Toys"R"Us

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Toys weЯe Us.
Geoffrey Prime, too precious for this world.

From bikes to trains to video games, Toys"R"Us (stylistically ToysЯUs in the logo) is a toy retailer chain, originally based in the United States but with branches in many other countries. According to various sources, it accounted for anywhere from 15 to 20% of major toymakers' sales. Those days are pretty much over in the US market, although their regional branches still have a major presence in some European and Asian countries.

Over the years, they carried many exclusive Transformers toys, in addition to regular mass retail releases. Many of those exclusives have been carried not only by US retailers, but also by international Toys"R"Us branches.

Japan also has its own branch of Toys"R"Us (トイザらス Toizarasu), which has its own exclusive toys from TakaraTomy, independent of the toys Hasbro provided Western Toys"R"Us stores with (well... mostly. We'll explain when we get there).

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History

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"Before the dark times... Before private equity."

Birth and golden era

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Originally founded by Charles P. Lazarus as Children's Supermart in 1948, the store later changed its focus entirely to toys. By 1957, Lazarus came up with the tagline "Toys"R"Us", eventually operating several additional stores under the Children's Supermart brand. Nine years later, the company was acquired by Interstate Department Stores, Inc., who already owned the toy store chain Children's Bargain Town USA, which featured the original version of Geoffrey the Giraffe as its mascot. Following the bankruptcy of Interstate Department Stores in 1974, Lazarus himself took control of the bankrupt corporation and rebranded the merged Children's Bargain Town USA/Children's Supermart company into "Toys"R"Us", which subsequently grew into the biggest toy store chain in the United States, eventually expanding into other markets around the globe to the point where the company was considered a prime example of a "category killer".<ref name="abandoned">"Abandoned - Toys R Us" by Youtube channel Bright Sun Films.</ref>

After many decades of success, Toys"R"Us failed to realize the growing importance of the internet during the 1990s, and as a result added its own online store very late in the game. Following a disastrous 1999 holiday shopping season, during which the company fell behind on shipping online customer orders, it struck a ten-year deal with Amazon, who would subsequently act as Toys"R"Us's online presence. Following a brief period of financial success that exceeded Amazon's expectations, the partnership was prematurely ended by Toys"R"Us after Amazon had allowed competing merchants to begin selling toys through the website, and following a lawsuit, Amazon paid Toys"R"Us $51 million in settlements. In 2006, Toys"R"Us reopened an independent website, but by that time, the damage had already been done.<ref name="amazon">Alison Griswold: "A dot-com era deal with Amazon marked the beginning of the end for Toys R Us", Quartz, published September 2017.</ref>

Downfall

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In 2005, Toys"R"Us was bought out by three major private equity firms: Bain Capital, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, and Vornado Realty Trust. As a result, the chain was saddled with a massive debt when the cost of paying back the loan used to buy the chain was then dumped onto it, with interest. Despite rebounding sales-wise and making a profit above its nominal operating expenses, the sheer size of the debt was too much, and Toys"R"Us eventually declared bankruptcy on September 18, 2017, leading to their planned liquidation, resulting in all stores in the United States to be closed by June 29, 2018. And in the middle of all these tumultuous times, the original Toys"R"Us founder Charles Lazarus, who had parted ways with the company in 1994, died on March 24, 2018, at age 94.

Operations in other markets were also affected, though not all cases ended in all-out job losses: The United Kingdom division entered administration in February 2018, with the last remaining stores being closed on April 24 of the same year; the Australian division entered administration in May 2018, with the last remaining stores expected to close in July. The divisions in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, which were still profitable, were taken over by Irish family-owned toy giant Smyths in April 2018, who rebranded all stores in those three countries into "Smyths" in 2019.

Meanwhile, other regional branches have survived: for instance, Toys"R"Us declared bankruptcy in Portugal and Spain by March 2018, but was eventually purchased by the Green Swan group and it still continues to soldier on using the same branding. The Canadian division, which was also still profitable by that point, was bought out by Fairfax Financial Holdings in April 2018 (with the takeover completed in May), and similarly, they've continued operations under the original branding. Most notably, operations in Asia have also continued as usual since.

