Transtech: Difference between revisions
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* Though the toyline was cancelled, several of the designs have been adapted into other toylines. Notably [[Megatron (Armada)|''Armada'' Megatron]], [[Scavenger (Armada)|''Armada'' Scavenger]] and [[Landmine (Energon)|''Energon'' Landmine]]. | * Though the toyline was cancelled, several of the designs have been adapted into other toylines. Notably [[Megatron (Armada)|''Armada'' Megatron]], [[Scavenger (Armada)|''Armada'' Scavenger]] and [[Landmine (Energon)|''Energon'' Landmine]]. | ||
* It may have followed up ''Beast Machines'', but BM's head honcho Bob Skir had never heard of Transtech until 2013.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DaZTNszyGU Moonbase 2 interview with Bob Skir], 1:33:20 to 1:33:44</ref> | * It may have followed up ''Beast Machines'', but BM's head honcho Bob Skir had never heard of Transtech until 2013.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DaZTNszyGU Moonbase 2 interview with Bob Skir], 1:33:20 to 1:33:44</ref> | ||
* The designs for Toy Biz's ''Marvel Megamorphs'' transforming superhero toyline were done by Draxhall Jump as well. These designs | * In [[2005]], The designs for Toy Biz's ''Marvel Megamorphs'' transforming superhero toyline were done by Draxhall Jump as well. These designs somewhat resemble their ''Transtech'' work, specifically with [[Hulk]] using Immorticon's design and [[Iron Man]] using Starscream's. Unfortunately, Toy Biz lacked the pedigree Hasbro has when it comes to designing transforming robot action figures, so the toys were less than ideal. | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 13:40, 27 August 2022
| The name or term "Transtech" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Transtech (disambiguation). |
Transtech was originally planned as the follow-up to the Beast Machines franchise. It would have begun in summer 2001, but was instead replaced by Robots in Disguise while Hasbro geared up for Armada.
In 2008, the Transformers Collectors' Club used the Transtech designs as inspiration for the TransTech universe.
Fiction
Story-wise, not much is known about the original concept. It likely would have picked up on technorganic Cybertron following the events of Beast Machines. It's also likely another Mainframe Entertainment CGI animated series would have supported the line, though no evidence of this has ever surfaced.
Toys
The characters transformed into Cybertronic vehicles that in many cases had animal-like features/deco. Cheetor was a Cybertronic race-car with a cheetah-like paint job, for instance, and Prime (confusingly invoking Optimus Primal) was a truck whose front end looked like an ape's face. Designs were done by Draxhall Jump and had somewhat less traditional robot modes (Cheetor had large hoop "wheels" for shoulders and feet, for instance) and didn't always resemble older versions of the character very closely. The overall aesthetic was somewhere in-between Beast Machines' odder moments and the highly complex designs from the live-action film series. Many of these designs were first shown at BotCon 2002 (apparently without Hasbro's permission, as they were pulled from the booth halfway through the show) and subsequently made available online.
Online retailer BigBadToyStore posted a preliminary retailer list of early 2001 Transformers product in December 2000.[1] In addition to revealing several unproduced and delayed Beast Machines toys, the listing indicated the intent of releasing Transtech in the summer of 2001 launching with 4 deluxes (Shockwave, Starscream, Cheetor and Silverbolt) along side 2 mega class figures and 2 Ultra class figures (the requisite Optimus and Megatron). A second wave consisting of a deluxe Rattrap and another unnamed deluxe was due shortly after this initial wave.
The line would have included Maximals carried over from Beast Machines:
A returning Beast Wars character:
Returning Generation 1 characters:
And at least one new character
Design sketches for a Megatron and a Scavenger of uncertain identity also exist.
The toyline got to the early hardcopy prototype stage, and some prototypes, including Cheetor, Starscream, and Prime, have surfaced. None of them apparently reached a stage of production where real, usable molds were created, and so future release is extremely unlikely.
When Draxhall Jump made their design sketches for Transtech available, they also included a number of designs from other lines (such as GI Joe), but put them all under the "Transtech" header for their web page, causing a bit of confusion. This artwork included a work-up sketch of Soundwave as a souped-up blue boom-box, which is often mistaken to be a member of the Transtech line.
 Proceed on your way to oblivion. |
Cancellation
In a 2021 interview, Aaron Archer said the reasons for Transtech's cancellation were primarily that "sales were going down" on Beast Machines compared to Beast Wars, which Hasbro felt was due to the darker story and how stylised the beast and vehicle modes looked. As Beast Machines was seen to have not worked out, the planned sequel was also dropped. A major secondary reasons is that Hasbro was seeing a changing of the guard, with Brian Goldner coming in as CEO and wanting to focus more heavily on Hasbro's own brands over licensed ones; he wanted Hasbro to be more directly involved in shaping these brands as well and be more 'back to basics'. As Archer put it: "Vehicles that looked like vehicles...and get back to a more traditional Autobot/Decepticon storyline." [2]
At the time Hasbro was in severe financial distress: staff layoffs, big debts, and falling revenues for various reasons, most notably overestimating the continuing sales of Pokemon cards.[3][4] If you need Transformers to make money and you think very stylised odd-looking cars are why Beast Machines didn't, you aren't going to want to make toys off the designs on this page.
The cancellation of Transtech led to the Japanese Car Robots cartoon and toyline being imported as a stopgap measure while Hasbro and Takara began to work together to jointly create and launch the Armada line.
Notes
- According to the creative staff of Transformers Animated at BotCon 2008, Animated Blurr's design is partially inspired by Transtech Cheetor, most notably the hubless wheels making up part of his feet.
- Though the toyline was cancelled, several of the designs have been adapted into other toylines. Notably Armada Megatron, Armada Scavenger and Energon Landmine.
- It may have followed up Beast Machines, but BM's head honcho Bob Skir had never heard of Transtech until 2013.[5]
- In 2005, The designs for Toy Biz's Marvel Megamorphs transforming superhero toyline were done by Draxhall Jump as well. These designs somewhat resemble their Transtech work, specifically with Hulk using Immorticon's design and Iron Man using Starscream's. Unfortunately, Toy Biz lacked the pedigree Hasbro has when it comes to designing transforming robot action figures, so the toys were less than ideal.
References
- ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20001206140100/http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/news.asp
- ↑ Youtube: "The Toy Armada: Transformers Armada Part 1 Behind The Scenes!" Dec 14, 2021, 05:00 in
- ↑ CNN: "Hasbro warns on 4Q", December 6 2000
- ↑ Fitch Ratings: "Fitch Lowers Hasbro's Sr Debt; Revises Outlook To Negative", December 7 2000
- ↑ Moonbase 2 interview with Bob Skir, 1:33:20 to 1:33:44
External links
- Transtech concept art gallery from TFarchive.com
- Transtech Megatron Style Study Board
- Transtech Megatron Destroyer Tank Concept drawings
- Transtech Optimus Prime Style Study Board
- Transtech Silverbolt Control Drawing
- Transtech Cheetor Prototype
- Transtech Starscream Prototype
- Transtech concept art and prototype from Transformers Omniverse
