The Transformers thread (shows, comics, toys, all things TF)

[The Nemesis]

My dad let me play with his Snarl that he must have picked up when it was new. I distinctly remember having the diplodocus (his name escapes me) and Slag as well. Like you I have no idea where Snarl ended up but my 4 year old has recently come across the Slag figure. I don't recall ever having the Grimlock or Swoop from the same set but the Grimlock posted in this thread is amazing! I think I'm going to have to track down all the dinobots for my boy.

Sludge. The diplodocus/brontosaurus was Sludge. I kind of hope he was supposed to be a diplodocus because it would add to the 80s-ness of the Autobots that Grimlock was based on the mistaken belief that T-Rexes stood upright and Sludge was based on a dinosaur that never really existed.

good luck. I don't think any of the dinobots were re-released as part of Takara's Encore series, so your only recourse is likely to be getting peoples' originals off of eBay. I've monitored there sporadically for a Snarl for myself but usually I bow out when the price hits $50. Grimlock is the only Dinobot to get a "Masterpiece" line figure like the one I posted too. Also those will generally set you back at least $100 depending on how much the importer wants to charge you. They're really marketed to collectors more than kids.

I'm not familiar with any of the generations after g1 (vaguely beast wars but I never had much interest in it with my dad's VHS recordings of G1 always being at hand), is there anything worth watching?

Beast Wars is pretty good. The CG hasn't always aged well considering it's from the mid 90s when the technology to do that sort of animation was new. Also the first half of season 1 is kind of corny because the network that commissioned the show (Fox I think? Back when they showed cartoons on weekday mornings) really peered over the showrunners' shoulder to keep a handle on things (and remember, this was the Fox network that forbade the 90s Spiderman series from having any "real" guns, so you got cops with laser pistols. Also Spidey was never allowed to punch people). starting about 5 or 6 episodes in, and really kicking into high gear around episode 13 (Dark Designs), the show gets quite good. The tech meant they had to keep the cast small because of the cost of making new character models, so you get to follow a smaller band of characters that really develop instead of the loads-and-loads-and-loads of characters from the original cartoon that enter and exit the show with no warning just so they can sell the newest toys. It's also got a nice balance of humor and action and just some fun characters too. That series incarnation of Megatron is absolutely awesome. It also has the 3rd season episode "Code of Hero" which just might be the best single episode of any Transformers series ever. (fair warning though, characters can and do die at points in this series, so if you're showing this to your kid, think back to what it was like watching TF The Movie when Optimus died when you were a kid and think if you want to re-live that from the other side of the equation Seriously, it's a fun show teh rest of the time though.)

The newest cartoon, another CGI entry called Transformers Prime is also pretty good. It's an odd mix, design-wise with some characters looking very G1 and some looking a lot closer to their Michael Bay movie designs (Optimus, Bumblebee, and Megatron especially) but it has an outstanding voice cast (Peter Cullen and Frank Welker back as Optimus and Megatron for the first time on TV since G1, Ernie Hudson as one of the human characters, Adam Baldwin and Gina Torres from Firefly as a pair of Decepticons, even John Noble from Fringe as Unicron) and the animation is absolutely gorgeous.

Beyond that it's a little thin. The early 00s cartoon, Transformers: Animated was occasionally fun in a goofy comedic way with a lot of wink-wink-nudge-nudge references to G1 for fans watching with their kids including a lot of stunt voice casting (including Judd Nelson doing a cameo as Hot Rod). The Beast Wars sequel series Beast Machines is aaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwfuulllllllllllll, but thankfully Beast Wars ends just fine on its own and you don't need to watch this series stomp the memories of that one into the ground. There were also a set of imported anime series from Japan that either make no sense, look horrible, or both.

