It was pretty difficult to keep track of everything what was a new deco, what was a plain repack, what was just-different-enough-to-make-you-mad, etc. While store exclusives were certainly nothing new to Transformers by this point, the movie toyline positively blew the doors off past lines in terms of sheer numbers, both in the amount of product and in the number of outlets to get exclusives. Wave 3 was only released in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Australia and Mexico. While the line lasted a lot longer than the waves listed here, we're just going to focus on the stuff in specifically movie-branded packaging (even though half of those had Generation 1 characters). The Robot Heroes are 2-inch non-transforming "super deformed" soft-plastic figurines, featuring characters from a mix of generations. This was the start of an ongoing cross-branding of one of Hasbro's longest-running toys with Transformers.Īre you ready for adorable? These small plush versions of the Generation 1 Optimus Prime and Bumblebee "transform" by unzipping their backs and folding them inside-out, which gives you a nice compact vehicle-mode plush! "Capture of Bumblebee" ( Bumblebee, Simmons, 2 Sector Seven agents).( Barricade, Sam Witwicky, Mikaela, Decepticon Frenzy) They come packaged in nifty diorama boxes and include PVC figurines of both human and Transformers screen characters. Screen Battles "Screen Battles" are minor redecos of Deluxe Class toys in more movie-accurate decos based on specific moments from the movie. (This rule would later be relaxed slightly to allow "offscreen" character molds to be used, but that's not til the next movie-based line.) Unfortunately, due to issues of vehicle mode licensing and the fact that the robot designs are the shared intellectual property of Paramount, the movie series toys were not available to be redecoed in non-film-based lines, not even as convention exclusives. Even major human characters got toys (rare for a Transformers toyline) in the "Screen Battles" diorama sets. While the newly created bots in the film were left out, the concept was represented by the Real Gear Robots. The primary gimmick of the main line is " Automorph Technology", a gimmick by which moving one piece of a toy will in turn move other pieces into their designated positions via hidden gears, furthering the parallel with the movie's visuals.įloat like a butterfly and sting like a.wait- what's my name again?.Īnother major aspect of the line is its heavy focus on "core cast", making sure most of the film Autobots and Decepticons were available at multiple price points, especially the budget-minded Legends size class, which was once again available at all major retailers (instead of just at specialty and convenience stores). Transformations are fairly complex, and tend to capture the movie's visual spectacle of a vehicle flying apart into a thousand pieces as the robots transform. The main line figures feature an above-average design complexity, packing an amazing number of moving parts into a small package. Most alternate forms are realistically styled contemporary Earth vehicles, many of which are licensed replicas. Even non-film characters match the overall aesthetic. Robot modes integrate and hide their vehicle mode kibble very well, avoiding most of the parts-clearance problems seen in many " shellformer" style designs. The main line movie figures attempt to emulate the complex, multi-faceted appearance of the screen characters, succeeding to a remarkable degree given the radical style shift. Many of these are featured in alternate movie-related media, such as prequel comics and video games.įollowing the success of the movie toyline, it was expanded with the AllSpark Power and Premium Series sub-lines, while the subsequent toyline, Transformers Animated, was officially pushed back from late 2007/early 2008 to July 2008. Given the limited number of Transformers featured in the movie, the toyline naturally contains many additional characters. Virtually all characters of the movie cast received multiple toy incarnations at various price points, from the tiny $4 Legends versions and two-for-$5 Robot Heroes PVCs up to the massive, complex, electronic $80 Ultimate Bumblebee. Other markets, such as Japan and even Europe, also had their own exclusives. Furthermore, many stores received various exclusive redecos and multi-packs. Others, such as Real Gear Robots and the various role play toys, expand on the plot and concepts of the movie. Some, such as the Fast Action Battlers and Cyber Slammers, are aimed at younger users. In addition to the standard "main line" figures, several sub-lines were developed. The prominence of the movie allowed Hasbro to push the toy line to new levels of complexity and diversity. The 2007 film Transformers was accompanied by one of the largest product blitzes in the history of the Transformers brand.
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