mail-away offers were an extremely common practice at the time, Hasbro smartly spruced this process up. Most every toy (and cereal) mail-away offer asked you to clip out the UPC bar-codes as "proof of purchase" when sending away, but Transformers instead asked for the "Robot Points" clipped from the packaging back. Bigger toys had more Points, again adding to the idea that the larger toys were a step above the smaller ones. (The Points were, of course, actually worthless, since you also sent in a check for roughly what the toys would normally cost anyway.) While many other lines' mail-aways tended to be just toys that weren't out in stores yet, Transformers from the outset offered toys that they would never sell at normal retail, like the Omnibots. Talk about playground bragging rights!

While not directly part of the toyline, the way Transformers was advertised has got to be mentioned when talking about its success. President Reagan's recent deregulation policies allowed for the line between "advertisement" and "entertainment" on television to blur heavily, and toy companies were still exploring how to properly exploit this new "advertainment" method of pushing plastic to preteens. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was the first of these toyline-based cartoons, and it rocketed that toyline to success. And let's be honest here: that show was garbage, but kids ate it up. Hasbro upped the ante with The Transformers cartoon, giving it a more serious story and higher-quality animation (both low hurdles compared to He-Man but let's not rag on that too much, they were testing the early limits of the medium under the furious eye of scary-loud and panicky parental watchdog groups)... and thanks to the fact that the characters were robots, more violence. You can't shoot a human with a laser-blaster, but a robot who could be rebuilt? Oh yeah! This was ultimately also the reason why the aforementioned Italian Takara licensee GiG acquired an additional license from Hasbro to release Transformers toys proper: It gave them access to the the best form of advertisement for the toys they could possibly get, a dubbed version of the Transformers cartoon!

The basic upshot... Hasbro simply marketed the line better in virtually every regard, and sold kids on the idea that these weren't just robot toys, they were characters... that these plastic doodads were, well, more than meets the eye.

NOTE: Most of these tactics were also applied to Hasbro's other huge success story in the 1980s, G.I. Joe. Wide variety of price points, character writeups, "Flag Points" for unique mailaways, better cartoon... all there.

1984
The first year of Transformers changed very little from the original Japanese Diaclone and Microman releases. The bulk of the changes were to the stickers (mainly adding new faction symbols, but also removing "Diaclone" texts and potentially-legally-contentious brandings) and some light retooling, including the removal/weakening of springs inside the missile launchers for safety reasons. Most of the toys' base color schemes came from the original lines, with a few exceptions: Ironhide, Sunstreaker, Skywarp, and Buzzsaw were new decos created whole-cloth by Hasbro.

One particularly helpful bit of marketing for this year is the clean division of good-guy/bad-guy alternate modes. The Heroic Autobots were the cars and trucks, and the Evil Decepticons were... everything else. Autobot Commander Optimus Prime In contrast to the nigh-solid plastic toys of today, die-cast metal played a large role in these toys' construction. This was actually a cost-saving measure, a lingering effect from the petroleum price crises from the '70s made it a bit cheaper overall to make sizable chunks of toys out of metal instead of plastic! The larger cars (and some of the Mini Cars) also featured rubber tires, and most every toy had some piece on them that was chromed.

Unfortunately, these materials issues mean that these toys rarely age well, especially given the rigors of playground life. Paint chips off metal, rubber dries out and splits, chrome fades and rubs off, and the combination of metal-and-plastic on hinged parts leads to easier breakage. Many of these toys have outright notorious damage issues, and loose undamaged toys are a bit hard to come by.

Articulation was also a tertiary-at-best concern in the overall design scheme. It was rare for a toy to have moving parts that weren't directly tied to its transformation sequence beyond a simple rotating shoulder/elbow joint. These toys being "bricks", mixed with the aforementioned degradation/breakage issues, have largely relegated them to being display pieces for older collectors.

General retail Mail-aways and promos


 * "Reinforcements from Cybertron!"

Notes


 * 1) ↑ This figure, originating from Takara's Micro Change line just like the rest of the Mini-Cars, was sold on Cliffjumper cards. After being referred to by nicknames such as "Bumblejumper" and "Bumper" among fan circles for over a decade, Dreamwave Productions finally established him as an actual character with the official name "Bumper" in 2004.

1985
The 80s! When toy companies actively encouraged you to play with fire! 1984 was a roaring, out-of-the-gate success for Transformers, so 1985's offerings upped the ante, both in numbers and in variety of form.

Diaclone and Microchange were mined for as many viable toys as possible. The remaining unused "Car Robot" models were brought over, as were several redeco/retools of first-year Cars. The Constructicons, six small-scale construction vehicles that could combine into the mighty super-robot Devastator, were a huge hit. Robotic beasts made a splash with the Dinobots and Insecticons. The two predecessor lines also had some in-development concepts that were pushed into Transformers, and while some would not be ready until next year, Hasbro/Takara were able to get out a set of new Mini Vehicles, and new versions of the large jet mold with all-new wings and weapons.

