Transcendent Technomorph

<table style="margin:0 1em 0 2em; padding:.5em; background:#f7f8ff; border:thin solid #aaa;display:block;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">

<tr> <td>

This article is about the cancelled toy line. For the race of highly evolved Transformers seen in Axiom Nexus, see TransTech.

</td></tr></table> <center> <table cellspacing="0" style="">

<tr>

<td style="padding:0 1em 0 1em;text-align:right;"><div class="tti_messageboxdiv" style="width:100%;padding:.5em; background-color:#efefff; border:solid 1px #9f9fff;text-align:center;margin:auto;">

"Sloppiness is bad, cleanliness is good!"

This article may require cleanup to meet the quality standards of Transformers Wiki.<br /><small>Please discuss this issue on the talk page or append this tag with a more specific message.</small>

</div> </td></tr></table> </center>

Transtech was originally planned as the follow-up to the Beast Machines toyline and cartoon. 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. A Mainframe CGI animated series to support the line was likely in the discussion stage at some point.

Toys

Nightscream would have been spared a lot of hate had he looked like this in BM.

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 new 2007 movie designs. 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.

Depth Charge replaces "Bandito Spider" as coolest unmade TF ever.

The line would have included Maximals carried over from Beast Machines:

• Blackarachnia
• Cheetor
• Nightscream
• Silverbolt

returning Beast Wars character:

• Depth Charge

returning Generation 1 characters:

• Optimus Prime
• Shockwave
• Starscream

So close, yet so far away...

and at least one new character

• Immorticon

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.

<center> <table cellspacing="0" style="">

<tr>

<td style="padding:0 1em 0 1em;text-align:right;"><div class="tti_messageboxdiv" style="width:100%;padding:.5em; background-color:#efefff; border:solid 1px #9f9fff;text-align:center;margin:auto;">

Your bargaining posture is highly dubious.

Proceed on your way to oblivion.<br />This item has been canceled, with no current plans for release.

</div> </td></tr></table> </center>

Cancellation

The reasons for Transtech's cancellation remain unknown for certain, though over the years, a number of possible reasons have been speculated, among them: negative fan reaction to Beast Machines, conflict with Mainframe, economic difficulties due to poor performance by other Hasbro toylines at the time, differences with Takara, or simply a desire to go in a new direction. The most likely explanation is not a singular culprit, but a number of corresponding culprits, perhaps culminating in the closing of Hasbro's Cincinnati offices and departures of staff, followed by the subsequent relocation to Hasbro's central offices in Rhode Island.

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.

And look how that turned out.

Trivia

• 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.

External Links

• Draxhall Jump
• 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