One of those gun dudes was included in the Japanese continuation of the G1 cartoon. His name was BROWNING... and he remained small and gun-sized even in robot mode! I guess MEGATRON was lucky in that regard! 😆
I saw the original, imported Dorvac series at the 80's swap meets in CA- the designs were so damn clean! So many of these toys came with accessories we missed out on. The original lion force Voltron had SO many weapons!
Fume/Rotorbolt is my favorite cut diaclone toy. His mold would have made for a cool autobot. Then again, floro wouldn't have let him keep his cool lord buckethead head.
Actually the original colors for Blizwing were released by E-Hobby as an Overcharge Drone. This hints continues the hints to Blizwing connection to the Quintisons.
02:06 My Theory on Bonaparte Tulcas is that if it had a more Bipedal looking Robot mode then it would have been picked up by hasbro and become G1 Impactor....
i remember seen megatron using a similar binocular to scopeman in the season 1 of the g1 cartoon, i wonder if they ever intended to add him to the cast
Ah sweet, I remember that discussion. There's a few others too & I guess that Go-bots, Machine Robo & Battle Beasts (Bīsutofōmā) would also count since Hasbro also did TF tie-ins on those toylines. I often figured that making transforming Battle Beasts would be a great idea.
You could have some transformers their original Diaclone and Microchange colors as generic background characters/cannon fodder. An example being having that one shot of Sunstreaker watching the shuttle attack, but have him be in his red Diaclone colors and say it's Spinout since Sunstreak is supposed to be with Optimus. Or instead of windcharger and Wheeljack being dead, it could G1 Exhaust (who is an autobot in this) and one of those Yellow Brazilian Windcharger recolors with a toy accurate head. There's lots of potential if you want to go with this idea.
Wow, I never noticed the similarity between Rumble's (and one time Frenzy's) pile-drivers and that Scopeman toy. In the Marvel comics (and some other storybooks, etc.) Rumble would just stomp on the ground with his foot to make earthquakes. Assuming the similarity is not just a giant coincidence, I wonder how that got into the cartoon. I remember being puzzled by all those weird removed feature remnants on the US Blaster toy. His back had this weird outline from where the battery compartment used to be. One time in the 80s I saw a bootleg of Cassette-Man that had all the extra accessories that Soundwave lacked, and also a "Macrox" (Reflector) bootleg, before the toy of Reflector was actually offered as a mail-away from Hasbro. For some reason I didn't buy them. (I think I bought into those anti-bootleg propaganda Transformers commercials where they talked about the rub symbols.) The Dorvack anime was released on Blu-Ray fairly recently by Diskotek. (I bought it but haven't watched it yet, so I can't tell you if its any good.) The gun robo alt modes are the same guns used by the main characters of Lupin III. The version of the Walther P-38 with all the attachments was based on a gun The Man from U.N.C.L.E. TV show.
Thanks for acknowledging the similarity of Rumble's piledrivers and Scopeman. I feel I'm the first one to make this observation. I think Floro Dery (and other concept artists) probably had access to all the Microman/Microchange/Diaclone toys and probably got inspiration from Scopeman.
The battery compartment was actually in Blaster's leg. The panel in the back was actually where you would store the Microcassette Robo figures, since there was electronic stuff in the actual tape deck.
@@OptimusPhillip Oh, I didn't know that. Thanks. I was annoyed when I got the Masterpiece Soundwave and discovered his weapons did not turn into batteries and store in a battery compartment. They just kind of sit there on his back in his alt mode. The toy designers for that line are way too obsessed with having these types of formerly removable accessories built in to the toy in such a way that they are not removed at all during transformation, and results in overcomplicating things. And they're too obsessed with cartoon accuracy. I would've preferred if they had just had grapple's crane work like the old toy instead of the complicated process of folding up to match the animation model (made by people who apparently didn't have access to the toy or a even photo of the back of it so had to just guess as to what it looked like).
