Pre-Transformer
From Transformers Wiki
| This article is about the fandom term for toys derived from lines that existed before Transformers. For the Autobot leader, see Guardian Prime. |
In fan terminology, pre-Transformers is an umbrella term for the Diaclone and Micro Change toylines, as well as for the original, non-Transformers-branded versions of such toys as Jetfire and the Mini-spies; all of which originally made up the entirety of the original Transformers toyline for (roughly) the first two years of its run. Some of these figures also sported different color schemes than their more well-known Transformers counterparts. In many instances, future reissues of these figures or new toys of those characters would be redecoed to homage the pre-Transformers color schemes originally unused in the Transformers franchise.
By 1986, almost all of the pre-Transformers toy-molds that made up the original Transformers toyline had started to trickle out in favor of the all-new molds based on Floro Dery's concept artwork designed for The Transformers: The Movie, though, a few unutilized Diaclone concepts, as well as retools of previously-released pre-Transformers molds from Takara found their way into the mix. By 1987, the Hasbro Transformers line (1992 in the Takara line) had reached the point where only original molds were being produced.
Contents |
Pre-Transformers lines
- Takara
- Diaclone
- Micro Change
- Mech Soldier — Mini-spies
- Toybox — "Super Change Robo Mechabot-1" (Omega Supreme) and Sky Lynx (never actually released prior to the Transformers version)
Licensed international releases of pre-Transformers
Hasbro's Transformers line was originally just one of several international venues for many of these figures. It was only when Transformers became such a huge worldwide success that it completely eclipsed these other versions, resulting in weird transitional phases in many instances. Some of these are frequently mistaken for knockoffs (not helped by the fact that there are knockoffs of these versions as well!).
United States
- Takara — Diakron (featuring Diaclone figures, including the Powerdashers that were first named as such here)
- RadioShack — "Galactic Man" (a version of Shockwave)
- Village Toys — Convert-A-Bots (featuring "N-4-SR", another version of Shockwave in two different color schemes)
- Select — Convertors (featuring "Wheels" and "Chopper", plastic versions of Roadbuster and Whirl, respectively)
United Kingdom
- Grandstand — Convertors (unrelated to Select's US line of the same name; featuring "Omegatron", a version of Omega Supreme in its original Mechabot-1 colors)
- Tandy — "Galactic Man" (almost identical to RadioShack's version, due to both being owned by the same parent company)
Germany
- GAMA — "Trans Robot" (a version of Omega Supreme very similar to Grandstand's "Omegatron", with the packaging design being close to Toybox's original Mechabot-1 version, but with the "Trans Robot" logo taking some cues from Hasbro's "Transformers" logo, also replacing the tank's long barrel with a radar dish because no war toys for you, German kids!)
Italy
- GiG — Trasformer (featuring Diaclone and Micro Change figures, some of them already in their unique Transformers colors; as well as "Megarobot", a version of Omega Supreme)
France
- Joustra — Diaclone (featuring Takara Diaclone and Micro Change figures, some of them already sporting Autobot and Decepticon insignia stickers)
- Orli Jouet — "Robotrack" (featuring "Mecabot", a nigh-identical version of Omega Supreme in Hasbro colors, possibly produced as part of a partnership with GiG, with the TV commercial even featuring footage from the Transformers cartoon)
Finland
- Takara — Diaclone (featuring Diaclone figures, including a unique black version of Tracks)
Honorable mentions
- The Action Master Treadshot's design was inspired by a toy originally manufactured by Sunmayor Ohkawa (サンマーヤ大川) Co., Ltd., the "357 Magnum Robo" (357マグナムロボ). It was later called the "Highway Patrol Robo" and released in GiG's Trasformer line in Italy. It was even covered in Takara's Takara SF Land Collection Complete Works toy book for unknown reasons.
Notes
- The act of licensing out Japanese transforming robot toys (and robot toys in general) to Western markets appears to have started with the toy manufacturer, Popy (ポピー). Popy started off as a part of Bandai, but separated from them in 1971 to explore other avenues, creating lines such as the Popynica line, which made toys for the Kamen Rider franchise, and the Chogokin line, which made toys for franchises such as Mazinger Z. The toys released in these two lines ended up being licensed out to Mattel as part of their popular Shogun Warriors franchise in the 70s. Popy is also credited by many as being the first to create transforming robot toys, with the creation of the titular character of the Brave Raideen franchise in 1977, which was also licensed out to Mattel. All of this would eventually lead to the creation of the Machine Robo toyline—but due to the declining popularity of robot toys in the very early-80s—Popy was reintegrated into Bandai in 1983, which thus led to the partnership between Bandai and Tonka, that created GoBots.
- As mentioned above, Hasbro's once-rival, Tonka, teamed up with Bandai in 1983, to create the GoBots franchise using licensed-out Machine Robo toys. Much like Takara's attempts at releasing their products in Western markets through the Diakron and Kronoform lines, Bandai attempted the same thing with Machine Robo, releasing the Robo Machine and Robo Machines lines in Europe; the Machine Men and Robot Machine Men lines in America and Canada, respectively; and the (unrelated) Machine Men line in Australia—all of which had varying degrees of success, and ran concurrently with one another.