The Transformers (European toyline)

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Originally, European countries got the same The Transformers toys Hasbro had previously released in the USA, although different countries got different toys (with a few getting regional manufacturers that'd in turn also produce a few occasional noticeable variants). Initially, numerous sub-contracted companies were responsible for releasing the toys in the individual European countries (which involved language variations on the packaging), but over time, they were either bought out by Hasbro or simply dropped in favor of a more and more unified European market.

As the Transformers toyline faded in popularity across North America and Japan throughout the early 90s, the franchise conversely experienced a small parallel renaissance of sorts in Europe, with the region earning several unique figures during this time. After The Transformers toyline ended in the US, the line continued in Europe until it was renamed into Generation 2 in 1994, thus making Europe the only market where the toyline wasn't cancelled at any point.

1984

While The Transformers would not reach most of Europe until 1985, a number of the toys from the 1984 US line were also available in the UK the same year. Given that the Marvel UK comic launched in September '84 (complete with advertisements touting that the toys were "In the shops now!") it seems likely that they were on-sale by mid-summer at the latest, only a few months after the line's US launch.

Little is known about the earliest toys released in the UK. Common consensus is that they came in English-only packaging virtually indistinguishable from the US packaging. Recounts of which toys were and weren't available in the UK vary depending on who you ask. This has not been helped by the passing of the years diminishing memory, toys missing one year showing up in a later year, grey imports and non UK distributed toys being brought back from trips overseas. In general the pack in catalogue leaflets are considered a good guide but there are a few instances of toys being out in a particular year but not being shown on the catalogue leaflets. For 1984 the general consensus is that the catalogue leaflet is an accurate reflection on what was available, with five Autobot Cars not appearing till 1985. A surprising confirmed omission from the initial wave of 1984 toys is Megatron, whose absence on the shelves was even noted in the letters page of the Marvel UK comic. Also of note is that the line's UK tag-line initially was "Warrior Robots in Disguise", seen in the comic and on much of the early ancillary merchandise.

The assortment names used below are those seen in the leaflet which accompanied the 1984 range.

Mini Cars Brawn Bumblebee (yellow/red) Cliffjumper (red/yellow) Gears Huffer Windcharger		Spy-Cassetes[sic] Ravage / Rumble Frenzy / Laserbeak		Robot Cars Bluestreak Hound Jazz Mirage Ratchet Sideswipe		Cassete Man[sic] Soundwave / Buzzsaw		Robot Car Sideswipe
Strike Planes Skywarp Starscream Thundercracker		Leader Truck Optimus Prime						UK 1984 Catalogue

Cliffjumper and Bumblebee were both available in red and yellow in 1984, and again in 1985, this time with rubsigns. Cliffjumper appears in yellow in the 1984 catalogue, but this was corrected for the following year's photos.

1985

The Transformers toy line officially started in most European countries in 1985. It should be noted, though, that various European companies had already released licensed versions of Takara's Diaclone and Microman toys domestically prior to that (Trasformer by GiG in Italy; Diaclone by Joustra in France, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands; Takara themselves released Diaclone in Finland). Some of the toys in those lines sported Hasbro-series changes, including color schemes and even Autobot symbols(!), as Takara was already shifting production of the toys from Diaclone to their own domestic release of Transformers. But it wasn't until 1985 that Transformers toys were officially introduced to the various European markets under that name.

United Kingdom

All 1984 toys were still available in 1985, now with the addition of rubsigns. They were joined by the figures that had initially been omitted, namely the remaining Autobot cars and Megatron, who was reported by Hasbro to be available from around Easter. Alongside with a variation of Optimus Prime that sported red instead of blue feet, Megatron was manufactured by French company Ceji as part of a deal with Hasbro, and the red-footed version of Optimus Prime was also released by Milton Bradley in mainland Europe (see below).

Oddly, numerous toys were left out of the UK range, never to see official release: notably Swoop, Shockwave and Blaster. The Constructicons were also missing; in the early 90s they got a semi-official import release, and a de-combiner'ed redeco release (see "1992" below). Some of the non-Takara sculpts were likely dropped due to licensing arrangements (Omega Supreme, for example, was available as part of the competing Grandstand Convertors line around this time as "Omegatron"). Due to his absence from the 1985 Hasbro catalog, Jetfire has long been believed to have been held over until the 1986 range, but he was featured in the Autumn 1985 Argos catalog.)

Mini-Vehicles Beachcomber Cosmos Powerglide Seaspray Warpath		Insecticons Bombshell Kickback Shrapnel		Robot Cars Grapple Hoist Inferno Ironhide Prowl Red Alert		Skids Smokescreen Sunstreaker Tracks Trailbreaker Wheeljack		UK 85 Catalogue
Jumpstarters Topspin Twin Twist		Decepticon Triple Changers Astrotrain Blitzwing		Dinobots Grimlock Slag Sludge Snarl		Strike Planes Dirge Ramjet Thrust
Decepticon Leader Megatron		Jetfire Jetfire

Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain

The earliest toys released in continental Europe (minus Italy) were distributed by Milton Bradley, which was in the process of being taken over by Hasbro at that point. There's no solid evidence that all the MB toys were available in all these countries, but the packaging is sporting German, French, Dutch and Spanish text. Therefore, MB covered the markets where Joustra's Diaclone toys were previously available, with the addition of Spain. The first wave of MB-branded toys was a rather odd selection, a result of Joustra holding the rights to many of the remaining toys, among them Optimus Prime. As a consequence, Jetfire was initially marketed as Autobot leader. Following a deal between Hasbro Bradley and Joustra's struggling parent company Ceji, a large amount of unsold Joustra toys were literally repackaged and released as the second wave of MB Transformers.

