Transformers: Generations (toyline)
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| The name or term "Generations" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Generations (disambiguation). |
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Transformers: Generations is a branding applied to several collector-oriented toylines. The name was first introduced for a specific line of figures launched in 2010, but as the amount of collector-focused product released by Hasbro has increased over time it has become more of a generic label, used consistently since mid-2012 across multiple different series. Generations was predated by the earlier 2006 Classics and 2008 Universe lines, along with much of the 2010 Transformers line. These toylines all share a focus on celebrating the history of the brand, creating new toys of older Transformers characters (usually from Generation 1, but occasionally later series).
Overview
Although Hasbro had dabbled with nostalgia-based lines in the past—such as with the likes of the 2003 Universe line, Energon and Alternators—the back-to-basics approach used by Classics proved an unexpected hit with fans. Conceived as a short line of homages to bide time before the delayed release of the first live-action Transformers film, Classics modernized many popular characters, and after the runaway success of the first movie Hasbro followed it up with Universe, expanding its scope to cover characters from the likes of Beast Wars and Armada for the brand's 25th anniversary. TakaraTomy released their own version of these lines in the form of Henkei! Henkei!. By the time of Generations, fans widely used the acronym "CHUG" (Classics, Henkei!, Universe, Generations) to refer to these lines as a whole, or as a label for their shared aesthetic—but this acronym quickly stopped being comprehensive as more lines came and went (with various Generations sublines covering the vast majority of toys released in this design paradigm), and never made it into official use.
Between movies, a generic Transformers toyline ran to keep movie-style figures on shelves—but particularly with its Reveal the Shield subline imprint, which ran concurrently with Generations, Hasbro also used it as an outlet to release even more toys in the Generations style. Various molds were shared between the two lines, such as the Turbo Tracks/Wheeljack and Wreck-Gar/Junkheap molds. A third concurrent line, Power Core Combiners, also took inspiration from several Generation 1 characters. Most of the toys from this time were released by Takara in their Transformers United and United EX toylines.
Generations was envisioned as an outlet for toys from Hasbro's burgeoning "Aligned" continuity family, with several toys of War for Cybertron characters being released in the initial lineup, but the Prime cartoon wound up getting a fully-fledged toyline of its own. Generations was relaunched in mid-2012 to focus solely on the Fall of Cybertron sequel game; though Takara had released the first game's toys in United simply as their Generation 1 selves, they too adopted the Generations banner for the second game.
For the brand's 30th anniversary, Hasbro again expanded the line's scope with Thrilling 30, which took IDW Publishing's comic series as a principal source of inspiration (even including comics with many of the toys). Much like Universe before it, the line also drew from a wide range of older franchises for the brand's 30th anniversary, and had releases across the full spectrum of size classes. A couple of waves in, Takara launched Transformers Legends as their equivalent, also releasing redecoes of some of the Voyager toys as part of their Transformers Cloud series. Also in 2014, half of the Age of Extinction was delineated separately from the more gimmick-laden assortments, with the Generations name appearing on the packaging.
Combiner Wars (and its Takara equivalent, Unite Warriors) was the first Generations line to incorporate a fully-fledged play pattern, and since then every line has had some shared gimmick across the various size classes. For instance, Titans Return brought back the Headmaster concept, with all toys in the line turning into vehicles or bases for the smaller robots. Beginning with Power of the Primes, the longstanding practise of Hasbro and Takara releasing their own distinct versions of the toys was axed, with the toys sold being identical on both sides of the world. These three toylines made up the Prime Wars Trilogy.
By this point, the toy market had changed significantly enough since Classics that entire mass-retail lines aimed at collectors were a much safer prospect. The Premier Edition assortments of the The Last Knight toyline were replaced by Studio Series, explicitly under the Generations banner once more, a dedicated line of new screen-accurate toys of characters from across the entire live-action film series. Series 3-5 of Tiny Turbo Changers were similarly given the Generations logo, co-branded Movie Edition, and the super-deformed collectible series Alt-Modes was entirely sold as Generations product. Meanwhile, the War for Cybertron Trilogy (not to be confused with the earlier video game, though its first instalment—Siege—was similarly set on Cybertron) ushered in an age of unprecedented adherence to the character models of the '80s. Many toys with Cybertronian alt-modes were heavily retooled with more typical Earth-based vehicle modes for Earthrise. Finally, Kingdom brought back an unprecedented amount of Beast Wars characters.
