Design change

The budget department. Ruining Transformers toys FOREVER since 1984.

A design change is a modification to a toy's design prior to the sculpt's initial release. The changes can affect the sculpting of parts, the transformation mechanisms, the articulation, the gimmicks and even the assembly of individual parts.

The reasons for those changes are multifold: Sometimes the original design would have just used up more budget than Hasbro was willing to spend on the price point, so some elements (such as gimmicks) had to be gutted. Sometimes the toy is based on a third-party design (most prominently in the case of the live-action film series), and when the original design is changed, the toy's design has to follow suit. Sometimes the toy's alternate mode is based on an existing design, and Hasbro decides to modify it in order to avoid legal trouble with the vehicle's manufacturer. And sometimes things have to be redesigned for safety reasons or to fix design flaws.

Design changes can be discovered by comparing a toy to the stock photos on its packaging which use earlier prototypes. A toy's 2D designs are also a possible reference, since control drawings are occasionally published in various Japanese guide books or other supplementary material. The instructions sometimes also reveal design changes, as do prototypes that are revealed to the public through unofficial venues.

Design changes are not to be confused with misassemblies. Misassemblies are errors that occur on a factory level and are contrary to the intentions of the designers. Design changes are intentional decisions, often compromises, that occur on a design level. Design changes are also not to be confused with retools: Although retools are effectively design changes, they don't occur until after the initial version of the sculpt has been released. For the purpose of this article, design changes only refer to modifications that occur prior to the first release of a sculpt.

Sculpting (aesthetic)

Hey, what happened to my nose?

"Megatron, is that you?" "Starscream? What happened to you?"

Curse you, Mattel!

• Energon Prowl's instructions feature a head that is almost entirely different from the final sculpt, except for the tailpipes. It bears a striking resemblance to Armada Blurr. This same head design was shown in a magazine preview for the Japanese version of the Energon cartoon.
• Stolen test shots of various early Alternators toys and designs depicted in the Japanese The Transformers: Binaltech & TF Collection Complete Guide book sported markings of real-life brands on their tires, such as "Bridgestone", "Michelin" or "Goodyear" for Smokescreen, Side Swipe, Meister and Tracks. The final toys either replaced those markings with the fictitious brand Cybertronian Radial, or sported no brand markings on their tires at all.
• Cybertron Wing Saber's original gray model prototype featured a different vehicle mode nosecone design than seen on the final toy. As revealed by the Japanese online retailer Amenbo.com on April 29, 2005, the original sculpt had a much greater resemblance to the A-10 Thunderbolt, with a rounded nose cone, a correctly shaped (translucent) canopy, and twin translucent gatling cannons. It's possible that the change from this more realistic sculpt to the entirely opaque one seen on the final toy occurred in order to avoid licensing issues.
• Movie Leader Class Megatron and Deluxe Class "Preview" Starscream both had their head sculpts redesigned to reflect changes in the movie designs. The original head sculpts are used by the stock photos on the back of their packaging.
• The hand-painted prototype of Movie Real Gear Robots Meantime depicted on the back of the toy's packaging sports sculpted details intended to look as if he's wearing a miniature version of his own wristwatch alternate mode on his left wrist. For unknown reasons, the second set of stock photos, which depict a loose (pre-)production sample, suddenly feature a version of the figure that has both forearms as mirrored versions of each other, lacking the sculpted wristwatch detail. The final toy, however, does sport the sculpted wristwatch detail again.
• A stolen prototype of Revenge of the Fallen R.P.M. Sideswipe that surfaced in 2008 was pretty accurate to the Corvette Stingray car from the movie, but the actual RPM Sideswipe toy has been severely altered and looks more like an Aston Martin. Unfortunately, Mattel was able to secure exclusive rights for releasing a Concept Stingray model car at a 1:64 scale for their Hot Wheels line (the toy was released as part of the "2010 New Models" lineup).
• Dark of the Moon Cyberverse Legion Class "Bolt" Bumblebee was retooled from Revenge of the Fallen Legends Class Bumblebee by giving him a new right hand that's compatible with Cyberverse weapons sporting 3mm pegs. And while both his instructions (which depict a "gray model" prototype) and the stock photos featured on the back of his packaging (which depict a hand-painted prototype) in fact only show the new right hand, a second set of stock photos, which depict both a loose (pre-)production sample and sample in packaging, show the figure with both hands retooled to be compatible Cyberverse weapons. The final toy only features the new right hand.

Mechanisms

What could have been.

• Generation 1 Astrotrain's original prototype featured a sliding mechanism to extend his arms, which was neutered for the final toy. The arms were still cast in multiple parts, and they look like they could still be extended... but they can't.
• Generation 1 Octane has a blocked-off internal mechanism which would have been used to make his torso slide become more proportional.
• Beast Wars Jawbreaker's hyena jaws were designed to flip out of the skull, creating a more proper "hand" for the robot mode. The toy is depicted in this posture in official pictures. While all the necessary articulation is there on the final release, the feature was effectively removed through the later addition of rigid pegs inside the skull that permanently affix the jaws in place. It is possible to sever these pegs with a narrow blade and reactivate the feature.
• Alternators/Binaltech Side Swipe was originally intended as Tracks, back when General Motors refused to grant Hasbro and Takara the license for the Chevrolet Corvette. The doors were originally designed to serve as "wings" in robot mode. After GM had a change of heart, Tracks was released as a Corvette after all (using the new head sculpt originally designed for the Dodge Viper), whereas the Viper was slightly redesigned (with a new head sculpt and the doors now hanging down on the sides of the arms) and released as Side Swipe instead.

