Transformers Toys

Transformers toys belong to a line of toys that been produced from a sucessful collaboration between an American toy company called Hasbro and a Japanese toy company called Takara. These Transformers toys were based on toys made and released by Japanese toy companies like Diaclone and Microman.

Transformers toys have a unique feature that sets them apart from other toys which is that you are allowed to transform the toy from its original form which may be a vehicle into an animal, device or a robot by moving around a few parts. Once the toy is transformed into a new form it has the ability to be changed back into its original form, hence these highly innovative and fascinating toys carry the taglines "More Than Meets the Eye" and "Robots in Disguise" in order to highlight the specialty of these toys.

These Transformers toys debuted with a line of AUTOBOT vehicles which were essentially small easily convertible 'minicars'; these were followed by the DECEPTICON figures which required slightly more skill in order to convert them. Over the years larger and more complex Transformers toys were released like the DEVASTATOR robot which was the first of the toys that belonged to ' merge groups' or Transformers toys that could be merged to form a bigger toy. These were then followed by Transformers toys like the TRIPLE CHANGERS –DECEPTION figures that had three modes of change. These were subsequently followed by INSCETICONS or robots which turned into insects and JUMPSTARTERS which featured a pull back motion which aided their transformation. All these toys along with DINOBOTS, SHOCKWAVES are toys which belong to the first generation of Transformers toys which were produced between the years 1983-1986, for it was in 1983, that the executives of Hasbro and Takara met at the International Toy Fair in New York and decided to create a line of Transformers toys for the US and other international markets.

The toys were further popularized by spin offs inspired by them including a Marvel comic book series, an animated television series and a movie called The Transformers : The Movie. Through out the 1980's and 1990's interest in these toys was kept alive by the introduction of newer and more malleable models which were loaded with more bells and whistles like the TARGETMASTERS, the HEADMASTERS, the MONSTERBOTS, POWERMASTERS, The PRETENDERS, the MICROMASTERS (a range of miniature transformer figures), the ACTION MASTERS, OPTIMUS PRIME etc.

The collaboration between Hasbro and Takara has been very successful over the last two decades and this close relationship continues to prosper until today wherein Hasbro conceptualizes and creates the various characters for the Transformers toys while the Japanese company Takara controls the actual manufacture and production of these toys. Hasbro markets these toys in the US and other countries where they are popular like the U.K. and Canada while Takara handles the marketing of the Transformers toys in Japan.