Diaclone

The name or term "Diaclone" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Diaclone (disambiguation).

File:Diaclone-GRB logo.jpg

Di...a...cloooooooone!!!

Diaclone (ダイアクロン Daiakuron) was one of two Takara toy lines (the other being Micro Change) from which the earliest Generation 1 Transformers toys came.

The Diaclone toyline was first introduced in 1980 and its focus was on the sci-fi robots and mecha rather than the pilot minifigures, but it was not until March 1982 that toys with alt modes based on realistic, present-day vehicles began to appear as part of the "Car Robots" sub-line. The first one was the Diaclone predecessor of Sunstreaker, whom Hasbro now considers the first fully-fledged transforming car-to-robot toy ever designed. Its vehicle form was based on an older Takara toy, the "Cosmo Countach" from the Microman "Micro Command" sub-line released in 1978, which transformed into a half-robot, half-car hybrid.

Before the Transformers brand was introduced, Takara directly exported some Diaclone toys to North America under the brand names Diakron and Kronoform, but those lines met with very little success. French toy company Joustra also released various Diaclone figures in Europe under the original Japanese name (sporting unique box art), a few exclusive Revell model kits and even an accompanying mini-comic series, but these also faded into obscurity.

In 1983, Hasbro representatives discovered Diaclone and Microchange toys at the Tokyo Toy Show, and soon struck a deal to create the Transformers brand.

The 1984 and 1985 Autobot Cars, 1984 Decepticon Planes, 1985 Dinobots, 1985 Constructicons, "standard" Insecticons, Trainbots, Omnibots, Powerdashers, Jumpstarters, Blitzwing, 1984 Optimus Prime, and 1986 Ultra Magnus toys all originated from Diaclone. The reason why many of these toys feature opening cockpits, hatches, or seats is that Diaclone had presented them as lifeless mecha for small driver figures, which were no longer included in their Transformers incarnation.

When Transformers proved an unqualified success, plans for a 1985 Diaclone line were scrapped, and Transformers was imported to Japan in its place. These aborted toys, which would have been part of a sub-line called Jizai Gattai ("Free Combination") were then incorporated into the Transformers toyline in 1986 as the Aerialbots, Stunticons, Combaticons, Protectobots, and Metroplex.

Diaclone was revived in 2016. In 2020, a new version of Battle Convoy, the toy that became Optimus Prime, was revealed. Will this lead to more re-imaginings of Car Robots toys? Only time will tell.

Toy range (incomplete)

The following list covers all Diaclone releases that were later rereleased as Transformers toys. Diaclone molds with no Transformers releases are generally not listed as they fall outside the purview of this site.

Baku-Ten Attack Robo

Released in the Transformers line as the Jumpstarters.

• Drill Tank Type — Available in two decoes. Dark blue limbs with grey chest or dark blue limbs with red chest. (Transformers releases Twin Twist/Salt-Man Z/Robot-Man Z all utilized completely new decoes)
• Jet Type - Available in two decoes. Dark blue chest with red limbs or dark blue chest with grey limbs. (Transformers releases Topspin/Salt-Man X/Robot-Man X all utilized completely new decoes)

Car Robots

Maybe they died when the Ark crashed?

• No. 1 Countach LP500S — The Diaclone red deco was changed to yellow for release as Sunstreaker. The red deco was used as inspiration for Spin-Out and the red Sunstreaker clones.
• No. 2 Onebox Cherry Vanette — The Diaclone black deco was changed to red for release as Ironhide. The black deco was virtually unchanged for release as Ironhide's Protect Black form and was used as inspiration for Shattered Glass Ironhide.
• No. 3 Countach Patrol Car Type — Not released as a Transformer but later used as inspiration for Cordon and the white Sunstreaker clones.
• No. 4 Onebox Ambulance Type — The Diaclone deco was virtually unchanged for release as Ratchet.
• No. 5 4WD Hi-luxe — The Diaclone black deco was virtually unchanged for release as Trailbreaker. The Diaclone version was also available in blue and yellow decoes, the former of which was used as inspiration for Shattered Glass Trailbreaker.
• No. 6 Honda City R — The Diaclone silver deco was virtually unchanged for release as Crosscut. The Diaclone version was also available in red, which was used for Reboost. This mold was also redecoed in orange as Skids's Screech form.
• No. 7 Fairlady Z — The Diaclone blue deco was changed to silver for release as Bluestreak. The Diaclone version was also available in a silver deco with a black hood that inspired Bluestreak's character model, and the blue deco was used as inspiration for multiple Bluestreak toys as well as Shattered Glass Bluestreak.
• No. 8 4WD Wrecker Type — The Diaclone red deco was changed to green for release as Hoist. The Diaclone version was also available in blue, and the red deco was used as inspiration for Diaclone Lift-Ticket and Shattered Glass Hoist.

One Skids, two Skids, three Skids, four! Five Skids... and that's it.