@@Artiststan I know in some cases all they had to work with were bad black and white photocopies sent to them via fax machine rather than the actual toys. Unfortunately we'll probably never fully know what actually happened. The people who are still alive usually don't even remember these types of details. And Floro Dery seems like kind of a strange guy who takes credit for stuff he clearly didn't do and made the Internet Archive remove his now defunct website from Wayback Machine. Even if you asked him there would be no way of telling if he was telling the truth. E.g., he claimed credit for the IDEA of a transforming planet, which already existed as design concepts by Takara employees. He designed Unicron, but the idea for a transforming planet was obviously not his.
I feel like the reason why the plane and helicopter never made it to transformers was because Hasbro was variety in the vehicle modes. That one had two flight modes while the other had flight mode and ground mode.
I understand the Diaclone toy that Perceptor was based off has been re-released in it's original color of black and marked as an "unseen but was always there" Decpeticon scientist.
Yeesh, i thought the pre transformers rabbit hole couldn't get any deeper than the weird unmade muffie cartoon or huffer, brawn, and windcharger being part of the mysterians toyline.
@@Artiststan oh! That fits because of the original play on words that Megatron’s name was! Megaton and Electronic. Perhaps it could’ve slightly altered to Kilotron just to fit with him being sort of a brother to Megatron?
1:51 I had the beetle and it was awesome. I actually think it transformed better than any of the insecticons. But quality material wise it wasn't as good. The plastic are not the same as the ones used in Legos and no diecast metal parts like the Insecticons.
Megs' two 'bros' (the magnum and Browning guy), and Blaster and Soundwave, and the binocular guy, should be Microchange/Microman (not Diaclone)... maybe "pre-TF toys" is more accurate for the title
They, like Jetfire, were licensed from a company called Takatoku, who went bust shortly after, and were taken over by Bandai. The licence was for outside Japan and since Takara had started selling Transformers, Bandai didn't want a competitor selling their product. It's the reason that Jetfire looked so different in the cartoon (and quickly phased out), so Hasbro probably saved any further hassle by just not including them.
One of those gun dudes was included in the Japanese continuation of the G1 cartoon. His name was BROWNING... and he remained small and gun-sized even in robot mode! I guess MEGATRON was lucky in that regard! 😆
Yep I love Browning and I think his toy body proportions are much better than Megatron.
@@Artiststan - Agreed! Although... MEGATRON does have some excellent bell-bottoms! 👖👖👖
And funny thing is, despite his realistic gun mode and being in Microman realistic scale, he doesn't even fire bullets, just like with Megatron lol.
I saw the original, imported Dorvac series at the 80's swap meets in CA- the designs were so damn clean! So many of these toys came with accessories we missed out on. The original lion force Voltron had SO many weapons!
Fume/Rotorbolt is my favorite cut diaclone toy. His mold would have made for a cool autobot. Then again, floro wouldn't have let him keep his cool lord buckethead head.
Oh that's his name! I like his head, pretty classic for that time
Yeah, i wish he was brought in to the transformers sooner.
Actually the original colors for Blizwing were released by E-Hobby as an Overcharge Drone. This hints continues the hints to Blizwing connection to the Quintisons.
1:27 So the original 'Soundwave' had Trailbreaker's toy head!
Well, only in the product pictures. I’m pretty sure the toy always had the icon Decepticon symbol
1:03, his commercial was awesome. Japanese middle-aged men approve of his grooviness.
02:06 My Theory on Bonaparte Tulcas is that if it had a more Bipedal looking Robot mode then it would have been picked up by hasbro and become G1 Impactor....
Agree he looked a little too different. I wonder if the other two sold well in the US?
i remember seen megatron using a similar binocular to scopeman in the season 1 of the g1 cartoon, i wonder if they ever intended to add him to the cast
I managed to snap up some of these toys back when they were still affordable.
Awesome! They're time capsules
Ah sweet, I remember that discussion.