To make way for those Beast Wars characters, and with the well of onscreen characters from the movies mostly tapped, Hasbro once again turned to their movie line as an outlet for more Generation 1 product—with Studio Series 86 featuring characters from the animated The Transformers: The Movie. Other lines released in this period included the Collaborative series of pop-culture crossover figures, the Action Master-like Robot Enhanced Design series, and the Titans Return / Legends redeco series Retro Headmasters.
In 2022, Transformers: Legacy was launched, with the intent of bringing more of the franchise's history into the modern toy market. It features characters from across continuities—G1, Beast Wars, Animated, Prime, and others, all slightly redesigned to fit with the 'Generations' aesthetic. Most toys include their universe of origin in their name, such as "Prime Universe Knock Out" or "Comic Universe Impactor". It also saw the return of combiners for the first time since the Prime Wars Trilogy, starting with Menasor. With each year, Legacy received a new subline imprint: Legacy: Evolution in 2023 and Legacy: United in 2024.
The mainlines have always been complemented by lines of exclusive redecoes and retools. Beginning with the BotCon 2007 box set, Fun Publications had often aimed to directly complement Hasbro's releases with their Transformers Timelines exclusives, offering niche characters in a similar style (sometimes based on unrealised ideas from Hasbro) until their loss of the Transformers license in 2016, the same/only year Fun Publications toys were primarily branded under Generations, specifically Combiner Wars. Meanwhile, Hasbro's "Global Development Organization" released a handful of similar toys in Asian markets, and later began producing budget toys of popular characters via Cyber Series. In the west, Hasbro released a variety of redecoes for Platinum Edition (which in its later years, was folded into Generations) and the generic 2014 Transformers toyline, the latter of which eventually morphed into the Authentics budget line. Starting in late 2018, Hasbro's own Generations Selects range took over the Timelines niche: premium redecoes and retools (usually as more obscure characters) sold in brown cardboard boxes.
TakaraTomy lines
In Japan, TakaraTomy employed a constantly-shifting approach to releasing molds sold under Hasbro's Generations branding. Their first go was Transformers United, which sold versions of the toys sold under the original 2010 incarnation of Generations, along with Reveal the Shield molds. All toys, regardless of provenance, were identified as traditional Generation 1 characters. For whatever reason, TakaraTomy decided to end United, using Power Core Combiners molds to fill the gap (as "United EX") till their newer line, Transformers: Generations. This line took on the branding and visual elements used by Hasbro, selling the Fall of Cybertron subline and the first half of Thrilling 30. This toyline would also see a short life, only lasting a bit longer than a year before being replaced by Legends, which cemented its own identity by also releasing regular accompanying fiction (both online and packed in with toys) that was generally set in Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity. It would also feature many unique figures that had no Hasbro counterpart. Once Combiner Wars came around, TakaraTomy started a new line, Unite Warriors, to collect all of the traditional combiner characters while putting their own twists on the "newer" combiners. Titans Return did not receive the same treatment, instead being covered wholesale by Legends. Throughout Legends and Unite Warriors, molds that did not fit TakaraTomy's paradigm for those lines were shunted to Adventure, the Japanese counterpart to the 2015 Robots in Disguise toyline.
Legends continued till Power of the Primes, which heralded a new era of marketing alignment between Hasbro and TakaraTomy where they would sell mostly the same Hasbro-initiated product. This is the situation ever since, with TakaraTomy only eking out a few figures of their own, such as a small series of Generations Selects figures and the Premium Finish line—all sold through the TakaraTomy Mall online store. However, thanks to the marketing alignment, those products are also sold by Hasbro via their Hasbro Pulse website, allowing Western customers equal access to TakaraTomy product.
Original line (2010–2011)
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The initial Transformers: Generations line featured only Deluxe Class toys, and included both characters from the concurrently released War for Cybertron video game, and “modernised G1” figures in the spirit of the previous Classics and Universe toylines. In a first for the franchise, the Drift toy and its Blurr retool were based directly on designs created by Guido Guidi for IDW's comic series. The earlier waves of figures sported advertising for The Hub or War for Cybertron.
Deluxe Class
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Exclusives
Bottom: North American Toys"R"Us packaging
In mid-2012, Hasbro's Asian division released a variety of redecoes and retools in their markets such as China, Singapore, and the Philippines. This lineup, which featured the same general packaging design as the 2010–2011 figures, introduced the first non-Deluxe toys in the line (as Generations had been limited to the Deluxe price point up to that point). Western online retailers referred to these figures under the mysterious term "GDO", which was later revealed to be an abbreviation for "Global Development Organization".[1]
Hasbro's United States and Canadian divisions later decided to release all these figures in North America as well, as a massive batch of Toys"R"Us exclusives for the 2012 holiday shopping season. Strangely, while the Asian market versions were released in standard English-only packaging, the versions available in the United States and Canada came in bilingual English/Chinese packaging. Also, the Deluxes came packaged in their alternate modes, whereas the Asian versions were packaged in robot mode.