But all this wasn't enough to meet expected demand, so Hasbro looked elsewhere for future Transformers. They struck a deal with Bandai for molds from a variety of Japanese toylines. As Bandai was (and is) a direct competitor to Takara, none of these toys were put into the cartoon, which was being ported to Japan. (There was a whole big thing with Jetfire/Skyfire in the cartoon, follow the link for more on that.) Other toys were also licensed from other companies, but didn't have the major-rival-baggage of Bandai's toys, so they could at least be in the show, if not in Takara's version of the toyline.

All in all, 1985's output was roughly double that of 1984's. And with a new slew of imitators popping up, Hasbro pushed a new little bit of status-symbol into the line, giving every toy released in '85 —including the re-released '84 toys— a heat-sensitive rubsign. This brand was the mark of a "true" Transformer, and they even spent the money to make a commercial just to say so. The rubsigns were also key to another bit of promotion, the mystery-allegiance Mini-Spies that came with the Mini Vehicles this year as bonuses.

This year also marks the debut of Transformers internationally, being released in multiple European countries, Japan, Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina... all with various changes from the US line, some minor, some... well, "major" might be an understatement for some.

General retail Mail-aways and promos


 * Cookie Crisp Jazz
 * Pepsi Optimus Prime
 * "Earthlings: THE S.T.A.R.S. need your help now!"
 * "Have the Decepticons defeated us once and for all?"

Notes


 * 1) ↑ There were four types of "Motorized Transformers" (called "Mini-spies" in the television commercial for the figures and "Koma cars" on Hasbro's shipping cases): "4WD Type" (or "Jeep Type"), "Buggy Type", "FX-1 Type" and "Porsche Type". Each was available alternatively in white, yellow or blue, with the color supposedly depending on which figure they were packaged with.
 * 2) ↑ The 1985 "Autobot Cars" price point was given a somewhat odd treatment with two separate assortments, each of which contained re-releases of six of the 1984 figures (packaged one per case in a case of 12) and three of the new 1985 figures (each packaged two per case). The only exception to this was Skids, who was actually released at least as early as December 1984, in 1984 packaging along with the other '84 Autobot Cars, in which he took the place of an extra Mirage that had previously been used to bring the number of figures contained in those cases up to twelve. Due to this, he was packed in the 1985 assortments like the '84 toys, at only one Skids per case.

1986: "The Movie"
That's a lot of explosions with no evidence of anything actually being exploded.

1986 presented a major change in the franchise on several levels. The first being that Diaclone and Microchange were pretty much depleted of viable toys, so it was time for all-new toolings to get made.

The past lines still had a role to play in this, though. The Mini Vehicles were refreshed by taking the 1984 assortment and extensively retooling them into all-new characters. Takara had been designing a different sort of combining robot team for Diaclone, where the limb-bots were wholly interchangeable. These plans would come to life in Transformers as the "Scramble City" style combiners (though that branding was only used in Takara's line; Hasbro called them the "Special Teams" in Europe, and... nothing special in the US). The combiners were actually advertised in the 1985 season of the cartoon (one team, the Aerialbots, were released in time for Christmas in 1985) in a bit of bleed-over as Hasbro prepared for the really big change... The Transformers: The Movie. Metroplex This media event really shook things (and kids) up. The older cast of not-shipping-any-more-1984-toys was shuffled out, with many characters openly and brutally killed in the film, to make way for all-new toy-characters who would take the forefront, including new faction leaders. These bots were developed for animation first then had toys developed based around those designs, a very rare move at the time (and still uncommon today, mostly only the live-action film series works this way). These new designs were very Cybertronian/futuristic in design, as the Movie was set in the far-flung future of 2005 ooooooohhhhh. This more sci-fi look would stick with the line for a little while.

Another subtle but important change was that the two factions began to share subgroups, with the Autobots gaining their own Mini-Cassettes and Triple Changers, plus both sides had "Scramble City" style combiners. These groups shipped in mixed-allegiance assortments, which would become more and more common going forward.

This was also the year die-cast metal started being phased out of the toys' construction. With petroleum prices lowering, plastics became the less-expensive alternative. Many of this year's toys shipped initially with painted die-cast bits, but were later replaced with plastic-parts variants.

General retail Mail-aways and promos


 * "The Autobots Have a Special Mission for:"
 * Reflector (Spectro, Spyglass, Viewfinder)
 * "You Have Been Chosen."
 * "Decipher the Decepticon" contest
 * "Prizes in Disguise" contest

1987: Headmasters and Targetmasters
Autobot Targetmaster Pointblank This year was almost completely dominated by "sci-fi" vehicle modes, following up on The Movie styling. On top of that, extra gimmicks beyond transformation began to play into the subgroups, with the Throttlebots' pull-back motors and the spark-firing Monsterbots.