Oh man I just remembered the probably original Devestator release too. My sister had it but by the time it got passed to me a lot of the members were missing. I still get a glimpse of the occasional green construction vehicle when looking through my old toys

I never had the constructicons sadly. I just had the blue fire truck that was the core of Defensor, the Autobot emergency vehicle combiner. One of my dad's co-workers had a son who was like 6 or 7 years older than me and had a ton of transformers, but when he grew out of playing with them, my mom tried to call his mom to get the toys before she gave them away, but instead she just threw them all out.


Just for kicks, some more entries from the Masterpiece line:

That last one isn't 2 toys. It's one figure that turns into Hot Rod, Rodimus Prime, and both versions' vehicle modes.

If only I was rich. These are the toys we all wish we had as kids. The only one I have is Optimus, though mine didn't come with the trailer.

 

[Roboturner913]

I had the Optimus and Starscream Masterpiece figures. Both were fantastic. But I lost them and a bunch of other collectibles in a storage unit fire. Makes me sick to think about it.

That Soundwave, though, that's amazeballs. If I ever start another collection that will be my first one to track down.

 

[Tek_Jansen]

Thanks for all the info Nemesis! Very valid point about reliving the death of Optimus, that scene STILL gets me haha.

The Soundwave masterpiece is incredible! You'd definitely have to be crazy to shell out that kind of cash only to turn them over to your kids, but let's be honest, they'd be for my enjoyment anyways. I'd be interested to see them release the other dinobots as part of the masterpiece line, all in due time I suppose.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

Where did Starscream get the cape from?

Ooooooooooooooo!!!!! Optimus has the red axe from the episode where he challenged Megatron to a duel (and he had the purplish ball and chain!)!!

Squeeeeeee!

 

[The Nemesis]

I had the Optimus and Starscream Masterpiece figures. Both were fantastic. But I lost them and a bunch of other collectibles in a storage unit fire. Makes me sick to think about it.

That Soundwave, though, that's amazeballs. If I ever start another collection that will be my first one to track down.

The funny thing is that if you get the Soundwave one from the Toys R Us release (it was out last year I think) it comes with all 5 cassetticons shown (his usual 5 from the cartoon). If you get the Japanese one, I think he just comes with either ravage or Lazerbeak. You can also get a Ratbat casseticon separately too.

Where did Starscream get the cape from?

Transformers the Movie. After he dumps the dying Megatron out of Astrotrain (ostensibly to jettison some weight so Astrotrain can make it to their destination. But obviously he savors every moment of doing so because it achieves his long-held dream of usurping Megatron for control of the Decepticons), he crowns himself the new Decepticon leader with a giant pompous ceremony that includes trumpets and him wearing the big pimpin cape and gold crown. And then... well, observe:

Ooooooooooooooo!!!!! Optimus has the red axe from the episode where he challenged Megatron to a duel (and he had the purplish ball and chain!)!!

Squeeeeeee!

Yep. the base Masterpiece Optimus came with his rifle, the energy axe (you actually do retract his hand into his wrist and plug the axe into the wrist socket) and a tiny gun-mode Megatron that he can hold. He also has a tiny, removable Matrix in his chest (opens up just like in the movie) and a button on his shoulder that makes it light up blue. The only way it would've been better was if the button also makes The Touch play

If you look at the pic of Masterpiece Megatron, the top right inset shot shows that MP Megs has the purple energy mace too. Megs also comes with the pistol he kills Optimus with in the movie, the energy sword/knife he uses briefly in (I think) the movie, and the energy creature Kremzeek from one of the episodes of the show.

