The Transformers (European toyline)
From Transformers Wiki
 |
| |||||||||||||||
Originally, European countries got the same The Transformers toys Hasbro had previously released in the USA, although different countries got different toys (with a few getting regional manufacturers that'd in turn also produce a few occasional noticeable variants). Initially, numerous sub-contracted companies were responsible for releasing the toys in the individual European countries (which involved language variations on the packaging), but over time, they were either bought out by Hasbro or simply dropped in favor of a more and more unified European market.
As the Transformers toyline faded in popularity across North America and Japan throughout the early 90s, the franchise conversely experienced a small parallel renaissance of sorts in Europe, with the region earning several unique figures during this time. After The Transformers toyline ended in the US, the line continued in Europe until it was renamed into Generation 2 in 1994, thus making Europe the only market where the toyline wasn't cancelled at any point.
Contents |
1984
While The Transformers would not reach most of Europe until 1985, a number of the toys from the 1984 US line were also available in the UK the same year. Given that the Marvel UK comic launched in September '84 (complete with advertisements touting that the toys were "In the shops now!") it seems likely that they were on-sale by mid-summer at the latest, only a few months after the line's US launch.
Little is known about the earliest toys released in the UK. Common consensus is that they came in English-only packaging virtually indistinguishable from the US packaging. Recounts of which toys were and weren't available in the UK vary depending on who you ask. This has not been helped by the passing of the years diminishing memory, toys missing one year showing up in a later year, grey imports and non UK distributed toys being brought back from trips overseas. In general the pack in catalogue leaflets are considered a good guide but there are a few instances of toys being out in a particular year but not being shown on the catalogue leaflets. For 1984 the general consensus is that the catalogue leaflet is an accurate reflection on what was available, with five Autobot Cars not appearing till 1985. A surprising confirmed omission from the initial wave of 1984 toys is Megatron, whose absence on the shelves was even noted in the letters page of the Marvel UK comic. Also of note is that the line's UK tag-line initially was "Warrior Robots in Disguise", seen in the comic and on much of the early ancillary merchandise.
The assortment names used below are those seen in the leaflet which accompanied the 1984 range.
Mini Cars
|
Spy-Cassetes[sic] | Robot Cars | Cassete Man[sic] |  | ||||
| Strike Planes | Leader Truck |  |
1985
The Transformers toy line officially started in most European countries in 1985. It should be noted, though, that various European companies had already released licensed versions of Takara's Diaclone and Microman toys domestically prior to that (Trasformer by GiG in Italy; Diaclone by Joustra in France, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands; Takara themselves released Diaclone in Finland). Some of the toys in those lines sported Hasbro-series changes, including color schemes and even Autobot symbols(!), as Takara was already shifting production of the toys from Diaclone to their own domestic release of Transformers. But it wasn't until 1985 that Transformers toys were officially introduced to the various European markets under that name.
United Kingdom
All 1984 toys were still available in 1985, now with the addition of rubsigns. They were joined by the figures that had initially been omitted, namely the remaining Autobot cars and Megatron, who was reported by Hasbro to be available from around Easter. Alongside with a variation of Optimus Prime that sported red instead of blue feet, Megatron was manufactured by French company Ceji as part of a deal with Hasbro, and the red-footed version of Optimus Prime was also released by Milton Bradley in mainland Europe (see below).[1][2]
Oddly, numerous toys were left out of the UK range, never to see official release: notably Swoop, Shockwave and Blaster. The Constructicons were also missing; in the early 90s they got a semi-official import release, and a de-combiner'ed redeco release (see "1992" below). Some of the non-Takara sculpts were likely dropped due to licensing arrangements (Omega Supreme, for example, was available as part of the competing Grandstand Convertors line around this time as "Omegatron"). Due to his absence from the 1985 Hasbro catalog, Jetfire has long been believed to have been held over until the 1986 range, but he was featured in the Autumn 1985 Argos catalog.[3])
| Mini-Vehicles | Insecticons | Robot Cars |  | |||||
| Jumpstarters | Decepticon Triple Changers | Dinobots | Strike Planes | |||||
| Decepticon Leader | Jetfire |
Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain
The earliest toys released in continental Europe (minus Italy) were distributed by Milton Bradley, which was in the process of being taken over by Hasbro at that point. There's no solid evidence that all the MB toys were available in all these countries, but the packaging is sporting German, French, Dutch and Spanish text. Therefore, MB covered the markets where Joustra's Diaclone toys were previously available, with the addition of Spain. The first wave of MB-branded toys was a rather odd selection, a result of Joustra holding the rights to many of the remaining toys, among them Optimus Prime. As a consequence, Jetfire was initially marketed as Autobot leader. Following a deal between Hasbro Bradley and Joustra's struggling parent company Ceji, a large amount of unsold Joustra toys were literally repackaged and released as the second wave of MB Transformers.[2]
Special Note: the tech specs feature inconsistencies for the Dutch (Functie / Funktie) & Spanish (Función / Cometido) across the line. Usage appears to be figure consistent, meaning you will only see use of one or the other within the wave.
