Part 3: Transformers

Report by Philip N. Zeman, Editor-in-Chief and Daniel Lipkowitz, Assistant Editor
3.19.2003

Michelle Field, head of marketing for Transformers (and introduced as the "Temptress of Transformers" by Darryl DePriest), was the second team presenter of the day.

Throughout the course of 2003, there will be three main lines. Spring 2003 will showcase "Transformers: Armada" and the "Transformers: "Generation 1 Commemorative Series", and in Fall, Armada becomes "Transformers: Armada - The Unicron Battles" and "Transformers: Universe" is added as the third line.

Concentrating first on Armada, Michelle showed us a "sizzle" from the cartoon, which seemed to be the original one minute commercial shown on Cartoon Network about a week before Armada debuted. She then described what we should expect from Armada this year.

The last thirteen episodes of the cartoon will be "The Unicron Battles", and these are slated to air in August and September. Transformers.com will continue to be updated, and in fact, she was quite proud of the website so far and is asking for suggestions if anyone has them. The Armada Packaging will have a new look as well, going for a darker scheme with a "The Unicron Battles" logo in the upper corner. All toy price points -- Mini-Cons, Super-Cons, etc. -- will have new product. "Cool leader combos" will be out in the fall, which consist of Powerlinx Prime combining with Jetfire and Overload for the Autobot side, while the Decepticons have Galvatron combining with Tidal Wave.

But the piece de resistance of the Armada line is obviously the new Unicron figure, slated to hit shelves in August. This 16" tall figure comes with a Mini-Con "Dead End" which transforms to a gunner station. This station then attaches to Unicron when the large robot transformers into his planet mode. While hearkening back to the designs of the original Unicron from the movie and G1 comic book, this new toy has some design elements all to itself. The team kept in mind size and articulation when bringing this giant robot to "life" as it were, and there are features galore that tie into the Mini-Con theme of all Armada toys:

• Unicron's mechanical horns can catch Mini-Cons.
• Unicron can grab a Mini-Con with his hand and crush it.
• In planet mode, Unicron can hold 27 Mini-Cons.

Moving on to Transformers: Universe, Michelle explained that one reason for having this line of recolored toys is to let kids and collectors complete their collections. In the past, many may have missed a toy; now, they will be able to obtain the mold and not miss out on the fun. And this line will not be just Beast Wars based; toys from Generation 2, Beast Wars, Beast Machines, and Robots in Disguise are all slated to be included. The full line will be shown off at the summer conventions, which most likely includes BotCon 2003 in July.

Not much information was given as to the exact story behind the new toy line, but Michelle described Transformers: Universe as cool redecoed characters from the past all coming together to battle in the same universe. The BotCon comic this year will focus on Universe, so expect more this summer.

The first of the Transformers: Universe toys will hit shelves in July. In August and September, some toys will be packaged with a CD. This collectible CD will contain an Armada episode, a Transformers game, and an animated Dreamwave comic book, much along the lines of the CDs found in certain G.I. Joe Spy Troops packs.

For the Generation 1 line, Michelle stated that the line will grow this year. By August, we should be able to see Tracks, Red Alert, Inferno, and Hoist. And for the 20th Anniversary of the Transformers line, we will see a new figure in the Fall of 2004.

Michelle concluded her portion by talking about other products with the Transformers license. Palisades will be creating statues of Generation 1 characters (based on artwork by Dreamwave Productions) and we should see four of them by Holiday 2003, possibly including Optimus and Megatron. Hard Hero will continue their statues and busts as well, with 9 busts and 3 statues being made during 2003. NECA had great sales on their bobbleheads and lunchboxes, so expect more products from them. Finally, Infogrames is creating an Armada game for the Playstation2 (with other platforms potentially to follow). This game will hit in 2004 and will be CG based, as evidenced by the picture of Hot Shot that Michelle displayed.

Part 1: Introduction | Part 2: G.I. Joe | Part 3: Transformers | Part 4: Hasbro Publishing | Part 5: Zoids
Part 6: Micro Machines | Part 7: Stikfas | Part 8: Star Wars | Part 9: Hasbro Tour and Conclusion |
Hasbro Collector's Event Index