Special Note: the tech specs feature inconsistencies for the Dutch (Functie / Funktie) & Spanish (Función / Cometido) across the line. Usage appears to be figure consistent, meaning you will only see use of one or the other within the wave.

Wave 1

Autobot Mini Vehicles Beachcomber Cosmos Powerglide Seaspray Warpath		Constructicons Bonecrusher Hook Long Haul Mixmaster Scavenger Scrapper		Insecticons Bombshell Kickback Shrapnel		Jumpstarters Topspin Twin Twist		Jetfire, the new Autobot leader
Decepticon Triple Changers Astrotrain Blitzwing		Dinobots Grimlock Slag Sludge Snarl		Autobot Deluxe Vehicles Roadbuster Whirl		Deluxe Insecticons Barrage Chop Shop Ransack Venom
Decepticon Communicator Soundwave and Condor Cassette: Buzzsaw		Autobot Communicator Blaster		Decepticon Aeroplanes Dirge Ramjet Thrust		Decepticon Leader Megatron
Decepticon Laser Gun Shockwave		Autobot Leader Jetfire

Devastator is listed under his own number in the MB dealer catalog, but thus far, no evidence of an MB Devastator giftset has surfaced.

Wave 2

Autobot Mini Vehicles Brawn Gears Huffer Windcharger		Decepticon Cassettes Laserbeak Ravage		Robot Cars Jazz Mirage Prowl Ratchet	"Sideswipe" (actually Sunstreaker) Tracks (red) Trailbreaker Wheeljack		Ceji's Optimus Prime (notice the red feet)
Decepticon Planes Starscream Thundercracker (in Starscream packaging)		Autobot Commander Optimus Prime

An odd one-off addition to the 1985 French Transformers offering was Horloge Robot, a small robot that splits into 14 different vehicles and features a working watch on his chest, released by AVI France in collaboration with Canal+. Weirdly enough, he is none other than a repackaging of a common bootleg of Diaclone Gats Blocker, now released under the official Transformers brand... For some reason.

AVI France Horloge Robot (splits into 14 vehicles)

AVI France's Horloge Robot.

Italy

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GiG ("Geegh", but sometimes misspelled "GiGi") originally released licensed Diaclone toys under the name "Trasformer", occasionally sporting color schemes only found on Hasbro's Transformers versions (very likely because Takara was shifting production of the toys from Diaclone to Transformers at the time). Whether it was pressure from Hasbro or a mere marketing decision, GiG eventually acquired an additional license from Hasbro and launched their own version of the Transformers line, with the toys often sporting original Italian names (for example, the Autobots became "Autorobots", and the Decepticons "Distructors"). In addition to the official Transformers logo, a small remainder of the old Trasformer logo would remain on the packaging until 1987.

Speaking of Trasformer remnants, the "Autorobot Cars" and the "Distructor Planes" all sported unique "safety" missiles with large rubber boppers on the end instead of the individual missiles the versions released everywhere else had.

The Autobot Minicars/Mini Vehicles were apparently never released by GiG. The Italian names for their characters come from the Italian dub of the animated series.

Escavators (Constructicons) Braccio (Scavenger) Macigno (Long Haul) Ringhio (Scrapper) Rollo (Mixmaster)		Rostro (Hook) Scudo (Bonecrusher) Devastator (giftset)		Autorobot Cars Canguro (Hound) Freccia (Sideswipe) Gancio (Grapple) Giaguaro/Alert (Red Alert) Inferno		Lince (Sunstreaker) Mistero (Mirage, "Ligier" markings) Saetta (Wheeljack) Tigre (Jazz)		GiG's Hook (notice the Trasformer logo and the Japanese-style packaging)
Distructor Triple Changers Triplex Uno (Astrotrain) Triplex Due (Blitzwing)		Dinorobots (Dinobots) Bronto (Sludge) Reptilo (Swoop) Stego (Snarl) Tiran (Grimlock) Tricex (Slag)		Distructor Planes Astrum (Starscream) Corvo (Skywarp) Vampiro (Thundercracker)		Autorobot Leader Commander (Optimus Prime, has plastic variant)

1986

United Kingdom

1986 was the first year that the UK lost toys that had been available in previous years. 4 cars survived from the initial 1984 Autobot car assortment, none from the 1984 Autobot cars held over till 1985 in the UK and 6 of the 7 new 1985 cars: Skids misses out on a second year of availability. 5 of the six original Minibots are gone, only Bumblebee survives. Gone are the tape 2 packs, although they continue till 1988 in the US line, as are Soundwave & Buzzsaw].

The catalogue does not show Optimus Prime & Megatron - In Issue 85 Transformers UK comic claimed they were still available in 1986. Issues 85 & 86 contain what purports to be a full listing of the 1986 line

The catalogue also does not show Rodimus Prime & Wreck-Gar: they make a very late appearance on UK shelves towards the end of 1986 tying in with the release of Transformers The Movie.

Missing from the Hasbro UK releases are the Predacons & Gnaw, Sky Lynx, Trypticon, who was seen "grey imported" at the time, and the Autobot tapes & Ratbat / Frenzy, who later had Chinese stock grey imports in the early 1990s.