- Wave 1
| Autobot Mini Vehicles | Constructicons | Insecticons | Jumpstarters |  | ||||
| Decepticon Triple Changers | Dinobots | Autobot Deluxe Vehicles | Deluxe Insecticons | |||||
| Decepticon Communicator | Autobot Communicator | Decepticon Aeroplanes | Decepticon Leader | |||||
| Decepticon Laser Gun | Autobot Leader |
- Wave 2
| Autobot Mini Vehicles | Decepticon Cassettes | Robot Cars |
|
 | |||
Decepticon Planes
|
Autobot Commander |
An odd one-off addition to the 1985 French Transformers offering was Horloge Robot, a small robot that splits into 14 different vehicles and features a working watch on his chest, released by AVI France in collaboration with Canal+. Weirdly enough, he is none other than a repackaging of a common bootleg of Diaclone Gats Blocker, now released under the official Transformers brand... For some reason.
|
 |
Italy
ㅤㅤ
GiG ("Geegh", but sometimes misspelled "GiGi") originally released licensed Diaclone toys under the name "Trasformer", occasionally sporting color schemes only found on Hasbro's Transformers versions (very likely because Takara was shifting production of the toys from Diaclone to Transformers at the time). Whether it was pressure from Hasbro or a mere marketing decision, GiG eventually acquired an additional license from Hasbro and launched their own version of the Transformers line, with the toys often sporting original Italian names (for example, the Autobots became "Autorobots", and the Decepticons "Distructors").[4] In addition to the official Transformers logo, a small remainder of the old Trasformer logo would remain on the packaging until 1987.
Speaking of Trasformer remnants, the "Autorobot Cars" and the "Distructor Planes" all sported unique "safety" missiles with large rubber boppers on the end instead of the individual missiles the versions released everywhere else had.
The Autobot Minicars/Mini Vehicles were apparently never released by GiG. The Italian names for their characters come from the Italian dub of the animated series.
| Escavators (Constructicons) | Autorobot Cars |  | ||||||
| Distructor Triple Changers
|
Dinorobots (Dinobots)
|
Distructor Planes
|
Autorobot Leader
|
1986
United Kingdom
1986 was the first year that the UK lost toys that had been available in previous years. 4 cars survived from the initial 1984 Autobot car assortment, none from the 1984 Autobot cars held over till 1985 in the UK and 6 of the 7 new 1985 cars: Skids misses out on a second year of availability. 5 of the six original Minibots are gone, only Bumblebee survives. Gone are the tape 2 packs, although they continue till 1988 in the US line, as are Soundwave & Buzzsaw].
The catalogue does not show Optimus Prime & Megatron - In Issue 85 Transformers UK comic claimed they were still available in 1986. Issues 85 & 86 contain what purports to be a full listing of the 1986 line
The catalogue also does not show Rodimus Prime & Wreck-Gar: they make a very late appearance on UK shelves towards the end of 1986 tying in with the release of Transformers The Movie.
Missing from the Hasbro UK releases are the Predacons & Gnaw, Sky Lynx, Trypticon, who was seen "grey imported" at the time, and the Autobot tapes & Ratbat / Frenzy, who later had Chinese stock grey imports in the early 1990s.
Confirmed UK Hasbro releases from 1986 are:
| Autobot Mini-Vehicles | Aerialbots | Protectobots |  | |||||
| Stunticons | Combaticons | Battlechargers | Triple Changers |  | ||||
| Autobot Vehicles (Autobot Cars) | Decepticon Planes | Autobot City | ||||||
| Autobot City Commander | Decepticon City Commander | Autobot Heroes |
France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain
Presumably, Transformers didn't sell well in Germany in 1985, as German was dropped as a language from the packaging until Generation 2. Instead, Hasbro (who had finished taking over MB) consolidated the UK market with the rest of Europe (except for Italy, again). The 1986 releases that were now available in packaging with "Hasbro" rather than "MB" logos sported the four languages English, French, Dutch and Spanish (the order between English and French could occasionally be swapped).
