Top 5 Best Transformers Toys Japan Never Got: Molds and Retools
Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2018 3:37 pmEvery two weeks, Seibertron.com brings you a Top 5 list related to all things Transformers written by me, your fellow editor. These are our opinions so what matters most is what you guys think of the topic or list, and I hope to see your own lists or comments on omissions and ranking. Let's have fun! All previous lists can be found here.
Top 5 Transformer Toys Japan Never Got (Molds and Retools)
Western fans whose purchases are predominantly Hasbro's standard Transformers toys sometimes feel like the grass is greener in Japan. And why wouldn't we? Just look at the exclusive molds, remolds and redecos Japan got in the Transformers Prime line and more recently in the Generations Combiner Wars and Robots in Disguise lines. Just to shove it in our face, they even re-released at retail the Tank Frenzy and Rumble molds for the cassette characters which Hasbro never released at retail (even though Hasbro designed it)(LINK). Plus there are all the Masterpiece Transformers we may never get and the list goes on.
But with all that going on, it is very easy to forget that Hasbro themselves have had dozens (hundreds?) of exclusives, many of which were just found at retail, and this list is to remind all Westerners (and Oceanians) that we sometimes get things Japan doesn't get (and might never ever get). Yes, many of those Hasbro exclusives are toys nobody wants (like Supreme Beast Machines Cheetor, Supreme Cybertron Starscream and quite a bit of the Titanium line) but we have some really good stuff too that quite a few Japanese fans had no choice but to import (now it's their turn to pay that shipping muahahaha). I will stick to just retail here (we will leave show exclusives for other lists), and in the next two weeks, I will try to mix it up with a wide array of exclusive molds, remolds and decos that both Japan or Takara (they can be mutually exclusive) didn't get. For now we start with tooling so either a new mold or a retool that Japan never got at retail.
5. Transformers Prime Beast Hunters Sharkticon Megatron
While not show accurate in the least, this is by far the best toy to come out of this design. I loved Prime Megatron's robot mode but the vehicle left a lot to be desired. There was that visible head syndrome, robot arms just hanging out in the back adding nothing to the vehicle mode, and I couldn’t quite get what the front was all about. Was it a head? Couldn't really make heads or tails of it (not quite as bad as Megatron's Animated Cyertronian design of course) and not something I cared to Transform this excellent robot mode into.
But man, talk about an overhaul with the Beast Hunters retool of Sharkticon Megatron. Many problems I had with the original vehicle mode design were fixed. No more visible head syndrome for starters but more than that, the ship looked like something. It had this incredible bio mechanical look to it, which reminded me a lot of HR Geiger, with a very prominent head and fins in the back. Those are the obvious bits of remolding but when actually taking a good long look at this toy you realize it's mostly new parts. The arms and legs and even head have all been changed to add detail contributing to the more underwater theme. The deco is pretty stellar too, reminding me of the colour palette in the Bioshock games. And he comes with the Tartarex Warp Sword which not only is a badass shark sword gun made for pure slaughter but also a very clever reference to the abyss from Greek mythology, Tartarus.
4. Transformers Beast Wars Transmetals 2 Ramulus
There are several Beast Wars Transmetals toys Japan did not get at first but some eventually found their way there in one way or another. This one never did. I will be honest, that pun of a name scores him some pretty high points but the toy is great overall as well. The Transmetals 2 line is known for inventive designs, premium deco and serious gems (with the notable exception of Cheetor) and Ramulus is all of that. Add to that the very original beast mode, that of a Nubian Ibex (wild goat from the Middle East), which I think is his better looking mode. I do like that as with many Beast Wars toys, the robot head takes inspiration from his beast mode, and he has these adorable horns (which are only beaten by that adorable little goat tail).
3. Transformers Prime Voyager Beast Hunters Predaking (Cyberverse upscale)
What, 2 Transformers Prime toys on this list?! Well what can I say, Transfomers Prime was the paragon of cartoon based toylines which has yet to be beaten, so you bet your ass it had some damn good toys. Japan got some excellent exclusives for that line (Ironhide, Jet Vehicon,
Breakdown ) but we got some too, like this awesome dude right here. He is beautiful, nice and lean, imposing with a terrific transformation, which I prefer to the far more expensive Ultimate Predaking. Despite being classified officially as a voyager, he's HUGE, which gives this toy incredible value. Plus he has a generous amount of paint apps and I love those translucent wings. This is the best Predaking toy from the Prime line.
2. Transformers Titans Return Sky Shadow (aka Black Shadow)
In the G1 era, Japan got Black Shadow, a toy that was never released by Hasbro (we got Thunderwing instead). But now it's payback time with Hasbro releasing the best rendition of that character through leader Sky Shadow, a toy that just oozes cool. Even for those who don't know the character, the design and colour scheme are undeniably stylish. He just looks intense and a Decepticon truly worthy of being in the highest ranks. The transformation was simple but clever and all modes look great. The chunkiness also reminds me of the Cybertron era, but with today's articulation - it's awesome! I like him even better than Overlord, a toy we have been waiting agse for, since this seems like an evolution in design (which I always like) rather than simply just doing G1 with articulation (which often ends up rather dull).
