Beast Machines: Transformers (toyline)

2012-07-26T22:03:32Z

74.47.207.231: /* Vehicon */

{{nav-BM}}

'''Beast Machines''' was the toyline successor to ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (toyline)|Beast Wars]]'', running from 1999 to 2000. It featured the [[Maximal]]s as smoothly [[Technorganic|techno-organic]] beasts, pitted against the futuristic war machines of the [[Vehicon (BM)|Vehicons]]. ''Beast Machines'' signaled the full-fledged return of vehicular Transformers, after an absence of nearly four years.

''Beast Machines'' continued many of its predecessor's elements, retaining the Maximal faction and a number of its main characters. Both factions tended toward unorthodox designs; the toys also made frequent use of translucent plastic and chrome finishes. [[Spark crystal]]s appeared on most toys.

Several experimental sub-lines appeared during ''Beast Machines'': the [[Beast Rider]]s, vehicles to scale with the smaller figures that lacked a robot mode and instead converted into an attack mode; and [[Deployer (BM)|Deployers]], beasts that changed to weapons usable by the larger figures. The ''[[Dinobot (BM)|Dinobots]]'' subline appeared during ''Beast Machines''', consisting of [[redeco]]ed molds from both the Hasbro ''Beast Wars'' and the [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] ''[[Super Lifeform Transformers: Beast Wars Neo (toyline)|Beast Wars Neo]]'' lines; it shipped in the same packaging assortments with the normal figures in the line.

In addition to the Dinobot subline, Hasbro also released new redecos of a number of Beast Wars toys, all characters who were featured on the cartoon series (reflecting Fox Kids' running the series prior to and concurrently with its sequel). All of these redecos featured a promotional tag indicating Fox's airing of Beast Wars. Like the Dinobot line, these figures were often shipped with the core figures of Beast Machines.

===Overview===
[[Image:Crosssell-bm.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Freaks of nature]]
Aesthetically, the smooth, curvaceous designs of the Maximals is a further evolution of the earlier [[Transmetal]] and [[Transmetal 2]] design styles, seamlessly blending the mechanical and the organic. Often the organic parts had hints of the technological (eg. [[Cheetor (BW)/toys|Cheetor]]'s purple, angular spots) or vice versa (the smooth, rounded "gauntlets" on [[Optimus Primal/toys|Optimus Primal]]'s forearm).

The Vehicons had emphatically Cybertronian vehicle forms, often with articulated "sensors". They likewise featured some unorthodox robot modes, often with inhuman faces, odd-shaped limbs, and unusual forms of locomotion such as [[Thrust (BM)|Thrust]]'s optional uni-wheel or [[Jetstorm (BM)|Jetstorm]]'s legless hover mode.

''Beast Machines'' toys included a marble-sized [[spark crystal]], embedded in a part of the body. Sometimes they had no real importance, though sometimes they played a large part in the aesthetics of the toy, such as [[Geckobot]]'s eye piece.

[[Show-accuracy]] was widely variable across the entire toy line. Show production house [[Mainframe Entertainment]] apparently began animating the characters from early concept sketches, designs that of necessity changed a great deal during the translation into toy form. Thus many characters' toy and cartoon depictions bear relatively little resemblance to each other. Some toys were supposed to represent an "evolution" of a previously existing character and thus looked completely different (such as Night Slash Cheetor). The late-arriving [[Motorcycle Drone]] and [[Tank Drone]] toys, both highly show-accurate, may have been an explicit attempt to mitigate this.

The characters' show-based [[scale]] was likewise widely variable. While the relative scale of characters has never translated perfectly from toy to show in any ''Transformers'' line, ''Beast Machines'' is especially notorious for it:

* [[Nightscream (BM)|Nightscream]] is the second-smallest Maximal on the show, yet his toy is a hulking Ultra, making him to scale with only the largest toys (Supreme [[Cheetor (BW)/toys|Cheetor]] and, perhaps, Air Attack [[Optimus Primal/toys#Robots in Disguise|Optimus Primal]]—the latter of which was not even released 'til well after ''Beast Machines'' ended, and in a [[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (franchise)|different franchise]], to boot).
* [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] is the tallest show Maximal, but has the smallest toy.
* Toy-[[Obsidian (BM)|Obsidian]] is a Basic-sized figure, dwarfed by the Maximals; his show portrayal has him as larger than most or all of them.
* [[Tankor (BM)|Tankor]], the largest character of all, was only a modestly sized Mega.
* Toy-[[Rattrap]] is larger than [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]], who should be twice his height.
* Primal came in Deluxe and Mega sizes, with the more widely available Deluxe size being notably different from his show design, and neither reflecting his massive stature relative to the other characters.

