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A lot has been said about how so many existing characters were killed in Transformers the movie but not nearly as much as how different the toys themselves were. Sure, there were a bunch of new toys that were some sort of repaint/remold from previous years such as Ultra Magnus and the new minibots.

Still, much of what came out that year had a completely different look and feel than anything we had seen before. Gone were the realistic cars and planes and instead we got things like Kup, Hot Rod, Blurr, Cyclonus and Scourge. Not only were they futuristic but they had a completely different size and aesthetic. In Metroplex and Trypticon we also got two huge Transformers with more playability than we had ever seen with that size. Sure, Omega Supreme was big but his alt mode was a bit strange and Trypticon could walk right across the floor. That's not even talking about Sky Lynx who was just so incredibly different than anything we had seen before. Predaking was also the first combiner to feature 5 individual bots that were all large in size.

What are everyone's thoughts on the 1986 line? A step forward or a step back? If you were in charge of Transformers 30 years ago, what direction would you have personally taken the toyline in?

I tend to see the "Masters" era as the transition point myself.
1986 was more like a continuation - more Minibots more cassettes more Ultra Magnus Cyclonus and Scourge were a good bridging product between the Decepticon Targetmasters and the earlier Decepticon "Strike Planes" (AKA 'Seekers').

Sure it's a branching point in fiction terms though - but the toys from 87/88 seem more of a departure to me. So tend to think of G1 in terms of
Pre Transformers
Transformers 1984-1986
Transformers 1986 to the start ...of the European line then European G1 and the G2 era.
Then finally Neo G1 (Not classics as such) but things like Road Rage, Clampdown, Deep cover, & Detritus.

Classic (or Chug) is compartmentalised in a way with some of the post 2000's lines to me as a sort of G1 remimaging - up until around 2010
Then it all goes REALLY IDW for a while.

There is lots of self contained lines mixed in there obviously an somethings can be moved around depending on your tastes.

I tend to lump in any Prime era mould with other prime toys most of the time even if it's sold as new-G1.

Which isn't bad as it allows me to find another home for the other Protectobots.

Delicon wrote: Sure, Omega Supreme was big but his alt mode was a bit strange and Trypticon could walk right across the floor.

Are you implying OS couldn't, because he could.

my mom will look for hot rod tomorrow in the garage

i dont think i had trypticon or metroplex

i come from a working class family

i plan on moving to mcallen in april