Confirmed UK Hasbro releases from 1986 are:

Autobot Mini-Vehicles Bumblebee Beachcomber Cosmos Hubcap Outback Pipes		Powerglide Seaspray Swerve Tailgate Warpath Wheelie		Aerialbots Air Raid Fireflight Silverbolt Skydive Slingshot		Protectobots Blades First Aid Groove Hot Spot Streetwise		UK 86 Catalogue
Stunticons Breakdown Dead End Drag Strip Motormaster Wildrider		Combaticons Blast Off Brawl Onslaught Swindle Vortex		Battlechargers Runabout Runamuck		Triple Changers Broadside Octane Sandstorm Springer Astrotrain Blitzwing		UK 86 Special Teams Catalogue
Autobot Vehicles (Autobot Cars) Blurr Grapple Hoist Hot Rod Inferno Jazz Kup		Mirage Ratchet Red Alert Sideswipe Smokescreen Tracks		Decepticon Planes Cyclonus Dirge Ramjet Scourge Starscream Thrust		Autobot City Metroplex
Autobot City Commander Ultra Magnus		Decepticon City Commander Galvatron		Autobot Heroes Rodimus Prime Wreck-Gar

France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain

Presumably, Transformers didn't sell well in Germany in 1985, as German was dropped as a language from the packaging until Generation 2. Instead, Hasbro (who had finished taking over MB) consolidated the UK market with the rest of Europe (except for Italy, again). The 1986 releases that were now available in packaging with "Hasbro" rather than "MB" logos sported the four languages English, French, Dutch and Spanish (the order between English and French could occasionally be swapped).

Confirmed European Hasbro releases from 1986 are:

Autobot Mini-Vehicles Bumblebee Hubcap Outback Pipes (inc. "Puffer" variant) Swerve Wheelie		Aerialbots Air Raid Fireflight Silverbolt Skydive Slingshot		Protectobots Blades First Aid Groove Hot Spot Streetwise		Constructicons (yellow) Bonecrusher Hook Long Haul Mixmaster Scavenger Scrapper		Joustra's "Puffer" (Huffer in Pipes' deco)
Stunticons Breakdown Dead End Drag Strip Motormaster Wildrider		Combaticons Blast Off Brawl Onslaught Swindle Vortex		Battlespringers (Battlechargers) Runabout Runamuck		Triple Changers Broadside Octane Sandstorm Springer
Autobot Vehicles (Autobot Cars) Blurr Grapple Hoist Hot Rod Hound Inferno		Kup Red Alert Sideswipe Smokescreen Trailbreaker Tracks (now blue)		Decepticon Planes Cyclonus Scourge		Autobot Leader Optimus Prime
Autobot City Metroplex		Decepticon Communicator Soundwave and Condor Cassette: Buzzsaw

An instruction sheet for Scourge exists sporting the languages French, English, Dutch and Spanish. No packaged sample has surfaced thus far.

Italy

GiG was still doing their own thing at this point, with a bit of mix of Hasbro and Takara-style packaging. Notably, GiG's versions of the Aeriabolts, Protectobots, Stunticons and Combaticons came in boxes based on the Takara versions (including prominent "C" and "D" numbers and "Takara" instead of "Hasbro" logos), just like the previous year's Constructicons. This only applied to the combiner limbs, though; the leaders/torsos came in boxes based on the Hasbro versions, including "A5", "P5", "S5" and "D5" numbers.

Known Italian releases of 1986 toys are:

Aerialbots Log (Skydive) Optor (Fireflight) Radiant (Silverbolt) Tornado (Air Raid) Vertic (Slingshot) Pentajet (Superion giftset)		Protectobots Chips (Groove) Drago (Hot Spot) Phantom (Streetwise) Rasor (Blades) Sirena (First Aid) Defensor (giftset)		Stunticons Barracuda (Motormaster) Caimano (Breakdown) Cobra (Dead End) Iguana (Drag Strip) Squalo (Wildrider) Pentacar (Menasor giftset)		Combaticons Bomber (Brawl) Crasher (Swindle) Destroyer (Onslaught) Exploder (Blast Off) Vortex Multiforce (Bruticus giftset)		Pentajet
Predacons Falcon (Divebomb) Felin (Rampage) Rinox (Headstrong) Torox (Tantrum) Zannar (Razorclaw)		Distructor Planes Ciclone (Cyclonus) Sheriff (Scourge)		Autorobot City Commander Convoy (Ultra Magnus)		Autorobot City Guardian (Metroplex)
Distructor City Tripticon (Trypticon)

Greece

El Greco manufactured and released a small number of Transformers toys to the Greek market, with the only known El Greco releases this year being seven Autobot Mini-Vehicles. These are mostly identical to their international versions safe for a few minor coloration differences, with the used plastics generally being a bit brighter or darker than their Hasbro and Joustra equivalents. The cards the toys were available on were based on the Hasbro cards but fully translated to Greek (including the character names) and sported Hasbro logos in addition to the "El Greco" logo.

It's not entirely clear when exactly the following toys were first available in Greece; however, they couldn't have been released before 1986, since they depict the "Decipher the Decepticon" poster artwork on the back of their cards.

1986 Egkéfalos (Brawn) Gígantas (Huffer) Akhtýpitos (Warpath) Kyríarkhos (Cosmos) Keravnόs (Powerglide) Angeliofόros (Beachcomber) Thalassόlykos (Seaspray)

El Greco's Cosmos (Notice the brighter, more saturated shade of green)

1987

United Kingdom

In the UK in 1987 the line lost all the pre 1986 toys. Most of the new toys for 1986 survive apart from the Minibot & Battlecharger assortments. As per the main US line the cars & planes introduced in 1986 received a Targetmaster upgrade

Fortress Maximius was not offered for sale through Hasbro UK but a number were given away as colouring competition prizes: a toy promoting this was on display in Hamley's in Regents Street, London, well into the 1990s.