The line seemed to underperform to expectations (especially coming off of the growing Beast Wars brand). Combined with Hasbro's financial troubles over excessive product glut in their ''[[Star Wars (franchise)|Star Wars]] Episode 1'' lines, it was decided to cancel the release of the last handful of toys which had been developed—[[Bruticus (RID)|Bruticus]], [[Megatron (RID)|Megatron Megabolt]] and [[Optimus Primal/toys|Air Attack Optimus Primal]]—abandon plans for a sequel series, ''[[Transtech]]'', and [[Transformers: Armada (franchise)|re-vamp the franchise from the ground up]]. The Japanese ''Car Robots'' series was quickly ported over as "filler" under the name ''[[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (franchise)|Robots in Disguise]]'', giving Hasbro and Takara the time needed to coordinate on the next series. Not ones to waste the effort put into the canceled figures, all three were eventually released as part of the ''Robots in Disguise'' toyline.

While Takara stamps are present on every ''Beast Machines'' toy, Japan did not receive anything relating to the line until 2005, as ''Beast Wars Returns'', and in a very limited manner.

==2000==
===Maximal===
'''Deployers'''
*[[Dillo]] (armadillo)
*[[Mol]] (mole)
*[[Rav (BM)|Rav]] (raven)

'''Beast Riders'''
*[[Che]] (cheetah chariot)

'''Basic'''
*[[Buzz Saw|Buzzsaw]] (hornet)
*[[Geckobot]] (flying lizard)
*[[Longhorn (BM)|Longhorn]] (bull)
*[[Night Viper]] (cobra)
*[[Quickstrike (BM)|Quickstrike]] (wolf)
*[[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] (condor)

'''Deluxe'''
*[[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] (black widow spider)
*[[Optimus Primal/toys#Beast_Machines|Optimus Primal]] (gorilla)
*[[Skydive (BM)|Skydive]] (''Quetzalcoatlus'')
*[[Snarl (BM)|Snarl]] (lion)

'''Mega'''
*[[Cheetor (BW)/toys|Cheetor]] (cheetah)

'''Ultra'''
*[[Nightscream (BM)|Nightscream]] (Vampire bat)

'''Super'''
*[[Primal Prime]] (Transmetal gorilla)

'''Supreme'''
*[[Cheetor (BW)/toys|Supreme Cheetor]] (cheetah)

'''McDonald's Happy Meal Toys'''
*[[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] (black widow spider)
*[[Cheetor (BW)/toys|Cheetor]] (cheetah)
*[[Nightscream (BM)|Nightscream]] (bat)
*[[Optimus Primal/toys#Beast_Machines|Optimus Primal]] (gorilla)
*[[Rattrap]] (rat)

'''Exclusives'''
* [[Apelinq]] (Transmetal gorilla, [[BotCon 2000]])

===Vehicon===
'''Basic'''
*[[Mirage (BM)|Mirage]] (Formula racer)
*[[Obsidian (BM)|Obsidian]] (VTOL plane)
*[[Scavenger (BM)|Scavenger]] (tank)

'''Beast Riders'''
*[[Mechatron]] (dragon chariot)

'''Deluxe'''
*[[Blastcharge (BM)|Blastcharge]] (six-wheeled tank)
*[[Jetstorm (BM)|Jetstorm]] (jet)
*[[Aero Drone|Sonic Attack Jet]]
*[[Thrust (BM)|Thrust]] (motorcycle)

'''Mega'''
*[[Megatron (BW)/toys|Megatron]] (dragon)
*[[Tankor (BM)|Tankor]] (tank)

'''Ultra'''
*[[Jetstorm (BM)|Jetstorm]] (jet)

'''McDonald's Happy Meal Toys'''
*[[Jetstorm (BM)|Jetstorm]] (jet)
*[[Megatron (BW)/toys|Megatron]] (dragon)
*[[Tankor (BM)|Tankor]] (tank)
*[[Thrust (BM)|Thrust]] (motorcycle)

===Dinobots===
'''Deluxe'''
*[[Airraptor]] (''Archaeopteryx'')
*[[Dinotron]] (''Pachycephalosaurus'')
*[[Striker]] (''Stegosaurus'')
*[[Triceradon (BM)|Triceradon]] (''Triceratops'')

'''Ultra'''
*[[T-Wrecks]] (''Tyrannosaurus rex'')

'''Exclusives'''
*[[Magmatron]] (''Giganotosaurus''/''Elasmosaurus''/''Quetzalcoatlus'', [[Target]])

==2001==
The second half of the Beast Machines toyline featured the subtitle "[[Battle for the Spark]]", reflecting the storyline of the cartoon.