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Fall of Cybertron and Thrilling 30 (2012–2014)
Fall of Cybertron (2012–2013)
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After a six-month hiatus, the Generations line was relaunched in mid-2012, starting out with the Transformers Generations: Fall of Cybertron toyline with eight Deluxe Class figures, in a line made specifically for characters from the Fall of Cybertron videogame. The line continued into 2013, with Legends and Voyager Class figures being introduced too. Unlike the previous Legends Class, now absorbed into Cyberverse under the name "Legion Class", these new products consisted of two-packs of data disc Deployer figures designed to interact with the Voyager Class Soundwave mold.
- Legends Class (Series 01)
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- Voyager Class (Series 01)
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Thrilling 30 (2013–2014)
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In mid-2013, Generations was rebranded as Transformers Generations: Thrilling 30 as part of Hasbro's Thrilling 30 anniversary campaign, which saw the line return to the Classics/Universe-style updates of older characters. This refresh was notable for introducing close ties with IDW Publishing's Transformers material–many toys were based on designs from comics, and for the US market,[2] every Deluxe figure was packaged with a comic issue. The format of Legends Class was also changed, now including a vaguely Cyberverse Commander-sized figure with a smaller, triple-changing partner. Thrilling 30 saw two new size classes introduced to the line – 2013 featured the huge Titan Class Metroplex figure, whilst 2014 debuted Leader Class with Jetfire.
For 2013, toys featured packaging art by Clayton Crain and the Deluxe pack-in comics were Spotlight issues. Continuing into 2014, the included issues tied into the "Dark Cybertron" story and Phil Jimenez, who helped plan and draw that event, took over package art duties.
In Europe, only the first wave of the Legends and Deluxe price points was ever officially released, exclusive to Toys"R"Us. However, several UK retailers were later used as a dumping ground for all the Voyagers, Leader Jetfire, and the last two waves of the Legends as parallel imports in US (Voyagers and Leader Jetfire) or Canadian/Latin American (Legends) packaging.
- Legends Class (Series 02)
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- Larger classes
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Exclusives
- Convention exclusives
While these toys premiered at conventions, many also ended up available through other venues, like the Hasbro Toy Shop online store, and even occasionally at retail in certain chains. See individual entries for more information.
| San Diego Comic-Con 2012 | San Diego Comic-Con 2013
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Animation-Comic-Game Hong Kong 2013
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- Asian market exclusive sets
The Ultimate Gift Set was also made available as a "shared exclusive" between various online retailers in the United States. Toys"R"Us and Walmart carried it online as well, and some Walmart stores got them on shelves for Christmas.
| Ultimate Gift Set | Specialist: Decepticons | Specialist: Autobots | Autobots Warriors |  |
- Fun Publications
In 2015, Fun Publications released four BotCon 2014 toys in the Generations-branded "BotCon Legacy Collection" multi-pack, with the pack-in comic "Legacy".
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Movie lines (2014–)
In 2014, Hasbro began labeling certain live-action film series lines with the Generations banner.
Age of Extinction (2014)
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After the many years of rather complex figures in the movie toylines and realizing that the toys were becoming too complicated for the audiences they were aimed at, Hasbro decided to split the toyline that accompanied the fourth installment in the live-action film series franchise, Transformers: Age of Extinction, into two different age-appropriate lines. The first was the "Robots in Disguise" line which focused on more child-friendly designs, with gimmicks centred around pulling a lever or flicking a switch; activating an automated transformation in one or two simple steps.
The other half was labelled "Generations", which the figures were made to similar design standards of the preceding movie toylines, and were designed for a slightly older demographic, much like the previous lines under the Generations banner above. Releasing around the same time as 2015's Robots in Disguise cartoon, the Generations lineup was simplified in the way the "Warrior Class" figures were made, using bright colors and minimal transformation steps, in keeping with a simplistic approach for any age to enjoy.
Following on from the approach taken with the Age of Extinction toyline, Transformers: The Last Knight was also split into two separate age-appropriate lines. The more simplified of the two lines became the "Turbo Changers" and consisted of many of the same styled toys as the Robots in Disguise line above. The second, "Premier Edition" line, while not labelled under the Generations banner, was still aimed at an older demographic and followed the same principles that the Age of Extinction Generations line had set before it, even including many redecoes of molds sold in the previous line.
