Unless you have been living under a rock, the theme right now with all things Transformers is G1 (referring to the first generation of Transformers Toys/Characters/Show), now more than ever. I mean, everywhere you look you see callbacks to
G1
G1!
G1!!
G1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So basically, right now the theme is G1, G1 and more G1 with the biggest toy output since the brand's inception (4 simultaneous toylines on the same shelf space, not counting retailer exclusive lines).
And I think this is all great and that it's about time we get all this product. The G1 reissues are selling like hot cakes (even at inflated prices for some) so no need to convince anyone that those are wanted and since I will be sticking to toys, I will be looking at my excitement for the heavy G1 theme of both the Generations and Cyberverse lines. While we are getting G1 characters with scales and looks matching the old cartoon for older kids and collectors in the Generations Siege line, Cyberverse provides an entire line of simpler toys at all price ranges and sizes all based on prominent G1 characters with their G1 inspired looks. And those toys are not by the same design team, meaning that the influence is not just the choice of a particular team (or manager) but company wide instead.
Just so you know, I was born in 1988, so my childhood was all Beast Wars and so is all my nostalgia. However, when learning of the brand's history, it is crazy to discount the importance of that first show and those early toys. Especially looking at this all in a retrospective fashion and as a collector, I find that my collection of G1 characters is lacking, especially when it comes to Decepticons at the right scale.
Since I have no particular attachment to a particular representation of a G1 character, what I seek is something of a uniformity. For instance, my season 3 cast is pretty solid, so thanks for that Hasbro and Takara
But when I comes to bringing out the earlier season bots to do a battle scene, I realize how much of a hodge podge it is. Here are my Decepticons with a placeholder Soundwave and Shockwave (you know, the brand's MAIN DECEPTIONC CHARACTERS!!) and of course no Starscream in sight (due to the very odd looking take of the POTP Voyager Starscream).
So that is three characters at the voyager scale fans have wanted for a long time and them missing is obvious. Now, thanks to the Siege line I will have a Soundwave, Shockwave and Seekers that fit to have a more cohesive Decepticon team. And you will notice I did not add Blitzwing in Megatron's triple changer army. I could have but it would have looked a bit weird since he has the same body as that voyager Megatron. It's actually the reverse really, Megatron has Blitzwing's body. It is kind of nuts when you think about it though, but the last time we ever had a G1 styled Megatron toy designed to be principally Megatron in the voyager scale, was 12 years ago, and that one turned into a Nerf gun. So it really is about time that we get the following:
I mean here we are after having had amazing updates to combiners, headmasters and season 3 characters and yet the main G1 cast only ever had placeholders. We are finally getting good toys of the main G1 cast at the scale where most characters are available and affordable. How could I not be excited?! And that goes true for the main character of the entire franchise, Optimus Prime.
As you can see above, the choice for Autobot representation in a classics collection is pretty good at the moment but the one character I am missing is, oddly enough, a good Optimus Prime. That character keeps getting released time and time again, for every line but it always misses the mark in some way (and always seems to be opportunistic release due to his common mold sharing). Seriously, we have not had an original G1 styled voyager Optimus Prime mold since the classics version from over a decade ago. And that one was purposefully meant not to be full on G1 themed (with the new alt mode). This Optimus is a manifesto of this line itself. No more fooling around, just a straight up gimmick free toy of a character made uncompromisingly with that character in mind, in a line everyone young or old can access.
Before I move on to Cyberverse, I will leave you with a comment from a friend in our community:
Wolfman Jake wrote:I don't understand how some people could be unimpressed by Siege Optimus Prime and Megatron. They are figures of beauty, and representations of these iconic characters that have been a long time coming. They're the right scale, look right, and aren't mold shares with classically unrelated characters. I remember a lot of people being tired of Bumblebee toys in Generations when the Titans Return Legends Bumblebee came out, despite it being the best Bumblebee toy we've ever gotten in Generations, in terms of scale, sculpt, and G1 likeness. My reaction is "at last," not "oh well, too little, too late."
I am a young father and my kids will always be curious of the toys I have. While it will be fun to have Generations toys of characters they recognize (simply from the brand's general marketing, or the Animated film) that I don't mind showing them (unlike my MP representations), the real fun will come with toys they can actually transform. There is a major aspect that is downright ignored when looking at G1, and that is how accessible the toys were for kids who had no clue what a Transformer was. Technical limitations made that the initial Transformers toys were rather simple, mostly rearranging limbs and extending parts with telescoping. We never really stop and think that this simplicity in design may have contributed greatly to the brand's success.
This was, after all, the first time toys of this sort were ever given to kids (in this part of the world) and if they were overly complex (ie, high amount of steps) and frustrating (ie. lots of panels), it might have resulted in a far more niche toyline that is only supported by one or two high end collectibles today. It wasn't the case though, these were simple toys that 80s kids could understand without their parents helping them. Sure, proportions were off and maybe some parts were not very articulated but you could do it on your own. Why can't today's kids be given the same chance 80s kids had when discovering Trasformers toys for the first time?
That is what Cyberverse is all about. It is basically G1 all over again for a new generation. Their designs are a slightly more animated/streamlined version of the evergreen designs Hasbro had developed as an update to G1 designs that can be used across different initiatives for the years to come. While there are some changes to incorporate more recent changes to characters (Bumblebee as a muscle car and Megatron as a tank), the main G1 essence is still very present and instantly recognizable to anyone. And especially recognizable to my three year old who watches the Optimus vs Megatron movie fight on a loop.
So thanks to Cyberverse I now have a full array of toys made just with young kids in mind that I can give to my 3 year old so that she can have a pretty good representation of what she sees on screen, whether she watches the new Cyberverse show or the 80s cartoon/film, and which she can transform by herself. The Hot Rod one step even has a sawblade action gimmick like in the 86 film, so she can recreate that action herself instead of me showing her my masterpiece toy from 5 feet away behind an impenetrable glass window.
So basically, Hasbro has finally given us a full blown reboot of G1 in toy for, something that was always teetering at the seams, through two lines. In a few months, I will be able to have a great representation many main g1 cast members at the voyager scale with them looking as they should. And I will have my three year old next to me with her own G1 cast Transforming them back and forth as she watches those same characters onscreen (be it the G1 show or Cyberverse). About time!
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