Before G1, and before even Macross, there was another fully transformable (and awesome) robot that's gone largely ignored in the decades since: The Diaclone Diattacker!
His design was used to become Exarchon, the main villain of the 2019's reboot of the IDW Transformers comic. The toy was actually his original form before the Quintessons experimented on him in which he became the Threefold Spark.
I dig giant robots. You dig giant robots. The early 80s were a pure utopia for giant transforming robots and combiner robots at Children's Palace, and Grandpa Pigeons growing up in St Louis.
I would guess that Hasbro chose the gun since it resembled an earth device. Everything in that first wave was something recognizable and you wouldn't expect it to be a "robot in disguise". Diattacker on the other hand looks like an alien ship and breaks the theme. You would kind of expect to do something extraordinary. I do kind of remember some vending company using a picture of him back in the day on some instructions that were included with a toy you would get out of those quarter crank vending machines. There were like 15 pieces of varying solid colors, maybe more, that you could collect and form a robot that sort of resembled Diattacker. Each kind of looked like an eraser but harder plastic. I only ever got one as a kid. I wish I had gotten more. Because now all it is, is a vague memory and I don't know what they called it.
Interesting! Takara made two earlier attempts to bring Diaclone to the American market directly with both Diakron and Kronoform. The product you saw was likely an offshoot of one of those efforts. I know Diattacker was released as part of the Kronoform line. I'm not sure if he was a part of Diakron.
@@classiccomicsforum After typing my comment the mystery was nagging at me so after a little research between google and tfwiki it seems those toys were referred to as "keshi" in Japan and the robot they formed may have been Gats Blocker. I think I had gotten a foot with the quarter I begged my grandma for. LOL Like most companies, that vending company was looking to capitalize on the Transformers/Gobots craze at the time. Funny how they came up with that particular robot to bring into the states.
I firmly believe that a few strange incongruities such as "a truck-robot fighting a gun-robot despite their size differences" are exactly what creates great fiction that endures for a long time. That weirdness is what gives it the spark of imagination that kids don't even think twice about.
Your channel is amazing, your philosophy behind what makes a good transformer is great and I absolutely agree with you, love your videos, keep up the good work and I really hope you make many more videos, I'm so happy I found your channel!
The Daimos robot was awesome. It was piloted by a man who drove a car that turbo boosted to interface with the rolling thunder in wheels size of a cruise ship transformed into Daimos controls similar to how they controlled the pacific rim bots mind you the concept went way back in the 70s!
Really enjoyed this presentation! Very informative and thorough, insightful and I learned some stuff. Given the title I (almost) assumed you were going to spring a surprise that true transforming figures started years before Diaclones, but it landed roughly where I thought it would’ve - as the Diaclones line evolved. Great stuff. 😎
That's really cool! Lots of awesome history here, man! My wife and I now have seven grandkids (I was ten when the OG Transformers series came out) and they eyeball my collection of G1 and MP's and I'm always all; "Don't EEEEVEN think about it..." So we went and got some of the Hasbro plastic Transformers Hero toys and they love them. I looked at a couple and found that their transformation isn't too dissimilar from the G1 toys - only with rounded, lightweight plastic so you don't stab your brother or cousin safety. But I made a comment to my wife of how the kind of went olde skoole with them and they still looked good and are "real world" in appearance. Makes me kind of lament for the old days, ya know? But great video, dude! Keep up the good work!
I do the same with my kids. We really got into Titans Return together, which I think is the best Transformers line since the original in terms of sheer imagination. Some of the newer stuff is very very close to the original (and clearly modelled after it) but the heft is missing, as is some of the smoothness/fluidity in the transformation. They're not bad, but I would have liked to have seen Transformers improving in the 40 years since G1 instead of just coming close to almost being as good as the originals. I get it: folks want realism and cartoon accuracy. That's just not what I've ever been looking for, myself.
My dude, the current Legacy/Studio Series line is not for kids. The kids toys are still out there! Did you even try out the Smash Changer Optimus Primal?? That thing is rad!
We had a lot of Gobots when I was a kid. They were smaller and cheaper than transformers but they were cool. Our parents budget didn't stretch to transformers prices.