===Maximal===
'''Deployers'''
*[[Dillo]] (armadillo) redeco
*[[Mol]] (mole) redeco
*[[Rav (BM)|Rav]] (raven) redeco, (also [[Repurposing|repurposed]] as [[Chro]])

'''Basic'''
*[[Battle Unicorn]] (unicorn)
*[[Cybershark|Hammerstrike]] (hammerhead shark)

'''Deluxe'''
*[[Noble|Beast Changer]] (Noble wolf/Savage dragon)
*[[Cheetor (BW)/toys|Night Slash Cheetor]] (cheetah)

'''Mega'''
*[[Optimus Primal/toys|Blast Punch Optimus Primal]] (gorilla)
*[[Rattrap]] (rat)

===Vehicon===
'''Basic'''
*[[Motorcycle Drone]]
*[[Spy Streak]] (recon jet)
*[[Tank Drone]]

'''Deluxe'''
*[[Strika (BM)|Strika]] (6-wheeler)

===Dinobots===
'''Deluxe'''
*[[Rapticon]] (''Velociraptor'')
*[[Terranotron (BM)|Terranotron]] (''Pteranodon'')

==2005 (''Beast Wars Returns'')==
===Cybertrons===
* '''BR-01''' [[Optimus Primal/toys#Beast Machines|Convoy]] - Blast Punch Optimus Primal
* '''BR-02''' [[Cheetor (BW)/toys|Cheetus]] - ''Beast Machines'' Mega Cheetor
* '''BR-03''' [[Rattrap|Rattle]] - ''Beast Machines'' Rattrap
* '''BR-04''' [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackwidow]] - Redeco of ''Beast Machines'' Blackarachnia
* '''BR-06''' [[Nightscream (BM)|Nightscream]] - ''Beast Machines'' Nightscream
* '''BR-07''' [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] - Redeco of ''Beast Machines'' Silverbolt
* '''BR-11''' [[Noble|Noble Savage]] - Redeco of ''Beast Machines'' Beast Changer

===Destrons===
* '''BR-05''' [[Megatron (BW)/toys|Megatron]] - ''Beast Machines'' dragon Megatron
* '''BR-08''' Vehicon [[Jetstorm (BM)|Jetstorm]] - Redeco of ''Beast Machines'' Ultra Jetstorm
* '''BR-09''' Vehicon [[Thrust (BM)|Thrust]] - Redeco of ''Beast Machines'' Motorcycle Drone
* '''BR-10''' Vehicon [[Tankor (BM)|Tankor]] - Redeco of ''Beast Machines'' Tank Drone
* '''BR-12''' Megahead Megatron - Redeco of ''Robots in Disguise'' Megatron Megabolt
* '''BR-13''' Vehicon [[Strika (BM)|Strika]] - Redeco of ''Beast Machines'' Strika
* '''BR-14''' Vehicon [[Obsidian (BM)|Obsidian]] - Redeco of ''Beast Machines'' Obsidian

==Post cancellation==
The [[Transformers: Universe (2008 toyline)|Universe (2008) toyline]] includes toys marked as "Beast Machines series".

==Innovations and lasting effects==
*''Beast Machines'' introduced the concept of [[subline imprint]]s as a "refresher" for the later part of a long-running toy line (which, in today's economy, means "longer than six months"), in this case "Battle for the Spark".

==Notes==
* The [[Deployer (BM)|Deployers]] and [[Beast Rider]]s were developed by [[Hasbro Direct]], Hasbro's department normally devoted to store exclusives and other retailer-oriented projects, hence their rather dubious compatibility with the rest of the ''Beast Machines'' line.
* On Takara's end of the design process, some design and engineering work was subcontracted out to the designer [[Junichi Akutsu]], alias BEE-CRAFT.

[[Category:Beast Machines| Beast Machines (toyline)]]
[[Category:Toylines]]

MediaWiki - User contributions [en]

Beast Machines: Transformers (toyline)