Choro-Q Optimus Prime welcomes you...

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Optimus Prime Generations | Megatron Generations | Starscream Generations
Nemesis Prime Generations | Limited Editions update 21/11/07 | Customised Models update 21/11/07

While my full TransFormers collection stretches all the way back to Generation 1, what's online in this section is only the more recent stuff, starting with the surprisingly popular Beast Wars series. Undoubtedly, a big part of BW's appeal came from the animated TV series by Mainframe (also responsible for the excellent ReBoot) but, having reached its tenth anniversary, the toy range is being reworked and re-released. Advertising, in the form of the usual ads and the many TV series, has been patchy at best ever since Gen 1 back in the mid 1980s. I don't recall seeing any Beast Wars ads, but at least there was the TV series, shown sporadically on kids TV. Robots in Disguise (aka Car Robots) looked for quite some time as though it hadn't been translated from Japanese, Armada was a largely terrible Pokémon-derivative, shown at various ungodly hours of the morning. Energon didn't make much of an impact on terrestrial television in the UK, if it aired at all, but I've seen a few episodes of the Japanese series, Superlink. It's computer-generated, like Beast Wars, but cel-shaded and features traditional anime work for the human characters. Interesting, but clearly designed to sell toys. Galaxy Force (aka Cybertron, in the States) looked like a slight improvement on this, with a much more involving story, and a wider range of characters and robot styles. While it still retains some of Armada's "Gotta catch 'em all" vibe, the 'catching' is limited to four Planet Keys, which are ultimately used to save Cybertron from a black hole. And just to prove that merely transforming is no longer enough of a gimmick (see Energon/Superlink), these keys can be used on all of the robots in the series to activate all kinds of new features.

It's possible that, eventually, this section may extend to my Generation 1 toys, but it depends on how much time and effort I feel like putting into the project. For the moment, I'm only just keeping up with my current purchases. Binaltech is a 'reimagining' of Gen 1, using contemporary manufacturing to recreate Gen 1 TransFormers as fully licensed 1:24 scale model cars. With that in mind, I'm in no hurry to return to Gen 1. That said, with TakaraTomy and Hasbro reissuing some Gen 1 models, I'll be picking up any that interest me. If I get any more nostalgic, I may fast-track the Gen 1 section.

The first time I saw Beast Wars toys was in an issue of Computer and Video Games' Gizmo Palace. My first impression was that there were a bit poo. They seemed to be a bit of a Jurassic Park cash-in, in that they were dinosaurs, animals, birds, etc. which changed into robots. Technically, the Beast Wars occur after the events of Generation 1... but only technically, because everyone goes back in time in the very first episode of the TV series. The Autobots are now Maximals, and Decepticons are now called Predacons, which was originally the name of a group of gestalt Decepticons, who combined to become Predaking. While there is a Maximal called Optimus Prime/Primal, and a Predacon called Megatron, it's made quite clear that these are not the ones from Gen 1. Oddly, here's a Maximal called Dinobot, who used to be a Predacon, when the Dinobots were a group of Autobots - lead by Grimlock - who transformed into robotic dinosaurs and Scorponok has shrunk into a tiny little thing from the Decepticon HeadMaster City he used to be. The original run of Beast Wars had comparatively few characters that, frankly, weren't that good. Beast Wars gave rise to TransMetals (cybernetic animals with chromed parts on the toys) and Fuzors (robots that turned into bizarre combinations of at least two different animals). The models improved with later series, with several upgrades to Blackarachnia and, with Beast Wars II, the introduction of Lio Convoy. Many other models took the idea of animal 'shells' a bit too literally, but the robot modes tended to be pretty good. The Beast Wars were followed by Beast Machines, which took the story back to Cybertron... but most of the toys were just plain daft.