You can also get an extension kit for both of those figures. Megs' kit comes with the attachable stock/rifle butt so you can make his gun mode look just like the cartoon. Optimus comes with a complete trailer that turns into the combat deck and the little "Roller" cart that would come inside the trailer. Don't have the trailer for my Op.

it's also worth noting that the MP figures are freaking huge. Seriously, Optimus is like a foot tall. Here, for reference is my Masterpiece Optimus, my very played-with original Optimus from when I was a kid, and for kicks, a japanese release "World's Smallest Optimus Prime" that's totally accurate, transformation wise, but is only like an inch tall:

Masterpiece Optimus is also super heavy. I'd imagine a kid would have trouble playing with it. And the transformation is complicated. Honestly I can't do it without the instructions because it's a lot more complicated than the original toy (since this one has to be "complete" from all angles, meaning there can't be a giant gaping cavity in the back)

 

[ProstheticConscience]

Oh, I remember the movie all right. Orson Welles' last screen role, and Hasbro's chance to jump-start an entire new toy line. I had...I think Scourge was the name. Hovercraft dude with the robotic beard? That guy. Got less into buying transformers and more into other stuff around the time the movie came along.

"Coronation, Starscream? This is bad comedy."
"Megatron? Is that you?"
"Here's a hint!" *blasts Starscream into a frozen thing that shatters*

Yeah, I remember that movie. Poor Wheeljack. Also, who knew Leonard Nimoy could be so intimidating?

"I...am Unicrom. I have summoned you here for a purpose!"
"...NO ONE SUMMONS MEGATRON!!"
"Then it pleases me to be the first."

I gave my old transformers to my kid once upon a time. We moved overseas for a while, and we all had to pare down our stuff to do it. She left the box of old transformers behind, and I was about to grab it back when it occurred to me that if my kid can let my childhood toys go, I should be able to as well.

 

[Baby Punisher]

Sludge. The diplodocus/brontosaurus was Sludge. I kind of hope he was supposed to be a diplodocus because it would add to the 80s-ness of the Autobots that Grimlock was based on the mistaken belief that T-Rexes stood upright and Sludge was based on a dinosaur that never really existed.

good luck. I don't think any of the dinobots were re-released as part of Takara's Encore series, so your only recourse is likely to be getting peoples' originals off of eBay. I've monitored there sporadically for a Snarl for myself but usually I bow out when the price hits $50. Grimlock is the only Dinobot to get a "Masterpiece" line figure like the one I posted too. Also those will generally set you back at least $100 depending on how much the importer wants to charge you. They're really marketed to collectors more than kids.

Beast Wars is pretty good. The CG hasn't always aged well considering it's from the mid 90s when the technology to do that sort of animation was new. Also the first half of season 1 is kind of corny because the network that commissioned the show (Fox I think? Back when they showed cartoons on weekday mornings) really peered over the showrunners' shoulder to keep a handle on things (and remember, this was the Fox network that forbade the 90s Spiderman series from having any "real" guns, so you got cops with laser pistols. Also Spidey was never allowed to punch people). starting about 5 or 6 episodes in, and really kicking into high gear around episode 13 (Dark Designs), the show gets quite good. The tech meant they had to keep the cast small because of the cost of making new character models, so you get to follow a smaller band of characters that really develop instead of the loads-and-loads-and-loads of characters from the original cartoon that enter and exit the show with no warning just so they can sell the newest toys. It's also got a nice balance of humor and action and just some fun characters too. That series incarnation of Megatron is absolutely awesome. It also has the 3rd season episode "Code of Hero" which just might be the best single episode of any Transformers series ever. (fair warning though, characters can and do die at points in this series, so if you're showing this to your kid, think back to what it was like watching TF The Movie when Optimus died when you were a kid and think if you want to re-live that from the other side of the equation Seriously, it's a fun show teh rest of the time though.)

The newest cartoon, another CGI entry called Transformers Prime is also pretty good. It's an odd mix, design-wise with some characters looking very G1 and some looking a lot closer to their Michael Bay movie designs (Optimus, Bumblebee, and Megatron especially) but it has an outstanding voice cast (Peter Cullen and Frank Welker back as Optimus and Megatron for the first time on TV since G1, Ernie Hudson as one of the human characters, Adam Baldwin and Gina Torres from Firefly as a pair of Decepticons, even John Noble from Fringe as Unicron) and the animation is absolutely gorgeous.