Movie Edition (2018–2019)
Originally begun as part of the toyline for The Last Knight in 2017, Tiny Turbo Changers is a line of super deformed, blind-bagged vinyl figures featuring characters from throughout the entire live-action film series. The line continued into 2018 under the more general Movie Edition label and co-branded with Generations starting with Series 3. The subline ran for two more series into 2019.
Studio Series (2018–)
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First revealed at Toy Fair 2018, Transformers Generations: Studio Series, a new subline underneath the Generations banner that acts as a celebration of over ten years of live-action movies, with characters from every movie represented, variants included. It also coincided with Bumblebee, the sixth film in the live-action film series. All figures come with a cardboard backdrop depicting a notable scene from their respective movie. Backdrops from separate figures representing the same scene are designed to be displayed side by side. With rough robot mode scale as a line-wide goal, each figure is sized in relation to other toys, even in the same size class. In 2021's Studio Series started to introduce "Generation 1" characters to the line; featuring figures based on characters from The Transformers: The Movie, in celebration of the film's 35th anniversary. These figures feature a different set of ID numbers to the "standard" line, with the figures having an "86" in front of their base number starting at the number "01", to better differentiate them from the live-action film characters that the line was originally intended for.
Exclusives
In 2018, Hasbro released a single exclusive figure for Chinese company JingDong, which was only available on their online shop. Despite being released at the time of Studio Series, the toy features a generic Generations logo and is packaged in a box with branding similar to Cyber Series figures which were also initially exclusive to China.
Prime Wars Trilogy (2015–2018)
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Generations was rebooted in 2015, acting more as branding than a specific toyline, starting with Hasbro's Transformers: Prime Wars Trilogy. As the name implies, it consists of three sublines, each with its own theme, gimmick and play pattern.
Combiner Wars (2015–2016)
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For 2015, the line was given another subline imprint titled Transformers Generations: Combiner Wars, which saw Deluxe, Voyager, and some Legends figures able to form combiner robots. The format for Legends Class was changed once again, dropping the small partner figures of the Thrilling 30 line.
The tradition of including IDW comic books with U.S.[2] Deluxes continued, whilst Legends, Voyagers, Leaders, and non-U.S.[2] Deluxes gained collector cards featuring art taken either from the Transformers Legends mobile game, or simply the toy's package art (which doubles as the comic book cover for the U.S.[2] version). However, due to production schedule problems,[3] Deluxe wave 1's initial U.S.[2] release featured the collector cards. Along with the concurrently released Robots in Disguise line, Combiner Wars also heralded the return of multilingual packaging to the United States[2] market, now in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. The sole exception to this was the Deluxe figures packaged with comic books, which retained English-only packaging.
Meanwhile, Combiner Wars marked the end of the Toys"R"Us exclusivity for Generations figures that had been in effect in several European markets since the launch of the original line in 2010 (which had usually resulted in only one wave per assortment ever being released in Europe). Not only did availability and distribution improve tremendously across the board—the Combiner Wars figures were even released in European markets where Generations figures had previously never been available at all! At the same time, European packaging reduced the number of languages from thirteen to a mere four (English, French, German, and Spanish), resulting in a less cluttered packaging design.
After the general retail assortments had run their course, the line was extended for several months via giftsets of complete teams featuring redecoes and retools, referred to as "Collection Packs" in official promotional materials. Those sets were typically "shared exclusives" between online retailers and the online storefronts of "big box" retailers, though they were also available at brick and mortar retail in several non-U.S. markets.
Titans Return (2016–2017)
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Mid-2016 introduced a new subline imprint, Transformers Generations: Titans Return (initially touted under the early working name Titan Wars[4]), with its own new line-wide gimmick: all Deluxe, Voyager, and Leader Class figures include a Headmaster-style Titan Master partner, all of which are completely interchangeable. To compensate for the size differences, Leader class figures feature large helmets that cover the Titan Masters, while Voyager class figures have spring-loaded pop-out adornments to "bulk up" their heads. Each Deluxe and Voyager figure's hand-held weapons can transform and combine to form a "turret" that can be manned by any Titan Master, and which can attach to the base modes of the Leader Class figures.
