Toyfair Japan 1983 video (with pre-Transformers)

[Hursticon]

I wasn't entirely sure if this was worth its own news thread; but thanks to the TFwiki's twitter account looking for the date of the 1983 Tokyo Toy Fair, in which the fabled discovery of the 2 Takara toylines (being Diaclone & Microman: Micro Change) that would go on to comprise much of Hasbro's '84-'85 Transformers, they inadvertently came across a recording of the very event on YouTube!

The date marked on the video is the 18th of June 1983, so this recording obviously took place on one of the days of the '83 Tokyo Toy Fair but more importantly, it allows us to peer into the past at exactly what the Hasbro Reps would've seen that lead them to strike the licensing deal which would lead to a 30 year partnership & business relationship with Takara.


Oh yeah, one will also see the Machine Robo display by Bandai which is quite possibly what the Kenner reps saw and inspired their Gobots/Mighty Machine Men lines.

[griffin]

I wasn't entirely sure if this was worth its own news thread.....

Yes... yes it is worth it.

[Hursticon]

Yes... yes it is worth it.

Glad someone thought so.

[Ultra Mackness]

Definitely worth it Hursti! It's amazing to think that it was at that toy show that it all started, but I can definitely see what toy reps of the day would have seen in terms of potential sales. It's great to see any kind of snapshot of the 80s - the colours, the clothes, the hairstyles. And the toys - some ways they've changed (like the air pressure pump racers, don't see them anymore) but in some ways they're still the same Star Wars figures, robots that turn into other stuff, video games (was there a precurser to the Nintendo Gameboy in there?).

Thanks for posting that Husti, made my day!

[Hursticon]

Thanks for posting that Husti, made my day!

Excellent!

I like history, especially when things are discovered/re-discovered that were otherwise thought lost to it; Much like a newly found Egyptian tomb/monument or an episode of the 1st or 2nd Doctors (Doctor Who), this discovery yesterday had me absolutely beaming because it permitted a chance of seeing exactly what Hasbro saw - sparking THEIR imaginations.

Really, if you think about it, without this event occurring... we wouldn't even be typing these words.

[griffin]

It's just a shame that the colour on the VHS tape (or Beta back then) wasn't good during the Transformers (Diaclone, Microman) bit at the start.

[Hursticon]

It's just a shame that the colour on the VHS tape (or Beta back then) wasn't good during the Transformers (Diaclone, Microman) bit at the start.

Yeah that is a bit of a bugger; Magnetic tape really isn't the greatest medium for long-term storage, especially not 30+ year old magnetic tape - VHS or BetaMax.
At least now that it exists in a digital form, the footage has a chance of lasting much longer; I've "Digitally-Relocated" myself a copy of the entire 24 minute video for archival purposes , it might be worth others doing the same.

[Paulbot]

Finally had a chance to watch some of this. It's a great find

The Takara employee transforming a preTF Browning (i think?) at around the 3 minute mark amuses me. Assembling a gun, waving it around. Simpler times.

[Hursticon]

The Takara employee transforming a preTF Browning (i think?) at around the 3 minute mark amuses me. Assembling a gun, waving it around. Simpler times.

Hehe, I couldn't help but chuckle at that thinking: "You'd never be able to do that (outside of the US) today!".