Beyond that it's a little thin. The early 00s cartoon, Transformers: Animated was occasionally fun in a goofy comedic way with a lot of wink-wink-nudge-nudge references to G1 for fans watching with their kids including a lot of stunt voice casting (including Judd Nelson doing a cameo as Hot Rod). The Beast Wars sequel series Beast Machines is aaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwfuulllllllllllll, but thankfully Beast Wars ends just fine on its own and you don't need to watch this series stomp the memories of that one into the ground. There were also a set of imported anime series from Japan that either make no sense, look horrible, or both.




I never had the constructicons sadly. I just had the blue fire truck that was the core of Defensor, the Autobot emergency vehicle combiner. One of my dad's co-workers had a son who was like 6 or 7 years older than me and had a ton of transformers, but when he grew out of playing with them, my mom tried to call his mom to get the toys before she gave them away, but instead she just threw them all out.


Just for kicks, some more entries from the Masterpiece line:

That last one isn't 2 toys. It's one figure that turns into Hot Rod, Rodimus Prime, and both versions' vehicle modes.

If only I was rich. These are the toys we all wish we had as kids. The only one I have is Optimus, though mine didn't come with the trailer.

These masterpiece figures are amazing. They stay true to the original cast while being significantly improved. They still hold up today and there was no reason Bay had to bastardize the originals in the God awful movies.

I had all of these toys as a child. at 10 years old I used to go bag groceries at Waldbaums for change. Some days I would make like $30 to $40. That's how I got most of my Transformers. I was freaking obsessed.

I also did not mind buying the knock off versions of Transformers that wren't made by Hasbro or had the heat activated hologram on it. You could pick those up at any flea market and they were so cheap. Some had obvious flaws like color schemes or weight, and were packed in generic packaging but were more or less the same product and worked fine in any collection.

Of course my wonderful Mother threw all of them out. All I have left is Triptycon and he is missing all of the accessories. I started recollecting the reissues 10 or 12 years ago but it wasn't the same. I pretty much gave up.

 

[Osprey]

and if you want the best example of Snarl getting the shaft:

He's in the Transformers Movie for all of about 5 seconds.

Behold, the only times you see him in the movie:

That's it. he doesn't do anything, he doesn't say anything, and any other time you see the rest of the Dinobots, it's everyone but him.

Yep. I watched Transformers: The Movie again just last year (from my 25th Anniversary DVD) and was hoping to see Snarl, forgetting that he's barely even in it. Of course, I was rudely reminded of his spot almost at the bottom of the Transformers "respect" list. I recall going "Was that him?!" and rewinding and pausing the DVD on that first shot of him; haha. I was also reminded that I have a bit of a buried animosity toward Grimlock for being the only DinoBot that gets any attention. Instead of DinoBots, they should just be called Grimlock and His Silent, Inconsequential Lackies.

In fairness, Snarl's description does say, essentially, that he's dumb and hardly speaks, so he's the stereotypical henchman and doesn't deserve much dialog or importance. Still, he could've gotten more than the almost-nothing that he was given. After all, if the cartoons and movie were meant to sell toys, it makes sense to, you know, actually show the characters and make them seem cool so that the kids would buy them. I can't imagine many kids watching Transformers and thinking "Snarl is awesome; I've got to have him." It's almost like they wanted to sell millions of Grimlocks and didn't mind if the Snarls went unsold.

I had the Optimus Prime toy; unfortunately the trailer wouldnt pop out of nowhere like it did in the cartoon :-(

You were fortunate, as that was, naturally, the "daddy" of the toy series. My wealthy (or just spoiled) friend across the street had one, which I played with, but I had no hope of owning Optimus Prime, myself. I recall it being even more expensive than the regular characters, which were already really expensive. I recall the regular characters being $25-30 in the mid-80s. That may not seem so bad, but that's around $70-90 today... for a toy. Good luck convincing your parents to buy you an $80 plastic toy. That's why I owned only one... and didn't even get it from my parents, but as a birthday gift from a different wealthy friend. He asked me what I wanted and I feel kind of badly that I sort of made his mom buy it for me.

