Transformers (toy line)

File:Transformers toys.jpg

Various Transformers toys. Front row, left to right: Generation 2's Hooligan, G1's Scavenger. Middle Row, left to right: G1's Mixmaster, G1's First Aid, G1's Wheeljack, Generation 2's Jetfire, G1's Astrotrain. Back row, left to right: G1's Razorclaw, G1's Soundwave, Generation 2's Laser Optimus Prime holding Razorclaw's sword.

Transformers is the name of a line of toys produced largely by Takara and sold outside of Japan by Hasbro from 1984 onwards. There have also been a number of spin-offs based on the toys including a Marvel comic book series, an animated television series that began airing in 1984 (Transformers series) and a feature-length movie, Transformers: The Movie. The original series was followed by a number of spin-offs with varying levels of popularity. Now, an upcoming live-action movie is slated for July 4, 2007 and will be directed by Michael Bay.

A Transformer is an intelligent machine that is able to "transform", reconfiguring itself into a common and innocuous form, such as a car, aircraft, or animal. The taglines "More Than Meets the Eye" and "Robots in Disguise" reflect this ability.

Transformers originally featured two main factions warring for control of their home planet, Cybertron. The heroic Autobots (Cybertrons in the Japanese version) were led by Optimus Prime (known in the Japanese version as Convoy), and their opponents, the Decepticons (Destrons in the Japanese version), were led by Megatron. The Autobots were mainly cars in warm colors while the Decepticons were planes in cool colors, with some exceptions.

The Transformers toyline was developed by Hasbro after they met up with Takara representatives at the 1983 Tokyo Toy Show and proposed to combine and re-brand Takara's Diaclone and Micro Change toylines into the Transformers for release in the United States. Thus began a long and successful collaboration between Takara and Hasbro on toy development for the Transformers line, a collaboration which has grown increasingly close. Currently, Hasbro does the vast majority of the concept work and character creation, while the actual manufacture of the toys continues to be controlled by Takara. Hasbro markets and sells the toys internationally, while Takara sells them in the Japanese market. The current design director for the Transformers brand is Aaron Archer.

The basic backstory of the toyline and subsequent comic books and cartoons was developed by the Marvel Comics writers Jim Shooter and Dennis O'Neil (O'Neil actually giving Optimus Prime his name). Most of the subsequent character names and profiles throughout the original run were done by the primary Transformers US comic book writer, Bob Budiansky.

Floro Dery was primarily responsible for the look and feel of the Transformers cartoon series and was the visual creator of Transformers: The Movie. He refined some of the initial season one animated character models done in Japan, and subsequently interpreted the toy box art for further characters, creating the models that would become the visual guidelines both for the comic books and the animated cartoon.

Most Transformers come with tech specs which detail the Transformer’s characteristics. Older Transformers come with Robot Points which could be redeemed for special Transformers which were not sold in stores, such as the Omnibots or the Decepticon triplets known as Reflector (which featured heavily in the early episodes of the television series, despite not being easily available as toys).

Incarnations

The following Transformers toys came out:

• Transformers (1984-present) - retroactively called 'Generation One' or 'G1' since then. New characters are still occasionally added to the line, primarily by E-Hobby. (Examples: Sunstorm, Hauler, Detritus, etc.) Large-scale production of new characters in this line ended with the onset of Generation 2.
• Transformers: Generation 2 (1992-1995)
• Beast Wars: Transformers (1995-1999)
• Machine Wars: Transformers (1997) - a limited release KB Toys exclusive
• Beast Machines: Transformers (2000-2001)
• Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2001-2002)
• Transformers G1 Commemorative Series (2002-2005)
• Transformers: Go-Bots
• Transformers: Armada (2002-2003)
• Transformers: Universe (2003-Present)
• Transformers: Energon (2003-2005)
• Transformers: Alternators (2003-Present)
• Transformers: Cybertron (2005-Present)
• Transformers: Master Piece series (2004-Present)
• Transformers: Titanium 3" (not transforming)
• Transformers: Titanium 6" (2006-Present)
• Transformers Classics (2006-Present)

See also: Transformers Universes and Transformers series.

Transformers (Generation 1) (1984-1992)

The first Transformers toys were brought together from the different transforming robot toylines from Takara, notably the Diaclone and Micro Change (Microman) series. Hasbro acquired the rights to sell them in the United States but instead of selling them as their original names, they were rebranded as "Transformers". The first two years consisted primarily of reusing the Diaclone/Micro Change molds. Some of the models from the Diaclone line still have the pilot's seat in their design. The tagline to the Transformers is "More than meets the eye!"

