Talk:Transformers (toy line)

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Can we move this to something like Transformers (toyline) - at the basic level the Transformers were a toyline first and foremost with the comic and cartoon emerging from them. User:Timrollpickering

I think the determining factor should be the predominant influence, not so much the genesis. User:Mallignamius

IMHO: Some of this should be moved to Transformers Universes (e.g. Decepticons, Autobots, History) assuming it isn't already covered there. This article should cover the toyline, not the fiction associated whit it, given the existance of the Universes article.

k

I agree. The Toyline article should be devoted to the toys, not the cartoon or anything else. Any story included in the bio/tech specs or anything on the packaging is fair game, but otherwise, save it for one of the other dozen TF aticles. Crockalley 14:37, 30 June 2006 (UTC)

Fair enough that there's a short backstory section (the toys do, after all, have a backstory), but why does it focus on the G1 Cartoon? Surely it should be amended to reflect the basic backstory of the various continuities or be non-specific. Bouncelot 23:08, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Transformers (2007)

I thought there's already a wiki page for Transformers (2007) movie ? Do we really need to include it in an article about the toyline? --Destron Commander 03:13, 22 January 2006 (UTC)

Agreed. I suggest changing that section to: "The live-action Transformers movie has been set to open in the U.S. on July 4, 2007 and is being produced by DreamWorks Pictures with collaboration from Hasbro and Takara. It is expected that the release of a new movie will involve the production and release of associated toys from Takara and Hasbro."

The rest is irrelevant to the Toyline article. Crockalley 14:30, 30 June 2006 (UTC)

"however there have also been reports that no movie line will be produced." Where in Primus's name did that piece of crap come from? All reports from anything resembling reliable sources stated that there would be a movie line. Not only that, but pictures of toy prototypes matching some of the movie designs have surfaced. --Andrusi 17:34, 31 August 2006 (UTC)

I DEMAND THE WORLD SHOWS JESUS WAS REALLY A TRANSFORMER!

Don't be silly. Jesus was a zombie. Optimus Sledge 10:08, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] "Transportation Former"?

The opening of the article says that "Transformer" stands for "Transportation Former". I checked Google and found no evidence of this. I am quite sure Transformers are called that because they transform. Does anyone actually have evidece of "Transportation Former", or should it be removed?--24.224.184.234 23:39, 11 August 2006 (UTC)

Chris McFeely removed it on August 13.

[edit] Logo design

Does any one know who design the original Autobot and Decepticon head logos? --24.249.108.133 22:19, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] External Links

I have removed external links to discussion forums as they are a violation of WP:EL. -- MakeChooChooGoNow 08:55, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

I think we should have a link to the walther p-38 page. Herojoe1000 16:43, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Metal parts

The earliest Transformers did not have entirely metal bodies. The toys simply each had a few metal parts on them. Optimus Prime, for instance, had a metal upper chest and metal toes, but beyond that he and his trailer were made entirely out of plastic (except for things like screws). Fully die-cast metal Transformers, or even mostly die-cast metal Transformers, are merely a myth created and perpetuated by a combination of nostalgial, purism, and hazy memories. --Andrusi 20:25, 2 December 2006 (UTC)


[edit] Citation Needed?

Someone's put a "citation needed" tag in the following line: The taglines "More Than Meets the Eye"[citation needed] and "Robots in Disguise" reflect this ability

Is the citation needed because someone questions whether "More Than Meets the Eye" is a tagline (which is easily demonstrable, at least for G1), or because someone questions whether or not that tagline reflects that toys' ability to change?--G.B. Blackrock 00:50, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Transformatrix and other cheap knockoffs

Should we mention the transformatirx toys and other (cheap spin offs of the transformers toys into the article) since i found this while searching on the internet. Luna191 13:51, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

There are waaaaaay too many Transformers knockoffs to list in this article, and just mentioning that they exist would be redundant, as any toy line significant enough to have a Wikipedia article will be bootlegged. --Andrusi 15:55, 15 January 2007 (UTC)
So?, its better to mention them than not mentioning them at all. Luna191 14:41, 23 January 2007 (UTC)

what about the cheap pull back and go rip offs that i recieved for x-mas in the 80's?-anonymous

I've heard about those. I think they are actually a hasbro product. Herojoe1000 16:42, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

Transformatrix? A Hasbro product? Not by a long shot. JIP | Talk 19:28, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Photo

If there's going to be a single photo illustrating the toyline, could it at least be one of a Transformer transformed completely? Jetfire, whatever his other shortcomings, has longer legs than that. Optimus Sledge 00:40, 20 May 2007 (UTC)

Image:MP04MasterpieceConvoy.jpg What about the pic of MP Convoy in the WikiProject header? Without a doubt more iconic than Classics Jetfire, and transformed correctly to boot. Marcus-e 09:06, 24 June 2007 (UTC)
Much better. Optimus Sledge 14:42, 3 July 2007 (UTC)
I changed the image link to a blue link, since that image is non-free, and thus not allowed in Talk: space. --Phirazo 21:47, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

And now the MP-04 photo is no more. A replacement is sorely needed. What about this one on flickr? It's CC-BY 2.0 and fits the bill quite nicely. --Marcus-e 14:58, 30 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Question re: translations of this article

I was looking at the Chinese-language version, and I have a question that I don't know where else to direct. I see the Chinese version has multiple versions, but all they seem to do is change the character set, not the content. What do we do about articles like this, where, for example, Optimus Prime is known as one thing in China, another in Hong Kong, and another in Taiwan?--211.74.219.104 16:01, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Heat Responsive Logo

There seems to be no mention of the heat-sensative logo that was put onto some lines in response to cheap knockoffs. It was usually somewhere obvious on the toy, and was black until heated (by putting your thumb onto it), when it showed the logo of the side that the transformer belonged to. I always understood that only 'official' toys had these on, and that if it didn't have a patch it wasn't an official Transformer. does anyone have any sourced info that they could add on this?

Cheers 212.85.28.67 13:27, 15 June 2007 (UTC)

As I recall the heat sensitive logo was a gimmick, not a certification process. For an "official" transformer all one has to do is look for the Hasbro trademark. Cobratom 22:21, 19 July 2007 (UTC)

212.85.28.67 is partly right. Only official Hasbro Transformers had these rub signs, but not all of them had. Rub signs were used in the middle of the G1 line, there are both older and newer figures that don't have them. JIP | Talk 16:08, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] List of G1

I know that there is already a list of Autobots and list of Decepticons pages, however I would like to know if anyone would be opposed to a Generation 1 list for this page which has both Autobots and Decepticons. It is a bit more compact and you can view it here Libro0 19:47, 22 July 2007 (UTC)