Also missing in the UK were the new Decepticon tapes, both factions' Clones, Doublespy Punch/Countepunch, Sixshot and the Monsterbots. Sixshot, the Decepticon Clones and Punch/Counterpunch would later be sold in the UK as Chinese Grey Imports in the early 1990s as would the standard size Autobot & Decepticon Headmasters.

Aerialbots Air Raid Fireflight Silverbolt Skydive Slingshot		Protectobots Blades First Aid Groove Hot Spot Streetwise		Stunticons Breakdown Dead End Drag Strip Motormaster Wildrider		Combaticons Blast Off Brawl Onslaught Swindle Vortex		UK 87 Catalogue Autobots
Technobots Afterburner Lightspeed Nosecone Scattershot Strafe		Terrorcons Blot Cutthroat Hun-Gurrr Rippersnapper Sinnertwin		Throttlerbots Goldbug Chase Freeway Rollbar Searchlight Wideload		Duocons Battletrap Flywheels		UK 87 Catalogue Decepticons
Autobot Headmasters Brainstorm Chromedome Hardhead Highbrow		Autobot Targetmasters Blurr Crosshairs Hot Rod Kup Pointblank Sureshot		Decepticon Headmasters Mindwipe Skullcruncher Weirdwolf		Decepticon Headmaster Horrorcons Apeface Snapdragon
Decepticon Targetmasters Cyclonus Misfire Scourge Slugslinger Triggerhappy		Autobot Heroes Rodimus Prime Wreck-Gar		Autobot City Commander Ultra Magnus		Decepticon City Commander Galvatron
Autobot City Metroplex		Headmaster Decepticon Base Scorponok

France, the Netherlands, and Belgium

Apparently realizing that tech specs in four different languages aren't exactly the optimal choice, Hasbro started breaking up the languages again. The UK got toys in English-only packaging, whereas France, Belgium, and the Netherlands got toys in bilingual French/Dutch packaging. Germany only got the English versions with safety warning stickers in German. Presumably, all toys were available in all language variants, but without solid evidence, this is pure speculation. Known European toys from 1987 in French/Dutch packaging are:

Technobots Afterburner Lightspeed Nosecone Scattershot Strafe Computron (giftset)		Duocons Battletrap Flywheels		Autobot Headmasters Brainstorm Chromedome Hardhead Highbrow		Autobot Targetmasters Blurr Crosshairs Hot Rod Kup Pointblank Sureshot		Galvatron
Decepticon Headmasters Apeface Mindwipe Scorponok Skullcruncher Snapdragon Weirdwolf		Decepticon Targetmasters Cyclonus Misfire Scourge Slugslinger Triggerhappy		Autobot Leader Rodimus Prime		Autobot City Commander Ultra Magnus
Decepticon City Commander Galvatron		Autobot Space Shuttle Sky Lynx		Decepticon City Trypticon		Headmaster Decepticon Base Scorponok

An instruction sheet for Galvatron exists which only sports the languages French and Dutch. It is therefore assumed that he was available later than Scourge, whose instruction sheet still sported texts in English and Spanish as well.

Italy

GiG continued to have their own slightly-different take on Transformers, mainly in packaging; the "Racerbots" (Throttlebots), "Tecnobots" and "Terrorbots" (it should be obvious) came in Takara-styled boxes complete with Japanese ID numbers. "Tundertron" (Abominus) was available as a giftset even though Hasbro hadn't released the toys in that form in the USA; the box layout was again based very closely on the standard Hasbro combiner giftsets at that time, but lacking the Hasbro logo, and sporting the toys' Takara ID numbers. The "Tecnobot" and "Terrorbot" advertisement flyers depict Scattershot and Hun-Gurrr erroneously wearing their respective combiner heads in their uncombined robot modes. The Monsterbots' boxes were based on the Hasbro versions, but sported "Takara" instead of "Hasbro" logos and Takara ID numbers.

Known Italian toys from 1987 are:

Racerbots (Throttlebots) Rollerbot (Wideload) Saterbot (Freeway) Scoutbot (Chase) Strobobot (Searchlight) Trollbot (Rollbar) Wagenbot (Goldbug)		Tecnobots (Technobots) Argobot (Nosecone) Radarbot (Afterburner) Rocketbot (Strafe) Scatterbot (Scattershot) Starbot (Lightspeed) Computron (giftset)		Terrorbots (Terrorcons) Battlebot (Rippersnapper) Bifronbot (Sinnertwin) Crudelbot (Cutthroat) Grifobot (Hun-Gurrr) Spectrobot (Blot) Tundertron (Abominus giftset)		Duoform (Clones) Booster/Gemini (Fastlane/Cloudraker) Roboclon/Rapax (Pounce/Wingspan)		The Terrorbots
Autorobot Headmasters Blindobot (Hardhead) Cruiserbot (Highbrow) Duobot (Chromedome) Goblin (Brainstorm)		Monsterbots Drekbot (Doublecross) Tigerbot (Grotusque)		Distructor Headmasters Tagor (Apeface) Tifon (Snapdragon)		Sixchanger Iperbot Sei Azioni (Sixshot)
Decepticon Citybot Scorpion (Scorponok)

1988

United Kingdom

In 1988 all the previously available toys were eliminated from the catalogue, but there are hints, in the Argos catalogue and elsewhere, that some may have continued to be distributed. There is some debate as to if the Triggerbots & Triggercons were available in the UK in 1988: they are not shown on the catalogue.