 

[Lost Horizons]

My brother had Optimus Prime,Wheeljack,Jazz,Ironhide,Rachet and the Constructicons. He might have had a few more but I don't remember. He seemed to get anything he ever asked for I was given Megatron but that was quickly taken away because it looked a little too much like a real gun.

 

[Supermassive]

It was.

The original batch of Transformers toys were actually cribbed from like 6-10 different lines and companies of transforming robot toys in Japan, which the Hasbro people and the writers from Marvel then cobbled together into the single line and story and whatnot. In fact, because the Jetfire toy was from the Macross line owned by a different company in Japan (Bandai instead of the Japanese side of the TF partnership, Takara) that's a big reason that:

a) Jetfire's character model in the cartoon was so heavily modified from the toy's design (bigger, bulkier body, face instead of a mouthplate and visor, no antennae, even a modified vehicle mode), to the point that the character was renamed "Skyfire" allegedly in part because it was so radically different from the toy character. The rename was also because:

b) Because of the legal ramifications of Bandai owning the toy and still potentially promoting the Macross line, the show writers were discouraged from using the character. From the show's production bible:



and for season 2, it was noted in the bible that Jetfire would be redesigned and re-introduced into the series although those changes never happened and he was basically only used for transportation and rarely in robot mode. It also notes that similar legal reasons are why the Reflector bots stopped appearing.

and...

c) There will likely never be a "proper" Jetfire classic toy remake/re-release like so many other prominent characters' toys. They can make their own homage redesign, but although you can buy near flawless replications of a lot of other G1 toys (I have a G1 Megatron and Soundwave on my shelf), Jetfire will never be among them (there are others that apparently won't be as well, though those are because they've lost/broken the original moulds)

Big thanks for this! I remember being confused when the Jetfire in the store didn't match the G1 cartoon. But it was a $60 Christmas present that I was getting, no way was I saying no!

Great nostalgia in this thread. It's going to cost me some money though!

 

[Baby Punisher]

Yep. I watched Transformers: The Movie again just last year (from my 25th Anniversary DVD) and was hoping to see Snarl, forgetting that he's barely even in it. Of course, I was rudely reminded of his spot almost at the bottom of the Transformers "respect" list. I recall going "Was that him?!" and rewinding and pausing the DVD on that first shot of him; haha. I was also reminded that I have a bit of a buried animosity toward Grimlock for being the only DinoBot that gets any attention. Instead of DinoBots, they should just be called Grimlock and His Silent, Inconsequential Lackies.

In fairness, Snarl's description does say, essentially, that he's dumb and hardly speaks, so he's the stereotypical henchman and doesn't deserve much dialog or importance. Still, he could've gotten more than the almost-nothing that he was given. After all, if the cartoons and movie were meant to sell toys, it makes sense to, you know, actually show the characters and make them seem cool so that the kids would buy them. I can't imagine many kids watching Transformers and thinking "Snarl is awesome; I've got to have him." It's almost like they wanted to sell millions of Grimlocks and didn't mind if the Snarls went unsold.



You were fortunate, as that was, naturally, the "daddy" of the toy series. My wealthy (or just spoiled) friend across the street had one, which I played with, but I had no hope of owning Optimus Prime, myself. I recall it being almost twice as expensive as the regular characters, which were already really expensive. I recall the regular characters being $30-40 in the mid-80s. That may not seem so bad, but that's $100 today... for a toy. Good luck convincing your parents to buy you a $100 plastic toy. That's why I owned only one... and didn't even get it from my parents, but as a birthday gift from a different wealthy friend. He asked me what I wanted and I feel kind of badly that I sort of made his mom buy it for me.

Yea Optimus Prime was like $30 back in 84'. I remember seeing it for the first time in Short Hills mall in the glass case. I wanted it bad! Of course the parents didn't buy it for me and I got stuck with some generic lion Voltron that didn't even break apart into 5 Lions.

