Transtech

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Transtech Nightscream concept art.

Transtech Shockwave concept art.

Transtech Soundwave concept art.

Transtech Starscream prototype.

Transtech is an unreleased line of toys under the Transformers umbrella.

1 History
2 Releases and designs
3 Rumors
4 External Links - Prototypes and Concept Drawings

[edit] History

After the Beast Machines line ended, Hasbro planned a follow-up series called Transtech. The Transtech concept was a line intended to take Transformers to their most futuristic. Hasbro commissioned sets of designs from Draxhall Jump. The series was supposedly to bring back some of the characters who died in Beast Wars along with some Generation 1 characters, all in new, techno-organic bodies, though with vehicle alternate modes instead of the animals used in Beast Machines. Many concept sketches and even a few toy prototypes were made, but Hasbro scrapped the idea in favor of bringing Car Robots to their markets as Transformers: Robots in Disguise.

[edit] Releases and designs

Although the Transtech line never reached production, prototypes for Starscream (Apparently heavily influenced by his Machine Wars incarnation) and Cheetor were constructed, and eventually found their way into the hands of private collectors. Concept sketches have also been seen for Blackarachnia, Cheetor, Depth Charge, Megatron, Nightscream, Optimus Prime, Scavenger, Shockwave, Silverbolt, Soundwave, Starscream and a new character called Immorticon.

[edit] Rumors

It is generally believed that the concept for Transtech Cheetor inspired the design of Transformers: Cybertron Brakedown and the concept for Transtech Megatron inspired Transformers: Armada Megatron. There were also rumors of a Transtech Dinobot.

According to a FAQ on Bob Skir's web site, he planned to have the characters of Obsidian and Strika appear in the next Transformers series after Beast Machines, which would have been Transtech.