More importantly, this was the first year Hasbro would push a primary over-arching gimmick as a large percentage of the line: the Nebulan "Master" partners. Where previous years tended to be a bit scattered with its transformation types, the Headmasters and Targetmasters presented a more unified theme across both factions and multiple price-points. This culminated in the mighty Fortress Maximus, a towering two-foot-tall Headmaster city-bot, with a hefty $100 price-tag (in 1987 dollars, which is about the same as a $200 Transformer today). For sheer size and mass, "Fort Max" remained the largest Transformer produced for over 25 years... and something of a "bragging rights" move on Hasbro's part, showing that they could demand that kind of shelf space from retailers. (They did the same thing with G.I. Joe and the massive "USS Flagg" playset.)

However, this high point also marked the start of the franchise's waning. The cartoon was ended with a truncated three-part special, with reruns continuing on in syndication. Mail-away offers were also slowing down, with no new product available from this year on, only older items no longer in stores. Smaller figures were packaged with small soft-rubber Decoys of older characters as an extra incentive, but they weren't a fully transformable mini-Transformer.

General retail Mail-aways and promos


 * "Start Your Own Decoy Collection" (Decoys packed in with carded figures)
 * "Rodimus Prime remembers the Transformers greatest battle on Earth."

1988: Powermasters and Pretenders
Decepticon Pretender Skullgrin After four years and slowly-declining sales, the push to make Transformers live up to its new tagline ("More... Much More Than Meets the Eye!") was in full effect. Even toys in old subgroups gained new gimmicks: the new Mini-Cassettes were combiners, the Seacon combiner team's limb-bots each had a cannon mode the super-robot could use as a handgun, and the Targetmasters each had two Nebulans who could also combine into a super-gun.

The big noise this year was the Pretenders, Transformers that wear outer shells in the guise of armored warriors, monsters, and more, effectively giving you two warriors in one purchase. However, the line didn't exactly excite kids, as most of the inner robots' vehicle modes could be generously described as "vague at best" due to the necessity of fitting inside their shells. And while the shells' minimal articulation (having only stiff shoulder swivels) would be fine for much younger children, the inner robots and number of small parts definitely put them outside of that age group.

The other big move was the return of Optimus Prime as one of the Powermasters, robots whose Nebulan partners unlocked the vehicle-to-robot conversion as engine-shaped "keys". Though the previous year saw Bumblebee return as "Goldbug", this large-scale toy of a returning character heralded a shift in Hasbro's strategy, which would get even stronger next year.

However, the decline that begun the year prior was made worse by a sudden splash in the action figure world: the arrival of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Kids flocked to this strange new line and its weird new cartoon, leaving Transformers... sorry, there's no helping this... shell-shocked.

Sorry.

General retail Mail-aways and promos


 * "The Autobots Are Under Attack!"

1989: Pretenders and Micromasters
Construction Station Facing stiff competition, Hasbro attempted to unify and re-brand Transformers with a new focus and a new look.

First, they eliminated the miscellaneous subgroups of the past, rolling everything under two over-arching gimmicks: expansions of the Pretender concept, and the new 1-inch-tall Micromasters, the latter being a response to the steadily-growing popularity of then-competitor Galoob's Micro Machines micro-play vehicle line. Kids would buy packs of four Micromasters together, or would get a single Micromaster with a transforming vehicle or playset, with the larger vehicles themselves transforming into base-mode playsets that could interconnect with included ramps (again a response to Micro Machines ' heavy use of playsets).

The nostalgia-grab got larger, with new toys based on some of the most popular characters from the early years, now back as "Classic Pretenders". This year even saw the first store-exclusive Transformers, as those same four bots were sold without their Pretender shells as "Legends", available only at Kmart (which wasn't the decrepit shell of a retailer it is now).

On top of this, the packaging changed dramatically, with a new look and logo design, although this change was gradual. As noted above, the first three Micromaster patrols released in late 1988 (the Air Strike Patrol, the Off Road Patrol and the Race Car Patrol) still came on old-style cards and featured a unique "Micro Transformers" logo; the Legends kept the overall packaging design but changed the "Transformers" logo to the all-new overall brand logo introduced this year, and changed the on-package Tech Specs to an easier-to-read bar graph; and all other releases, including the remaining Micromaster Patrols, completely ditched the color-coded distinguation between Autobot/Decepticon (other than the aforementioned new "Transformers" logo itself), instead opting for a gimmick-specific color-coding with gold-carded and -boxed Pretenders, and silver-carded and-boxed Micromasters. Hasbro hoped that this would prove stronger from a marketing standpoint than the Autobot/Decepticon distinction from previous years, plus look new and fresh, rather than just another iteration of a now-six-year-old toyline.