1. Practically all the best Beast Machine Toys
Japan skipped so many molds from Beast machines that the line might just as well been Hasbro exclusive (and it technically was until 2004 when a dozen molds showed up in Japan). Basically, Takara only released their version of the toys for show characters, and only 1 toy per character (the more show accurate one). So for instance, they only released the Tank Drone as their Tankor instead of the awesome Mega toy. They also missed out on all those incredible basic class toys of non show characters like Quickstrike, Longhorn, Night Viper and Scavenger, all toys that I would recommend anyone to have in their collection. And yes, many of these toys mentioned are better than the previous toys mentioned on the list, I just didn't want this list and the upcoming "Top 5 Beast Machines Toys" to be the same.
Transformers Beast Machines Tankor Gallery
Transformers Beast Machines Night Viper Gallery
Honourable Mentions:
Titanium The Fallen
He's here for two reasons. Firstly, it's possible that Titanium The Fallen might've been imported to Japan by Tomy Direct and I am not sure if that counts or not. Secondly, it's not as good as the other toys on this list. The idea though is that the Titanium line was Hasbro exclusive and Takara didn't release their version of it. I know, I know, good for them. They were able to avoid some of the worst toys ever made for the Transformers line, and I say this with no exaggeration. They were also able to avoid an Optimus Primal toy which didn't have a Beast Mode (well done on that one Hasbro). But they still missed out like with Fire Convoy and the Fallen. People forget, but this toyline got us our first figure for The Fallen (aka Megatronus, one of the Primes). And fun fact, this toy's design is taken from the IDW comics Stormbringer Megatron design, so that's one more Stormbringer design for fans to have in toy form.
Transformers Titanium Series The Fallen Gallery
G1 Octopunch/Bludgeon
It is very hard to judge G1 toys in fairness due to their iconic status. I love Bludgeon and collect his modern toys, but I would be hard pressed to say that the original holds up to everything else on this list. Pretenders are very love em or hate em in this community while I remain indifferent on the subject. I do love both Pretender designs. Of course, it would help to talk about it more if it was available for me to purchase at a decent price. I still find it very bewildering that of all the G1 toys not to be released in Japan, it is the one deliberately styled after a part of their culture and the first Transformer to bring in the Samurai motif. That has since been found across different characters. It's an aspect I like a lot since in the more modern era I find it fascinating how designers will use pieces of the alt mode to turn it into a samurai style armour, for example. And yes, Octopunch, the tentacle monster Transformer, also never made it to Japan.
Transformers G1 1989 Bludgeon Gallery
Transformers G1 1989 Octopunch Gallery
Top 5 Transformer Toys Japan Never Got (Molds and Retools)
Western fans whose purchases are predominantly Hasbro's standard Transformers toys sometimes feel like the grass is greener in Japan. And why wouldn't we? Just look at the exclusive molds, remolds and redecos Japan got in the Transformers Prime line and more recently in the Generations Combiner Wars and Robots in Disguise lines. Just to shove it in our face, they even re-released at retail the Tank Frenzy and Rumble molds for the cassette characters which Hasbro never released at retail (even though Hasbro designed it)(LINK). Plus there are all the Masterpiece Transformers we may never get and the list goes on.
But with all that going on, it is very easy to forget that Hasbro themselves have had dozens (hundreds?) of exclusives, many of which were just found at retail, and this list is to remind all Westerners (and Oceanians) that we sometimes get things Japan doesn't get (and might never ever get). Yes, many of those Hasbro exclusives are toys nobody wants (like Supreme Beast Machines Cheetor, Supreme Cybertron Starscream and quite a bit of the Titanium line) but we have some really good stuff too that quite a few Japanese fans had no choice but to import (now it's their turn to pay that shipping muahahaha). I will stick to just retail here (we will leave show exclusives for other lists), and in the next two weeks, I will try to mix it up with a wide array of exclusive molds, remolds and decos that both Japan or Takara (they can be mutually exclusive) didn't get. For now we start with tooling so either a new mold or a retool that Japan never got at retail.
5. Transformers Prime Beast Hunters Sharkticon Megatron
While not show accurate in the least, this is by far the best toy to come out of this design. I loved Prime Megatron's robot mode but the vehicle left a lot to be desired. There was that visible head syndrome, robot arms just hanging out in the back adding nothing to the vehicle mode, and I couldn’t quite get what the front was all about. Was it a head? Couldn't really make heads or tails of it (not quite as bad as Megatron's Animated Cyertronian design of course) and not something I cared to Transform this excellent robot mode into.
But man, talk about an overhaul with the Beast Hunters retool of Sharkticon Megatron. Many problems I had with the original vehicle mode design were fixed. No more visible head syndrome for starters but more than that, the ship looked like something. It had this incredible bio mechanical look to it, which reminded me a lot of HR Geiger, with a very prominent head and fins in the back. Those are the obvious bits of remolding but when actually taking a good long look at this toy you realize it's mostly new parts. The arms and legs and even head have all been changed to add detail contributing to the more underwater theme. The deco is pretty stellar too, reminding me of the colour palette in the Bioshock games. And he comes with the Tartarex Warp Sword which not only is a badass shark sword gun made for pure slaughter but also a very clever reference to the abyss from Greek mythology, Tartarus.
