Altered Beasts

From Autobots to Maximals, Hasbro's Transformers are still more than meets the eye

By Matthew Brady

From ToyFare magazine, issue #11, July 1998

ForgetG.I. Joeand those old-school Jedi toys. For kids and action figure aficionados in the era of Reaganomics, these were the toys you had had to have. And if you didn't have a clue what the phrase "Autobots transform!" meant, well then, recess would have been a lonely place, 'cause Transformers ... and a working knowledge thereof, meant that you were on the cutting edge of toys.

If you missed out on those halcyon days of the early to mid-1980s, it went a little something like this: Rhode Island-based Hasbro purchased the American rights to release transforming, robotic toys created by the Japanese toy giant Takara. Now, instead of nameless toys from Japan, Hasbro split the 'bots into two groups, offering kids the perennial play pattern of good vs. evil: the Autobots (the good guy robots led by Optimus Prime) and the Decepticons (the bad 'bots commanded by Megatron). In one form, the toys looked like simple toy planes, cars or microcassettes, but with a few quick twists and turns, you had a robot, usually armed to the teeth and ready to do battle. Hasbro also worked with creators at Marvel Comics to develop a mythos for these transforming robots, renamed quite simply Transformers.

For over five years, Transformers ruled the toy shelves. Their popularity, fueled by Marvel'sTransformerscomic and a weekly (and later, daily) cartoon series, took off into the stratosphere. Transformers-mania went wild, sparking the creation of several knock off lines by Hasbro's competitors, including Tonka's GoBots, along with video games, books, trading cards and even a 1986 feature film, "Transformers: The Movie".

Transformers popularity waned in the late '80's, and with the re-emergence of Kenner's Star Wars as the science-fiction toy property of the 90's, it looked like the Transformers toy line was deader than He-Man.

Oh ye of little faith!

Clueing in that Transformers was one of their most popular original (that is, non-Star Wars) toy lines ever, Hasbro (which now owns Kenner) was hot on the trail of redesigning and relaunching a Transformers line. After a failed attempt with a "Transformers: Generation 2" line, Hasbro realized that a more radical revamp of the Transformers was in order.

Number of the Beast

Instead of changing from robots into mundane Volkswagen beetles, semi trucks or big guns, Beast Wars Transformers changed from intricately detailed animal forms into a variety of cyber-creatures: half-animal, half-robot beasts. The Autobots evolved into the Maximals, with the Decepticons appropriately morphing into the Predacons.

Along with the game changes, there've been other, well transformations as well. Beast Wars Megatron is not the original Megatron and Optimus Primal is not Optimus Prime of bygone Transformers lore. Beast Wars takes place sometime in the future of the original Transformers line of toys, perhaps in the ballpark of 300 years, but Hasbro isn't about to lay down all the specifics.

The story goes along these line: the Predacons flee their native Cybertron after stealing the Golden Disk that details the location of a planet rich with Energon crystals, a power source needed for their plans of galactic conquest. The Maximals follow desperately, and both groups crash-land on the Energon planet ... but there's a problem. Realizing the Energon concentration is so great it will burn out their robotic structures, both groups bio-engineer their robotic components with native life forms, giving birth to half-animal, half-robot beings. From there, both camps set up territories and battle lines were drawn ... much like the original Transformers, but with some new kicks added for today's discrimination toy-buying youth.

Thus, Hasbro unveiledBeast Warsfigures in 1996, while the team members involved in this relaunch held their breath.

The crowd, as they say, went wild. While a few hardcore Transformers fans harrumphed and muttered that Beast Wars wasn't "their" Transformers, by large, kid and collector response has been tremendous. According to Hasbro, Beast Wars is the third best-selling toy line in the country, right behind Star Wars and Power Rangers. Not bad for a variation toy line that was practically dead a short time ago.

"Beast Wars has definitely reinvigorated fan interest in the Transformers line as a whole." Hasbro's Beast Wars Design Manager George Boznos says. "While matching the success of the first line of Transformers, the [dynamic] looks and features of the Beasts have sparked new interest with kids of all ages."