I had never seen or heard of this toy before. Very cool looking missing piece of history. Great video. Great points also. I often refer to modern toys as "what passes for a transformer today" for exactly the reasons you gave. Looking behind you I see Fire Duke and j Dekker combined, goldran, and fighbird combined with granbird. These in my opinion are a few of the greatest transformers ever made.
That's why I buy a lot of Cybertron stuff. The Cybertron figures are often more complex than G1, but have that chunky transformation. I think some officially licenced figures are still great like the SS dinobots. Interesting video for sure, never heard of this figure before. 1960s - 1980s Japanese robots had this great aesthetic no one can replicate for some reason!
The best designs are by Shoji Kawamori (he did Optimus Prime and VF-1 Valkyrie mecha in SDF Macross) because he tries to keep the transform as close to a mech as possible. For example if a human was riding inside the cockpit of the robot when that robot transforms the pilot of the robot doesn't get killed during the transformation. You see this design philosophy in Star Scream and Optimus Prime where you could be the guy inside the robot and control it but if you had to transform back to vehicle mode you don't have to move because the stuff transforms around that pilot meaning it would be considered a mecha as well as autonomous robot. Let us say Starscream was just an AI controlled machine and had no spark in him? A GI Joe could just control the machine as if it were a regular vehicle and not have to die when converting to different modes. Why is Shoji Kawamori significant? He designs it to be realistic enough that we as adult could imagine it to exist. If you like Transformers you owe it to yourself to check out Macross (a whole science fiction show based on transforming space mecha). The same philosophy behind Optimus Prime and StarScream is applied to the transforming valkyrie fighter where the pilot will never get dizzy since the cockpit is the centre-of-mass and so when flying if the pilot transform quickly to robot mode he doesn't have to move. Instead the parts around the cockpit shift and turn and twist to get the robot. All the pilot does is sit in upright position where the chair faces up when going into robot mode. (it sits horizontaly when in space fighter mode) I think Optimus Primes simple transformation is why he is so iconic. The realistic designs have always been my fave transformers over the "robots sitting in fetal position inside a shell of a vehicle" designs. The latter is very lazy and not as pleasing as the simpler and more mecha style transformers. This is why I think I would like to see Transformers rebooted as a mecha show where the aliens are not really aliens but drone AI we sent out to fight on other planets. So for example Optimus Prime is just a rover that delivers cargo but we can take control over the vehicle to manually control it. There is no war between decepticons and autobots, there is just humans using transformers as mecha. (it's as common as using a gun in modern times for self defence. The robot form is how we deal with harsh environments which are not pleasant to walk about in so the robot mecha mode is like an armored spacesuit which is useful for when you have to attack at extremely close range. IE space monster rushes you down very fast to close the distance and you want to punch its face in with an armored fist or cut him up with a lightsaber type weapon)
@@UToobUsername01 you're pretty much describing the original Diaclone story. The car robots were just transforming mecha suits. It wasn't until marvel was brought in to craft a new backstory that the robots gained sentience.
@@classiccomicsforum yes that's why the insectocons had cockpits. lol I would like to see a return to this idea that humans had to make the robots themselves to solve problem of navigating dangerous environments and then fight whatever animals aliens would attack them while they are trying to mine resources and live there. I want more science fiction and less science fantasy is what I am saying. Because my fave designs are ones where people can sit inside the robot mode and not die when the robot transforms into a vehicle. The mecha Idea is useful because if the Alt modes are not disguises, it means they can start to look like other things rather than just civilian vehicles. They could for example have spider mechas that just look cool and not have to look like a LITERAL giant spider. Do you understand? The purpose of the robot is merely to get around and fight properly not to hide from stuff. And if it gets damaged in a fight there is parts that can be replaced so we don't have to worry about the writers constantly having to create plot armor for why a character doesn't die after so many hits. They can have say starscream "die", and it's just his body but his mind is kept in a black box or something so he can be placed in a new machine. (so more realism in battle scenes where robots are getting regularly destroyed in gorey ways that appeals to adults more) I think the reason I like mecha shows is that yes there is real danger in every fight. But for cartoons they never let the good guy wreck the bad guy and blow him to pieces. (ie they have to keep him alive so there is more episodes)
Man, you've nailed what it is that I love to collect and motivated me. I loved Diaclone, Microman, and Micro-Change years before I met the Transformers. It's why I've chosen to mostly focus on Diaclone, because of the quality, the connection to the past, it's sophistication, and liberation from having to peg itself to characters.