It was in 1986, the third year, when Takara began designing new original models specifically for the Transformers brand, which Takara had also begun to market in Japan and Hasbro continued to market internationally. It was also the time when subgroup Transformers became more popular than simply labeling a character as Autobot or Decepticon. There were the Aerialbot group, Dinobot group, Predacons, Headmasters and so on. This trend continued on until the toyline's demise in 1990.

In 1989, the entire line became limited to Pretenders and Micromasters. For the first time, Transformers received a new design for their title logo. But this was also regarded by many as a time of a dearth in creativity and regarded as the lowest point in the toyline's history. 1990 saw the last American burst with the release of more Micromaster characters and the introduction of the Action Masters, Transformers who can't transform. The Action Master line was criticized although it had a few defenders. This would be the last Transformers output in the US until 1992.

While Transformers ended poorly for the US market, the same can not be said for the UK and Japan markets as they went on to produce their own continuing series between 1991 to 1993, despite the UK market in particular missing a substantial amount of figures prominent in the comics and animated series throughout the line's run. Each country produced their own continuity. The UK continued with new Action Master figures and introduced the Turbo Masters and Predators. Japan continued with the Micromasters concept.

The 1992 and 1993 European releases make up what is often called "Generation 1.5". These toys are similar in design to the Generation 2 Transformers, having lightpipe eyes, and pastel colors. The 1993 European figures used the G2 faction symbols which Hasbro UK designed because their licence on the G1 symbols had expired. The 1993 figures were repackaged for European G2 release in 1994, and three subgroup molds got used in the US G2 line.

The term Generation 1 is a retronym; the series was simply known as "Transformers" until the release of the Generation 2 series. However, the term has become semi-official, as both Hasbro and Takara have referred to this era as "Generation 1".

Transformers: Generation 2 (1992-1995)

In late 1992, Hasbro relaunched the Transformers franchise with the Generation 2 line, with production again, largely being done by Takara. The subgroups concept is done away with for the first year but there are no new molds or characters. Generation 2 re-used the molds for most of the characters from the 1984 and 1985 line but with mostly different color schemes and finishes as well as different weapons and accessories. Megatron's figure was released later on. Megatron's original alternate mode was a gun but in Generation 2 this is changed to a tank due to safety and security concerns.

Most of the 1993 figures were releases or recolors of European G1 releases.

This line was criticized for the poor material used and being easily breakable. Generation 2 sold poorly and was abandoned by Hasbro after two years. There were toys planned that never saw release. Most of these were G1 combiner team recolors or recolors of recent figures. Four unreleased molds were released in the Machine Wars line, and four more resurfaced in the Robots in Disguise series.

Beast Wars/Machines (1995-2001)

With the failure of the Generation 2 series, Hasbro and Takara decided the franchise needed an overhaul. They went in a new direction and a new beginning. While there have been Transformers before that change into animals, the idea here was they all changed into real-looking animals. The Beast Wars toyline was launched in the fall of 1995 and a CGI animated series was produced by Mainframe Entertainment to tie-in with the new toyline. A fresh idea coupled with a TV series with strong stories assured this series the much needed success Hasbro and Takara needed, as this series was a giant hit in international markets as well as in Takara's home market, Japan.

Hasbro's original plan for Beast Wars was to have Optimus Prime and Megatron be reformatted versions of their 1980s selves. This was shown in the toys' Tech Specs, and in the comic packaged with the basic Primal/Megatron two-pack. Hasbro also wanted the "Mutant Heads" found on all of the deluxe sized first year toys as battle helmets, but Mainframe scrapped the idea as it would require three animation models for each character instead of two. Another designed feature for the 1995/1996 toys was carried over from Generation 2, transparent 'light pipe" eyes. However, most toys had those parts cast in opaque plastic.

The Beast Wars line was also the first appearance of "flip changer" Basics, where flipping a part of the animal mode (usually the head or tail) would transform the entire toy, and moving the part back would transform the toy back to beast mode. Like other features, this was only used in the 1995/1996 Basics and their repaints.

Beast Wars was renamed in some countries, particularly Canada, because of concern over the word "war" in the title. So, in some countries, it was released as Beasties. Long-time fans notice the prominence of the words "Beast Wars" over "Transformers", the latter appearing in small type under the former. Two fan groups formed with one enjoying Beast Wars for what it was and another thinking it should not be part of the Transformers mythology.