Confirmed European Hasbro releases from 1986 are:
| Autobot Mini-Vehicles | Aerialbots | Protectobots | Constructicons (yellow) |  | ||||
| Stunticons | Combaticons | Battlespringers (Battlechargers) | Triple Changers | |||||
| Autobot Vehicles (Autobot Cars) |
|
Decepticon Planes | Autobot Leader | |||||
| Autobot City | Decepticon Communicator |
Italy
GiG was still doing their own thing at this point, with a bit of mix of Hasbro and Takara-style packaging. Notably, GiG's versions of the Aeriabolts, Protectobots, Stunticons and Combaticons came in boxes based on the Takara versions (including prominent "C" and "D" numbers and "Takara" instead of "Hasbro" logos), just like the previous year's Constructicons. This only applied to the combiner limbs, though; the leaders/torsos came in boxes based on the Hasbro versions, including "A5", "P5", "S5" and "D5" numbers.
Known Italian releases of 1986 toys are:
Aerialbots
|
Protectobots | Stunticons
|
Combaticons |  | ||||
Predacons
|
Distructor Planes | Autorobot City Commander
|
Autorobot City
| |||||
Distructor City
|
Greece
El Greco manufactured and released a small number of Transformers toys to the Greek market, with the only known El Greco releases this year being seven Autobot Mini-Vehicles. These are mostly identical to their international versions safe for a few minor coloration differences, with the used plastics generally being a bit brighter or darker than their Hasbro and Joustra equivalents. The cards the toys were available on were based on the Hasbro cards but fully translated to Greek (including the character names) and sported Hasbro logos in addition to the "El Greco" logo.
It's not entirely clear when exactly the following toys were first available in Greece; however, they couldn't have been released before 1986, since they depict the "Decipher the Decepticon" poster artwork on the back of their cards.
1986
|
 |
1987
United Kingdom
In the UK in 1987 the line lost all the pre 1986 toys. Most of the new toys for 1986 survive apart from the Minibot & Battlecharger assortments. As per the main US line the cars & planes introduced in 1986 received a Targetmaster upgrade
Fortress Maximius was not offered for sale through Hasbro UK but a number were given away as colouring competition prizes: a toy promoting this was on display in Hamley's in Regents Street, London, well into the 1990s.
Also missing in the UK were the new Decepticon tapes, both factions' Clones, Doublespy Punch/Countepunch, Sixshot and the Monsterbots. Sixshot, the Decepticon Clones and Punch/Counterpunch would later be sold in the UK as Chinese Grey Imports in the early 1990s as would the standard size Autobot & Decepticon Headmasters.
| Aerialbots | Protectobots | Stunticons | Combaticons |  | ||||
| Technobots | Terrorcons | Throttlerbots | Duocons |  | ||||
| Autobot Headmasters | Autobot Targetmasters | Decepticon Headmasters | Decepticon Headmaster Horrorcons | |||||
| Decepticon Targetmasters | Autobot Heroes | Autobot City Commander | Decepticon City Commander | |||||
| Autobot City | Headmaster Decepticon Base |
France, the Netherlands, and Belgium
Apparently realizing that tech specs in four different languages aren't exactly the optimal choice, Hasbro started breaking up the languages again. The UK got toys in English-only packaging, whereas France, Belgium, and the Netherlands got toys in bilingual French/Dutch packaging. Germany only got the English versions with safety warning stickers in German. Presumably, all toys were available in all language variants, but without solid evidence, this is pure speculation. Known European toys from 1987 in French/Dutch packaging are:
Technobots
|
Duocons | Autobot Headmasters | Autobot Targetmasters |  | ||||
| Decepticon Headmasters | Decepticon Targetmasters | Autobot Leader | Autobot City Commander | |||||
| Decepticon City Commander | Autobot Space Shuttle | Decepticon City | Headmaster Decepticon Base |
Italy
GiG continued to have their own slightly-different take on Transformers, mainly in packaging; the "Racerbots" (Throttlebots), "Tecnobots" and "Terrorbots" (it should be obvious) came in Takara-styled boxes complete with Japanese ID numbers. "Tundertron" (Abominus) was available as a giftset even though Hasbro hadn't released the toys in that form in the USA; the box layout was again based very closely on the standard Hasbro combiner giftsets at that time, but lacking the Hasbro logo, and sporting the toys' Takara ID numbers. The "Tecnobot" and "Terrorbot" advertisement flyers depict Scattershot and Hun-Gurrr erroneously wearing their respective combiner heads in their uncombined robot modes. The Monsterbots' boxes were based on the Hasbro versions, but sported "Takara" instead of "Hasbro" logos and Takara ID numbers.