You can kind of guess how well that worked.

General retail

Micromaster Transports
 * Race Car Patrol (Free Wheeler, Roadhandler, Swindler, Tailspin)
 * Rescue Patrol (Fixit, Red Hot, Seawatch, Stakeout)
 * Sports Car Patrol (Blackjack, Detour, Hyperdrive, Road Hugger)
 * Erector (w/ Crane)
 * Flattop (w/ Aircraft carrier)
 * Overload (w/ Car carrier trailer)
 * Roughstuff (w/ Military transport)

Micromaster Rocket Base
 * Countdown (w/ Rocket base)

Exclusives Kmart


 * Legends Bumblebee
 * Legends Grimlock
 * Legends Jazz
 * Legends Starscream


 * Notes
 * ↑ The first three Micromaster Patrols shipped in their own assortment in late 1988, and were available in packaging that looked drastically different from the "proper" 1989 Micromaster output. Instead of the redesigned silver packaging with the all-new "Transformers" logo, they came on cards that pretty much still resembled the packaging style that had been used up to that point, and sported a fairly unique "Micro Transformers" logo.

1990: Micromasters and Action Masters
Action Master Jazz, reintroducing a character from the line's early years. By this time, Transformers was in serious trouble. Ninja Turtles was still dominating the toy aisle and TV ratings, and was even putting out a live-action movie that year. (Bet Hasbro wished they had a cartoon on the air then, huh?) Home video games were getting even hotter and luring more kids away from toys altogether, especially with the release of the hugely-anticipated Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

Hasbro tried to rally with something that was very rare for its time: a large-scale appeal to nostalgia. While Micromasters continued on, the rest of the series was taken up by Action Masters, non-transforming G.I. Joe-scale action figures of Transformers characters, with a half-and-half mix of "classic" characters and all-new bots. As with the Micromasters, the focus was mainly on the low-price items, with the carded individual Action Masters getting the largest amount of product. Larger offerings included vehicles that transformed into battle stations or "attack modes" for the Action Masters to pilot.

Unfortunately, it simply wasn't enough, and Transformers was canceled in the US. While the European version of the line would continue on with both new product and a glut of "Classics" re-releases, it would be two years before Transformers would come back to US toy shelves, as Generation 2.

Retail releases

Hasbro (and others) Transformers European line

 * Main article: The Transformers (European toyline)

The history of the European-market releases of The Transformers is simultaneously complicated and kind of boring, as while various countries got different amounts of product, sometimes released by Hasbro subsidiaries or non-Hasbro partner companies (like Milton Bradley and GiG), the actual toys were largely identical to the US releases for the overwhelming majority of the line. There are certainly a number of notable early variants, such as the red Tracks, as well as the occasional release of toys otherwise exclusive to Japan, such as GiG's Bruticus and Abominus giftsets or the legendary Galaxy Shuttle, but their scarcity has relegated them to "only for the completist with ample funds" category. Action Master Elite Omega Supreme, a bot as hard to find as he is to focus on. Things wouldn't really get significantly different until the 1990s. While the American toyline was shutting down, Transformers in Europe kept on chugging along.

1991 was an odd hodge-podge of a line, starting with a short burst of exclusive Action Masters (including some that actually did transform!), then introducing several redecoed previously-Takara-exclusive molds, mainly from the 1989 ("Victory") line-up. Several of the toys released this year weren't given individual names, including the re-released Constructicons (who had also lost the parts needed to combine into Devastator, oddly enough).

Speaking of re-released old toys, 1990 saw the Classics subline debut, the return of numerous toys from the 1984 through 1987 lines. Several of these releases had minor changes from the originals, mainly the removal of rubsign indents. The line would continue through 1991, and a few extra pieces would see release only in Australia. Turbomaster Thunder Clash, the new Autobot leader of 1992. In 1992, the line got much more cohesive, moving back to much more "traditional" Transformers, changing from pseudo-realistic vehicles to robots, with gimmicks that were by and large not super-obtrusive. The Autobots and Decepticons got some physical distinction in their designs in 1992: the Autobots got hot-pink transparent plastic parts, primarily their optics and windows, while the Decepticons got a bright toxic clear-green transparent parts as well as less-human, more angular faces. Yes, hot pink and toxic green: the 90s was also the time that the color schemes for new toys overall got brighter and more reliant on pastels (and in some cases, straight-up gloriously awful). In 1993, Hasbro changed the traditional faction symbols to the types used in the Generation 2 series, as the US line was changing over that year. The European line would follow suit in 1993, ending the original "Generation 1" series in European markets without the line being canceled, the only major market to not have a gap between Generations 1 and 2. Neat!