For Boznos, the new design of Beast Wars kept with the "living robots" theme of the original Transformers line. As Biology 101 teaches, if there's life, there's evolution, and that's what happened to the Transformers, both figuratively and literally. The robots of the original toy line have merged with biological components, while the formerly militaristic Transformers designs have been re-engineered with a more eco-friendly '90s feel, resulting in robots disguised as animals and insects, rather than those older 'bots based on just about anything with an internal combustion engine.

It's a move that Boznos feels allowed the line to come back kicking from the verge of extinction. "As with anything, evolution helps keep things fresh and exciting," Boznos says. "We took the success and equity of the old Transformers and brought them up to speed with current trends and what holds kids' interests today. The animals that are featured in the line have given Beast Wars a new appeal and allowed us to explore new storylines as well as new types of transformations."

Along with proving that flashy, robotic toys sell like hotcakes in today's market, the success ofBeast Warsshowed Hasbro that you can return to the well for a tried and true idea. "Transformation play is still very popular with both kids and collectors alike," Boznos says. "Beast Wars figures and accessories are successfully being sold in markets all around the world, and the Beast Wars animated series continues to hold the No. 1 spot in kids' syndicated programs, and is seen in over 137 different markets across the U.S."

Along with the toy line, Beast Wars has an ultra-snazzy, fully computer-animated syndicated series, produced by Alliance Telecommunications, the folks that created ABC's "Reboot" from a few years back. The series (called "Beasties" in Canada), is remarkably sophisticated for your usual toy-based kids' show, and can usually be found on the local WB, UPN or Fox affiliates, most often on weekday and Sunday mornings. unlike other toys Sunday mornings.

Unlike other toys that have their own cartoon series, Beast Wars is different in one regard -- the toys always come first. "Different from any other brand of toys we make, with Beast Wars, we first develop the toy, and then the animation is written around the characters we develop," Boznos explains. The toy models that we create are used by the animators for the episodes of the series: They scan the actual toy, and then through CGI animation, create a moving beast from the toy. The end result is that what you see on the show is essentially the toy with only a very few 'tweaks' granted to the writers and animators for dramatic effect."

Once a character is conceptualized and designed, it's off to a computer-aided design setup where the figure is created in three dimensions, albeit on a computer, and the design is then approved before being sent to Takara's factories in Japan, where allTransformersare made.

"The production of a Beast Wars figure is really an entire saga unto itself," Boznos says. "But the entire endeavor, from concept to production, is a joint effort between the people here at Hasbro in the United States, and the creators and engineers at Takara in Japan. Both groups work very closely together, most often on a daily basis, which can be tough considering the time difference. We're very proud of our relationship with Takara, since they are the masters of transformation in toys."

With the complexity inherent in a Beast Wars figures, it may seem that it would take one day short of forever to produce. Not quite. "The production process on an average figure, which has anywhere from 20 to 30 parts, usually takes less than a year," Boznos explains. "This includes everything from concept, engineering, production and debugging. We can manage to stay fairly regular about our yearlong window, too. Even this July's Optimal Optimus, with over 170 parts, was developed in under a year's time."

A potential complication with production is that unlike other toys, Transformers aren't limited to one shape, putting an extra burden on Beast Wars designers -- instead of creating just one cool toy, you've got to create two. Plus, both have to look great and be fun to play with. So for Boznos, what's more important, having an awesome beast, ease of playability or a figure that transforms into something spectacular?

"Yes to all!" Boznos says. "All of those elements are very important, and each must be there in order for the end result of our work to be a toy that is not only exciting, but fun to explore as well. We can't have one weak link in the development process. That is, it has to look good as a Beast, be fun and easy to play with and transform into something really cool. Without any one of those, it's just not a Transformer."

The efforts of Hasbro'sBeast Warsdesign teams do pay off, considering the franchise's current sales tallies. But while Beast Wars is currently riding high and has left all other transforming competitors in the dust, Hasbro's Transformer team is definitely not content to rest on their laurels. "We're always pushing for new types of transformation, new looks and new character designs that we haven't seen yet," Boznos says. "Our ultimate goal is to have characters that can evolve, thereby always keeping the Transformers line fresh and exciting. Our introduction of Transmetals and Fuzors, the next segments of the Transformers mythos, is a good example of taking existing characters and once again giving them a new spin, which is something that in turn opens up doors for some great new storylines and animation."