Additionally, a new Titan Master assortment was introduced, each including a single Titan Master, plus a small vehicle or beast. These can transform into a vehicle/beast for the Titan Master to ride, a second vehicle/beast formed by combining with the Titan Master, and a 5mm weapon for a larger figure to wield. Legends Class figures started out as predominantly Mini-Cassette characters, which can transform into both a vehicle and a blocky PDA that can fit inside Leader Class figures such as Blaster. Starting with Wave 3, this changed into focusing on Mini Vehicles which can often carry Titan Master passengers.
Though never officially addressed by Hasbro, Deluxes no longer included comic books in any market, thus eliminating the need for English-only packaging entirely, leaving only two types of multilingual packaging, one for Europe and the other for all non-European markets. However, the character cards included with all figures (except for Titan Masters) now featured Tech Spec stats on their back.
Voting for the second Titan Class figure was conducted via Facebook, with fans choosing between a remake of Omega Supreme, Trypticon, or Scorponok.[5] Trypticon won.[6]
Power of the Primes (2018)
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First revealed in mid-2017 at San Diego Comic-Con, Transformers Generations: Power of the Primes, in keeping with the previous two toylines, features a line-wide gimmick: "Prime Masters", small Titan Master-type figures that represent the sparks of the Primes. Unlike Titan Masters, Prime Masters are available only in their own pricepoint, where they are packaged with Pretender-style Decoy Armor, but can interact in some way with all larger assortments.
Legends Class figures retain the ability to seat a small figure in alt-mode, whilst the Deluxe and Voyager Class pricepoints see the return of Combiner Wars-style Combiners. The combination joints remain unchanged, whilst the hand/foot system is tweaked: all Deluxes now include a hand, and all Voyagers a pair of feet. These accessories also facilitate the Prime Master integration for those size classes: Deluxes can use their hand as chest armor, into which a Prime Master spark mode can slot, and Voyagers can use their feet as forearm bucklers, which similarly fit a Prime Master. All Voyager Class figures also include an Enigma of Combination, shaped like a Prime Master spark mode, that can fit onto their combined mode chest.
Finally, Leader Class figures feature an "Evolution" gimmick, wherein each toy includes a Deluxe-sized character who can "evolve" into a Prime by combining with additional armor. Each Leader includes a uniquely-colored Matrix of Leadership, the central crystal of which can be removed and replaced with a Prime Master.
Similar to Combiner Wars (except for US-released Deluxe Class figures) and Titans Return, all figures from Legends Class upwards continued to include character cards, except this time there were twelve different variants of every character's card, each containing a combination with one of the twelve Prime Masters.
Ahead of the line's release, a fan vote took place to determine a character who would become a new Prime in both the toyline and accompanying stories, with Optimus Primal claiming victory, and a place in the Leader Class assortment.[7]
War for Cybertron Trilogy (2019–2022)
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Beginning in 2019 (though released in late 2018 for the holiday season), the War for Cybertron Trilogy (aka Transformers Generations War for Cybertron) follows the pattern of the Prime Wars Trilogy, having three sub-imprints over a multi-year release schedule. The new branding is unrelated to the 2010 Transformers: War for Cybertron video game from High Moon Studios, though both similarly cover the early pre-Earth era of the Autobot-Decepticon war. In February 2018, Hasbro launched a fan vote for a thematic rivalry to be seen as Deluxe Class figures. The choices were Impactor VS Mirage, Needlenose VS Tracks, and Spinister VS Wheeljack. Impactor and Mirage won, but Spinister was produced regardless, with Wheeljack being made in the next chapter of the trilogy, and Tracks in the final.
The War for Cybertron Trilogy subline was unveiled by Hasbro at Toy Fair 2020, and launched in conjunction with the War for Cybertron Trilogy cartoon on Netflix. With the cartoon featuring character models based directly on Hasbro's toy molds, the toyline, in turn, features animation-accurate weathering and extensive deco, though they are often far more battle-damaged than the on-screen model.
The War for Cybertron Trilogy label was also used for toy releases that did not fall into a certain chapter, namely the 2020 Selects product, the crowd-funded Unicron and the Buzzworthy Bumblebee releases.
Siege (2019–2020)
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Transformers Generations War for Cybertron: Siege brought toy engineering to the extreme with relative scale, detail, extra posability, and extreme show-accuracy, but with Cybertronian alternate modes. Many of the line's entries feature battle damage paint and combinable weapons, with some Deluxe Class "Weaponizer" figures capable of splitting into additional armament. The figures are littered with C.O.M.B.A.T. System 5 mm ports and 3 mm posts, allowing for unlimited craziness.
Falling on the Transformers franchise's 35h anniversary, Siege featured the 35th Anniversary subline imprint.