transformers was going for a "robots in disguise" thing obviously... but yeah, this seems more like an upgraded megatron than Galvatron was. Hell, its even just megatrons head with "technically" a crown on it. Its funny because future iterations of Megatron... I guess starting with Beast Machines, ditched staying in disguise for more otherworldly alt modes... so this is a glimpse of what might have been. Another thing I should look into, Derrick J. Wyatt loved this stuff... i should go back through the art books to see if he ever considered putting or "hid" stuff like this in animated.
The gun was chosen because he's an earth mode. "Robots in Disguise" It should be mentioned that the first car Diaclone was the countach LP500S (later becoming Sunstreaker) Great video, love your collection!
On the topic of combiners: I only really like combiners if the combining happens in space in a zero G environment. I think the concept of docking with a spaceship (like a ship joins up to another ship to become one bigger ship makes a lot of sense in space, but not on land imo). I never like combination on ground. It just feels like it works best in space.
Fantastic video and thanks for telling me about this particular Diaclone figure I knew the history of diaclone but as you said even this guy gets overlooked I saw some brave series figures in the background, that's so cool It makes me sad that other TF fans are just unaware of or just have no interest in the brave series considering the history and connection it has There's tons of transforming robot anime from the 80s and 90s like Galvion, Megazone 23, Gold Lightan, Baldios, Brave series etc Definitely subscribing. Hope you cover more Diaclone, Chogokin (new and old) and other transforming robots. Personally i only have the chogokin Leopardon from the japanese spiderman series and it can transform from the Marveller ship into the actual Leopardon robot itself It's a newer show but you might wanna check out Bang Bravern which is releasing its titular transforming robot toy in 2025 lol
I will definitely check that out! You mentioned both of the ideas I'm wavering between for the next episode: Takara Brave or the history of Super Sentai leading up to a discussion of the DX combiners. What do you think I should go with?
@@classiccomicsforum I think either is fine but I'd definitely love to see some videos regarding the brave series, if you ever get around to king of braves GaoGaiGar, that would be cool too
I recently got back into collecting Transformers and, yeah, you are 100% correct. Those 84/85 toys were a league of their own. The design philosophy was on the detail of the vehicle mode and how to male that a robot and that robot did not conform to a pre-established esthetic. I miss that. Now it's all panel forming to make a car look like a specific character that has to look a specific way for a brand. Anyway, really enjoyable stuff. I am envious of your Dia Atlus. His treads in good shape? The ones I find online are usually sans treads (and literally anything else, really 😂😂) He's on my grail list.
@@nickperoncomedy thanks so much! Dia Atlas is actually a grail for me too. What you're seeing on the shelf is the Titans Return version, not the original.
I do Gundam kit cross over builds....love how to make character cross a line.....felt the star wars cross over wasn't true it was star wars character's
As a newer Transformers collector, I have been fascinated by the story of Transformers and vintage designs. Not as vintage as Diaclone, but the Armada-Energon-Cybertron era which is my favourite overall. as I consider the last true callback to the glory of the G1 figures. Energon and Cybertron figures are chunky, heavy duty and tough efigies, that contrast with the more abbreviated and complex figures of today. I wish we could get those older figures with the engineering and articulation that is standard nowadays. Imagine Dia Attacker with the gimmicked "automorph" bu with the articulation of a Legacy figure. There are so many designs I would love to see them revisit with modern sensibilities. I knew of Dia Attacker by a 2019 comic, but I never knew it was designed by the same guy that made the Veritechs.
Nowadays the joy is in some Tobots (Young Toys) and Metal Cardbots (MGA Entertainment). Bandai and Takara have some fun stuff too, but it's japanese exclusive, which is shame.
I really hate how modern basically lost the plot on transformation. It's become a game of more complicated=good and chasing show accuracy to the point the robot mode veneers are largely fake alt-mode bits. The satisfaction of finding how this vehicle part becomes a robot part isn't their anymore.