As of now, the original Toys"R"Us brand in the United States is owned by Tru Kids. They've returned to retail in 2022, opening up a few dozen stores in the US, but their current presence is still only a modest fraction of what it once was.

Fiction

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2005 IDW continuity

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A Toys"R"Us store was in Times Square. All Hail Megatron #1

Commercial appearances

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At a Toys"R"Us store in a Quadwal stream where toys are sentient, Snackin' Sara the [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Baby Alive|{{#if:||Baby Alive}}]] toy informed an unboxed Optimus Prime toy about the store's Price Match guarantee, wherein if Optimus was found at a lower price at another retailer, Toys"R"Us would match their prices. The Optimus toy was confused as to the existence of another one of himself and was advised by Sara to look to his left. When he did so, both he and his doppelganger were distraught at their existence, a panic which soon spread to his entire shelf, fully populated by Optimi. Toys"R"Us Commercial

Hasbro market Toys"R"Us exclusives

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Robots in Disguise (2001)

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Scourge, major baddie and major pain to obtain in the US.

Toys"R"Us's first exclusives were for the 2001 Robots in Disguise toyline, and they snagged a pair of absolute doozies: a major villain character from the Robots in Disguise cartoon, and a huge toy that had been canceled the year prior that fans thought would never see the light of day.

Super Class Supreme Class Ultra Class (UK only)


Commemorative Series

[edit]
Skywarp, with "safe" firing missiles.
Ricochet, former holy grail

"Enhanced" re-releases of classic "Generation 1" toys, the entire Commemorative Series toyline was originally intended to be exclusively available from Toys"R"Us stores. However, two toys from the later series were ultimately made available through other venues, at least for the United States market, particularly "closeout" chains, sold at a massive discount.

The "Commemorative Series" branding would pop up again in later lines; we're listing those items both here and under their respective lines so you don't have to go searching for them.

Series I Series II Series III Series IV
Series V Series VI Series VII Series VIII
Series IX Classics Universe (2008)


Unicron Trilogy (Armada / Energon / Cybertron)

[edit]

Armada

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Powerlinx Cyclonus with bonus Iceberg

The chain's Armada offerings were not particularly special, but they were a great bargain: standard-issue "Super-Con" toys with a bonus pack-in Mini-Con from one of the normal retail three-packs, but sold at a cost below a Super-Con on its own!

Bonus Packs



Energon

[edit]
Optimus Prime / Megatron

For Energon, once again the bulk of their exclusives were just repackaged Armada toys, and even then, two of them, the Road Wrecker/Night Attack Team and Race/Space Team packs, were also available at Walmart stores. However, there was the big draw of an Optimus Prime & Megatron two-pack using molds that had previously been exclusive to the Takara Super Link version of the line!

Mini-Con Team 2-packs

Leader 2-pack
Despite the names on the packaging, the "Race Team" are in their "Road Wrecker Team" colors, and the "Road Wrecker Team" are in their original "Destruction Team" colors.


Cybertron

[edit]
Starscream vs. Vector Prime

Cybertron content was light, being mostly "Value Packs" which were just fully-packaged normal Deluxes sold at less than the total cost of the toys bought individually. And the two-pack versions of that were another "exclusive" shared with Walmart. However, there was one truly exclusive multi-pack that provided Western fans with access to a mold previously available only by importing it from Japan, and in unique colors to boot.

Deluxe Value Packs "Super Value!" Deluxe 3-packs Voyager Multi-packs


Go-Bots

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Yes, Toys"R"Us even got some exclusives for the Playskool Go-Bots line, done up in shiny chrome. Delightful!

Basics


Universe (2003)

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The Universe offerings were limited to a single multi-pack, but it was a sizable one! (One other was canceled.)


Alternators

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The chain had an "exclusive" Alternators "Mega Alternators" assortment... which ultimately turned out to be merely shrinkwrapped combos of regular-retail single Alternators releases. The most common combinations were Smokescreen/Side Swipe and Smokescreen/Silverstreak, but Smokescreen/Windcharger, Smokescreen/Autobot Hound, and even Smokescreen/Smokescreen(!) combos have been found as well.