As in previous years, the new US released tapes were not offered in the UK. The UK also missed out on the "second wave" US Pretenders: Autobots Groundbreaker, Sky High and Splashdown, and Decepticons Bugly, Finback & Iguanus.

The Pretender Vehicles were a Woolworths exclusive in 1988 before becoming more generally available in 1989.

Towards the end of the year, the Micromaster Off Road, Race Car and Air Strike patrols were available in the UK in their "Micro Transformer" packaging.

Micro Transformers Air Strike Patrol (Nightflight, Storm Cloud, Whisper, Tailwind) Off Road Patrol (Highjump, Mudslinger, Powertrain, Tote) Race Car Patrol (Tailspin, Free Wheeler, Roadhandler, Swindler)		Sparkabots Fizzle Guzzle Sizzle		Firecons Cindersaur Flamefeather Sparkstalker		Seacons Overbite Nautilator Seawing Skalor Snaptrap Tentakil		UK 1988 Catalogue. Spot the naming mistakes!
Autobot Double Targetmasters Landfill Quickmix Scoop		Decepticon Double Targetmasters Needlenose Quake Spinister		Autobot Powermasters Getaway Joyride Slapdash		Decepticon Powermasters Darkwing Dreadwind
Powermaster Mercenary Doubledealer		Autobot Six Changer Quickswitch		Autobot Pretender Beasts Catilla Chainclaw		Decepticon Pretender Beasts Carnivac Snarler
Pretender Vehicles (Woolworths Exclusive) Gunrunner Roadgrabber		Autobot Powermaster Leader Optimus Prime

France, the Netherlands, and Belgium

Toys were still available in English-only and French/Dutch packaging. The UK toys started sporting a yellow "Original HASBRO Transformers" sticker on their packaging, possibly as a reaction to the sudden flood of Mexican toys (although those didn't come out in Europe until late 1988/early 1989). This sticker is also the only way to tell a European toy in English packaging apart from its US counterpart, as the packaging itself appears to be identical. 1988 toys were available in Germany in English-only packaging including the "Original HASBRO Transformers" sticker, with additional safety warning stickers in German.

Known European toys from 1988 are (all of the toys on this list have been found in both English stickered packaging and French/Dutch packaging):

Sparkabots Fizzle Guzzle Sizzle		Firecons Cindersaur Flamefeather Sparkstalker		Triggerbots Backstreet Dogfight Override		Triggercons Windsweeper Ruckus Crankcase
Seacons Overbite Nautilator Seawing Skalor Snaptrap Tentakil		Double Targetmasters Landfill Needlenose Quake Quickmix Scoop Spinister		Powermasters Darkwing Doubledealer Dreadwind Getaway Joyride Optimus Prime Slapdash		Six Changer Quickswitch

Italy

Starting with the Pretenders, GiG finally dropped the small remainder of the old Trasformer logo from their packaging. The most interesting releases this year are the "Grandi Set Transformers" (also called "Superset Transformers" in the 1988 Christmas catalog), re-releases of the prior Combiner giftsets with a pack of five random "Exogini Transformers" (Decoys) as a freebie.

Known Italian releases from 1988 are:

Triggerbots Bitume (Backstreet) Furio (Override) Orage (Dogfight)		Triggercons 4x4 (Crankcase) Rafale (Windsweeper) Rallye (Ruckus)		Pretenders Autorobot Falcon (Waverider) Febos (Landmine) Felin (Groundbreaker) Rotor (Sky High)		Squalos (Splashdown) Super Commander (Cloudburst) Ursus (Chainclaw) Zanna (Catilla)
Pretenders Distructor Ghigno (Carnivac) Insector (Bugly) Korno (Skullgrin) Lobos (Bomb-Burst)		Razzak (Finback) Reptilo (Submarauder) Squamos (Iguanus) Verros (Snarler)		Grandi Set/Superset Transformers Computron Defensor Devastator		Multiforce (Bruticus) Pentajet (Superion) Tundertron (Abominus)

1989

United Kingdom

For the first time the UK received all of this year's new mainline western Transformers the same year they were released in the USA. Unfortunately this was also the first year the US had store exclusives, the Kmart Legends which the UK misses out on.

The Pretender Monsters & Countdown were Woolworths exclusives in 1989, with Countdown being more generally available the following year

Not shown on the pack in catalogue leaflet is 1988's Powermaster Optimus Prime. There is very strong evidence that this continues to be produced at least through 1989 with appearances in Argos catalogues into 1990 and boxed examples being found with the 1989 catalogue leaflet within.

Triggerbots Backstreet Dogfight Override		Triggercons Windsweeper Ruckus Crankcase		Small Pretenders Bludgeon Doubleheader Longtooth Octopunch Pincher Stranglehold		Pretender Vehicles Gunrunner Roadgrabber		UK 1989 Pretenders & Others Catalogue
Pretender Classics Bumblebee Grimlock Jazz Starscream		Mega Pretenders Crossblades Thunderwing Vroom		Ultra Pretenders Roadblock Skyhammer		Pretender Monsters (Woolworths Exclusive) Birdbrain Bristleback Icepick Scowl Slog Wildfly
Micromaster Patrols Air Strike Patrol Battle Patrol Off-Road Patrol Race Car Patrol Rescue Patrol Sports Car Patrol		Micromaster Transports Erector Flattop Overload Roughstuff		Micromaster Battle Stations Airwave with airport Greasepit with gas station Hot House with fire station Ironworks with construction station		Micromaster Bases Groundshaker with ATV Skyhopper with Helicopter		UK 89 Micromaster Catalogue
Micromaster Decepticon Space Shuttle Skystalker with Interstellar shuttle		Micromaster Autobot Rocket Bases (1989 Woolworths Exclusive) Countdown with Rocket Base

France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain

In 1989, all releases received French names, but not Dutch names. Spain started getting toys in Spanish-only packaging (which are not to be confused with the unofficially imported Mexican toys by IGA). The smaller Pretenders, the Classic Pretenders, the Micromaster Stations and the Micromaster Transports were once again available in Germany in English packaging.