Bummer.

• Alternators/Binaltech Hound was originally intended as a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon rather than the standard model he ended up as. The sightly different alternate mode would also have resulted in slightly less "backpack" kibble.
• Alternators/Binaltech Tracks was originally intended to feature spring-loaded arm cannons that would have deployed by pushing a button on the sides of the arms. The final toy instead features a sliding mechanism to deploy the arm cannons by moving a peg on the top of the arms. The spring-loaded arm cannons are depicted in the line art used for Hasbro's instructions, Takara's stock photos for the yellow version and an article in Dengeki Hobby Magazine that features a hardcopy ("gray model") prototype of the toy.
• Cybertron Leobreaker was subject to an abnormally huge amount of design changes before his release, neutering and removing several gimmicks and sculpted features.
• Cybertron Voyager Class Starscream lost all of his internal electronics somewhere late in development.
• Revenge of the Fallen Voyager Class Starscream's instructions refer to an additional joint inside the hand's palms that allows to fold them up in jet mode, and depict the forearm cannons in a position where they are moved forward when illustrating the push-button missile firing gimmick, even though the actual toy's hands are cast in one piece, and the cannons are sculpted in place on the actual toy.
• Revenge of the Fallen Deluxe Class Sideways was originally designed to have a lever activated buzzsaw in his right forearm. Like several ROTF toys, this was probably taken out for budget concerns, although some remnants remain in the sculpt of the forearm, and the packaging of the 2010 Transformers Target exclusive "High-Speed Spy Battle" multi-pack even calls out the non-existent gimmick on the back of the box.

Articulation

• Legends of Cybertron Vector Prime was originally intended to sport ball-jointed elbows, but the final toy has each arm sculpted as one piece, with a sculpted faux hinge joint. The elbow articulation not only shows up in the stock photo on the back of Vector Prime's own packaging, but also in a stock photo of Legends Scattorshot, a redeco of Vector Prime, on the back of the Universe Target exclusive "Special Team Leaders" five-pack. Supposedly, it's easier for Hasbro to simply rapid up a new prototype than keeping samples of older product around for the purpose of re-painting them.
• Revenge of the Fallen Leader Class Optimus Prime was originally intended to have articulated fingers, as seen in the stock photos on the back of his packaging. The final toy has the hands cast in one piece.
• Robot Heroes "G1" Megatron's head, according to the stock photos, has limited articulation in the neck. However, the final toy only has articulation in the arms.

Assembly

Nothing that can't be achieved with a screwdriver.

• Classics Mini-Con Grindor's official stock photos depict him with the wheels sporting pegs as the rear wheels and the wheels sporting the corresponding holes as the front wheels. The toy itself has the wheels swapped, which is backed up by the instructions. Grindor's redeco, Universe Bodyblock, has the wheels swapped again, which matches both his own and Grindor's official stock photos, but contradicts both his and Grindor's instructions. Either way works, as it does not affect the toys' functionality or transformation in any way whatsoever, and one would never notice if it weren't for the stock photos and instructions.
• Revenge of the Fallen Human Alliance Bumblebee's legs were originally intended to be assembled the opposite way, which would have put the wheels on the outer sides of the shins and thus made the legs as a whole lot more movie-accurate. Presumably, it was decided to swap the legs because the extra transformation step (rotating the legs and waist) would have been too difficult for kids to do. While a hardcopy ("gray model") prototype shown in TakaraTomy solicitations depicts the originally intended assembly for the legs, the official Hasbro stock photos and the instructions show the "misassembly" as the "correct" assembly.

Design change or unreleased toy?

Mystery time!

The distinction between actual design changes and unreleased toys isn't always clear: While instances where toys were flat out replaced with entirely different toys (for example the Mini-Cons Brakedown, Override and Clocker that were intended to come with Energon Ultra Magnus, but were swapped out at essentially the last possible minute for a redecoed Space Mini-Con Team, or the Cybertron "Landslide" redeco of Mudflap that was replaced with Galaxy Force Vector Prime) count as unreleased toys, there are several instances where a toy was kinda, sorta replaced with a different toy, but that toy still contains enough remnants of the originally intended one to qualify as a severe instance of a "design change".

• The original prototype of Battle Convoy, the Diaclone predecessor of the original Optimus Prime toy, was completely different from the final product.
• Likewise, the original prototype of Armada Hot Shot (depicted in Japanese magazines and early Hasbro solicitation photos) was abandoned and redesigned from scratch prior to release.
• The retool of Alternators/Binaltech Grimlock was originally planned to be Windcharger (presumably in red), with the vehicle mode being a convertible. Ultimately, however, the toy ended up as Wheeljack instead, with a different head sculpt. The head sculpt originally intended for Ford-Windcharger eventually ended up being used for the retool of the actual "Windcharger" toy (the Honda S2000 sculpt) instead, as a new character named "Decepticharge".
• Alternators/Binaltech Prowl was originally intended as Red Alert, with a different head sculpt that remains unused.
• Generations Thrilling 30 Deluxe Class Nightbeat was originally intended as a retool and redeco of 2010 Transformers Reveal the Shield Special Ops Jazz, but ultimately ended up as a retool of Generations Thrilling 30 Deluxe Class Bumblebee instead.

Honorable mention goes to the BotCon 2010 Timelines Clench figure, which was originally teased with a photoshopped image of Universe Deluxe Class Tankor in Clench's colors, whereas the final toy was a redeco of Universe Ultra Class Onslaught. This was always intended as a joke, however, and the real toy was revealed shortly afterwards.