Known Italian toys from 1987 are:
| Racerbots (Throttlebots) | Tecnobots (Technobots)
|
Terrorbots (Terrorcons)
|
Duoform (Clones)
|
 | ||||
Autorobot Headmasters
|
Monsterbots
|
Distructor Headmasters
|
Sixchanger
| |||||
Decepticon Citybot
|
1988
United Kingdom
In 1988 all the previously available toys were eliminated from the catalogue, but there are hints, in the Argos catalogue and elsewhere, that some may have continued to be distributed. There is some debate as to if the Triggerbots & Triggercons were available in the UK in 1988: they are not shown on the catalogue.
As in previous years, the new US released tapes were not offered in the UK. The UK also missed out on the "second wave" US Pretenders: Autobots Groundbreaker, Sky High and Splashdown, and Decepticons Bugly, Finback & Iguanus.
The Pretender Vehicles were a Woolworths exclusive in 1988 before becoming more generally available in 1989.
Towards the end of the year, the Micromaster Off Road, Race Car and Air Strike patrols were available in the UK in their "Micro Transformer" packaging.
| Micro Transformers | Sparkabots | Firecons | Seacons |  Spot the naming mistakes! | ||||
| Autobot Double Targetmasters | Decepticon Double Targetmasters | Autobot Powermasters | Decepticon Powermasters | |||||
| Powermaster Mercenary | Autobot Six Changer | Autobot Pretender Beasts | Decepticon Pretender Beasts | |||||
| Pretender Vehicles (Woolworths Exclusive) | Autobot Powermaster Leader |
France, the Netherlands, and Belgium
Toys were still available in English-only and French/Dutch packaging. The UK toys started sporting a yellow "Original HASBRO Transformers" sticker on their packaging, possibly as a reaction to the sudden flood of Mexican toys (although those didn't come out in Europe until late 1988/early 1989). This sticker is also the only way to tell a European toy in English packaging apart from its US counterpart, as the packaging itself appears to be identical. 1988 toys were available in Germany in English-only packaging including the "Original HASBRO Transformers" sticker, with additional safety warning stickers in German.
Known European toys from 1988 are (all of the toys on this list have been found in both English stickered packaging and French/Dutch packaging):
| Sparkabots | Firecons | Triggerbots | Triggercons | |||||
| Seacons | Double Targetmasters | Powermasters | Six Changer |
Italy
Starting with the Pretenders, GiG finally dropped the small remainder of the old Trasformer logo from their packaging. The most interesting releases this year are the "Grandi Set Transformers" (also called "Superset Transformers" in the 1988 Christmas catalog), re-releases of the prior Combiner giftsets with a pack of five random "Exogini Transformers" (Decoys) as a freebie.
Known Italian releases from 1988 are:
Triggerbots
|
Triggercons
|
Pretenders Autorobot
|
|
|||||
Pretenders Distructor
|
|
Grandi Set/Superset Transformers |
1989
United Kingdom
For the first time the UK received all of this year's new mainline western Transformers the same year they were released in the USA. Unfortunately this was also the first year the US had store exclusives, the Kmart Legends which the UK misses out on.
The Pretender Monsters & Countdown were Woolworths exclusives in 1989, with Countdown being more generally available the following year
Not shown on the pack in catalogue leaflet is 1988's Powermaster Optimus Prime. There is very strong evidence that this continues to be produced at least through 1989 with appearances in Argos catalogues into 1990 and boxed examples being found with the 1989 catalogue leaflet within.
| Triggerbots | Triggercons | Small Pretenders | Pretender Vehicles |  | ||||
| Pretender Classics | Mega Pretenders | Ultra Pretenders | Pretender Monsters (Woolworths Exclusive) | |||||
| Micromaster Patrols | Micromaster Transports | Micromaster Battle Stations
|
Micromaster Bases
|
 | ||||
| Micromaster Decepticon Space Shuttle | Micromaster Autobot Rocket Bases (1989 Woolworths Exclusive)
|
France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain
In 1989, all releases received French names, but not Dutch names. Spain started getting toys in Spanish-only packaging (which are not to be confused with the unofficially imported Mexican toys by IGA). The smaller Pretenders, the Classic Pretenders, the Micromaster Stations and the Micromaster Transports were once again available in Germany in English packaging.