Earthrise (2020)
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Transformers Generations War for Cybertron: Earthrise continues the C.O.M.B.A.T. System and the new A.I.R. Lock System, which focuses more on fortification construction than weaponry. As the name implies, many of the 80's The Transformers characters are given Earth vehicle modes. A.I.R. Lock System Deluxe Modulators, along with the Quintesson and Mercenary factions, were introduced.
Earthrise featured the Cybertronian Villains (from 2018's Cyberverse) and Galactic Odyssey Collection subline imprints.
Kingdom (2021–2022)
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The third and final installment, Transformers Generations War for Cybertron: Kingdom falls on the 25th anniversary of Beast Wars and the 35th anniversary of The Transformers: The Movie, seeing heavy influence from both. The chapter sees the addition of the Maximals and Predacons, as well as the Core Class replacing the Battle Masters and Micromasters. Silently continuing the C.O.M.B.A.T. System and A.I.R. Lock System, the primary gimmick is the F.O.S.S.I.L. Technology, and the accompany Deluxe Fossilizers. Both classic '90s Beast Wars and '80s The Transformers characters are redone with cartoon-accurate engineering and in relative scale amongst their respective series. The toyline also surprisingly stems to Beast Machines, Beast Wars II, and Beast Wars: Uprising characters in its exclusives.
Kingdom featured the Battle Across Time Collection and Golden Disk Collection subline imprints.
Legacy (2022–2025)
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Beginning after the conclusion of the War for Cybertron Trilogy toyline, Transformers Generations: Legacy (aka Transformers: Legacy) features characters from across the wealth of different Transformers continuities, making it a celebration of the entire Transformers series, as opposed to the predominantly-"Generation 1" oriented character selection of the Generations line for the past 6 years.
In its first year, the central play pattern for this line is the reintroduction of the Energon weaponry from 2004's Energon toyline; translucent plastic accessories which can be combined to form bigger, more elaborate weapons. However, this was quietly dropped for the third wave and Core Class figures beyond the second wave.
Renamed Legacy: Evolution for its second year, the line pulled from a wider range of franchises, and replaced the Energon infused weaponry with "Evo-Fusion", a gimmick that allows figures (sans Core Class) to mix and match their weapons and accessories via 5mm ports, much like the War for Cybertron Trilogy toyline that preceded it. In addition, it brought in a new group of Junkions who function identically to War For Cybertron 's Weaponizers, except that they are capable of transforming without partsforming. So... primarily a refinement of what they were already doing, but hey, they're doing it more and better.
For its third year, under the moniker of Legacy: United , it refined the formula even more, expanding into more franchises and replacing the Junkions with Armorizers: modern Rock Lord-eqsue characters who can either weaponize figures or transform into weapons as a third mode, much like the pack-in partners for the Thrilling 30 assortments' Legends Class figures shown above.
The Legacy toyline also reintroduced combiner teams, beginning with the Stunticons, a first since the ending of the Power of the Primes line. It also introduced the first Core Class Combiner, Dinoking Volcanicus.
Age of the Primes (2025-)
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Beginning after the conclusion of the Legacy: United toyline, Transformers: Age of the Primes continues the multi-continuity setup from Legacy, with the centerpieces being the Thirteen Primes.
Miscellaneous lines
Cyber Series (2015–2018)
Three years after a large batch of redecoes and retools had been created for Hasbro's Asian markets (with North American Toys"R"Us branches later picking them up as exclusives), Hasbro's Global Development Organization ("GDO") division was given a budget to design entirely new toys. Taking a cue from the tail-end Beast Hunters Deluxe and Voyager Class figures, most of these figures were based on smaller figures from the Reveal the Shield Legends Class, Transformers: Prime Cyberverse Legion Class, Thrilling 30 Legends Class, and 2015 Robots in Disguise Legion Class ranges, with the designs upsized to roughly Voyager ("Battalion") and Leader ("Commander") height, keeping the transformation engineering mostly unchanged. These figures were released in Hasbro's Asian and Latin American markets in 2015, while a second wave was released two years later in 2017 to the original markets and exclusively to Walgreens in North America, followed by a third wave of the Battalion assortment in 2018. The second wave Commander Optimus Prime and Commander Bumblebee figures were also continuously released from 2018 throughout 2020 in North American markets via Amazon. Battalion Grimlock, Megatron, and original deco Commander Optimus Prime were never released to North America.