There's a few others too & I guess that Go-bots, Machine Robo & Battle Beasts (Bīsutofōmā) would also count since Hasbro also did TF tie-ins on those toylines.
I often figured that making transforming Battle Beasts would be a great idea.
Thanks for your contribution to the livestream and to this content!
Well, let’s bring the Diaclones in for a long ride
You could have some transformers their original Diaclone and Microchange colors as generic background characters/cannon fodder. An example being having that one shot of Sunstreaker watching the shuttle attack, but have him be in his red Diaclone colors and say it's Spinout since Sunstreak is supposed to be with Optimus. Or instead of windcharger and Wheeljack being dead, it could G1 Exhaust (who is an autobot in this) and one of those Yellow Brazilian Windcharger recolors with a toy accurate head. There's lots of potential if you want to go with this idea.
The green Blitzwing inspired E-Hobby Overcharge and the gun inspired the very obscure Kiloton in the G2 Manga.
Kiloton and Magnum deserve more love
Ayyyye I remember this stream
It's fun going back through the livestreams and finding the best parts!
Wow, I never noticed the similarity between Rumble's (and one time Frenzy's) pile-drivers and that Scopeman toy. In the Marvel comics (and some other storybooks, etc.) Rumble would just stomp on the ground with his foot to make earthquakes. Assuming the similarity is not just a giant coincidence, I wonder how that got into the cartoon.
I remember being puzzled by all those weird removed feature remnants on the US Blaster toy. His back had this weird outline from where the battery compartment used to be.
One time in the 80s I saw a bootleg of Cassette-Man that had all the extra accessories that Soundwave lacked, and also a "Macrox" (Reflector) bootleg, before the toy of Reflector was actually offered as a mail-away from Hasbro. For some reason I didn't buy them. (I think I bought into those anti-bootleg propaganda Transformers commercials where they talked about the rub symbols.)
The Dorvack anime was released on Blu-Ray fairly recently by Diskotek. (I bought it but haven't watched it yet, so I can't tell you if its any good.)
The gun robo alt modes are the same guns used by the main characters of Lupin III. The version of the Walther P-38 with all the attachments was based on a gun The Man from U.N.C.L.E. TV show.
Thanks for acknowledging the similarity of Rumble's piledrivers and Scopeman. I feel I'm the first one to make this observation. I think Floro Dery (and other concept artists) probably had access to all the Microman/Microchange/Diaclone toys and probably got inspiration from Scopeman.
The battery compartment was actually in Blaster's leg. The panel in the back was actually where you would store the Microcassette Robo figures, since there was electronic stuff in the actual tape deck.
@@OptimusPhillip Oh, I didn't know that. Thanks.
I was annoyed when I got the Masterpiece Soundwave and discovered his weapons did not turn into batteries and store in a battery compartment. They just kind of sit there on his back in his alt mode. The toy designers for that line are way too obsessed with having these types of formerly removable accessories built in to the toy in such a way that they are not removed at all during transformation, and results in overcomplicating things. And they're too obsessed with cartoon accuracy. I would've preferred if they had just had grapple's crane work like the old toy instead of the complicated process of folding up to match the animation model (made by people who apparently didn't have access to the toy or a even photo of the back of it so had to just guess as to what it looked like).
@@Artiststan I know in some cases all they had to work with were bad black and white photocopies sent to them via fax machine rather than the actual toys. Unfortunately we'll probably never fully know what actually happened. The people who are still alive usually don't even remember these types of details.
And Floro Dery seems like kind of a strange guy who takes credit for stuff he clearly didn't do and made the Internet Archive remove his now defunct website from Wayback Machine. Even if you asked him there would be no way of telling if he was telling the truth. E.g., he claimed credit for the IDEA of a transforming planet, which already existed as design concepts by Takara employees. He designed Unicron, but the idea for a transforming planet was obviously not his.