Takara Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers line

 * Main article: Generation 1 (Japanese toylines)

Takara took Hasbro's lead and brought the new universe of living robots to Japan in 1985, where it was a massive success. Despite many/most of the toys having been available just a year or two prior, the new story and cartoon propelled Transformers sales far beyond those of the lines that the toys originally came from. Diaclone and Micro Change were quickly discarded in favor of the new hotness as kids ate up this new take on the giant robot genre, one that was a fresh change from the sheer amount of competing "piloted mecha" robot toylines/cartoons in existence.

The line started very parallel with Hasbro's offerings, but over time the two companies pursued some pretty different visions for the brand. Takara gave the accompanying advertising media different sub-franchise titles for each year, a long-running tradition in kids' media/toylines in Japan (which would eventually end up making its way Stateside), although the toyline itself would not gain over-arching secondary titles until 1991, instead only featuring gimmick-specific brandings for relevant toys, some of which just happened to mirror the accompanying media's title. They would also create a variety of all-new toys unique to their version of Transformers (although some of them also saw release in Europe), most of them highly sought-after by collectors. By the end of the series, Takara would go back to following Hasbro's lead for the bulk of the line, with new molds being relegated to a small handful of large pieces. Transformers finally ended in 1992, as Takara's concurrently-running (and TV-cartoon-backed) non-Transformers "Brave" giant robot lines gained more popularity.

Transformers would not be back on Japanese toy shelves until 1995, when the short-lived G-2 toyline would hit.

Mexican & South American Transformers
If you want strange variants of Generation 1 toys, then the short-lived toylines south of the border are the mother lode. But many of these items are not cheap on the secondary market due to their scarcity.


 * MexicoMexican Prowl, with extra black bits.


 * Main article: IGA


 * Transformers was released by IGA in Mexico in 1985. For the most part, the toys are similar to their Hasbro counterparts, though with plenty of minor coloring and materials differences... which apparently includes lead paint. Oops.


 * The line did not do well, and 1986's releases were little more than Metroplex and a handful of first-year Mini Vehicles recolored roughly like their third-year retools. The line was fully canceled shortly after.


 * A number of these toys ended up in European markets years after the line was over, which is when that whole "lead paint" thing was discovered. Oops.


 * BrazilMalignus Camaro. Gorgeous. And expensive.


 * Main article: Estrela


 * Easily the most well-known of the Southern-Hemisphere Transformers releases, Estrela's batch of six Mini-Vehicle molds were the bulk of the toys released by the company, put out in a variety of colors. Notably, the mysterious "Bumper" mold was part of this assortment, under the name "Sedan", complete with packaging art and a bio, leading fans to wonder if this bio came from scrapped plans for the toy in the original Hasbro line.


 * The line was filled out with redecoed Jumpstarters called "Salt-Man" ("salto" meaning "jump" in Spanish and Portuguese), and non-Takara molds like the Eletrix and Bat-Robô.


 * Most coveted among the Estrela toys is the second round of Mini Vehicles, the "Optimus vs Malignus" series, which split the toys into brand-new good & evil (respectively) factions. These twelve toys —particularly the more radically-changed Malignus— are very expensive on the secondary market, easily earning triple-digit sums for even loose samples. Still-carded toys are exceptionally rare.


 * ArgentinaSalt-Man X


 * Main article: Antex


 * A bit of an odd case, it appears that Argentinean company Antex got its Transformers license from Estrela, rather than Hasbro, which is kind of dubious on the "did Estrela actually have the authority to do that" mark. Antex would then release its own batch of Mini Vehicle redecoes.


 * In the early 2010s, a large number of on-card/boxed Antex toys hit the secondary market, apparently due to an old warehouse find. Many of these items were sold cheaper than domestic packaged original toys in the US... but still make a neat curiosity for a collector.


 * One more odd Argentinean release is the Radio AM Robot, an original mold by Comando Toys. Your guess is as good as ours.


 * Peru


 * Main article: Lynsa


 * There is a bit of confusion as to the short-lived Peruvian Transformers line as it appears that two different companies obtained the license and took two different approaches to it, though both mainly stuck to -once again- the Mini Vehicle range.


 * BASA (which would later change its name to HUDE, which doesn't help in the confusion department) simply imported Hasbro product and applied a company sticker to the packaging.


 * Lynsa, however, made their own cheaper-to-produce versions of the original Mini Vehicle range, often with less-to-no paint applications, decals or chrome, as well as multiple different color variants for each mold. There are supposedly upwards of three dozen different mold/color combinations altogether, many of them unique to the Peruvian line, but the ravages of time have made samples stunningly rare and reliable information scarce.