Titanium Series

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Grimlock, War Within style

Titanium Series was Hasbro's short-lived line of mostly-die-cast-metal toys for various brands, with small "Robot Masters" mini figurines and 6-inch "Cybertron Heroes" fully-transformable toys. Most of the Toys"R"Us exclusives fall under the War Within comic styling... despite that series having ended (prematurely) years prior. And the comic license having changed hands since then to boot.

Robot Master 2-packs Cybertron Heroes Cybertron Heroes 2-packs


Beast Wars 10th Anniversary

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For the Beast Wars 10th Anniversary line, Toys"R"Us got a repackaging of the Japanese "Beast Wars Reborn" set, featuring extensively-redecoed re-releases of the Ultra-class Optimus Primal and Megatron molds.


Classics

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While the focal point of Classics was modern-mold reinventions of classic characters, there were a few exceptions. Classics Soundwave was a reissue of the original toy, originally slated for the Commemorative Series line (above).


Masterpiece

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Acid Storm

The big, expensive, complex Masterpiece toys were an instant hit with collectors, and of course Toys"R"Us got in several exclusives. However, in many non-US Hasbro markets, all of the Hasbro-release Masterpiece toys were Toys"R"Us exclusives, so we won't be listing all of those here.

As some of these were sold as part of the 2010 Transformers toyline, we'll list them in those lines' sections as well. It just kinda makes sense to have them all gathered up here too.

Transformers (2010) Platinum Edition Masterpiece
  • Soundwave
  • Starscream
  • Starscream Ghost Version
    (Australia only)
  • Sunstorm
    • Masterpiece Movie Series


    Live-action movie toylines

    [edit]

    With the absolute explosion of Transformers popularity due to the live-action film series, naturally a vast number of exclusives for said series were made, with Toys"R"Us getting quite a lot.

    Transformers (2007)

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    Inferno w/ Longarm

    For the 2007 Transformers toyline, most of the exclusives were redecoed "Unicron Trilogy" molds used to quickly boost the amount of "new" product in the wake of the first film's staggering success, as well as a pair of multi-packs of normal-retail-release toys.

    Voyager Class Ultra Class Multi-packs
  • Battle for the Allspark
    (Legends-class Barricade, Bumblebee, Autobot Jazz, Megatron, Optimus Prime, Starscream)


    • Revenge of the Fallen

    [edit]
    "Back Road Brawl" Mixmaster

    Revenge of the Fallen's exclusives were entirely focused on multipacks, with a fair amount of new decoes and characters.

    Titanium Series Multi-packs


    Transformers (2010)

    [edit]
    Rampage Among the Ruins

    The 2010 Transformers toyline was largely an extension of Revenge of the Fallen product, but some "Generation 1"-based stuff made its way into the line towards the back end. In the case of Toys"R"Us exclusives, this was in the form of a trio of Masterpiece toys.

    Multipacks
    		Masterpiece


    Dark of the Moon

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    Scan Series Ironhide

    The exclusives for Dark of the Moon were given the branding "Mission Earth". Many of the toys also had "Scan Series" decos, where the toys were cast in clear plastics then extensively painted, but only on the front halves of their vehicle modes, making them look like they're in mid-reformatting.

    Scan Series Deluxes Leader class Multi-packs


    Age of Extinction

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    "Evolution" Optimus Prime

    For Age of Extinction, the exclusives were all part of the "Evolution" theme, packing a toy of the movie character with a toy of their "G1" inspiration... in theory. There's a bit of jank going on with a couple of them.

    Also at this point, the Kre-O line had functionally, if not officially, become a Toys"R"Us exclusive in the US, with the nigh-entirety of the 2014 lineup taken up by Age of Extinction-themed sets, plus an explicitly-TRU-only DVD/Kreon combo pack.

    Deluxe Evolution 2-packs
  • Strafe
    (AOE Strafe & G1 "Strafe")
    		•  Voyager Evolution 2-packs DVD / Blu-Ray


    The Last Knight

    [edit]
    Skullitron

    Exclusives for The Last Knight were given the "Mission to Cybertron" branding, plus a few had the added "Premiere Edition" marking to denote more elaborate paint jobs.

