The Random Transformers Thoughts Thread

[UltimateGalvatron]

At my Big W the price tag for Victorian read '$169 TF Fan Built'

[Bladestorm]

This will probably sound a bit odd to the older fans out there but my son got his first Megatron that turns into a gun (Classics) on the weekend. He's got Megatron's that turn into tanks and jets... but never had an actual hand held gun Megs until now and he LOVES it... moreso than the CW tank one (which prior to the weekend was his favourite Megs). He's been playing with it non-stop all weekend with the largest of smiles on his face.

Just shows even todays kids can suspend their imagine of scale enough to really enjoy Megatron the gun as a concept.

[Jellico]

My 3 year old daughter's favorite has been Leader Jetfire's spring loaded gun. Actually any of the TF guns that shoot something. Oddly that includes her Strongarm's non functional gun and my Windblade's sword. Shockwave is desired but off limits.

I think kids just like the idea of shooting stuff.



On a side note when she first met CW Megatron she liked to give him hugs... and shoot his gun.

[UltimateGalvatron]

I forgot that Oreo-Bot was an actual thing

[GoktimusPrime]

If we were to divide the G1 period into 3 eras - Early, Middle and Late, how should it be divided?

Here's how I would divide it:

Early G1
1984
1985
1986

Middle G1
1987
1988
1989

Late G1
1990
1991
1992
Early-1993

I disregarded early 1993 (as it's commonly considered to be the first year of G2) and then divided 1984-92 by 3. I then "reattached" Early 1993 onto the third era, lumping it together with Late Generation 1. And so...
* Early G1 represents the Golden Years of G1. The bulk of MP figures draw on characters from this era.
* Middle G1 represents... well... the middle years of G1. The US G1 cartoon was wrapped up with only 3 episodes in '87 before cancellation, although the Marvel Comics were still chugging along fine.
* Late G1 represents the more notable years of G1's decline, and coincidentally the early 90s years of G1 (so the 80s represent Early to Middle G1). Action Masters and Micromasters dominate the early part of this era, and it also saw the eventual cancellation of the G1 comics. 1990 was the final year of Transformers in the U.S. with 1991 being the final year in Japan. 1992 and early 1993 were the years where Transformers were only still being sold in Australasia and Europe.

Do you guys think that this would be a fair division of the Generation 1 Period if we were to split it three ways?

[UltimateGalvatron]

I would do it like:

Early G1
1984
1985

Middle G1
1986
1987
1988
1989

Late G1
1990
1991
1992
Early-1993

[Paulbot]

Into just 3 divisions? Would stick with the 86/87 division which is noted by the shift from being predominately existing toys to being new TF-line specific toys as well as beginning the gimmicks-led era.

The 91-93 is in my mind the Euro Era, the memorable toys from those years are the Euro-exclusives (which had gimmicks less invasive than *Master ones) plus the rerelease of Classic toys


Original Era 84-86
Master Era 87-89
Euro Era 90-93

[UltimateGalvatron]

Into just 3 divisions? Would stick with the 86/87 division which is noted by the shift from being predominately existing toys to being new TF-line specific toys as well as beginning the gimmicks-led era.

The 91-93 is in my mind the Euro Era, the memorable toys from those years are the Euro-exclusives (which had gimmicks less invasive than *Master ones) plus the rerelease of Classic toys


Original Era 84-86
Master Era 87-89
Euro Era 90-93

I actually like this one more then mine. Making the three era's more about the theme of the time rather then the time of release.

[GoktimusPrime]

I actually like this one more then mine. Making the three era's more about the theme of the time rather then the time of release.

It's basically the same as the way that I divided the years, albeit with different names - and that's cool too. I just used "Early" "Middle" and "Late" because that's how historical periods are often described.
e.g. Early Roman Empire, Middle English, Late Victorian etc.

Some people might like to label them after precious metals, as they did with the DC eras. Thus...
1984-86 = Golden Age
1987-89 = Silver Age
1990-93 = Bronze Age

[Paulbot]

I was going to suggest 1990 was part of the Silver Age but I was misremembering when Classics came out and changed that before I hit post.

The first few years are a funny one. The shift to non-earth vehicles in 1986 (and the cartoon jumping to 2005) makes me want to divide between 1985/86. But 1985 includes everything from 1984 that an era that was (kinda) one years worth is a bit too small. The 1987 shift was the bigger one.

And thinking about it more, 1987 changed the packaging logo and added the pixelated sunburst which is a nice divide. 1989's silver/gold packaging design, new logo, grid tech specs and smaller pack-in catalogue where another major shift.

If you just considered the US G1 I'd break it as 84-86 / 87-88 / 89-90. Maybe even that with 91-93 as the extra European Era...