Retool

It has been suggested this article should be split into pretool and Retool. If you agree/disagree, please discuss why on its talk page.

The original Bumblebee toy (center) has been retooled in major ways twice, first by adding a hoop to accommodate a keychain (left) and later, as a separate retool, with a more show-accurate head (right).

A retool is a newer version of an existing Transformers toy which has had parts either added, removed, or resculpted. This can be as simple as changing a single part to provide stability or ease of transformation, or as complex as altering a large percentage of the toy's appearance or gimmickry. In some cases, extensive retooling even changes some aspects of a toy's transformation.

An alternate term that's common among fans is "remold", but "retool" is the term actually used by the people who design and produce the toys.

The general fandom's conception of "retools" differs from the definition used by Hasbro and TakaraTomy's designers. To them, only actual physical alterations of an existing tooling qualify as a "retool". There are, however, other methods used to achieve the same results (i.e. a new toy based on an existing sculpt yet physically different from the original release), which are also commonly referred to as "retools" by fans, lacking knowledge of the specific process employed in each individual case.

See also: partial

Technical process

"Retooled" toys can be achieved in several different ways.

Modified toolings

Genuine retooling is a permanent alteration of an existing tooling, i.e. a modification of the plastic injection mold. Since the change is permanent, this is usually limited to cases where the change objectively improves a toy, usually in the form of running change variants where Hasbro and Takara have little desire to revert the change at some point in the future.

For example, Deluxe Class Concept Camaro Bumblebee from the 2007 movie toyline was given sculpted pupils inside his eyes (which was an aesthetic improvement) and additional tabs on his hip panels (which improved the stability of his vehicle mode) in later shipments. Those changes were kept for all subsequent releases and redecos of the sculpt (until the Revenge of the Fallen line gave him an entirely new head sculpt). Likewise, following the initial release of Deluxe Class Autobot Jazz from the same line, the toy's forearm joint hinges were shortened (which improved the forearms' stability in robot mode) for all subsequent releases and variations of the sculpt... until a redeco of the original version with the long forearm joint hinges was released as part of a Target exclusive batch of Dark of the Moon toys, which meant that the tooling was not permanently altered after all. Huh.

New parts

Apparently the sculpt was so good they'd rather use it as the basis for new toys than to start from scratch.

A more common procedure involves the creation of one or more new plastic injection molds for new parts based on the existing sculpt. This is usually done in the case of changes that merely alter the appearance of a toy in order to make a redeco look more interesting by adding physical modifications. One of the most common examples would be a new head sculpt that replaces the original release's head. Hasbro will look into making as many of the new parts from the same mold as possible, which is why all the new parts are usually cast in the same one or two plastic colors.

For example, Final Battle Jazz from the 2007 movie toyline was given new parts for his hips, shins/knees and the head, all with sculpted battle damage, as well as an entirely new weapon accessory. None of the existing toolings were permanently altered, since Hasbro was later able to release several variants of the Jazz sculpt (such as the Premium Series redeco) without sculpted battle damage. However, all the new parts were presumably made from the same two molds (gray and clear turquoise plastic), since all of the non-damaged releases of Jazz included the original version's weapon. By manufacturing the Final Battle version's Crescent Cannon, Hasbro would have also ended up with excess stock of the battle damaged body parts.

Power of the Primes Rippersnapper was heavily retooled four times, creating five figures with fully distinct alternate modes.

In very very rare instances a new release of a sculpt has mix-matched parts from the original release with parts of a retool: BotCon 2006 Darksyde Dinobot combined the retooled Cyber Key-activated arm gimmick of Cybertron Longrack with the original head sculpt of Armada Hoist, and Binaltech Argent Meister sported the head sculpt and left hand of the original Binaltech Meister release but had the retooled "Mazdaspeed Version II" RX-8 car shell of the Binaltech Laserwave version of the sculpt.

Sometimes the creation of new parts may require painting over one or more of the new parts, such as the modified roof panel on Premium Series Leader Class Optimus Prime from the Movie line, which was cast in red plastic on the original Leader Class Optimus Prime toy, but was cast in blue plastic together with the new head sculpt and the sword accessory for the Premium version, and therefore had to be painted over in red.

In some instances, Hasbro and Takara will create new toolings for a lot of new parts. One of the most well-known examples is Cybertron Dark Crumplezone, who sports an extensively modified body as compared to the initial Crumplezone release. Again, Hasbro created new toolings rather than permanently altering the existing molds, since they later re-released the original non-"Dark" Crumplezone version in its original colors under the Universe banner. Another extreme example is Revenge of the Fallen Cannon Bumblebee, who uses the same legs as Movie Deluxe Class Concept Camaro Bumblebee and his (comparatively minor) Revenge of the Fallen retool, "Preview" Bumblebee... but is an entirely new sculpt from the crotch up.

Gang-molded alternate parts

Turncoat and Motormouth.

In some instances, Hasbro and Takara plan a retool of a toy even before they start production of the initial release. If the changes to the overall toy are minor (such as a new head sculpt and nothing else), they may cast the original part and the new part from the same tooling via gang-molding. As a consequence, both parts will be produced on the same sprue, but only one will end up being used, while the other one is discarded as an excess part. Such alternate parts are sometimes referred to as pretools, a portmanteau of "premade" and "retool".

One of the most well-known early examples of this procedure was Cybertron Scrapmetal, whose head was produced on the same sprue as the Cobybot head, even though the latter was originally only used by Takara. Fans learned of the gang-molded nature of the two head sculpts when they attended the BotCon 2006 Custom Class, where the toys used for customization, Rumble and Inferno, which were based on the Scrapmetal/Cobybot sculpts, had both heads on the same sprue (Rumble was supposed to sport the Cobybot head, while Inferno was supposed to sport the regular Scrapmetal head). Odds are, the unused Cobybot heads for the thousands of Scrapmetals released got recycled with all the other plastic that goes unused when parts sprues are cast.