    Legion 2-packs Premier Edition Multi-packs Cybertron


    Studio Series

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    Good luck.

    The very last Toys"R"Us exclusive (in the US at least), this figure in the then-new Studio Series was the first "off-screen" figure in the line, and was kind of hard to find in the US thanks to the chain being liquidated right about the time the toy was released.

    Voyager Class


    Animated

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    Rodimus Minor

    For Transformers Animated, Toys"R"Us scored several toys that had been slated for regular retail release, but budgets kept them out of the main line. Considering who some of these characters were, this led to something of a rush to grab them.

    Deluxes wave 1 Deluxes wave 2 Deluxe 2-packs
  • Autobot Ratchet & Bumblebee
    (UK & Germany only)
    		•  Leader "Super Value" packs


    Universe (2008)

    [edit]
    Darkwind

    The 2008 Universe offerings were mainly some pretty big-ticket items, with a few more vintage toy molds thrown in the mix.

    Ultra Class Supreme Class Commemorative Edition Voyager Deluxe Comic 2-packs (Australia only)


    Kre-O

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    Autobot Assault Devastator set: the buildable Ironhide, Gunner and yellow Devastator Kreons are exclusive to the Toys"R"Us version of the set.

    Hasbro's second attempt at a LEGO-like building-brick-based toyline, there are only a couple of explicitly Toys"R"Us-exclusive Kre-O items in the line. However, by 2014, by the time the Transformers part of the line pivoted entirely to Age of Extinction (and the reveal of the G.I. Joe and Dungeons & Dragons sets), the entire Kre-O line became functionally a TRU exclusive in the US, as most other retailers had dropped it.

    "Autobot Assault Devastator" set
    		Promotional polybag kits
  • Dinobot Ride
    (Grimlock w/ Optimus Prime mini-Kreon)
  • Elite Optimus Prime
    (Canadian TRUs only)
    		•  Promotional Kreons
  • Constructicon Devastator
    • DVD / Blu-Ray


    "Aligned" toylines (Prime / Robots in Disguise)

    [edit]

    Prime: Beast Hunters

    [edit]
    Thus far, this two-pack has been found at Toys"R"Us stores in Portugal, the United Kingdom, Germany and France; in Germany, it was explicitly advertised as a Toys"R"Us exclusive. Since the only known official stock photos have shown this two-pack in multilingual European packaging, it's very likely that this has always been intended as a European market exclusive; however, it has also been found at general retail in Brazil.


    Robots in Disguise (2015)

    [edit]
    Warrior Megatronus

    For 2015's Robots in Disguise, Toys"R"Us was the home of the "Clash of the Transformers" series, a pretty sizable subline imprint of exclusives; a mix of redecos, retools and even some wholly-new molds. The line-up was released in Australia, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany, though Warrior Class Megatronus was only released in the US, and the "Decepticon Island Showdown" set was not released in Europe at all.

    Legion 2-packs Warrior Class Wave 1 Warrior Class Wave 2 Warrior Class Wave 3
    Three-Step Changers Mega Five-Step Power Heroes Multi-packs


    Titans Return

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    Parsec & Nautica, the only Nautica toy so far. Good luck!

    With the emphasis on Titan Masters (aka Headmasters) in Titans Return, naturally these sets are loaded to the gills with tiny head-bots. Of particular note is the Arcee set, which was originally a HasCon 2017 exclusive.

    Multi-packs Online orders


    Buzzworthy Bumblebee (Canada)

    [edit]

    While the Buzzworthy Bumblebee line is exclusive to Target stores in the US, Canada does not have Targets, so all of those toys go to Toys"R"Us... and seemingly at quite a markup. We're honestly not about to list the entire line here, sorry.