 * Venezuela


 * Main article: Rubiplas


 * The tiny Rubiplas line is very similar to the Peruvian Lynsa line in construction, being low-cost, minimal-deco versions of the incomplete Mini Vehicles range. Most are similar in color to their Hasbro releases, save their very weirdly-colored Huffer.

Chinese The Transformers toyline

 * Main article: The Transformers (Chinese toyline)

Several factors kept The Transformers out of mainland China for years, including government-based resistance to the line's primary "advertainment" vehicle. But in August 1989, Hasbro International started cranking out classic Transformers at Chinese factories, which were shipped throughout China, as well as Taiwan and South Korea (with additional stickers applied to the packaging for those markets). The line ran through 1995 (!), ending with several previously-Japanese-exclusive Victory toys.

For the most part, the toys are identical to their previous releases, only with slight changes to the manufacturing stamps, and the occasional minor deco alteration (primarily painted details on the Mini-Cassettes, and some rubsign changes). They came in the same packaging as their American (or European) counterparts, only with small stickers in the corner giving the characters' Chinese names. Japanese-original toys were altered slightly more, changing the Transformers logo to a Chinese-language version. The copyright and manufacturing information on the back of the packaging was also shortened to remove the no-longer-true statements "Made in Japan", "Made in Taiwan", etc., and omit references to Takara. The manufacturing information was instead applied as a sticker in Chinese on the back of the box. By 1994, when the Power Master-era toys were released, "Made in China" was added to the box.

Despite running for nigh six years, the Chinese Generation 1 line released only about 100 toys all told.

This late entry into China actually goes a long way towards explaining the country's current Transformers mania, and its ever-increasing amount of toys made specifically for that market. Those who grew up with the line as kids were hitting adulthood just as the Chinese middle class was booming, which meant disposable income. And with the huge success of the live-action movie spurring things on further right in the middle of that economic boon, China has since become a major part of the franchise's current global success.

It's quite likely that the Chinese line is also the source of the European "Classics" reissues that were released in 1990. The toys share the same altered copyright and Chinese manufacturing stamps... plus some Classics toys have surfaced with Chinese name stickers on them.


 * Chinese G1 Reissue ID Guide
 * The Little Sticker in the Corner: The Truth about Early-1990's Chinese G1 Transformers Toys
 * Fighting "Transformer Fever"

Post-Transformers releases
BotCon 2007 Dirge RIP BotCon (1994-2016). We'll always love you.

Hahahahahahahhahahah haaaaaa hahahahahhahahaha hahaahahaaaaaaaahahahaaaaa. Hoo. Hooooh boy.

Okay, but seriously.

Despite having set the stage for everything that would follow, and in sharp contrast to the nostalgia-sodden market of today, "Generation 1" actually took some time to get back into being a sizable portion of the "modern" toyline following the original's end. The Generation 2 revival failed to revive, and its vastly more successful replacement Beast Wars was such a radical shift from everything before that going back to the '80s trappings was seen as risky. Thus the original series was mostly relegated to scattered homages for the better part of a decade.

By the turn of the century (ugh), the older-nostalgic market was picking up strength. More children of the '80s were out of school and getting jobs and disposable income (yes, that kind of thing used to actually happen) and were looking to reclaim bits of their childhoods. And the market responded... timidly at first, as the markets do, but over time, more and more of the classic series was brought back in one form or another.

Reissue lines

 * Main article: Reissue

Before the re-creation boom, there was the re-release boom. Many vintage toy molds were pulled out, refurbished and put back into service to let fans fill holes in their classic collections.

Takara The Transformers Collection Skids Takara was the first to get the reissue ball rolling, and generally took the lead in re-releasing classic "Generation 1" molds over the course of several years. Re-issues began sporadically at first in 2000, mainly major characters (particularly Optimus Prime, Megatron, Rodimus and Starscream) in recreations of the original packaging, with a few special editions. But it didn't take long for this to expand into larger, more organized lines:


 * The Transformers Collection (2002)


 * This series is also known as the "bookbox" series, as each toy came in a large box with a multi-page, full-color booklet attached to the inner front cover of the box, full of bio information, toy trivia, cartoon summaries and more. In some respects this series was a bit of an "ultimate G1" line, as a great many toys were modified from their original releases. Tooling issues were fixed for extra durability, stickers were altered or even replaced with more durable factory-applied tampographs, accessories were added that had either not been released in Japan (like Targetmaster partners) or wholly-new items altogether.

This series would be further filled out with all-new characters set in the classic universe, with redecos of the mold reissues in new color schemes (often -but not always- replicating Diaclone variants the original Transformers line passed on) through outlets like e-HOBBY.


 * Transformers Encore (2007)


 * Riding the surge of popularity that had been building (and exploding with the live-action film), Encore brought more "enhanced" classic toys out, though this time in more classic-style packaging. The line also put a much heavier focus on the larger pieces in the original line, including the likes of Metroplex and even Fortress Maximus, as well as toys the original Japanese line had skipped, like Sky Lynx.