Dude thank you. THANK you for summing up so succinctly why I love G1 Transformers so much. I love being able to pick up say, Skids as a Honda and have a robot 15 seconds later. You legit need an engineering degree to operate many of the newer toys. Like I have Studio Series Bumblebee from the Bumblebee movie and it took me 20 minutes to compact him into his VW mode (and that's with watching transformation tutorials on RU-vid!). Guess what? He's still in VW mode! I haven't touched him since. The G1 toys to me are much more fun to actually mess with, although that feeling of quality may be a bit of a facade. My original 1986 Smokescreen that I broke within a week of getting him as a kid will certainly attest to that.
1. Delegitimizing Raideen as the first transformable robot is hard to excuse. 2. Voltes V is pronounced "Vol-tess," not "Volts." 3. Daimos is pronounced "Die-mohs," not "Day-mohs."
I appreciate the feedback. Thank you! As for Raideen, calling him the first also ignores the Horikawa Changeman and others like him. That's why I'm focusing on what I call The Early Modern Era of Transforming Robots. Raideen transformed for sure; just not in as sophisticated a fashion as what followed.
Diaclone and Microman are 2 awesome toy lines. Their transformable robot series were the stuff Hasbro got to create their TF brand. Solid die-cast toys, beautifully mades, with detailed vehicle/tiny object modes and powerful robot design. 1984-85 series 1 &2, for me are the BEST toys in all the history of this brand. From 1986 the new toys specifically made for the toy brand became cheaper and less interesting, with notable exceptions.
Couldn't agree more! A big part of that was because Diaclone, itself, started churning out cheaper quality toys after the 1982 releases due in large part to an economic recession in Japan. Going simpler and all plastic saved the company money and made their toys cheaper for parents to buy too. Fortunately, there were some other equally awesome toy lines happening around the same time that are well worth checking out. Stay tuned for future videos!
there is also Tatsunoko's Gold Lightan as in a sentient robot that turns into a golden cigarette lighter and his friends who turns into tools and stationary, the toys are made by Bandai.
Vintage Star Wars R2-D2 was my "first" Transformer. As a kid, I used to put him in a 90 degree tilt and pretend that he was a cannon. It worked because the bottom of him was an opened barrel. LOL!!
Great video I miss when transfromers came with the little guys with magnet feet. Im curious have you made a or know of a video about displaying transformers,I got back into collecting transformers then went back into my old collection and remembered they display poorly,it always looks like a cluttered mess to me no matter what.It seems like less is more with transformers when it come to display.
I definitely agree that less is more. Unfortunately, space is also hard to come by as one's collection grows. I'm constantly struggling to find space for new acquisitions, myself.
My dad sent me some toys when he was stationed in Okinawa in the 70's, one was an orange and black vehicle that came with a 4 inch figure in green and gray armor I think, it had a spring loaded eject seat on the back and I think one of the stickers said Don Hakka or something?
@@arctrooper999 sounds like Microman. I couldn't tell you the specific toy, but vehicles for 4 inch figures in the 1970s would have been right up their alley.
On a side note combattler's popy figure looked more like individiual vehicles as compared to voltes v which lookes more like body parts split into smaller pieces. Also daimos is pronounced more like die-mows as opposed to day-mos however great video i enjoyed! 👍
I hope Takara has plans to release a new Dia-Attacker as part of their Diaclone reboot in the near future. Also, I was going to mention the Exarchon thing but a quick skim through the comments and it seems someone already has. Clearly you aren’t the only one who thinks Dia-Attacker’s design is worthy of villainy since someone working on the Transformers comics similarly had the idea.
It was simply Hasbro's "fault". Here in Italy, I remember well, at the beginning of the eighties, the toy company GiG imported the complete Diaclone series and between 1983 and 1984 its sub-brand Car Robots renamed "Auto Robot - Trasformer" (without the N and S). The latter had a resounding success and despite coexisting with the traditional Diaclone it was immediately understood that this line was selling more. So Hasbro then merged this line with those of other companies (from which, for example, those that would have been Soundwave, Megatron or the Insecticons) and created the Transformers brand, which also arrived here in Europe as we know it today. It was a shame because the Diaclone - Micro Man line was really quality, interesting, playable, beautiful but was then forgotten for a long time.