    Takara market Toys"R"Us exclusives

    [edit]

    As its own entity, Toys"R"Us Japan had its own considerably different run of exclusives. Of particular note are the "USA Editions" (unchanged Hasbro-market product in nigh-unchanged Hasbro retail packaging), and the many, many, many "campaign item" promotional giveaways, typically Mini-Cons and comparably-sized toys, given as freebies with a qualifying purchase on certain dates (be it a specific toy, or just a certain yen-value of toys total)

    Beast Wars series

    [edit]

    Beast Wars

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    Black Lio Convoy

    Takara's Beast Wars product was very light on the exclusives. In fact, most of them are actually straight-up imports of Hasbro-packaged Transmetal 2 toys released during the Beast Wars Metals portion of the line.

    Beast Wars Beast Wars II Beast Wars Metals (Hasbro imports)


    Beast Wars Returns

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    Vehicon Thrust

    Released many years after the "Beast" series had run its course in Japan, 2004's Beast Wars Returns was an entirely Toys"R"Us exclusive line, featuring Beast Machines molds extensively redecoed into (usually) much more show-accurate appearances. It also included a single "USA Edition" import, a practice that had seen a lot of use in the prior few years.

    Wave 1 Wave 2 Wave 3 USA Edition


    Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers

    [edit]

    As Takara took its first steps into reissuing old Transformers molds in the early 2000s, Toys"R"Us got one of the first exclusive redecoes of said reissues.

  • Nucleon Quest Super Convoy



    • Car Robots (Robots in Disguise)

    [edit]

    The overwhelming bulk of exclusives for 2000's Car Robots was actually released after the line had properly ended, with a glut of USA Edition toys from Hasbro's 2001 Robots in Disguise version of the line.

    Multi-packs USA Editions
  • Dreadwind & Smokejumper
  • Megatron Megabolt
  • Air Attack Optimus Primal
    		•
  • Destructicon Scourge
  • Sideways vs. Axer
  • Storm Jet
    		•


    Unicron Trilogy toylines

    [edit]

    All right, here we go. The number of exclusives takes a big jump here.

    Legends of the Microns (Armada)

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    Shot Ultimate Edition

    With the arrival of the tiny Mini-Con toys in 2003's Legends of the Microns, Takara launched into a ton of store promotional giveaways across multiple chains, and the era of large numbers of unique exclusives began (plus even more USA Editions).

    Promotional Microns Multi-packs USA Editions USA Editions (online only)


    [edit]
    Throttle

    With Mini-Cons taking a bit of a back seat in Superlink, Takara added exclusive Energon weapons promotional campaigns, on top of the usual multi-packs and USA Editions.

    Promotional Energon weapons Promotional Microns Multi-packs USA Editions


    Galaxy Force (Cybertron)

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    Coby's Exclusive Rumble (aka "Cobybot")

    The Galaxy Force exclusives pretty much followed the usual pattern. But boy, that big box set is pretty.

    Promotional Items Voyager class Multi-packs USA Editions


    Smallest Transforming Transformers

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    Hot Rodimus, TRU packaging version

    Exactly what they say on the box, Smallest Transforming Transformers are/were the smallest Transformers toys to actually transform. Both of these were promotional items given away with the purchase of other toys.

    Hybrid Style promotion Transformers (2007) promotion


    Live-action movie toylines

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    While the live-action film series resulted in a massive boom of exclusives in Hasbro markets, Takara's exclusive output was quite a bit smaller in scope.

    Transformers (2007)

    [edit]

    The only Toys"R"Us exclusive for the first movie wasn't even terribly "exclusive", as it was just a repackaging of the Hasbro Leader-Class Brawl, and an unchanged re-issuing of a previous regular-retail item.

    Leader Class Promotional EZ Collection
  • Bumblebee
    (Ikebukuro store only)
    		•  Promotional item
    • Bumble
      (Smallest Transforming Transformers)


    Revenge (Revenge of the Fallen)

    [edit]
    Mighty Dozer

    Revenge exclusive product was positively restrained compared to the Hasbro output, with the big items being toys released at normal retail in Hasbro markets (and one a notorious shelfwarmer at that).