Anyway I finally got my hands on an Optimus Prime a Christmas latter and I swung a trade for a second Optimus Prime that was for "display" only. When I was 12 my Mother who was not a nice person ripped the leg off of it because she knew it would be the most painful thing she could do to me because I no longer cried anymore when she would beat me.

Ah childhood.

 

[Guardian17]

There was some info out there on what was planned for "season 4" had it gotten a proper order. The Rebirth was originally supposed to be a 5-parter like Five Faces Of Darkness to start season 3. Also Starscream would've returned eventually having survived Unicron blasting him after getting his body back and would've maybe had some of the new Decepticons in tow as his own force. It would've been cool to see.


The only fun thing about Headmasters series was the horrible Singaporean dub into English that seems to have been made with the most amateurish voice cast possible and no real writers. They didn't know any names or terminology beyond the most basic stuff, so everything got messed around. Sixshot was changed from something like "Combat specialist" to "Ninja consultant" and when Soundwave was killed and rebuilt into his new form, Soundblaster, the show redubbed him as "New Soundwave" Literally everyone called him that whole thing, like it was one word "newsoundwave" It's so awful that it's hilarious.

I actually own all 3 Japanese shows on DVD as they were released here, but I only made it through Headmasters and about 5 episodes into Masterforce before I just couldn't stomach it anymore. I haven't touched Victory yet.

Thanks for the info on what would have happened had Season 4.


I purchased Transformers : Headmasters from Amazon.ca and I agree, it was pretty cheesy.

Nevertheless, for anyone who grew up watching the original Transformers it was nice to see a bunch of the old characters again especially in the first dozen episodes.

http://www.amazon.ca/Transformers-Headmasters-Masashi-Ebara/dp/B004UFE2XM


I was going to purchase Transformers : Masterforce because I read that the Seacon Combiner, Piranahcon, was in it.

However, I saw this clip on you tube and decided not to buy it.

 

[The Nemesis]

I had a hard time making it through Headmasters because of how downright weird it got later on, and how cheesy cliched anime-esque it got too (complete with "cool lone wolf redeemer" Sixshot). I made it through less than a half-dozen episodes of Masterforce before I just couldn't take it anymore because it was basically all about humans that turned into Transformers instead of actual transformers (and the handful of actual Transformers in teh show tended to then turn into humans for cover.... or something). The fact that the head character was some punk kid that piloted an Optimus-knockoff body as if it was a Gundam and it's totally not Optimus (though it apparently is supposedly referenced that it does look just like Optimus) Also the theme song sounds like a glorified lounge act. It's a step up from cheesy, cheery jpop girls groups that apparently do the themes for most modern Japanese dubs of TF cartoons, but still...

Victory is supposed to be better, though it still features creepily youthful little kids (like how Headmasters made it seem like Daniel was like 5 instead of 8-10) so I might have to give it a shot. The animation is supposed to be pretty good. It also features a Decepticon sub-unit called the (and I swear to god that I'm not making this up) Breastforce.

It's kind of funny that for a franchise that has so quintessentially Japanese origins, Japan's handling of the franchise from a storytelling standpoint has been....questionable to say the least. It's kind of like the reverse to how a lot of people tend to view what happens when anime makes it to the west.

 

[Guardian17]

Victory is supposed to be better, though it still features creepily youthful little kids (like how Headmasters made it seem like Daniel was like 5 instead of 8-10) so I might have to give it a shot. The animation is supposed to be pretty good. It also features a Decepticon sub-unit called the (and I swear to god that I'm not making this up) Breastforce.

Too funny!


Was there any truth to the rumor that the Dinobots were able to combine?

 

[Baby Punisher]

Too funny!


Was there any truth to the rumor that the Dinobots were able to combine?

I never saw this before.

 

[Reality Check]

All I remember having was Optimus, Jazz and Starscream.

I've seen some episodes and clips from the other versions but nothing will compare to G1

 

[The Nemesis]

Too funny!