Confirmed releases include:

Alternate-language names are not given here to save space. UK: English packaging, F/NL: French/Dutch packaging, S: Spanish packaging

Small Pretenders Bludgeon (UK, F/NL) Doubleheader (UK, F/NL) Longtooth (UK, F/NL) Octopunch (UK, F/NL) Pincher (UK, F/NL) Stranglehold (UK, F/NL)		Micromaster Patrols Air Strike Patrol (F/NL) Battle Patrol (UK, F/NL) Off-Road Patrol (F/NL) Race Car Patrol (UK, F/NL) Rescue Patrol (UK, F/NL) Sports Car Patrol (F/NL)		Micromaster Transports Erector (UK, F/NL, S) Flattop (UK, F/NL, S) Overload (UK, F/NL, S) Roughstuff (UK, F/NL, S)		Micromaster Bases Groundshaker (F/NL, S) Skyhopper (F/NL)
Micromaster Battle Stations Greasepit (F/NL)

Italy

Known Italian toys from 1989 are:

Pretender Monsters Artiglio (Slog) Avvoltoio (Birdbrain) Pipistrello (Icepick) Raptor (Scowl) Spettro (Bristleback) Vampiro (Wildfly)		Small Pretenders Tenax (Pincher) Ferox (Longtooth) Biclonius (Doubleheader) Demon (Stranglehold) Medusa (Octopunch) Teskior (Bludgeon)		Microtransformers Pattuglias (Micromaster Patrols) Expeditors (Off Road Patrol) Interceptors (Air Strike Patrol) Pattuglia Guastatori (Sports Car Patrol) Pattuglia Mezzi d'Assalto (Battle Patrol) Pattuglia Soccorso (Rescue Patrol) Sprintforce (Race Car Patrol)		Microtransformers Deluxes (Micromaster Transports) Tornado (Roughstuff) Tractor (Erector)
Microtrasformer[sic] Stations (Micromaster Stations) Argon (Hot House) Assalt (Greasepit) Lancer (Airwave) Radar (Ironworks)		Microtransformer Bases (Micromaster Bases) Rotor (Skyhopper) Titano (Groundshaker)		Set Commandos (Classic Legends) Saetta / Folgore / Drago / Tornado (Bumblebee, Jazz, Grimlock & Starscream (respectively) set)

Unofficial Mexican imports

In addition to the regular toys released by Hasbro and GiG, Europe was also hit by a flood of Transformers toys imported from Mexico. While these toys had been officially produced by IGA with the intention to release them on the Mexican market, a large unsold stock remained that was eventually exported to Europe without Hasbro's involvement. The toys were available in the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy, Austria, Romania, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland. This created a strange situation where unofficially imported (but officially produced) toys competed with official European releases. These toys are considered official for Mexico but unofficial for Europe.

1990

Main Transformers Toyline

By 1990, Hasbro had mostly streamlined their European markets. Presumably, all toys that came out in one country were also available everywhere else. Even the Italian releases now sported a uniform look with the toys that were available elsewhere in Europe (even though they still sported a "GiG" logo and Italian names), with one exception. Also, with Hasbro cancelling the Transformers line in the USA for the time being, the European Hasbro branches continued releasing new toys which the USA would never get. By this time, Australia also was receiving releases, re-releases and exclusives in a pattern similar (if not exactly the same) to that of the European market; this would continue at least as far as Generation 2.

Presumably, Germany got the UK versions of the 1990 Action Masters in English-only packaging. Also, GiG gave at least some of the Action Masters toys that were based on older characters the original Italian names again.

Confirmed releases include:

Alternate-language names are not given here to save space.
Where country specific packaging variants are known the following abbreviations are used:
UK: English packaging, F/NL: French/Dutch packaging, S: Spanish packaging, I: Italian packaging with alternate names