Most Cyber Battalion toys were reissued in 2021, with Wave 2 and 3 exclusive to Hasbro Pulse, and Wave 1 (except Grimlock) repackaged in two "Heroes & Villians" 2-packs exclusive to Amazon in North America. However it was still common to find examples of much unsold stock still at Walgreens in North America as late as 2023.
- Transformers Cyber Battalion Series (2015–2021)
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- Transformers Cyber Commander Series (2015–2017)
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Platinum Edition (2015–2017)
Transformers: Platinum Edition is a collector-oriented toyline that began in 2013. It is composed entirely of retools and redecoes of existing molds, which are presented in premium packaging. In 2015, it got absorbed into the Generations toyline and in the process dropped its own unique packaging designs as well as its own logo in favor of the uniform Prime Wars Trilogy packaging design, reducing the title "Platinum Edition" to a small line in neutral text above the toys' names.
Alt-Modes (2016–2017)
Alt-Modes is a line-up of blind-boxed figures released under the Generations line that change from super deformed robots, with large plume-like Autobot or Decepticon faction symbols you can flip up on top of their heads, into similarly "chibi" alternate modes with their robot heads still on top. Characters in the line are firmly rooted in Generation 1.
Masterpiece (2015–2017)
In 2015, Hasbro's The Transformers: Masterpiece line got partially absorbed into the Generations toyline as well. These are very expensive and detailed molds aimed at adult collectors, similar to the "CHUG" standard set by the Generations line. The line had been running since 2004, but was rebooted in 2011 to what it is today. These are released under Hasbro's packaging.
In 2016, a redeco of The Transformers: Masterpiece MP-10 Convoy was redecoed in Shattered Glass colors, and was also made for Hasbro's Asian markets. That latter figure is essentially a Platinum Edition figure in all but its name, using the exact same packaging design and layout of then-concurrent Platinum Edition packaging except the actual "Platinum Edition" title was replaced by "Shattered Glass".
Generations Selects (2019–)
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Announced in late 2018, ''Transformers: Generations Selects'' is a line of exclusives sold entirely online in the US, and through various brick and mortar retailers in other countries, intersecting multiple thematic sublines of Generations. The line consists of "special edition" redecoes and retools of Generations figures, packaged in brown cardboard mailer boxes with no mark up. Initially comprising toys initiated by Hasbro, the line-up also included figures initiated by TakaraTomy from 2019 to 2020.
Hasbro-initiated figures are packaged in robot mode, while Takara-initiated figures are packaged in vehicle mode, much like most of their recent products.
Most TakaraTomy material unfortunately includes the morphological error in English of "Generation Selects".
Collaborative (2019–)
Transformers Collaborative is an online retailer exclusive subline that began in 2019, intended to incorporate properties originating outside of the Transformers brand, not unlike the Crossovers franchise (2008–2011) before it. Unlike its predecessor, Collaborative sometimes includes comprehensive fiction associated with the crossover event, likely to flesh out the wholly new characters created.
R.E.D. [Robot Enhanced Design] (2020–2022)
Transformers R.E.D. [Robot Enhanced Design], is a line of six-inch scale non-transforming action figures of Transformers characters from across different franchises and continuities. It is intended to be a counterpart to Hasbro's other 6-inch action figure lines, including Marvel Legends, Star Wars: Black Series, and Power Rangers: Lightning Collection. Aesthetically, the line focuses on show-accuracy in its sculpts. Figures in the line also include extra hands and accessories for display options.
The toyline is a Walmart exclusive in the U.S. and Canada.
Retro Headmasters (2020)
First unveiled at the October 16th Fan First Friday,[8] Transformers: Retro Headmasters is a small line consisting of redecoes of several of the Titans Return figures, now featuring G1 toy-accurate paint applications and the originally Japan-exclusive Legends Headmaster faces. The toys are packaged in nostalgic G1-style packaging (much like the Collaborative figures or Vintage G1), but with the original G1 package art modified to more closely resemble the Legends toy heads.
This series is a Walmart-exclusive in the U.S. and Canada, The Warehouse and Toyworld-exclusive in New Zealand, and Target-exclusive in Australia.
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Shattered Glass Collection (2021–2023)
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Following the unprecedented release of the Shattered Glass Optimus Prime and Shattered Glass Ratchet two-pack in Hasbro's Generations Selects 2020 toyline, the April 9th Hasbro Pulse Fan Fest 2021 unveiled the Transformers Generations: Shattered Glass Collection subline, containing more characters from the long-dormant Shattered Glass continuity. After the online convention, the other four toys (which were given Sideswipe silhouettes) were slowly revealed on Transformers Tuesdays from April to July 2021.