Was there any truth to the rumor that the Dinobots were able to combine?

Nope. The Dinobots were never meant to combine. The reason there were combiner units in the first place was because all the original combiners except for Devastator (Superion, Defensor, Computron, Bruticus, Menasor, and Abominus) were from a single pre-TF toyline called Scramble City. That's why they had the same basic setup of a central body/torso leader unit and 4 smaller bots taht had small square heads that became the limbs. They were originally designed to be mix-and-match.

point is that the combiners are combiners because of the toyline they game from. The Dinobots were from a toyline called Diaclone that were meant to be robots piloted by little human figures. They even had pilot seats on the dinobots before covering them with little modifications to the bodies. It's also why Optimus has the flip-open front to his cab with seats in them.

The Diaclone line also included most of the early Autobot cars (Jazz, Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, Wheeljack, Mirage, Tracks, etc), the Seeker jets (Just the original trio of Starscream, Skywarp, and Thundercracker), the Insecticons, the triple-changer Blitzwing, but not Astrotrain, and basically 90% of the first-run of toy characters and most of the cast of the first season of the cartoon.

anyway, back on point, there was never a Dinobot combiner. Except in an apparently awful, awful, awful comic that was packed in with some UK DVD release. But the less said about that, the better if the Transformers Wiki is to be believed. I mean, seriously, it looked like this:

my eyes. the goggles do nothing.

To quickly do away with that horribleness, let's enjoy this much better image of Slag, one of my favorite pics on the TF Wiki:

 

[Acadmus]

Let's see...what was it...grade 4 I think. 3pm to 5pm: M.A.S.K, Transformers, then I think GoBots and something else. Recorded them forever ago, only didn't keep the tapes. I think my favourite was the Stunticons/Aerobots (?? is that it? The autobot planes that combined to form the one big guy? I think Skyfire/Jetfire was the torso piece and the "edgy", rebellious one was called Slingshot) two-parter when they went to Cybertron to use the phlebotonium thingie to make sentient bad-guy car robots.

The toys, I had: Megatron, Optimus Prime (who I took apart in an early engineering exercise to learn it's easier to take things apart than put them back together), Starscream, Skywarp (didn't have Thundercracker but always meant to get it), Soundwave and a bunch of his cassettes, ...uh...something that transformed into a Porsche 911 that might have been a GoBot...I had a bunch of Japanese ones that my dad got me from something that didn't get Americanized, had the Japanese version of Inferno, a bunch of either Constructicons or the Armyvehicle-icons (don't remember the name)...

Oh, and I had the GI Joe base and the Cobra tank. Also the F-14 with the lever that made the swing wings move, which lived on top of my tv long after I stopped collecting toys.

*edit* I had Prowl too. The little kid in me was disappointed with how he was done in the first movie, and the adult in me can't believe I'm not too embarrassed to post that on the internet.

*editedit* I had the Japanese version of Snarl, too. The head was different. After a while, the little bolt that held the left swinging part of the tail came out, so I used to pretend he had suffered a grievous war wound that caused half his tail to fall off.

Huffer was my first Transformer. Prowl was, if I recall, my second. They remain two of my favorites.

I had a ton of them I regret not keeping - the only ones left are mostly damaged. The original Optimus Prime (still have the trailer and Roller, but can't find Prime's hands most of the time), Skywarp (missing pieces), Mirage (now broken in 3 pieces by wife and son), Jazz (original design, but it was a reissue available from mailing in proofs of purchase from some cereal boxes), Sideswipe (some loose joints, but otherwise ok), and a few mini Autobots/Decepticon cassettes: Huffer still, Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, Powerglide, Brawn, Warpath, Ravage, Laserbeak (now broken by my son), Rumble and Frenzy. Then there's the prize of what remains of my once much larger collection, missing a few extraneous parts: Trypticon. He still walks even

Oh, and I still have Air Raid from the Aerialbots, too.