4. Transformers Beast Wars Transmetals 2 Ramulus
There are several Beast Wars Transmetals toys Japan did not get at first but some eventually found their way there in one way or another. This one never did. I will be honest, that pun of a name scores him some pretty high points but the toy is great overall as well. The Transmetals 2 line is known for inventive designs, premium deco and serious gems (with the notable exception of Cheetor) and Ramulus is all of that. Add to that the very original beast mode, that of a Nubian Ibex (wild goat from the Middle East), which I think is his better looking mode. I do like that as with many Beast Wars toys, the robot head takes inspiration from his beast mode, and he has these adorable horns (which are only beaten by that adorable little goat tail).
3. Transformers Prime Voyager Beast Hunters Predaking (Cyberverse upscale)
What, 2 Transformers Prime toys on this list?! Well what can I say, Transfomers Prime was the paragon of cartoon based toylines which has yet to be beaten, so you bet your ass it had some damn good toys. Japan got some excellent exclusives for that line (Ironhide, Jet Vehicon,
Breakdown ) but we got some too, like this awesome dude right here. He is beautiful, nice and lean, imposing with a terrific transformation, which I prefer to the far more expensive Ultimate Predaking. Despite being classified officially as a voyager, he's HUGE, which gives this toy incredible value. Plus he has a generous amount of paint apps and I love those translucent wings. This is the best Predaking toy from the Prime line.2. Transformers Titans Return Sky Shadow (aka Black Shadow)
In the G1 era, Japan got Black Shadow, a toy that was never released by Hasbro (we got Thunderwing instead). But now it's payback time with Hasbro releasing the best rendition of that character through leader Sky Shadow, a toy that just oozes cool. Even for those who don't know the character, the design and colour scheme are undeniably stylish. He just looks intense and a Decepticon truly worthy of being in the highest ranks. The transformation was simple but clever and all modes look great. The chunkiness also reminds me of the Cybertron era, but with today's articulation - it's awesome! I like him even better than Overlord, a toy we have been waiting agse for, since this seems like an evolution in design (which I always like) rather than simply just doing G1 with articulation (which often ends up rather dull).
1. Practically all the best Beast Machine Toys
Japan skipped so many molds from Beast machines that the line might just as well been Hasbro exclusive (and it technically was until 2004 when a dozen molds showed up in Japan). Basically, Takara only released their version of the toys for show characters, and only 1 toy per character (the more show accurate one). So for instance, they only released the Tank Drone as their Tankor instead of the awesome Mega toy. They also missed out on all those incredible basic class toys of non show characters like Quickstrike, Longhorn, Night Viper and Scavenger, all toys that I would recommend anyone to have in their collection. And yes, many of these toys mentioned are better than the previous toys mentioned on the list, I just didn't want this list and the upcoming "Top 5 Beast Machines Toys" to be the same.
Transformers Beast Machines Tankor Gallery
Transformers Beast Machines Night Viper Gallery
Honourable Mentions:
Titanium The Fallen
He's here for two reasons. Firstly, it's possible that Titanium The Fallen might've been imported to Japan by Tomy Direct and I am not sure if that counts or not. Secondly, it's not as good as the other toys on this list. The idea though is that the Titanium line was Hasbro exclusive and Takara didn't release their version of it. I know, I know, good for them. They were able to avoid some of the worst toys ever made for the Transformers line, and I say this with no exaggeration. They were also able to avoid an Optimus Primal toy which didn't have a Beast Mode (well done on that one Hasbro). But they still missed out like with Fire Convoy and the Fallen. People forget, but this toyline got us our first figure for The Fallen (aka Megatronus, one of the Primes). And fun fact, this toy's design is taken from the IDW comics Stormbringer Megatron design, so that's one more Stormbringer design for fans to have in toy form.
Transformers Titanium Series The Fallen Gallery
G1 Octopunch/Bludgeon
It is very hard to judge G1 toys in fairness due to their iconic status. I love Bludgeon and collect his modern toys, but I would be hard pressed to say that the original holds up to everything else on this list. Pretenders are very love em or hate em in this community while I remain indifferent on the subject. I do love both Pretender designs. Of course, it would help to talk about it more if it was available for me to purchase at a decent price. I still find it very bewildering that of all the G1 toys not to be released in Japan, it is the one deliberately styled after a part of their culture and the first Transformer to bring in the Samurai motif. That has since been found across different characters. It's an aspect I like a lot since in the more modern era I find it fascinating how designers will use pieces of the alt mode to turn it into a samurai style armour, for example. And yes, Octopunch, the tentacle monster Transformer, also never made it to Japan.
Transformers G1 1989 Bludgeon Gallery
Transformers G1 1989 Octopunch Gallery