Micromaster Patrols Air Patrol (S) Construction Patrol (S) Hot Rod Patrol (F/NL, S, I) Military Patrol (F/NL, I) Monster Trucks Patrol (UK, F/NL, S, I) Race Track Patrol (S)		Micromaster Combiner Squads Astro Squad (UK, I) Battle Squad (I) Constructor Squad (UK, S, I) Metro Squad (I)		Micromaster Combiner Transports Cannon Transport (UK, S) Missile Launcher (S) Tanker Truck (UK, S)		Micromaster Combiner Autobot Battlefield Headquarters Battlefield Headquarters (F/NL, S, I)		Cannon Transport Attack Copter with Over-Run
Micromaster Combiner Anti-Aircraft Base Anti-Aircraft Base (UK, F/NL)
Action Master Figures Banzai-Tron with Razor-Sharp Blaster with Flight-Pack (UK, I) Bumblebee with Heli-pack (UK, I) Devastator with Scorpulator (UK) Grimlock with Anti-tank cannon (UK, I) Inferno with Hydro-Pack Jackpot with Sights (I) Jazz with Turbo Board (I) Kick-Off with Turbo-Pack		Krok with Gatoraider Mainframe with Push-Button (I) Rad with Lionizer (I) Rollout with Glitch (I) Shockwave with Fistfight (UK) Skyfall with Top-Heavy Snarl with Tyrannitron (UK) Soundwave with Wingthing (UK) Treadshot with Catgut (I)		Action Master Action Blasters Attack Copter with Over-Run (F/NL) Off-Road Cycle with Axer Turbo Cycle with Prowl Starscream / Turbo Jet (I)		Action Master Autobot Action Vehicles Attack Cruiser with Sprocket Wheeljack / Turbo Racer (I)
Action Master Decepticon Attack Vehicles Stratotronic Jet with Gutcruncher Neutro-Fusion Tank with Megatron		Action Master Autobot Armored Convoy Armored Convoy with Optimus Prime		Galaxy Shuttle Galaxy Shuttle (I)

Galaxy Shuttle was originally from the Takara Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers toyline. The Italian GiG release is the only non-Takara release of the toy. How/why is anyone's guess.

Not 2006.

"Classics" (Europe & Australasia)

Possibly taking a cue from the popularity of the Classic Pretenders, Hasbro started re-releasing original toys from 1984-1987 in "gold" packaging based on the Classic Pretenders' boxes, under the name "Classics". Germany got the "Classics" toys in English packaging. Unlike the English and French/Dutch versions, the Italian and Spanish "Classics" don't actually say "Classic" anywhere on the packaging. The toys themselves are functionally identical to their original releases, complete with rubsigns. (Some toys released this year were altered the following year, but we'll talk about the details of that then.)

Why this line happened is currently unknown, but there are several possibilities. It is known that the Transformers line was only just starting up in China (thanks to some legal shenanigans), and it appears the "Classics" toys were produced in the same Chinese factories, so the molds suddenly being available for production presented possibilities. It is unknown if Hasbro had originally intended for the toys to be released in the US market as well as in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, but the line's cancellation in the US killed that.

Confirmed European/Australasian "Classic" releases from 1990:

Alternate-language names are not given here to save space. UK: English packaging, F/NL: French/Dutch packaging, S: Spanish packaging, I: Italian packaging with alternate names

Classic Aerialbots Air Raid (UK, F/NL, S) Fireflight (UK, F/NL, S) Silverbolt (UK, F/NL, S) Slingshot (UK, F/NL, S) Skydive (UK, F/NL, S)

Classic Stunticons Breakdown (UK, F/NL, S) Dead End (UK, F/NL, S, I) Drag Strip (UK, F/NL, S, I) Motormaster (UK, F/NL, S) Wild Rider [sic] (UK, F/NL, S)

Classic Heroes Inferno (UK, S) Ironhide (UK) Jazz (UK, F/NL, S)

Prowl (sticker variant) (UK, S) Sunstreaker (UK) Wheeljack (UK, S)

Classic Hero Prowl

1991

Main Transformers Toyline

Although Transformers had come to a stop in the US, Hasbro continued releasing new toys to the European and Australasian markets. Following directly on from 1990's lineup was a number of new Action Masters, including an additional assortment of standard figures, figures with transforming exo-suit armour, and the infamously-paradoxical Action Master Elites who could themselves transform. Again, Action Masters were available in English packaging in Germany.

The "Classic" range of older toys was also expanded with new and updated assortments, and was further complemented by a small quantity of toys from moulds previously exclusive to Japan—while these releases did not sport the "Classic" branding and had their own distinct box-back mural, they were released in the same style of gold packaging.

Four non Action Master toys were issued in the mainline, the Autobot Motorvators, repaints of the Japanese Takara Victory era Brainmaster cars, and their Decepticon foe, Overlord who originated in the Japanese Takara Masterforce toyline and was was not released in the west in 1988 with the other Powermaster toys. In the UK Overlord was another exclusive for Woolworths.

Confirmed releases include:

Alternate-language names are not given here to save space. UK: English packaging, F/NL: French/Dutch packaging, S: Spanish packaging, I: Italian packaging with alternate names

Action Master figures Bombshell with Needler (UK, F/NL, I) Charger with Fire Beast (UK, F/NL, I) Powerflash with Road Rocket (UK, F/NL, I) Sideswipe with Vanguard (UK, F/NL, I) Take-Off with Screech (UK, F/NL, I) Tracks with Basher (UK, I)		Exo-Suit Action Masters Circuit (UK, F/NL) Thundercracker (UK, F/NL)		Motorized Exo-Suit Action Masters Rumbler (UK, F/NL) Slicer (UK)		Action Master Elites Double Punch (UK) Omega Spreem [sic] (UK) Turbo Master (UK) Windmill (UK)		Action Master Elite Double Punch
Motorvators Flame (UK, I) Gripper (UK, I) Lightspeed (UK, I)		Others Overlord (UK, F/NL, I)

Classics

Again, Classics toys were available in English packaging in Germany. However, the Classic Combaticons might have not been available in Germany, due to the unpopular "war" theme. Also, again, the Italian and Spanish Classics don't say "Classic" anywhere on the packaging, unlike the English and French/Dutch versions. The rubsign indents on the Classic Protectobots, Combaticons, Throttlebots, and Triple Changers Springer and Octane, were filled in. As the rubsigns were the only faction symbols on the Throttlebots, they were replaced with paper Autobot symbol stickers.