I don't fault Hasbro for what they did. After all, in America Takara had already tried selling these toys directly as Kronoform and Diakron, and it wasn't working. Hasbro knew how to sell these guys. I just regret what we lost in the process.
@@classiccomicsforum I agree. But in fact I put the word "fault" in quotation marks. I absolutely understand what Hasbro did and in the end they were completely right given the success it achieved. I'm sorry that the Diaclone line has been completely forgotten, at least until today: I've seen that many models are coming back in a modern way although they don't have the push of the "Transformers" brand which is now an absolute must.
The heft thing definitely applies more to S1 figures, more than S2, or thereafter. But yeah, the heft with a lot of the G1 stuff was partly what made it feel special. I sometimes think, what if I brought back a TF from today, back to 1984? I used to think that kids would be in awe, but now I'm not so sure. Maybe we would still find the original G1 figures more appealing? I know if I brought back my SoC GX-71 that that would get their attention.
@@alienrefugee51 great question I've asked myself on more than one occasion. Sadly, I think it came down to marketing and hype more than quality for 80s kids. I still can't believe GoDaiKin was on American toy shelves at the same time as Transformers and I totally missed them.
@@classiccomicsforum Also, the packaging/artwork played a role as well. The look of those G1 boxes were like magnets to kids. Where I was, the GoDaikin stuff was only in the specialty hobby/toy stores. A bunch of my friends had them, like all of them.
True. In fact, Diaclone put a stop to its usage of die-cast before Hasbro even acquired the rights because there was a major economic recession in Japan in (I believe) 1983. Thus the Diaclone toys after 1982 are pretty cheap for the most part. I do believe you can create great heft with good design and quality plastic; diecast just helps.
I could surmise that Diattacker may also be a "Parts-former" considering that it has detachable two vehicles, fists, and horns. I also agree that collectors should buy Diaclone whenever Takara releases as this line have limited figures being sold.
@@royguadz do you mean on the shelf behind me? That's Soul of Chogokin Combattler. Not a fan of SOC, but it was the closest I could get to affording the original.
I would argue that "heft" and "quality" go hand in hand and we're a critical component of the appeal of Early Modern transformation, but you are certainly welcome to see it differently.
I am sorry, I missed a lot of what you said cause my jaws was on the floor while staring at your Brave collection. Oh and that Goggle Robo, Combatler V, achine Dolphin, and other vintage sentai and Godaikin stuff are cool too I guess. Lol I personally only have King Exkaizer, GaoGaiGar, and Goldymarg. Original Brave stuff are just extremely expensive nowadays to collect.
@@lanoche I was very lucky to have begun collecting in the late 1990s, when all of this was so much cheaper! I've still been able to pick up some great stuff at good prices in recent years, but it's a lot fewer and farther between. My apologies to your jaw, by the way!
@@classiccomicsforum Yeah I got back to collecting Sentai mechs and what not around 2013ish. Funny story really, get a bottle of beer cause it will be a bit of a long one. I'm an immigrant from the Philippines, so you know whatever toys I had were practically gone cause we had to give it away when we liquidated our stuff but I did get to keep the Thunder Megazord and brought it to where we moved. One night out of boredom years later, I took it out of my closet and took some pictures to post on facebook as a nostalgia thing. An old co-worker saw my post and offered to buy them off me, I told him no cause the reason I brought that is because it had extreme sentimental value to me. But I got curious about the toys so I checked ebay to see how much the toys are and then searched for loose parts cause mine was missing A LOT and a White Tigerzord then pulled the trigger on those. It only took that one buy to start my addiction again. My collecting got accelerated when I found out the difference between the Japan and American releases so I just kept buying the Japanese versions cause they usually have better lights and sounds feature, Diecast that were removed in the American version, paint applications that were also missing with the American version and Show accurate stickers. And that's actually when I practically became a Japanese only collector for these mechs cause the American stuff got gutted so they could have sold it for a lot cheaper in ToyRUs and whatnot back in the day. I was actually hiding my jealousy and calling the Godaikin stuff as "are cool too I guess" when they're practically some of the holy grails, the biggest one being Voltes V as you know how Filipinos are extremely crazy for that series. Then like a year after I started on the collection Journey, I got back into Transformers and that only when I found out about Braves. I knew them as toys back in my time in the Philippines cause I had a bunch of them growing up. They were not legit thought, they were almost 100% complete knockoffs that had a gimmick like electronics removed but ALL the functionality were kept. But when I checked the Brave stuff, their prices are already enough for one person to mortgage a house. I got lucky getting those what I got but I hope to own more and I have been saying that for the past 8 years now cause life and other expenses gets in the way for me to commit like $300~800 PLUS Import taxes PLUS Shipping cost for a single vintage robot figure. I do get vintage stuff of Sentai or whatever mech I could get my hands on every so often if I do find for a reasonable price.