Robots In Disguise was very nearly a return to something close to the original format, with the Autobots cast as vehicles which transform into robots, and the Decepticons as... well... they don't make as much sense, as they're a mixture of Generation 2, Beast Wars and new molds. The number and range of toys available still comes nowhere near the original line-up, and all of them seem to have been designed with the robot in mind, rather than the vehicle, for the most part. That's not to say the vehicles don't look good - some are perfect... it's just that the robot forms of some of the smaller vehicles seem awkward and thin, with large panels of the vehicle form acting as shields or wings. The 'Electronic Lights and Sounds' of the larger Autobots are pretty cool, with different effects for Prime, Magnus, and their combined form of Omega Prime. Since hard-to-find models are difficult for me to pass up, I joined in an eBay auction for RID Scourge (aka Nemesis Prime), which was never made available in the UK... and I won! eBay also helped me to get the three 'Train Brothers' - Railspike, Rapid Run and Midnight Express - who combine to form the mighty Rail Racer. I've since picked up one iteration of each of the 'Car Brothers', along with a BotCon 2003 limited edition version of the Lamborghini mold.

The next line of TransFormers was Armada. There's a small range of big robots, most of which are very simplistic, and don't look too good as either robots or vehicles, but they are all brightly coloured and hi-tech looking, and fun for kiddies to play with. To accompany them, and to prove that the Pokémon phenomenon did not go unnoticed by Takara or Hasbro, we have Mini-Cons - tiny, but reasonably complex robots, almost equivalent to the Mini Autobots of old but far more posable - with a variety of special powers: Some combine, some fire miniature projectiles, some are triple-changers. The common factor is that they all plug into the larger robots to endow them with new abilities. There's some daft story to explain why the Autobots and Decepticons "Gotta Catch 'Em All", but it's not really important. I now have all the Mini-Cons I really want, including the Star Sabre (Air Defence team), Dark Sabre (Air Assault team), Requiem Blaster (Space team) and Skyboom (Road Assault team). Thanks to the wonders of eBay, I also have the Japanese Starscream, with its superior colourscheme.

My September 2004 trip to America (New Orleans, Washington and New York) was intended to allow me to buy some Alternators (the cheaper, plastic versions of Binaltech), but I only saw three in the toy shops, all of which I already have Binaltech version of. To console myself, I snagged some more Armada Mini-Cons and my first toy from the mostly crappy Energon line, Arcee (easily the best looking Motorbike-to-Robot TransFormer available before 'Movie' Deluxe Arcee)... I never really intended to carry on this collection, because most of the models seemed quite poor - overly simplistic, very chunky, and many had the robot head visible in their alternate mode. Nevertheless, I've ended up 'rounding off' this collection with an 'absolutely final purchase' about six times so far, the latest being with Tow Line and Slugslinger, both bought via eBay. I also have the limited edition green repaint of Arcee/Arial as Paradron Medic.

"It is the year 2005. The treacherous Decepticons have conquered the Autobots' home planet of Cybertron. But, from secret staging grounds on two of Cybertron's moons, the valiant Autobots prepare to retake their homeland." So said the intro to TransFormers The Movie way back in 1986. In fact, 2005 brought us Galaxy Force, in which the Autobots try to close a black hole which is threatening to engulf Cybertron, but only succeed in making things worse. An ancient, clockwork TransFormer pops out of a portal to say that only something called 'Planet Force' can save them. He creates a map to give the Autobots, but then Megatron (now sporting a Batmobile inspired alt-mode) appears and steals the map... As a toy range, Galaxy Force is a huge improvement on both Energon and Armada, with excellent robot heads, brilliantly detailed molding, and plenty of posablilty. While both Armada and Energon had really weak Autobots, those in Galaxy Force are easily the strongest players, while the Decepticons are best described as 'patchy'. The new gimmick is the 'ignition system', where a 'key' is inserted at strategic locations on the model to activate hidden features.

The Robot Masters line is one which almost passed me by completely. Not because I wasn't aware of it, but because it didn't live up to its initial promise for quite some time. Its reimagining of older models was a mixture of repainting existing (largely Gen 2) models as new or different characters, with one or two new models thrown in. RM Optimus Prime (Convoy) was great in theory, but the reality didn't work so well - while robot mode is unquestionably well designed and very posable, truck mode doesn't fit together properly. The reimagined Beast Wars Primal and Megatron just weren't as good as the originals, and even the redesigned Starscream was still rather lacking in articulation. It wasn't until RM Lio Convoy that I started to get interested, as that was a reworking of a model I'd always wanted but - at the time - never thought I'd see again... Overall, a fairly good series, but one which rarely shines.