Confirmed releases include:
Small Pretenders
|
Micromaster Patrols
|
Micromaster Transports
|
Micromaster Bases
|
|||||
Micromaster Battle Stations
|
Italy
Known Italian toys from 1989 are:
| Pretender Monsters | Small Pretenders
|
Microtransformers Pattuglias (Micromaster Patrols)
|
Microtransformers Deluxes (Micromaster Transports)
|
|||||
| Microtrasformer[sic] Stations (Micromaster Stations) | Microtransformer Bases (Micromaster Bases)
|
Set Commandos (Classic Legends)
|
Unofficial Mexican imports
In addition to the regular toys released by Hasbro and GiG, Europe was also hit by a flood of Transformers toys imported from Mexico. While these toys had been officially produced by IGA with the intention to release them on the Mexican market, a large unsold stock remained that was eventually exported to Europe without Hasbro's involvement. The toys were available in the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy, Austria, Romania, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland. This created a strange situation where unofficially imported (but officially produced) toys competed with official European releases. These toys are considered official for Mexico but unofficial for Europe.
1990
Main Transformers Toyline
By 1990, Hasbro had mostly streamlined their European markets. Presumably, all toys that came out in one country were also available everywhere else. Even the Italian releases now sported a uniform look with the toys that were available elsewhere in Europe (even though they still sported a "GiG" logo and Italian names), with one exception. Also, with Hasbro cancelling the Transformers line in the USA for the time being, the European Hasbro branches continued releasing new toys which the USA would never get. By this time, Australia also was receiving releases, re-releases and exclusives in a pattern similar (if not exactly the same) to that of the European market; this would continue at least as far as Generation 2.
Presumably, Germany got the UK versions of the 1990 Action Masters in English-only packaging. Also, GiG gave at least some of the Action Masters toys that were based on older characters the original Italian names again.
Confirmed releases include:
Where country specific packaging variants are known the following abbreviations are used:
UK: English packaging, F/NL: French/Dutch packaging, S: Spanish packaging, I: Italian packaging with alternate names
Micromaster Patrols
|
Micromaster Combiner Squads
|
Micromaster Combiner Transports
|
Micromaster Combiner Autobot Battlefield Headquarters
|
  | ||||
Micromaster Combiner Anti-Aircraft Base
| ||||||||
Action Master Figures
|
Action Master Action Blasters
|
Action Master Autobot Action Vehicles
| ||||||
| Action Master Decepticon Attack Vehicles | Action Master Autobot Armored Convoy | Galaxy Shuttle
|
"Classics" (Europe & Australasia)
Possibly taking a cue from the popularity of the Classic Pretenders, Hasbro started re-releasing original toys from 1984-1987 in "gold" packaging based on the Classic Pretenders' boxes, under the name "Classics". Germany got the "Classics" toys in English packaging. Unlike the English and French/Dutch versions, the Italian and Spanish "Classics" don't actually say "Classic" anywhere on the packaging. The toys themselves are functionally identical to their original releases, complete with rubsigns. (Some toys released this year were altered the following year, but we'll talk about the details of that then.)
Why this line happened is currently unknown, but there are several possibilities. It is known that the Transformers line was only just starting up in China (thanks to some legal shenanigans), and it appears the "Classics" toys were produced in the same Chinese factories, so the molds suddenly being available for production presented possibilities. It is unknown if Hasbro had originally intended for the toys to be released in the US market as well as in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, but the line's cancellation in the US killed that.
Confirmed European/Australasian "Classic" releases from 1990:[5]
Classic Aerialbots
|
Classic Stunticons
|
Classic Heroes |  |
1991
Main Transformers Toyline
Although Transformers had come to a stop in the US, Hasbro continued releasing new toys to the European and Australasian markets. Following directly on from 1990's lineup was a number of new Action Masters, including an additional assortment of standard figures, figures with transforming exo-suit armour, and the infamously-paradoxical Action Master Elites who could themselves transform. Again, Action Masters were available in English packaging in Germany.