@@lanoche that's an awesome story. I love hearing from fans who don't just see it as collecting, but rather as a pursuit of joy. I'm so glad that the hardships of immigration didn't rob you of that joy, my friend.
@@classiccomicsforum Thanks man, yeah took a while but once the ball got rolling everything kinda fell into place. Still I refuse to pay exorbitant amounts of money for some of them. I'd eventually find it for cheap anyways like I usually do. I just need to always keep my eyes open and make sure I got the money ready when it does happen. By the way, I edited my reply a bit cause I had some typos. I wrote it while I was a bit sleepy so I missed some stuff.
@@lanoche I hear you there. My problem is I make best offers on auctions, assuming they'll never be accepted, and then suddenly I've won three pricey bots at one time! No, that certainly didn't happen to me just last week...
In the Alex Irvine book he talks about the golden age of Cybertron and that the reason the cybertronians have cockpits is a long-forgotten reason that even the Cybertonians don't know why but the truth is at one point in the long distant past Cybertonians were part of a larger alliance of other alien beings due to spacebridge technology. The spacebridge allowed them to venture further into the galaxy and share technology and knowledge with other alien races who the Transformers would accommodate their alt modes to allow humanoids of alien races to ride inside of them. It completely just dawned on me that that was probably that writers way of paying homage to Diaclone and toys like this.
I think there's something to be said about Transformers, early Transformers, what one would consider to be the first Transformers needing to be a realistic alternate mode. I will say though that this figure you showed could be an excellent figure to revive in the likes of the Japanese late 80's early 90's Transformers. I'd certainly buy a modern interpretation for sure.
@@straker454 Interestingly enough, they launched a reimagined Diaclone line in 2015 that's still going today, and they covered nearly all of the 1981 robots...but no Diattacker. I love the new series, but it's definitely more of a modern reimagining than a celebration of what made the vintage series exceptional. A reimagining in the spirit of the late '80s/early '90s Transformers though? I'd definitely be intrigued.
@@classiccomicsforum I had looked at the new Diaclone to see if I could make a "Cybertronian" out of them and they just...didn't hit the mark for me. There's a charm to early Diaclone missing from the new ones. That sort of 70's sensibility that is missing. A sort of 70's futurism and sci-fi of Japan that instead moved towards realism...and partforming, lol. I think that's something I liked about the Haslab version of Victory Saber. They retained all the fourishes from the original design that worked. I feel that Hasbro making Diattacker as an Autobot or Decepticon would be a great place to put it.
@@straker454 yes, and I think Diaclone's move away from the charm you and I are looking for is purposeful, as was particularly evident when they released the new Battle Convoy as if to deliberately show the world that they were moving towards a very different vibe than anything that resembled classic Transformers. I love that retro futurism too, and late Chogokin/GoDaiKin remains my favorite place to get it. Too bad the future doesn't seem bright and shiny to kids anymore.
@@classiccomicsforum Right? That Battle Convoy was...neat but not a Convoy. I kinda wanted it until I watched a review for it. It's too bad they moved away from a more Transformers version of it, because the crossover appeal is lost. Meanwhile Hasbro is releasing Diaclone colored repaints of Transformers that have that feel. Shattered Glass Ultra Magnus is just Powered Convoy. Burnout is a Diaclone colored version if Skids and so on. Very true. You'd think retro futurism would be somewhat more popular but I guess that's only when it's been blown up like in Fallout, lol.