 

[Power Man]

damn we're old

 

[Guardian17]

Nope. The Dinobots were never meant to combine. The reason there were combiner units in the first place was because all the original combiners except for Devastator (Superion, Defensor, Computron, Bruticus, Menasor, and Abominus) were from a single pre-TF toyline called Scramble City. That's why they had the same basic setup of a central body/torso leader unit and 4 smaller bots taht had small square heads that became the limbs. They were originally designed to be mix-and-match.

point is that the combiners are combiners because of the toyline they game from. The Dinobots were from a toyline called Diaclone that were meant to be robots piloted by little human figures. They even had pilot seats on the dinobots before covering them with little modifications to the bodies. It's also why Optimus has the flip-open front to his cab with seats in them.

I always wondered why the Constructacons consisted of six robots while the other conbiners consisted of five robots.

Thanks for the explanation!

I watched "Scramble City" on you tube, it seemed to end in a cliffhanger.

 

[The Nemesis]

I always wondered why the Constructacons consisted of six robots while the other conbiners consisted of five robots.

Thanks for the explanation!

I watched "Scramble City" on you tube, it seemed to end in a cliffhanger.

fun nerd-fact: The Scramble City Japanese short (which was meant to bridge the gap between Season 2 of the show and the movie/season 3, though Japan didn't see the movie until a couple years later for some bizarre reason) is the last cartoon appearance of Chip (though he was apparently going to appear in Season 3, as the G1 artbook has a grown-up character model for him), and the only time that Chip and Carly appear together.

 

[Guardian17]

Peter Cullen, the voice of Optimus Prime, dipped his hands in the cement at Hollywood's famous Chinese Theater.

That's not all though as Optimus Prime was also granted full honors with his wheelprint in the cement!

http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers...d-at-the-chinese-theater-in-hollywood-181241/

 

[The Nemesis]

Peter Cullen, the voice of Optimus Prime, dipped his hands in the cement at Hollywood's famous Chinese Theater.

That's not all though as Optimus Prime was also granted full honors with his wheelprint in the cement!

very deserving. He's basically part of the childhood of most kids born after 1980. Plus beyond just Optimus he's done a ton of voicework including Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh.

 

[Acadmus]

Nope. The Dinobots were never meant to combine. The reason there were combiner units in the first place was because all the original combiners except for Devastator (Superion, Defensor, Computron, Bruticus, Menasor, and Abominus) were from a single pre-TF toyline called Scramble City. That's why they had the same basic setup of a central body/torso leader unit and 4 smaller bots taht had small square heads that became the limbs. They were originally designed to be mix-and-match.

point is that the combiners are combiners because of the toyline they game from. The Dinobots were from a toyline called Diaclone that were meant to be robots piloted by little human figures. They even had pilot seats on the dinobots before covering them with little modifications to the bodies. It's also why Optimus has the flip-open front to his cab with seats in them.

The Diaclone line also included most of the early Autobot cars (Jazz, Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, Wheeljack, Mirage, Tracks, etc), the Seeker jets (Just the original trio of Starscream, Skywarp, and Thundercracker), the Insecticons, the triple-changer Blitzwing, but not Astrotrain, and basically 90% of the first-run of toy characters and most of the cast of the first season of the cartoon.

I knew someone who had one of those original toy line seekers. And the Constructicons lived on past Transformers - some cheap knockoff toy company changed them to neon colors and sold them cheap as a set in the early 90s.

To quickly do away with that horribleness, let's enjoy this much better image of Slag, one of my favorite pics on the TF Wiki:

on that note, why the hell have they changed Slag's name to Slug in all modern incarnations?

For that matter, Insecticons Bombshell and Shrapnel apparently are now Hardshell and Sharpshot. What the hell? And Trailblazer's called Trailcutter now.

 

[Acadmus]

damn we're old

Just noticing?

Think of it: most of the icons of our generation are now 50+. Many are already dead. Most of the toylines of our generation are being brought back...for the third or fourth or fifth time.