Much like Generations Selects, the Shattered Glass Collection is composed of Generations redecoes and retools. Costing more than the MSRP of other Deluxe and Voyager Class toys, each figure is accompanied by an issue, with an exclusive UV cover, of IDW Publishing's Shattered Glass mini-series. The toys are packaged in uniquely shaped boxes with character art and brief bios. The boxes only say "Shattered Glass", with "Shattered Glass Collection" coming from listings and product descriptions. The toyline is exclusive to Hasbro Pulse in the United States and United Kingdom.
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
Premium Finish (2021–2022)
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Transformers Premium Finish (トランスフォーマー プレミアムフィニッシュ Toransufōmā Puremiamu Finisshu) is a TakaraTomy toyline that began in 2021. The first Japan-exclusive line since Legends ended in 2019, Premium Finish seeks to reproduce exact decos based on various media, such as the War for Cybertron Trilogy cartoon or the Bumblebee film. The line is split into Generations (specifically from the War for Cybertron Trilogy), ID'd as "PF WFC-" and Studio Series, ID'd as "PF SS-".
Much like TakaraTomy Masterpiece, Generations Selects, and Golden Lagoon toys, Premium Finish toys were imported and re-released by Hasbro for online markets, namely Hasbro Pulse.
Vintage Beast Wars (2022–2023)
In the second and third year runs of the Walmart-exclusive Vintage Beast Wars toyline, online listings for the figures started showing Generations branding in the titles, establishing them as products under the super-label. As such, their in-house title is: Transformers Generations: Beast Wars Vintage.
While the line of reissues itself was first established in 2021, the products listed specifically under the Generations brand are only the 2022 and 2023 products.
Comic Edition (2024–)
Seemingly inheriting Shattered Glass Collection's slot in Hasbro's production slate of exclusives, the Transformers: Generations: Comic Edition subline consists of cell-shaded redecoes and retools of existing Generations molds styled after the artwork of the original Generation 1 Marvel comic, with a heaping helping of bespoke new referential accessories to boot. Almost as much of a draw is the packaging: each box front features a classic comic cover curated by Hasbro packaging designer Amy Bence while the sides form an all new interconnecting Marvel-style mural by long-time Transformers artist Marcelo Matere.
| Wave 1 (August 2024) | Wave 2 (October 2024) |  |
Target
- Target Optimus Prime & Autobot Bullseye (Leader Class, 2024)
- A very rare non-sublined Generations exclusive, this Target exclusive toy gives Optimus Prime the deco of Target's shipping trucks, complete with huge white cargo trailer.
- He also comes packed with a robotic version of Target's mascot-pup Bullseye, who transforms into a Target mailer package. Awww.
Notes
- Since the toys released during the first phase of the Generations toy line were all Deluxe-sized, the difficulty level bar on the front side of the packaging (which indicates how hard it is to convert a toy from mode to mode) denoted each individual toy's challenge level (Cybertronian Bumblebee, for example, is a Level 4, while Thrust is a Level 2).
- With the launch of the Generations line in 2010, the plastic-coated wire twist-ties that had been used to secure a toy in its packaging in past toylines were replaced with rattan tie-downs. The paper-based tie-downs were also used in the 2010 Transformers toy line and subsequent toy lines, until they themselves were replaced by tag pins near the middle of 2014. The tyranny of twist-ties has mercifully never sullied these toys.
Foreign names
- Japanese: Transformers Generations (トランスフォーマー ジェネレーションズ Toransufōmā Jenerēshonzu)
- Mandarin: Biànxíng Jīngāng Shìdài Xìliè (Taiwan, 變形金剛世代系列, "Transformers Generation Series")
References
- ↑ TFW2005 thread containing an answer by Hasbro's customer service regarding the meaning of the term "GDO".
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Australia, New Zealand, and Hasbro's Asian markets typically get toys in whatever format is also used for the United States. The markets that traditionally get multilingual packaging are Canada, Latin America, and Europe, which meant no comic books for Thrilling 30 and Combiner Wars. See the images to the right for a comparison.
- ↑ Interview with Jerry Jivoin at BWTF.com
- ↑ Which is obviously used by many European retailers in official advertising, with annoying persistence.
- ↑ November 24 2016 photo
- ↑ "There truly is nothing that can stand in the way of Trypticon. With your votes, he smashed his way to becoming the next Generations Titans Return Titan Class toy. Mark your calendars, and look for him to hit shelves late 2017."
- ↑ Optimus Primal's victory
- ↑ October 16th Fan First Friday
