Member-only story
The History of Transformers: From Toy to Legacy
the story behind taking another company’s toy, but marketing it to perfection
There were a lot of toys and cartoons that burst on the scene in the 1980s, but did one stand above the rest?
Transformers were a toy line and cartoon series from 1984 produced by Hasbro and became one of the best-selling toys of all time. Transformers led to an animated movie in 1986, many future toy lines, and a series of live-action movies.
This is it. The definitive toy and cartoon series to me growing up in the 80s. G.I. Joe was a VERY close second, but something just captured the imagination differently with Transformers. I don’t remember any other toys leaving me spellbound and in awe.
Transformers shaped an entire generation and caused some significant heartache with Transformers: The Movie from 1986.
So let’s look back on what, in my opinion, is the greatest toy and franchise of all time.
Diaclone: The Orignal Transformers
Transformers was not an original idea. The origins start with the Diaclone toy line made by Takara Toys launched in 1980.
It was a line of toys that included transforming vehicles and robots that were piloted by miniature figures that came from the micro-man toy line.
In 1982, they put out a line of car-robots that also could transform. Hasbro — either too lazy to come up with something or just seeing the huge potential — licensed the “car-robot” toy line along with the micro man line from Takara.
They would combine both things together to create the Transformers.
Many of the Autobot versions of the Transformers came straight from the car-robot line. A lot of the future Transformers already existed in the Takara toy line, including the Dinobots, Insecticons, Decepticon planes, and the Constructicons.
Hasbro executives would go to the Tokyo Toy Show in 1983 on the lookout for some new toys they could import to North America. They would buy the rights and molds to all 28…
