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Every two weeks, Seibertron.com brings you a Top 5 list related to all things Transformers written by me, your fellow editor. These are my opinions (just like movie or game reviews hosted by sites are still just the opinion of one person) 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 McDonald's Transformers Toy Promotions
Transformer themed toys have been part of McDonalds Happy Meals since the 80s and there have been many promotions for the brand since then where kids would get a Transformers toy in their Happy Meal. This week we look at the top 5 Happy Meal toylines that dealt with Transformers.
5. Changeables 1987
Ok so these are not branded Transformers, but this is too perfect for me not to include, and worth more than just a mention. And let's face it, if I leave these out of this list, that's all I will hear. Transformers toys in the 80s were HUGE to the point that, 30 years later, we have this site dedicated to them and there is still a Transformers section in your store with new toys coming in every year. These Changeables are some fun evidence that everyone wanted in on the transfoming toy action back in the day and in 1987, McDonalds themselves could not resist and released these toys for their happy meals that were robots which could transform into Mcdonalds food items.
While far from the best, these toys had a lot going for them. Sure, they transformed from vehicle to robot (which is ALOT more than we can say about today's toys), but they also had Minicon ports, and had individual gimmicks like wind up motors, plus they .... combined. But hey Minicon ports, which makes this the only McDonalds toyline to have a direct integration with the in store toyline.
3. Transformers Animated 2008
These are, to date, the last Transforming toys we got from McDonalds. They were not the best but looked better than the Armada toys and there was even a European exclusive Blitzwing which might be the best of the bunch.
The approach mcDonalds took with Beat Wars was really outside the box. Instead of making representations of the character we knew in simpler forms, they gave us fully new characters and some new alt modes such as a Manta Ray (remember, this is before Depthcharge). So far it is the only time we have ever gotten fully new Transformers characters intriduced as Fast Food exclusive toys and now have in universe profiles and also appeared in Comic Books. They are technically essential for any Beast Wars collection if our aim is to cover all Beast Wars characters. Also, these came in probably the coolest Happy Meal Box of all time.
And lest we forget that the toy for kids Under 3, got his own Classics update.
1. Transformers Beast Machines 2000
I simply think these are the best looking Happy Meal toys we ever got for the Transformers brand. A kid in that era could get the entire line up just from these toys, and they would be in better scale and closer in look to the more expensive options on the shelves. Plus there was great light piping. I especially like that Rattrap and blackarachnia. For some fun trivia that Rattrap toy was also used in Little Red Rooster meals at the Australian chain Red Rooster, and came in different colours. Also the Tankor toy was used as reference (among other toys) by Takara for the Generations Tankor we got a few years back.
Honourable mentions:Commandrons
Unlike the others on this list, these are actual full on retail toys sold at McDonalds. They were not part of the happy meal and had to be purchase seperately. However, they were made by TOMY (the company which also made Omega Supreme back in that era) and had a rather impressive wind up mechanism that worked in both modes. So you could wind them up and let them go in vehicle mode as you could imagine, but they also had a walking mechanism where if you wound them up and mad them stand in their robot mode, they would start walking. These were also avaiable at retail in different packaging under the name Super Alternators. If you want to know more, there is a very comprehensive review here. These were eventually brought into the Transformers Animated unviverse by being mentioned in teh Allspark Almanac II. Plus, Sterling, an Atobot from the IDW comics has his colours based off of Commandron Solardyn.
Also, if anyone is curious, McDonalds did have an actual G1 promotion with toys but they only tested it out in St Louis. The toys were non transforming and in a full range of random colours, as you can see below.
* Price and quantities subject to change. Shipping costs, taxes and other fees not included in cost shown. Refer to listing for current price and availability.
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