The grasshopper (which became Ransack in Transformers) was never produced with the other three in their pre-Transformers line (called Beetras).Originally Posted by reillyd
The point of that image is that the grasshopper toy (green one) must have been a pre-production prototype figure, as Hasbro used pre-Transformers versions in a few catalogues if it was before the toys had started production. (a side-note - art of this toy showed it in brown... so a green prototype is even more interesting, as a last-minute change that even Hasbro didn't adopt)
As such, that green grasshopper toy/prototype would be a very valuable item, if it was kept or archived by Hasbro, as it would probably be the only Beetras version that exists.
As Sky Shadow noted, the other three Deluxe Insecticons hit production in the Beetras line, but the company (Takatoku) folded before the grasshopper made it to the factory. (obviously they had finished constructing the moulds, as Hasbro wasn't creating new moulds until the following year)
And as others have noted, a fifth Beetras (a ladybug, who was given a female robot form) may have existed if Takatoku Toys didn't fold
This website is in Japanese (stick it in google translate for a rough idea of the text), but it features the Beetras toyline, including the three that were produced before Transformers (pincer beetle, fly, rhino beetle) the fourth one that Hasbro produced (grasshopper), plus the fifth one (lady beetle) and a couple of other ones (butterfly, firefly) that may have also existed if Takatoku hadn't folded.... and maybe become Transformers too.
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