Hasbro Commemorative Series Thundercracker, "Silverstreak" and Jazz. (No, the real Silverstreak did not have the black hood/top.)

Hasbro generally seemed less keen on remaking the past, focusing their efforts on new lines, but saw the value in trying to get the reissues into fans' hands... even if there had to be compromises for safety reasons.


 * Generation One Commemorative Series (2002)


 * Sold exclusively through ToysЯUs (though overstock would later filter into closeout outlets), the Commemorative Series mostly picked up what Takara was already putting out and swung them onto US and European shelves. This series proved less popular with fans, thanks to the changes that had to be done to make the functional spring-launched missiles pass safety standards, plus a rather high price tag (a ToysЯUs staple for its exclusives) that generally left net-savvy fans deciding to just import Takara's offerings for just a little bit more.


 * Vintage G1 (2018)


 * A series of reissues from Hasbro which began in 2018. Packaged in Generation 1-styled boxes complete with fonts, classic box art and Tech Spec, the figures invoke the look and feel of the original toyline, from the era of the franchise's nascent emergence as a cultural phenomenon. All the figures thus far have been exclusive to Walmart in the United States and Canada, but have also been released at general retail in Asia, and the first wave of the "Legion Class" assortment has been available in Australia, exclusive to clothing chain CottonOn. (Singapore got most toys at general retail, except for the "Legion Class" figures, which were available from the Singaporean branch of CottonOn… although the Bumblebee reissue was also offered as a "Combo" freebie at Golden Village movie theaters.) The toys themselves hew closely to the original releases, mostly using The Transformers Collection variants, incorporating subtle differences for safety or other reasons. Like their original releases, many include sticker-sheets for the customer to apply, enhancing the maddening, hair-pulling warm nostalgic experience.

New "Generation 1"-based lines
If you think we're gonna list every individual new toy based on a Generation 1 character here, you're insane. And not the fun kind. Instead, enjoy this series of links to the numerous toylines that call back to the originals. Many of these lines are technically multi-franchise ensembles, but the majority of their output is of updated Generation 1 bots.

Machine Wars Hoist
 * Machine Wars (1997)


 * A strange, slapdash and very short line released in the middle of Beast Wars, Machine Wars was sold exclusively at KB Toys stores. It's a mix of small toys originally developed for Generation 2 and some larger retooled European-market items from a few years prior, all mostly as old characters, and mostly in color schemes that don't match the characters they're supposed to be. On the other hand, this was the first chance many American fans had to acquire some of those larger foreign molds, and at KB's (in)famous pre-discounted prices to boot.

Robotmasters Starscream
 * Robotmasters (2004)


 * A short line in Japan during the middle of the "Unicron Trilogy" series, Robotmasters is set in the nebulous time between the second season of the original cartoon and The Transformers: The Movie... but with the intrusion of time-traveling characters from Beast Wars (and more). Sticking mainly to smaller items, the series is mostly recycled "Basic" figures and sub-Deluxe items, most as new characters. Many came with extra weapons too, most of which were recycled from a canceled Microman series.


 * However, there were a series of all-new molds, based on the leader characters of the past. The brand-new Starscream was easily the most popular, being a classic-designed toy with some actual posability, with a new smaller Optimus Primal being close behind.


 * Though the new molds were highly sought after at the time, they'd become very obsolete in fairly short order...


 * Alternators (2003) / Alternity (2009) / GT: Mission GT-R (2013)Two of the numerous Japanese variants of Alternators Smokescreen.


 * The first focused Generation 1 "revival" series, Alternators was aimed squarely at the older collector. Every toy in the line (save one odd addition) is a Generation 1 character reimagined as a 1:24-scale recreation of a real, fully-licensed vehicle, complete with opening doors, an actual open driver/passenger compartment complete with dashboard, opening hoods/trunks and more. This led to many of these toys being very complicated to transform. The Japanese Binaltech line took the collector-aim even further by using copious amounts of painted die-cast metal for the vehicle shells. A line of very slow and staggered releases, it would continue on for several years in the US. Japan would keep the line alive even longer (and with a lot of variants), up through 2008, including a few small sub-lines like Binaltech Asterisk (which included human mini-figures to drive the vehicle modes) and the controversial Kiss Players.


 * Despite heavy interest early on from the older fandom, Alternators has basically been left behind in favor of the later "normal" Generation 1 remakes that would follow a few years later.


 * TakaraTomy would take another crack at the style later with Alternity, which is generally the same thing, only at 1:32 scale, putting the toys at roughly "Deluxe" size. Several years later it would dust off the Alternity Convoy mold for GT: Mission GT-R, a racing-themed mini-series which added "GT Sister" Microman figures to each toy.


