What I think Ultra Mackness is remembering correctly is that the smaller carded toys from each series generally came out first, before their boxed contemporaries. We were definitely behind the US in 1984, but pretty much caught up in 1985.

Quote Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime View Post
This photo was taken in 1989, and you can see some 1989 TFs there like Pretender Bumblebee, Pincher, Quake and some Micromasters.
Quake was a 1988 toy.