Rubsign

2010-01-20T01:53:26Z

142.177.23.196: /* Operating principles */

[[Image:Rubsign.gif|right|304px|thumb|Wax on, wax off.]]
A '''rubsign''' was a small heat-sensitive sticker that came pre-applied to [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] toys beginning in the line's second year, 1985. They would reveal an [[Autobot]] or [[Decepticon]] [[Insignia|faction symbol]] upon being rubbed. The [[Mini-spy|Mini Spies]] were the first toys to feature rubsigns. The purpose of the rubsign addition was to help consumers distinguish genuine [[Toy|Transformers toys]] from the many [[Knockoff|knockoffs]] their success inspired (off-brand versions of the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]], [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]], and his [[Mini-Cassette|cassettes]] were particularly common in 84/85), as well as the [[Tonka GoBots]] and other competitors. A variation on the rubsigns were also used in the spin-off [[Hasbro]]/[[TakaraTomy|Takara]] toy line ''[[Beastformer|Battle Beasts]]''.

By 1988, rubsigns were dropped from the line (presumably as most of the competition had been long-buried), even though several toys from that year still had molded spots for them. They would not appear again on ''Transformers'' toys until the second year of ''[[Beast Wars (franchise)|Beast Wars]]'' product in 1997, called "hidden Energon chips". They continued through the next year's [[Fuzor]]s and [[Transmetal]]s, but were replaced by the time of the [[Transmetal 2|Transmetals 2]] (and in the ''[[Beast Wars Neo (franchise)|Beast Wars Neo]]'' new-mold toys) with "[[spark crystal]]s".

Rubsigns recently were re-re-introduced to the ''Transformers'' line in 2006 with the [[Classics (2006)|Classics]] series. They are also on most of the [[Generation 1 reissues]] from both Takara and Hasbro.

===Operating principles===
[[Image:Rubsign inactive.png|left|37px|thumb|]]Demons make the color change. Anybody who tells you otherwise is a witch, and should be burned, burned at the stake. Death to the evildoers!
''Ahem''. The working part of a rubsign is a layer of Mylar plastic which contains thermochromic liquid crystals. At different temperatures[like on certain popcorn bags, microwave and type revealed code for a chance to win!:)], the liquid crystals' molecular structure changes, reflecting different wavelengths of light, and making a visible [[Insignia|faction symbol]]s appear. [[wikipedia:Mood_ring|Mood rings]] work by the same principle, but have more bogus magical properties.

===In fiction===
[[Image:Rubsign Smokescreen.JPG|left|180px|thumb|]]
Being a somewhat goofy marketing [[gimmick]], rubsigns were generally ignored in Transformers fictional media... until fairly recently. [[Dreamwave Productions]], famous for their re-launching Transformers comics and generally toy-accurate artwork, featured a few [[posters]] of Transformers featuring a rubsign, and in their ''[[War and Peace]]'' series, it even appeared as a way of disguising [[Autobot]] [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]]'s faction symbol (which had been outlawed). {{storylink|War and Peace}}
[[Image:Rubsign Soundwave.JPG|right|180px|thumb|RUBSIGN DEPLOY. OPERATION: TOY NOSTALGIA]]
The current holders of the Transformers comic franchise, [[IDW Publishing]], picked up on the idea and featured [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] using a rubsign to gain access to the illegal gladiatorial games. {{storylink|Megatron Origin}}

In addition, the [[Decepticon]] [[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]] appears to sport a rubsign on the new ''[[Transformers Animated (cartoon)|Transformers Animated]]'' cartoon, probably to indicate that he's just in it for the parts and hunts he gets out of it. {{storylink|The Thrill of the Hunt}}

==Trivia==
* The original patent for the ''[[The Transformers (toyline)|Generation 1]]'' rubsigns is shared by [[Henry Orenstein]] and [[George Dunsay]].

==See also==
[[Pre Rub]]

==External link==
* [http://www.google.com/patents?id=RxA6AAAAEBAJ&dq=us+patent++4674985 The original patent for the Transformers rubsigns on Google Patents]
* [http://www.ewh.ieee.org/soc/cpmt/presentations/cpmt0201b.pdf Paper on the uses of liquid crystal thermography, apparently but not actually written by G1 Perceptor.]

[[Category:Classics]]
[[Category:Generation 1]]
[[Category:Toys]]
[[Category:Gimmicks]]

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Rubsign