 * Masterpiece (2003)MP-10 Convoy, the second Masterpiece Optimus Prime mold.


 * A line that started as a one-shot, anniversary-celebratory deal, that slowly over time grew to become basically the "ultimate" collector's Generation 1 toyline. Takara has taken the lead here, putting out much of the product at general retail, where Hasbro picks and chooses molds to bring out as store exclusives from time to time.


 * Starting with Optimus Prime (of course), the line features larger-scale, very complex, highly-detailed, and (generally) animation-accurate renditions of classic characters. Originally a slow-release line, in 2011 it moved to a smaller scale (with a redone Optimus, of course), focused on filling out much of the 1984/1985 cast, and started putting out toys at a fairly regular clip, several a year. The line is still going today, and has expanded its scope, recently adding Beast Wars characters to the roster.

Classics Bumblebee
 * Classics (2006)


 * Originally intended to just be a short gap-filler line between Cybertron and the upcoming live-action film toyline, Classics more or less set the gold standard for today's Generation 1-based toy: modern-tech recreations of classic characters in updated forms highly evocative of their original incarnations, in the "focused-around-deluxe-scale" play size.


 * Hasbro originally had no plans to put out more than the original line in this format (leading to some kerfuffle when several "missing" classic characters ended up as BotCon 2007 exclusives). But a combination of solid sales, heavy demand, and —most importantly— a gargantuan influx of income thanks to that whole Michael Bay movie deal meant that Classics-style toys could continue on in successive lines (see below).

Titanium Series Jetfire
 * Titanium Series (2006)


 * Originally a subline of Hasbro's Star Wars product line, Titanium Series put the focus on die-cast metal, split between 2-inch-tall non-transforming mini-figurines, and the transforming 6-inch "Cybertron Heroes". The latter were... let's politely say "not very well-received".


 * These toys were developed completely in-house at Hasbro, with no Takara engineering, by a team who had never worked on Transformers to boot. The results often resulted in ill-proportioned messes with odd joint tolerances and questionable articulation that couldn't really handle the weight distribution. The toys based on designs from the popular "The War Within" comics from then-licensee Dreamwave generally fared better, and would garner some demand, particularly The Fallen. It's a real grab-bag of a line, both in character and quality.

Universe Sunstreaker
 * Universe (2008) / Generations (2010) / Transformers (2010) / Timelines (2005)


 * After the live-action movie made Hasbro and Takara approximately eleven bazillion dollars, they had the funds to put out more traditionally "risky" product like older-nostalgic-aimed toys. From this point on, they would devote a major portion of each year's product to making modern toys of Generation 1 characters.


 * Hasbro's 2008 Universe line was the start, with everything from small Legends Class items to huge electronic Ultra Class toys. The line turned into Generations, but the overall focus was more or less the same. Generations is still running as of this writing, with multiple subline imprints.


 * 2010's Transformers line was actually a movie-based "general" line. But the back end of the line had several toys in multiple price-points based directly on Generation 1 characters that seemed like they were right out of Generations, confusing fans a bit.


 * The Timelines series is also a multi-franchise ensemble line, but naturally the majority of the product is Generation-1-based. The reason we bring this up last was that this is not a retail series, being sold by Hasbro licensee Fun Publications via BotCons and the Transformers Collectors' Club. This series features a lot of toys based on more obscure characters and decos.

''Henkei! Henkei! Megatron, a redeco of Classics'' Megatron.
 * Henkei! Henkei! (2008) / United (2010) / Chronicle (2011) / Generations (2012) / Legends (2014) / Unite Warriors (2015) / Power of the Primes (2018) / Siege (2019)


 * Takara's string of Generation-1-based modern toys is a little more fragmented, changing names with regularity. Largely following Hasbro's lead, these toys are typically more extensively painted (owing to Japan's retailers not having the vise-like grip on item prices that major American retailers have), with a much heavier focus on replicating animation decos, even when the molds are not terribly suited for animation-based deco. One of the latest series, Legends was mostly Takara's version of Hasbro's Generations line, until both companies decided to release the Hasbro versions of each toy starting with Power of the Primes in late 2017.


 * Complicating things a bit more is Adventure, Takara's version of the 2015 Robots in Disguise line. That line was initially filled out with a large number of Generations molds, colored and named blatantly as Generation 1 characters... but as part of the "Aligned" universe. While we list these characters as the alternate-universe takes they're presented as, they are definitely worth mentioning here for fans who don't care about dividing by universe and just want a modern Override that blends in perfectly with their modern Generation 1 collection.


 * 2018's Power of the Primes and 2019's Siege toys are identical to the ones released by Hasbro (except for one minor detail on one figure), mostly differing between time of release or lack thereof of certain figures.