I feel like the reason why the plane and helicopter never made it to transformers was because Hasbro was variety in the vehicle modes. That one had two flight modes while the other had flight mode and ground mode.
0:31 my headcanon/fanon is that its G1 Skyhammer, the guy who was a jet in PCC and Helicopter in DOTM.
I understand the Diaclone toy that Perceptor was based off has been re-released in it's original color of black and marked as an "unseen but was always there" Decpeticon scientist.
The only diaclone I have now is Silverstreak from Buzzworthy. Hasbro, please repaint legacy Blitzwing as Overcharge.
Silverstreak is a W
@@Artiststan and I’ll buy more diaclone toys from Buzzworthy and Generation Selects if I have to.
Yeesh, i thought the pre transformers rabbit hole couldn't get any deeper than the weird unmade muffie cartoon or huffer, brawn, and windcharger being part of the mysterians toyline.
Mysterians haha yes, I heard about that
We eventually did get Browning (One of the other Gun Robos), Overcharge (Grey and Green Blitzwing), and Star Dasher (White Astrotrain)
Holy crap! I need that ladybug transformer! :O
..i had a black apache helicopter from Disneyland 1988 i loved it should of been a g1 same size etc
0:37 Hmm... Hasbro could retroactively make this guy some sort of "G1 Blackout"
My cousin definitely had that binocular guy back in the day. I'm not sure if it was a bootleg or an import, though.
Maybe the .44 S&W Magnum can be an Autobot named "Luckyblast" as Megatron's Autobot counterpart...
Now I want to make art of all these characters and name them. The revolver toy could be called Rotoblast or something
Apparently his name is Kiloton.
@@Artiststan oh! That fits because of the original play on words that Megatron’s name was! Megaton and Electronic. Perhaps it could’ve slightly altered to Kilotron just to fit with him being sort of a brother to Megatron?
@@brenkirgaming4586 Megatron Kilotron and Gigatron!
@@Artiststan 😲yes! That’s perfect!!!
1:51 I had the beetle and it was awesome. I actually think it transformed better than any of the insecticons. But quality material wise it wasn't as good. The plastic are not the same as the ones used in Legos and no diecast metal parts like the Insecticons.
Megs' two 'bros' (the magnum and Browning guy), and Blaster and Soundwave, and the binocular guy, should be Microchange/Microman (not Diaclone)... maybe "pre-TF toys" is more accurate for the title
True! Diaclone has good search volume though, I think it's helping this vid
Those deluxe Insecticons look sweet ( Why they ain't added in the Transformers Episodes )!
They, like Jetfire, were licensed from a company called Takatoku, who went bust shortly after, and were taken over by Bandai. The licence was for outside Japan and since Takara had started selling Transformers, Bandai didn't want a competitor selling their product. It's the reason that Jetfire looked so different in the cartoon (and quickly phased out), so Hasbro probably saved any further hassle by just not including them.
Dude I was watching the new Wednesday Addams show and I noticed there was an Optimus Prime cameo
You forgot the horse/jet triple changer for the autobots
What about that seaplane-excavator guy
Can I ask if you read each of the suggestions as to how the Ark scene can work and how it can tie to the attack scene with Optimus's ship.
I don't recall?
@@Artiststan well I left it in one of those two videos. I think it might be worth reading.
Original japan
America went decades without Raiden, and then when Takara DID decide to do a new version, it's an overpriced Masterpiece version...
I have the diaclone blitzwing. Found him randomly and got him cheap.
Lucky!
@@Artiststan it will probably never happen again 😂😂😂😂😂. But I’ll enjoy the luck.
Rumble is Red and Frenzy is Blue.
That's what Hasbro and Takara confirmed. Sunbow, on the other hand, made Rumble blue and Frenzy red.
I got blitzwing for my birthday i was so happy but broke it trying to transform it
So sorry to hear that...I remember that gut wrenching feeling of breaking my own transformers too...