The success of Beast Wars and the change in storyline resulted in its second phase: Beast Machines. Like Beast Wars, the name Transformers was used only as a secondary title. While still a success, the storyline and direction borne by Beast Machines was questioned and criticized by the most ardent fans who knew the previous history of Transformers. Also, there was a clamor for a return to the original idea of vehicle-changing Transformers.

Robots in Disguise (2001-2002)

While Beast Machines was still running in the United States, Japan’s Takara made a bid to return to the familiar vehicle-transforming robots concept. In 2000, Car Robots was released. This line was brought by Hasbro to America as the Robots in Disguise series. This series is usually regarded by most as filler while Hasbro contemplated the next direction for Transformers. Robots in Disguise was a modest success and not particularly memorable. Even so, Robots in Disguise was responsible for introducing some concepts that would be re-used often in the next incarnations of Transformers.

On a side note, Transformers also inspired the development of this robot http://robot-fan.net/spot/spot067.html which shows a 4 wheel robot transform itself into a bi-pedal walking robot in humanoid form.

Backstory

Note: This only applies to the original cartoon continuity, and not to many of the later series.

Ravaged from the war between the Autobots and the Decepticons, the planet Cybertron was almost completely drained of its energy resources. Neither side had enough energy reserves to continue the battle, which led to a stalemate. The Autobots, with their leader Optimus Prime, left their home planet on a mission to avert the threat posed to it by an asteroid field. The Decepticons pursued them and boarded the Autobot starship (called the Ark in the comic). During the ensuing fight, they crash-landed into a volcano on prehistoric Earth.

Awakened in 1984 when the volcano erupted, the Decepticons were repaired by the ship's computer and fled, leaving the still-deactivated Autobots behind. Decepticon leader Megatron soon discovered that Earth had nearly limitless energy resources. Hoping to tip the war's balance in favor of the Decepticons, Megatron planned to transfer Earth's energy to Cybertron even if it meant ruining the Earth in the process.

Unfortunately for them, the Decepticons made a fatal mistake. After the Decepticons were awakened, the Autobots had remained deactivated on the Ark. Upon leaving, the Decepticon Starscream had simply blasted the rocks around the ship to seal the entrance, rather than destroying the helpless Autobots altogether; the jolt from the explosions had moved Optimus Prime within the Ark's repair beam. The remaining Autobots were subsequently revived and rose up to become the protectors of life on Earth and the Decepticons' nemeses.

Trivia

• Contrary to what people may think, there has never been a break in the production of new Transformer toys; there have been new Transformers toys every year since its debut in 1984 because the UK and Japan produced their own continuing series in the period of 1992 to 1994.
• Like G.I. Joe's Larry Hama, Bob Budiansky wrote the majority of the tech specs (the personal profile of each Transformer) for the Generation 1 series.
• The Hasbro toyline Battle Beasts was known as Beastformers in Japan, and was a part of the Japanese Transformers toyline.

The Transformers (2007)

Main Article: Transformers (2007 Film)

The live-action Transformers movie has been set to open in the U.S. on July 4, 2007 and is being produced by DreamWorks Pictures with collaboration from Hasbro and Takara. Paramount Pictures will distribute the movie internationally, although co-distrubute in North America. The feature will be directed by Michael Bay from a screenplay being written by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. Steven Spielberg is executive producing the film, with Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Tom DeSanto and Don Murphy serving as co-executive producers. Shia LaBeouf is to star as the lead human character "Sam" in the film with Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, and Megan Fox in supporting roles. Cameos for the film include Bernie Mac and Dane Cook. Voice actors for the Autobots and Decepticons have not been announced yet. It is expected that the release of a new movie will involve the production and release of associated toys from Takara and Hasbro.

Video game

In 1985, Ocean Software Ltd. released a video game based on the Transformers. It was available for ZX Spectrum [1] and Commodore 64 [2]. It was rated slightly above average in the reviews. In 1986 Activision also released a Transformers game for the Commodore 64 [3].

External links

• TFU.Info - Growing archive of nearly every Transformers toy from the beginning.
• SEIBERTRON.com - Very detailed galleries of hundreds of Transformers toys
• Transformers Collector's Database Allows you to view lists of toys released, etc.
• Transformers.com - Official Transformers Web Site
• Transfans - one of the oldest TF fansites, complete with appropriate levels of curmudgeonism.

A young man has claimed that after many hours in his lab, he has managed to make his 'toy' come to life. The perfect pinochio story....