Animal Attraction

Keeping the Beast Wars figures fresh and exciting is something that goes beyond design and marketing. "Beast Wars offers kids a unique play pattern," Boznos says, "Established since the beginning of the line, Transformers are different from any other toy. Older collectors find that they can't just leave them alone -- they keep playing with them, twisting them into their robotic identities and back again. [While] trying to find out what's under the Beast, kids explore and solve a spatial puzzle, while at the same time play out the fantasy and the personality of the character, both beast and robotic."

While Boznos talks a lot about kids' appreciation for Beast Wars toys, don't be fooled -- Hasbro knows that serious toy collectors grab up every Transformer they can find, which creates shortages in a few parts of the country. It's something Boznos and Hasbro like to see. "From a collector standpoint, there is tremendous loyalty to the Transformers brand, which has continued to evolve over the years, but has kept the continuity of the Transformers of the past, which the older collector may have enjoyed when they were younger."

With older fans come new expectations for the toys that Hasbro has to address or risk alienating a portion of their market. While younger collectors may like a Beast Wars character simply because he looks cool, an older character may appreciate the subtler aspects, such as how the figure fits into the complete Transformers tapestry.

Hasbro understands the concerns of this discriminating audience who sees Beast Wars not only as a great toy, but also as another step in the ongoing saga of the Transformers: a story that began over 9 million years ago, and continues at least 400 years into the future. Transformers fans, easily numbering in the tens of thousands, have hundreds of web pages devoted to their favorite toys, along with tons of "fan fiction". Heck, they've even started on their own Transformers collectors conventions. Fans, on occasion, appeal to Hasbro for special consideration in upcoming stories and figures, efforts not wasted on the successful company.

"[Our] fans and continuity are very important to us," Boznos says. "Our focus, as we move into the future with Transformers line is that the continuity must be kept and carefully considered with the evolution of the toys. Every time we change characters, we must keep a common thread that preserves the common elements and the history along with the transformation. Without their history, the Transformers lose something that helps keep the line exciting. It's something that fans of all ages can relate to -- generational toys, almost."

And the evolution of theTransformerscontinues this year with Transmetals and Fuzors, the latest entries into the mythos of the Transformers, set to attract a whole new generation of Transformers fans. Transmetals, as the story goes, were created when a quantum wave created metallic beasts that transform into animal warriors. Look for Cheetor, Waspinator, Rhinox and Tarantulas leading the pack, with mega-versions of Optimus Primal and Megatron as well. Fuzors, on the other hand, were created when stasis pod scanners scanned two beasts at a time instead of one, creating strange and ferocious hybrids of known beasts, including Silverbolt (wolf/eagle), Quickstrike (scorpion/cobra), Sky Shadow (dragonfly/lizard), Injector (lionfish/hornet), Noctorro (Brahma bull/bat), Terragator (crocodile/turtle) and Air Hammer (hammerhead shark/hawk).

With a new line hitting store shelves each year, it seems as ifTransformerswill be attracting new collectors for years to come. However, older Trans-fans shouldn't give up hope of ever seeing the original Optimus Prime again either. "While our focus is currently on Beast Wars, we do talk about trying to find a means to bring back the original Transformers in a way that would make sense, both to Beast Wars and today's marketplace," Boznos says. "There're no plans on the table right now, but it's something that we may consider in the future."

And that future looks bright for the Transformers. While fans may see the current line as the best yet, Boznos remains convinced that the greatest Transformers are yet to come. "We have a great year ahead for Beast Wars with the introduction of Transmetals and Fuzors," Boznos says. "Also, the Beasts have been updated with new modes of transformation as well as a new metallic look. We'll be releasing 23 new Beasts this year, and the animated series will feature 21 new episodes.

"Yeah, all in all, it's a good time to be a Transformer."