tonka toy hobby
(translated from the Japanese Wikipedia article)
The Transformers: Kiss Players was a Japan-only line of Transformers toys, manga, and audio dramas released in 2006. Kiss Players is set in an alternate Transformers universe where the Transformers are powered by the kisses of young girls. The toys themselves come packaged with small, scale figurines of the girls who power them. The toyline was openly admitted to be aimed at a specific part of the market—perverted adults, rather than children. The comic that accompanied the Kiss Players was an unashamed reflection of this, with several images which were considered by some to be very sexually themed.
Kiss Players continued the theme of the metaphysical power potential of human beings empowering Transformers. Previous examples were the Japanese series programs Masterforce and Car Robots.
- Takara's official Transformers: Kiss Players website
Transformers: Classics (2006)
Main article: Transformers: ClassicsTransfomers: Classics was a filler line for Hasbro, to fill the gap between the end of Cybertron and the 2007 Movie line. It mostly consisted of "Classic" Generation One characters, with contemporary re-designs and updated alternate modes.
The line was later commemorated as a sub-series of the Transformers: Universe line, where it had the nickname of "Classics 2.0."
Transformers film (2007)
Main article: Transformers: The Movie toy lineThe live-action Transformers movie was slated to premiere in the U.S. on July 3, 2007, and was a joint collaboration among DreamWorks SKG, Paramount Pictures and Hasbro, Inc. Paramount Pictures was slated to release the film in the United States, as it had by now made DreamWorks Pictures one of its wholly owned subsidiaries, and was also to be responsible for the international release of the film through United International Pictures, its joint venture with Universal Studios. The feature was directed by Michael Bay from a screenplay written by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. It was a new story, set apart from the previous incarnations of the cartoon(s) and comic(s). A new origin and characters were introduced. Steven Spielberg, who with Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen had established DreamWorks SKG, was the main executive producer of the film, with Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Tom DeSanto and Don Murphy serving as co-executive producers. In practice, this meant that they were the primary financial sponsors of the film.
Shia LaBeouf portrays the lead human character, Sam Witwicky, in the film with Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, and Megan Fox in supporting roles. Peter Cullen reprises his role as the voice of Optimus Prime. Megatron's voice is provided by Hugo Weaving.
It was expected that the release of a new movie would involve the production and release of associated toys from Takara and Hasbro. Images surfaced, on-line, of some toy prototypes, notably Starscream and a new Decepticon who was to be named Blackout, along with packaged samples of movie preview "Protoform" Optimus Prime and Starscream toys. Similarly, fans found preliminary artwork of multiple characters, although it was not known at the time how close these were to the final designs. The designs were significantly different from those of the Generation 1 characters with the same names. Reactions varied widely: some fans objected strongly to the designs, occasionally going so far as to threaten a boycott if the designs were not changed to be more traditional, while others liked them. The issue became a divisive one, as detractors accused supporters of lacking respect for the franchise's history, while supporters accused detractors of being "stuck in the past", and not accepting change.
In the "Transformers" film, the robots had more of an alien feel to them to fit the theme of an alien invasion. The robots (stated by Optimus Prime) in the film are actual sentient organisms and not just giant, mindless, and mechanical machines. The robots can also speak their own alien language sounding like what seems to be based on different pitches and frequencies. Along side of that, they gave them more alien features that probably wasn't mentioned in the comics or T.V. series such as an highly advanced exoskeleton, force field, and a special "alien meteoroid" mode which they transform into individually and arrive on earth in. The exoskeleton is a "self-regenerating metal" in which the aliens are composed of (stated in the film) that is the equivalent of living skin that heals itself.
Even though the transformers were heavily modified for the film for a more alien "feel", they still kept some key features from the G1 look to stay true to the character's origins. Examples: Optimus' faceplate and primary colors, and Megatron's arm cannon. Megatron's head also resembles a helmet-like shape.
Also, as a new feature, most figures include advanced "automorph technology", which is designed to create quicker and easier conversion, which means moving one part of the vehicle or robot causes other parts to move, creating a final shift to battle mode; this was successful because the transformation was more complex in the movie line than in any other Transformers toyline.
Transformers: Animated (2008)
Main article: Transformers: AnimatedThe Transformers: Animated series is currently broadcasting in USA and other countries. This new series uses a very different art-style from the previous series. The Autobots and Decepticons, while fighting in space for possession of the Allspark, crash-landed onto a futuristic Earth and resume their battle after laying dormant for years. In addition to the Decepticons, the Autobots have to face the human villains as well. Classic characters such as Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Prowl, Starscream, Megatron, Jazz and Ultra Magnus appear in this series.
Originally, Transformers: Animated was to be called "Transformers: Heroes", but its name was changed to avoid confusion with the Transfomers live-action film.
The line was released alongside a sub-series of the Transformers: Universe line for its Legends size figures.
Star Wars Transformers (2006)
This is a new line which features robot versions of various Star Wars characters. Confirmed figures are Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Boba Fett, Commander Cody and Jango Fett. Darth Vader turns into his custom Tie Fighter while Luke Skywalker turns into a X-Wing. Jango Fett and Boba Fett become Slave I, and Commander Cody turns into a Turbo Tank. There is combiner of Millennium Falcon of two characters, Han Solo and Chewbacca and Primus/Unicron-like Death Star that transforms into a giant figure, Darth Vader. There are more Star Wars characters into Transformers like General Grievous and Obi-Wan Kenobi. This line was later revived and merged into the Transformers: Crossovers toyline. Star Wars Transformers
Transformers: Marvel Crossovers (2008)
This is a new line which features robot versions of various Marvel Comics superheroes (and later more of the Star Wars Transformers figures once it merged with this line). Confirmed figures are Iron Man, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Venom and Hulk. Hulk turns into a tank while Iron Man turns into a jet. Spider-Man becomes a bike, Wolverine turns into a 4WD, Venom turns into a turbocharged retro car. They are not to be confused with the Marvel Megamorphs toy line, which also featured transformable mecha piloted by the superheroes.
Transformers: Disney crossover Label (2009)
A Japanese Exclusive, This is a new line of Transformers toys shaped from Disney characters that would be released in 2009. First revealed in the November 2008 issue of Figure Oh! Magazine in Japan, it was a collaboration project between Takara-Tomy and Disney. The first line of the toy series is the Mickey Mouse Transformer which was modelled after Optimus Prime with the same colors as it's Transformer counterpart and can transform into a Trailer Truck like the Original version. The Toy is released in February 26, 2009 following with the Black and White Version a month later on March 26, 2009. A figure of Donald Duck based on Bumblebee is also planned for release.
Transformers cereal
Ralston marketed many cereals based on cartoons in the 80s and 90s. One of these was transformers. The Transformers Chocolate Flavored Cereal was a chocolate-flavored concoction, not unlike Cocoa Puffs, manufactured by the Ralston Corporation. However, the cereal was only in some parts of the country and was short lived. The cereal box had Optimus Prime on its cover. The box claims the cereal had "more taste than meets the eye" and also had the ability to "transform ordinary milk into chocolate flavored milk". There also was a mail-away offer for a Jazz toy.The few boxes that still exist are collectables, (one of which went for $349 on eBay).
Transformers events
The official international Transformers convention is BotCon but other fan events include Auto Assembly and TransForce in the UK and past Transformers only events have included BotCon Japan, BotCon Europe and "OTFCC". The first larger Transformers convention in the Nordic countries is called "The NTFA Mini-Con", with official support from Hasbro Nordic, and was held by members of the NTFA - The Nordic TransFans Association, for the first time on November 3–4, 2007. Various other events also celebrate Transformers.
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