The "Classic" range of older toys was also expanded with new and updated assortments, and was further complemented by a small quantity of toys from moulds previously exclusive to Japan—while these releases did not sport the "Classic" branding and had their own distinct box-back mural, they were released in the same style of gold packaging.
Four non Action Master toys were issued in the mainline, the Autobot Motorvators, repaints of the Japanese Takara Victory era Brainmaster cars, and their Decepticon foe, Overlord who originated in the Japanese Takara Masterforce toyline and was was not released in the west in 1988 with the other Powermaster toys. In the UK Overlord was another exclusive for Woolworths.
Confirmed releases include:
Action Master figures
|
Exo-Suit Action Masters
|
Motorized Exo-Suit Action Masters | Action Master Elites
|
 | ||||
Motorvators
|
Others
|
Classics
Again, Classics toys were available in English packaging in Germany. However, the Classic Combaticons might have not been available in Germany, due to the unpopular "war" theme. Also, again, the Italian and Spanish Classics don't say "Classic" anywhere on the packaging, unlike the English and French/Dutch versions. The rubsign indents on the Classic Protectobots, Combaticons, Throttlebots, and Triple Changers Springer and Octane, were filled in. As the rubsigns were the only faction symbols on the Throttlebots, they were replaced with paper Autobot symbol stickers.
| Classic Throttlebots | Classic Protectobots
|
Classic Combaticons | Classic Triple Changers
|
 | ||||
| Classic Dinobots | Classic Heroes | Autobot Leader
|
Combiner giftsets |
1992
'92 is when the European Transformers line really began to kick into high gear, even if the amount of product was a little on the light side. Hasbro produced new toys exclusively designed for the European market (though some did get imported to Japan), which had a far more cohesive design aesthetic than... well, the line ever had in its past. The Autobots trended towards brighter colors and generally had more "human" faces, and each one used bright-magenta fluorescent translucent plastic for vehicle-mode windscreens and a new innovation in the line, light-piped eyes which appear to "glow" when light shines through them from behind. The Decepticons trended towards darker, cooler colors, their faces much more "robotic" (usually with facemasks and visor-eyes), and using bright-green translucent plastic for their canopies/optics. Both sides also included spring-loaded missile launchers, a gimmick that had been all but abandoned in Hasbro's markets due to more stringent safety regulations for projectiles in the US.
Rounding out the year's product are a strange pair of re-released combiner teams lacking their combining ability... or individual names.
After this year, Hasbro decided European sales were good enough to try to revive Transformers in the US again.[6]
In terms of languages, English and Spanish were now merged into bilingual English/Spanish packaging for the British, Spanish, Australian, and New Zealand markets, whereas France, Belgium, and the Netherlands still got toys in bilingual French/Dutch packaging, but now with alternate (English) names as well, and Italy still got toys in Italian-only packaging from GiG.
Confirmed releases include:
Turbomasters
Medium Large |
Predators | Rescue Force | Constructicons |  |
1993
While Hasbro rolled out the new Generation 2 toyline in the US, the European line continued under the original branding, with a slew of new all-new-mold toys, in the same style as the previous year's, with a variety of new gimmicks… though curiously with the "Generation 2" Autobot and Decepticon symbols applied to them. (A popular rumor claims that this was due to the international licence for the original symbols having expired, which sounds highly dubious.) Some toys even got the "Autobot/Decepticon" text-stamp that was added to every Generation 2 toy in the US.
On top of all these new molds, last year's Turbomasters, Predators, Rescue Force and Constructicons were still shipping to stores, making for quite a full assortment of toys for the final year of the original Transformers toyline globally. Salut!
Many fans consider this year a sort of "Generation 1.5", further buoyed by the fact that all of the new molds got re-released in 1994 under the Generation 2 branding in European markets.
Confirmed releases include:
| Axelerators | Skyscorchers | Aquaspeeders
|
Stormtroopers
|
 | ||||
| Lightformers | Trakkons | Obliterators |
References
- ↑ "Red Footed Optimus Prime" at TF-1.com
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "The MB & Joustra Connection" at 20th Century Toy Collector
- ↑ Fall 1985 Argos catalog at Issuu.com.
- ↑ "The Chicken or the Gig?", Part 1 and Part 2 at TFSource
- ↑ http://www.fredsworkshop.com/veurolist.html
- ↑ George Dunsay interview at TFArchive: "At the time it was discontinued in the US, it was not a temporary decision. It is only after the success in Europe that the US people decided to reintroduce it"