Classic Throttlebots Chase (UK, I) Freeway (UK, I Saterbot) Goldbug (UK, I) Rollbar (UK, I) Searchlight (UK, I Strobobot) Wideload (UK, I Rapidbot)		Classic Protectobots Blades (UK, F/NL, S) First Aid (UK, S) Groove (UK, S) Hot Spot (UK, S) Streetwise (UK, S)		Classic Combaticons Blast Off (UK, S) Brawl (UK, F/NL, S) Onslaught (UK, F/NL, S) Swindle (UK, F/NL, S) Vortex (UK, S)		Classic Triple Changers Astrotrain (UK, S) Octane (UK, S) Sandstorm (UK, S) Springer (UK, F/NL, S)		Classics First Aid
Classic Dinobots Grimlock (UK) Sludge (UK, I) Snarl (UK, I)		Classic Heroes Sideswipe (UK, S) Tracks (UK, F/NL, S)		Autobot Leader Optimus Prime (UK, F/NL, S)		Combiner giftsets Devastator Defensor

The Combiner giftsets were released only in Greece by GiG under the brand name "El Greco". These versions also came with a Classic Dinobot attached on the back or front of the box.

1992

Predator Stalker (with Snare attached in the lower-right)

'92 is when the European Transformers line really began to kick into high gear, even if the amount of product was a little on the light side. Hasbro produced new toys exclusively designed for the European market (though some did get imported to Japan), which had a far more cohesive design aesthetic than... well, the line ever had in its past. The Autobots trended towards brighter colors and generally had more "human" faces, and each one used bright-magenta fluorescent translucent plastic for vehicle-mode windscreens and a new innovation in the line, light-piped eyes which appear to "glow" when light shines through them from behind. The Decepticons trended towards darker, cooler colors, their faces much more "robotic" (usually with facemasks and visor-eyes), and using bright-green translucent plastic for their canopies/optics. Both sides also included spring-loaded missile launchers, a gimmick that had been all but abandoned in Hasbro's markets due to more stringent safety regulations for projectiles in the US.

Rounding out the year's product are a strange pair of re-released combiner teams lacking their combining ability... or individual names.

After this year, Hasbro decided European sales were good enough to try to revive Transformers in the US again.

In terms of languages, English and Spanish were now merged into bilingual English/Spanish packaging for the British, Spanish, Australian, and New Zealand markets, whereas France, Belgium, and the Netherlands still got toys in bilingual French/Dutch packaging, but now with alternate (English) names as well, and Italy still got toys in Italian-only packaging from GiG.

Confirmed releases include:

Alternate-language names are not given here to save space. UK/S: English/Spanish packaging, F/NL: French/Dutch packaging, I: Italian packaging with alternate names

Turbomasters Small Boss (UK/S, F/NL, I Flash (UK/S, F/NL) Hurricane (UK/S, F/NL, I) Scorch (UK/S, F/NL) Medium Rotorstorm (UK/S, F/NL, I) Large Thunder Clash (UK/S, F/NL, I)

Predators Small Falcon (UK/S, I) Skydive (UK/S, F/NL, I) Snare (UK/S, F/NL, I) Talon (UK/S, F/NL, I) Medium Stalker (UK/S, F/NL, I) Large Skyquake (UK/S, F/NL)

Rescue Force "Rescue Force buggy" "Rescue Force drill" "Rescue Force jet" "Rescue Force tank"

Constructicons "Bonecrusher" "Hook" "Long Haul" "Mixmaster" "Scavenger" "Scrapper"

Turbomaster Flash

1993

Trakkon Calcar in packaging.

While Hasbro rolled out the new Generation 2 toyline in the US, the European line continued under the original branding, with a slew of new all-new-mold toys, in the same style as the previous year's, with a variety of new gimmicks… though curiously with the "Generation 2" Autobot and Decepticon symbols applied to them. (A popular rumor claims that this was due to the international licence for the original symbols having expired, which sounds highly dubious.) Some toys even got the "Autobot/Decepticon" text-stamp that was added to every Generation 2 toy in the US.

On top of all these new molds, last year's Turbomasters, Predators, Rescue Force and Constructicons were still shipping to stores, making for quite a full assortment of toys for the final year of the original Transformers toyline globally. Salut!

Many fans consider this year a sort of "Generation 1.5", further buoyed by the fact that all of the new molds got re-released in 1994 under the Generation 2 branding in European markets.

Confirmed releases include:

Alternate-language names are not given here to save space. UK/S: English/Spanish packaging, F/NL: French/Dutch packaging, I: Italian packaging with alternate names

Axelerators Hotrider (UK/S, F/NL, I) Rapido (UK/S, F/NL, I) Skram (UK/S, F/NL, I) Zap (UK/S, F/NL, I)		Skyscorchers Hawk (UK/S, F/NL, I) Snipe (UK/S, F/NL, I) Terradive (UK/S, F/NL, I) Tornado (UK/S, F/NL, I)		Aquaspeeders Aquafend (UK/S) Deluge (UK/S) Jetstorm (UK/S) Speedstream (UK/S)		Stormtroopers Aquablast (UK/S, F/NL, I) Drench (UK/S, F/NL, I) Hydradread (UK/S, F/NL, I) Rage (UK/S, F/NL, I)		Obliterator Clench
Lightformers Deftwing (UK/S, F/NL) Ironfist (UK/S, F/NL)		Trakkons Calcar (UK/S, F/NL) Fearswoop (UK/S, F/NL)		Obliterators Clench (UK/S) Pyro (UK/S)