Despite the simplicity of this method, it mostly started to see widespread use around the late-2000s and the 2010s. While some Revenge of the Fallen toys made use of the tactic, it is particularly prevalent in the Generations and Transformers (2010) series, with most of those lines' new sculpts having an alternate head plotted out from the beginning. In the end, though, many of those alternate heads, despite having prototypes leaked out to the public and being depicted in the instructions, ended up unused entirely, or were ultimately only used by TakaraTomy and/or Fun Publications long after the fact.

Depending on the number of parts to be replaced, it's also possible to plan the mold layout so that all the parts that will have alternate versions are made from the same one or two toolings, and the alternate versions are made from separate toolings, thus avoiding the necessity of having to recycle excess parts altogether. This imposes limitations on the color choices for those parts, though: If the hands and the head for one version are on the same sprue, the alternate hands and head will most likely be cast in the same color as well.

Starting with Shattered Glass Collection Ultra Magnus, Hasbro has begun releasing figures that contain both alternate heads to give consumers more options in how they display their figures. However, as of 2023, these releases have been relegated to exclusives and special releases.

Shared parts

 

The Titans Return toy line marked the beginning of a new design approach that includes a few shared parts despite the figures being drastically different otherwise. For example:

• Scourge, Highbrow, and Windblade have the same upper legs, feet, and sliding internal transformation mechanisms—with every other visible part being new, and with their vehicle and robot modes not even sharing the same front-to-back orientation.
• Blurr's upper legs, knees, Titan Master, and gun are shared with Chromedome and Breakaway.
• Triggerhappy, Slugslinger, and Misfire share the same hands and legs, with every other visible part being different.
• Broadside shares his feet, mid-arms, interior mechanisms, and much of his ship mode with Alpha Trion—and everything else is different, so much so that a sculpted-fur lion mode was replaced with a flat-planed angular jet mode.
• Fortress Maximus reuses some pieces from the earlier Titan-class Metroplex, but with many of them now on different parts of the body and with different functions.
• Legacy Bombshell and Shrapnel share large portions of their engineering, with their forearms, legs, and hips being identical, albeit in different colors.

Shared engineering

Nope, this is an entirely new sculpt.

Over the course of the various Transformers toy lines, quite a few toys that are similar in appearance have been mistakenly assumed to be "retools" by fans, even though the toys in question often only have superficial similarities, or are merely based around the same basic engineering.

Those include, but are not limited to:

• Generation 1 Bumblebee, Cliffjumper and Bumper (Hubcap, on the other hand, is a retool of Cliffjumper).
• The Jumpstarters Topspin and Twin Twist (who, technically, share very, very few minor parts such as the wheels and engines).
• The Battlechargers Runabout and Runamuck
• Generation 2 Smokescreen and Energon Starscream
• Alternators Smokescreen and Meister (though the two do share the same hand sculpts).
• Energon Sledge/Bonecrusher and Cybertron Hardtop/Swindle
• 2007 Transformers Robot Replicas Bumblebee and the legless Bumblebee figure included with the Screen Battles "Final Stand" set are often assumed to be the same from the waist up, but are actually completely different.
• The legs of 2007 Transformers Deluxe Class Concept Camaro Bumblebee (recycled for Revenge of the Fallen Deluxe Class Cannon Bumblebee, who is otherwise an all-new sculpt from the waist up) and those of 2010 Transformers Hunt for the Decepticons Deluxe Class Battle Blade Bumblebee
• 2011 Cyberverse Legion Class Prime: Beast Hunters Smokescreen is not a retool of Cyberverse Prime Knock Out (even though the general design of the legs, including the way the rear end of the vehicle mode transforms into the feet, is the same; but then, the same applies to Bumblebee).
• Dark of the Moon Deluxe Class Roadbuster and Age of Extinction Deluxe Class Lockdown. (While Lockdown is an entirely new sculpt, he uses the same engineering as Roadbuster, resulting in an extremely similar transformation).
• 2015 Robots in Disguise Warrior Class Bumblebee and Prime Deluxe Class Vehicon. (While the arm transformation and head reveal are almost identical, the exact steps are much easier and the leg transformation is different too).

 

Same goes for these two.

• Titans Return Chromedome and Combiner Wars Dead End. (The engineering is almost identical as a consequence of the latter being used as a mockup for the former during initial planning, but it isn't actually a retool).
• Combiner Wars Silverbolt and Power of the Primes Hun-Gurrr. (The transformation to torso mode is somewhat similar, but that seems to be about the extent of the similarities between them).
• The Last Knight Premier Edition Bumblebee and most Studio Series releases of Bumblebee, which use very similar transformation schemes that originated from the TLK mold.
• Masterpiece MP-21 Bumblebee and Earthrise Cliffjumper share some design ideas (especially the feet and chest transformations), but are otherwise different molds (not to mention the incompatible sizes).
• Kingdom Vertebreak and Collaborative Dilophocon have a pretty similar transformation scheme, though, Dilophocon is a notably larger figure and has more moving parts in comparison to Vertebreak, but the bulk of their transformations are pretty much identical.
• Kingdom Airazor and Studio Series Airazor. The Studio Series is a near exact replica of Kingdom's transformation scheme on a completely new sculpt, with the only major differences being the use of ball joints instead of hinges for the shoulders, lack of separate shoulder pads, and the lack of 5mm ports in her thighs for weapon storage.