2006 - the very end of the year - brought us essentially full circle with the Classics range - contemporary reimaginings of Generation 1 characters, with the alternate modes kept as close to the original as possible. Hence, Optimus Prime is a red, flat-nosed truck, Bumblebee is a small yellow car (though nothing like a Beetle), Mirage is a racing car and - the biggest surprise of them all - Megatron is a handgun! While this seemed to be essentially a 'filler' line, to keep fans hooked before the movie, it has been cleverly thought out and has produced some of the most interesting and impressive TransFormers outside the Binaltech/Masterpiece line.

While wandering through eBay shortly before Christmas 2003, I found the 20th Anniversary Masterpiece Convoy/Optimus Prime figure. It's marked as 'MP-1', and was closely followed by MP-2, a simple white and blue repaint turning him into Ultra Magnus, which seems like a real cop-out to me. Prices varied dramatically, depending on who was selling and whether you wanted the original Japanese Takara model (like mine) or the short-smokestack, battle damaged American Hasbro version. Given that it's still (just about) available, it seems as though it's not a very limited edition, but since I can't read any of the paperwork, I can't be sure. Good though this model is, I felt no need to buy Ultra Magnus. New Masterpiece models have been snapped up eagerly, but the Ultra Magnus repaint just devalues the original. MP-3 is a Masterpiece version of Starscream (which has been repainted into MP-6 Skywarp) with MP-4 as a re-release of Convoy with a real trailer. MP-5 is the eagerly awaited Masterpiece Generation 1 Megatron who, despite huge changes to the gun laws of many countries throughout the world, still transforms into a Walther P-38, albeit now an oversized one.

Because I am weak, and cannot walk out of Forbidden Planet without buying something, I picked up the first of the Binaltech line of part die-cast TransFormer remakes. After missing out several times on eBay, then spending a weekend trawling the internet, I found two well-priced UK suppliers. Still not as cheap as ordering from Hong Kong (give or take shipping fees), but cheaper than FP. And so, I bought Lambor (aka Sideswipe). Proving that I just can't stop at two, I've picked up all of the Autobots the series has produced thus far. I've recently caved and bought the Binaltech Decepticons (Dead End, Swindle and Shockblast, with Alternator Battle Ravage bought for me as a birthday present). Binaltech is an amazing series, but one I'll deal with on a case-by-case basis. The official Prowl, for example, just doesn't look right... So I'm making my own. With rumours that TakaraTomy are cancelling (or 'reworking', at least) the Binaltech line, I've picked up another Alternator (Optimus Prime) and one of the Binaltech Asterisk models.

As a habitual buyer of silly Birthday/Christmas presents, one year, I bought a friend a full wave of World's Smallest TransFormers - dinky yet accurate versions of the original Gen 1 toys - and shortly thereafter rediscovered them for myself, with the limited availability of World's Smallest Optimus Prime and trailer. I hadn't planned to get any more... but then I discovered Justitoys' World's Smallest Dinobots.

While my first bootleg TransFormer was actually the so-called 'Shackwave' model - actually one of many bootleg toys to be sold by Radio Shack/Tandy under the name 'Galactic Man', another being a bootleg Robocop - this little collection officially started with one Ebay purchase (which I received as a 2006 birthday present) and one lucky find at a convention. Continuing this collection is likely to be more luck than judgement... Picking up the bootleg Constructicons in Battersea being a prime example... On the upside, they're sometimes easier to find than the real thing. On the downside, they're often poor quality and hugely overpriced.

As of 2007, the hottest and newest line of TransFormers is the movie range. With a limited number of characters appearing in the movie, Hasbro saw fit to release several key characters in as many different sizes as they could get away with, and then add extra characters from the game of the movie, then battle damaged versions, followed boxed sets of several figures everyone had already bought. Alongside this came the Real Gear range, based on everyday technology, where the new generation of transformers are truly pocket-sized. Both are impressive in their own way, but while Real Gear is an interesting cash-in, the movie range ably demonstrates how toymaking has advanced since the days of Generation 1.

Transform and Roll Out!

Features
Optimus Prime Generations | Megatron Generations | Starscream Generations
Nemesis Prime Generations | Limited Editions | Customised Models update 18/10/07

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