TOY CRAZES

Hello ladies and gents this is the viking telling you that today we are talking about

TRANSFORMERS

The Transformers  is a line of mecha toys produced by the Japanese company Takara (now known as Takara Tomy) and American toy company Hasbro. Initially a line of transforming mecha toys rebranded from Takara's Diaclone and Microman toylines, it spawned the Transformers media franchise.

The premise behind the Transformers toyline is that an individual toy's parts can be shifted about to change it from a vehicle, a device, or an animal, to a robot action figure and back again. The taglines "More Than Meets The Eye" and "Robots In Disguise" reflect this ability.

The Transformers toy-line is typically divided into two main factions: the heroic Autobots and their opponents, the evil Decepticons (traditionally known in Japan as the Cybertrons and Destrons, respectively, although more recent releases often using the English terms). Transformers toys are sold at a number of price points, and various Transformers series utilize unique play features.

There have also been a number of spin-offs based on the toys including a comic book series, an animated television series, and a feature-length animated movie. The original series program was followed by a number of spin-offs with varying levels of popularity. A live-action film series directed by Michael Bay has produced five films, with more planned.

The first Transformers toys were created from two different transforming robot toylines from Takara, the Car-Robots and Micro Change, from the Diaclone and Microman series, respectively. Hasbro acquired the rights to sell them in the United States but, instead of selling them under their original names, they were rebranded as "The Transformers". The first two years consisted primarily of reusing the Car-Robots/Micro Change molds. The earliest toys had some parts made of die-cast metal, which were eventually phased out.

The line was released as "The Transformers" in the United States, Canada and the UK in 1984 (One year after the Gobots) but Takara was still marketing Diaclone at least during 1984. Hence in Japan "The Transformers" did not debut under that brand till 1985, when the line was also rolled out to the majority of the rest of the world between Takara and Hasbro. Hasbro Europe still will not accept, however, that the range was released in the UK in 1984, not even with evidence such as Argos 1984 catalogues containing the range, the UK comic launching in September 1984 or even the 1984 Transformers product catalogue produced by "Hasbro Industries (UK) Ltd, Wokingham".

 It is thought that Hasbro Europe as it now stands did not come into existence till 1985, hence no records of Transformers sales in 1984. UK Transformers toys were sold in boxes identical to those of their American counterparts until around 1998/9 when the range started to have UK exclusives.

The 1984 and 1985 toy lines contained several figures of note. Megatron, the Decepticon leader, originally transformed into a realistic Walther P38 pistol with stock and barrel extensions and scope. The Megatron toy was delayed till 1985 for release in the UK. The Constructicons were the first "gestalt" team in the Transformers line, but were different from most subsequent gestalt teams in that they consisted of six members instead of five. The Autobot Jetfire was repainted from a Macross toy, specifically the VF-1 Valkyrie, and the character was renamed Skyfire in the animated television series program for copyright reasons.

In 1986 the Transformers animated movie had been released, and during the run of the movie, through a pamphlet that came with certain figures, you could order certain Transformers through the mail, such as Optimus Prime among other toys. The toys came in a standard brown mailer box, with items, booklet, and a limited Edition Movie certificate and sticker.

The 1986 line featured another significant change in that many, if not the majority, of the toys were conceived as futuristic vehicles and bore little resemblance to present-day machinery. This was due to changes in the movie and television series, which leaped ahead twenty years to the year 2005. Many have speculated that this change might have been what signaled the beginning of the end for the Transformers, as part of the novelty of the first lines was the realistic vehicles that turned into robots.

For the 1987 and 1988 lines, Hasbro introduced even more radical ideas through new sub-groups. The Headmasters and Targetmasters came with partners who transformed into the figure's head or weapon, respectively. Powermasters, including the new version of fan favorite Optimus Prime, came with partners that transformed into engines. Each line would see various permutations over the two-year span, including smaller Headmasters, Double Targetmasters, and a Powermaster with two engines.

The most controversial line of this period was the Pretenders. Pretenders consisted of a Transformer contained inside an action figure shell who could "pretend" to be either a human or a monster. Complaints with this line were numerous, including the lack of articulation of the figures (the shells could only move their arms), the simple transformation of the robots within, and their increasing lack of resemblance to any sort of modern recognizable vehicle. Still, despite the complaints, the Pretender line continued through all but the final year of Generation One, with variations such as Beast Pretenders, Monster Pretenders, Classic Pretenders, Mega Pretenders and Ultra Pretenders, each with variations on the theme or increasing levels of complexity.

Also during this time, Micromasters were introduced, and would become one of the last sub-groups of Generation One. Micromasters were tiny Transformers created to compete with the Micro Machines, a hugely popular toy line of the time. While many of the figures had simple transformations and little detail due to their small size, the line eventually expanded to feature Micromaster Transports and Bases, in which Micromasters came with larger vehicles or bases that transformed.

In 1989, the entire line became limited to Pretenders and Micromasters. For the first time, the Transformers received a new design for their title logo. But many also regarded this as a time of a dearth in creativity and the lowest point in the toyline's history. The year 1990 saw the last American burst with the release of more Micromaster characters and the introduction of the Action Masters, non-transforming action figures who came with Transforming companions. Larger Action Master sets came with transforming vehicles and bases. The Action Master line was criticized for its perceived desperation for a gimmick, although it had a few defenders. The line predictably faded and 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, Canada, and Japan markets as they went on to produce their own continuing series between 1991 and 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 and Canada continued with new Action Master figures and introduced the Turbo Masters and Predators. Japan continued with the Micromasters concept.

The 1992 and 1993 European and Canadian releases make up what is often called "Generation 1.5", much to the annoyance of many UK fans. 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". New characters are still occasionally added to the line, primarily by E-hobby. (Examples: Sunstorm, Hauler, Detritus, and the like.) Large-scale production of new characters in this line ended with the onset of Generation 2. Transformers fans often are very upheld with the G1 community. This has led to controversy among fans who consider G1 to be the only "pure" form of Transformers.

I personally had alot of them and theey were a real brain teaser especially the harder ones and as always have a chilled day from th viking.