    It is important to note that the two promotional Microns come with instructions that are simply labeled as generic "Transformers" product. But they were only given away with the purchase of Revenge product, so we're listing them here. This will be a bit of a theme going forward with many promotional Microns over the next few years, across multiple lines.

    Deluxes Promotional EZ Collection Promotional Microns


    Darkside Moon (Dark of the Moon)

    [edit]
    Darkside Optimus Prime

    Again, Darkside Moon product was light, with the big draw actually being a model kit with an extra piece. Whee!

    Promotional EZ Collection Promotional items Dual Model Kit


    Lost Age (Age of Extinction)

    [edit]
    Rusty Ver. Optimus Prime

    Lost Age toys was heavy on the promotional Microns, though again they were not directly branded as such.

    Deluxe Class Voyager Class Leader Class Promotional Microns
    Promotional items


    The Last Knight

    [edit]
    Arm Gun Bumblebee

    The exclusives line-up for Takara's The Last Knight was more or less the same as in the Hasbro markets, as the two companies were in the process of a "brand unification" that would see the two release much the same product in both markets.

    Deluxe Class Voyager Class Multi-packs Cybertron


    Studio Series

    [edit]

    As with the Hasbro line, Studio Series marked the end of Takara's run of Toys"R"Us exclusives, even though the chain still operates to this day in Japan.

  • Autobot Drift with Baby Dinobots
    (Autobot Drift, Dinobot Sharp-T, Dinobot Pterry, Dinobot 'Tops)



    • Henkei! Henkei!

    [edit]
    Skyglide

    Takara's take on the Classics toyline, Henkei! Henkei! only resulted in a single promotional Micron.

    Promotional Microns


    Animated

    [edit]
    Skywarp Clear Purple Ver.
    Promotional EZ Collection


    United

    [edit]
    Caliburst

    The spiritual follow-up to Henkei!, United went with new versions of old characters... on molds pretty wildly not meant for those characters in the case of these two Microns.

    Promotional Microns


    Aligned series (Prime / Adventure)

    [edit]

    Prime

    [edit]
    Pure Energon B.B.

    Takara went absolutely nuts with the promotional Arms Microns during Prime. The initial batches were fully-assembled and painted redecoes of past weapon-bots, but as the line kicked into gear, they shifted to the unassembled, on-sprue "model kit" style Microns that came with Takara's Prime toys. Speaking of, their big in-store exclusive even came with three extra exclusive Arms Micron kits!

    Voyager + Microns Promotional Arms Microns Promotional Arms Micron kits Contest prizes
  • Dark Guard Optimus Prime


    • Go!

    [edit]
    Ex, the one Arms Micron available only at TRU.

    For the Takara-only Transformers Go! series, Toys"R"Us got an exclusive redeco of the main new Autobot of the series, as well as a promotional Arms Micron meant to go with Go!'s new version of Autobot leader Optimus Exprime, plus a few promo Microns shared with a whole bunch of other stores.

    Swordbots Promotional Microns
  • Jin
  • Zan
    		•


    Adventure (Robots in Disguise 2015)

    [edit]
    Toys"R"Us Prime

    Exclusives for Adventure ran the gamut of small molds. Some were originally Arms Micron kits, but this time came already-assembled.

    Battle Pack Class Promotional EZ Collection Promotional Microns


    Q-Transformers

    [edit]
    Clear Bumblebee
    Promotional Q-Transformers

    Notes

    [edit]
    • Toys"R"Us was also supposed to carry a redeco of Armada Jetfire done up as a Generation 1 Astrotrain homage that would have been released as a Universe toy named Spacewarp, together with redecos of the Armada Space Mini-Con Team. Ultimately, however, Toys"R"Us backed out of the deal, and Spacewarp was never released. While the Space Team redecos remain unreleased to this very day (Takara claims that the molds have become unusable), the planned Spacewarp deco was later used as the basis for the Collectors' Club exclusive Astrotrain redeco of Armada Jetfire, with a new head sculpt.
    • Despite the closing of the US branch, multiple Toys"R"Us branches are still often used by Hasbro worldwide for distributing figures that are otherwise exclusive to some specific US retailers:

    References

    [edit]
    <references />
    [edit]
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