They were going in order of release for a while and then jumped to Battle Convoy, skipping Diattacker in the process. I hope they will go back too, but even if they do, I suspect it will be drastically different. While I love all the new releases, so much of the original charm is lost in the adaptation too.
I thought some of the toys that made up the eventual transformers line dated back to the mid 70s?? I remember seeing dates like 1974 on my old transformers.
Good question! 1974 is the year Microman began. Some of the G1 Transformers (Megatron, Soundwave, Reflector, and a few others) came from Microchange, a 1982 subset of the Microman line. So they can have a 1974 copyright and still be more recent than the 1981 Diattacker.
@@classiccomicsforum I grew up pretty poor. Mom, Dad, and my brother had emigrated to the US from Poland. The family moved a lot. It may have gotten lost during a move. It may have been sold at a garage sale when I was six. It may be in a box at my cousin's house. Most of my old toys have gone missing. I got it for my sixth birthday back in 1985, when things were starting to look better for the family. No box, no instructions, but lots of fun. I didn't know what it was, but I knew it wasn't a Transformer. Now that I know what it is, I'm gonna have to try to track one down.
@@sonerec725 I hope to discuss in future videos that heft does not necessarily need to mean metal. You can have substantial, quality plastic that attains a similarly satisfying feel. In fact, Machine Robo is an excellent example of die-cast toys that managed to feel flimsy and cheap anyway due to poor design.
If transformers cartoon was made after the toys … I don’t know why they made pistol gun as a leader opposite to a truck . It should have been shock wave (toy base I mean ) at least we kids can play with it and they look cool next to each other .Megatron toy looks like he took viagra before fighting the autobots.
@@classiccomicsforum Mine was a later model, which were powered by two D sized batteries at the back. Interior was made of metal including its gearbox and the outside is plastic. It was my favorite toy when I was a kid... sadly I remember breaking the gearbox when a piece of plastic from its neck got stuck in it.
He could work as a Transformer who has these micro masters helping him. Unfortunately a lot of your arguments come off as "Modern Transformers are too complicated and flimsy. We should go back to G1 style bricks." I don't think that's what you intended but it really does sound like it. Also, gun Megatron is best Megatron. Bring back gun Megs!
@@jeremiahsacks2868 I seriously debated whether or not to give him a whirl, ultimately deciding that, while I respect the attempt to marry blocky retro with modern posability, the G1 original was perfect in my eyes; posability was never a concern for me. In fact, about fifteen years back, I bought three different versions of the original and kitbashed them to create a perfect version that never previously existed. Might need to do a video on that one day.
You are so right. Dicast Metal makes the best toys. I got a working gold colored metal lighter, that transforms into a robot. Found it in an NYC pawn shop back in the 80s.
@@classiccomicsforum awesome! I just checked it!, man, thats so expensive!! hahah, I may just have to wait , its like fishing, just wait until the right time, man I never thought that this disclose was teh first transformer, this info needs to be spread!!! Diaclone's Diattacker should have its own comic book series!
@@josephzanabria9369 thanks much! Yes, he's pricey, but the Kronoform version runs a bit cheaper. The only difference is the missiles fire weaker due to American safety standards.
@@josephzanabria9369 kronoform was still made by Takara but released in the US. It came out right before they made the deal with Hasbro for Transformers.
The “robots in disguise”’disqualified that space ship from being a Transformer. Might have fit better when the ‘86 movie line came out but it’s still stylistically way off.
Shockwave, insecticons, dinobots? Not exactly convincing real-world disguises. Of course they all came later on, and I suspect Hasbro was steering away from die-cast by that point.
I think you need to go here in Asia or talk to collectors. I think you missed Micronauts that was imported from Japan in the late 70's. that toyline was under the Microchange
Didn't miss it. Cut it for time. Though Microman (and Micronauts) predate Diattacker, the Microchange line does not. At some point, I'm planning to do a video charting the progression of Action figures in Japan, in which Microman will play a large role.
If transformers cartoon was made after the toys … I don’t know why they made pistol gun as a leader opposite to a truck . It should have been shock wave (toy base I mean ) at least we kids can play with it and they look cool next to each other .