• No. 9 Honda City Turbo — The Diaclone blue deco was virtually unchanged for release as Skids. The Diaclone version was also available in black and red decos; the black deco was used as inspiration for Diaclone Burn Out and Shattered Glass Skids.
• No.10 Fire Engine — The Diaclone version is nearly identical to the Transformers Inferno mold. However, the Mitsubishi Fuso logo molded onto the front of the cab, and extra chrome on the beam that connects the head, set this figure apart. This mold was later redecoed as Artfire.
• No.11 Fairlady Z Racing Type — The Diaclone deco was virtually unchanged for release as Smokescreen.
• No.12 J59 Jeep — The Diaclone deco was virtually unchanged for release as Hound. This mold was later redecoed as Detritus.
• No.13 Police Car Fairlady Z — The Diaclone deco was virtually unchanged for release as Prowl.
• No.14 Porsche 935 Turbo — The Diaclone deco was virtually unchanged for release as Jazz. This mold was later redecoed as Ricochet.
• No.15 New Countach LP500S — The Diaclone red deco was virtually unchanged for release as Sideswipe. The Diaclone version was also available in black and yellow decoes, which were later used for Deep Cover and Tigertrack .
• No.16 F-1 Ligier JS11 — The Diaclone blue deco was virtually unchanged for release as Mirage. A red version was also available as a Diaclone.
• No.17 Battle Convoy — The Diaclone deco was virtually unchanged, except for some decals on the trailer, for release as Optimus Prime.
• No.18 Lancia Stratos Turbo — The Diaclone deco was virtually unchanged for release as Wheeljack. A remolded Diaclone version served as the inspiration for Exhaust.
• No.19 New Countach Police Car — The Diaclone police deco was changed to a fire chief deco for release as Red Alert. The original deco was later used for Clampdown.

What, no TF love for Powered Buggy?

• No.20 Truck Crane — The Diaclone version is nearly identical to the Transformers Grapple mold. However, the Mitsubishi Fuso logo molded onto the front of the cab, and extra chrome on the beam that connects the head, set this figure apart. This mold was later redecoed as Hauler.
• No.21 Corvette Stingray — The Diaclone red deco was changed to blue for release as Tracks. The Diaclone red deco was released as Tracks in Europe and later as Road Rage, and it also inspired Shattered Glass Tracks. A Finnish exclusive black deco was the inspiration for Loudpedal as well as a Tracks clone.
• Powered Convoy — The Diaclone deco was (more or less) reversed for release as Ultra Magnus. The Diaclone version was also available in a chrome deco. The "Powered Buggy" (パワードバギー) accessory was excised from all Transformers releases. The Diaclone deco was used as inspiration for Delta Magnus, Magna Convoy, and Shattered Glass Ultra Magnus.

Construction Vehicle Robo

There were two Diaclone releases available. There were many coloring differences between the two but only the most obvious are listed below. All six received new green and purple decos for release in the Transformers line. The same molds were also released during Generation 2 with the green changed to yellow and, later, orange.

• No. 1 Bulldozer - Orange in both versions. (Bonecrusher)
• No. 2 Power Shovel - Orange in both versions. (Scavenger)
• No. 3 Shovel-dozer - Orange in both versions. (Scrapper)
• No. 4 Truck Crane - Red in version one, blue in version two. (Hook)
• No. 5 Dump Truck - Red in both versions. (Long Haul)
• No. 6 Concrete Mixer - Red in version one, blue in version two. (Mixmaster)

The combiner pieces were predominately blue in version one and red in version two.

Dashers

The Dashers were released in Transformers as the Powerdashers. They were only available via mail-order and Robot Points, and did not even receive individual names until decades later.

• Sky Dasher - also released under the name "Sky Robot" as a Revell model kit in Europe (Cromar)
• Drill Dasher - also released under the name ""Drill Robot" as a Revell model kit in Europe (Zetar)
• F-1 Dasher - also released under the name "F-1 Robot" as a Revell model kit in Europe (Aragon)

Dinosaur Robo

Ohh, so that's where his color scheme came from.

The Dinosaur Robo molds became the Dinobots in Transformers. Duh. All of the TF releases had softer plastic in certain places. There were also several differences in decoes between the Diaclone and Transformers versions, mostly the replacement of blue paint with red.

• Tyrannosaurus (Grimlock)
• Triceratops (Slag)
• Brontosaurus (Sludge)
• Stegosaurus (Snarl)
• Pteranodon (Swoop, Diaclone deco inspired Swoop's animation model)

Double Changers

The Double Changers were released as the Omnibots, and like the Powerdashers, were only available via mail-order and Robot Points.

• Ferrari BB (Overdrive)
• Savanna RX-7 (Camshaft)
• Celica XX (Downshift)

F-15 Robo

The F-15 Robo mold was the source for the Seekers. The black and purple deco used for Skywarp was created for the Transformers line, and was never available as a Diaclone. The decoes and remolded wings for the Coneheads were also original to The Transformers.

• Super-high-speed fighter type (Starscream)
• Acrobat type (Thundercracker)

Insecter Robo

In Diaclone, these were mechs used by the Waruders, the "bad guys" of that universe. In Transformers they were released as the Insecticons with new purple, black, and yellow decoes. Much later, the Diaclone decoes were released as the e-HOBBY exclusive Insecticon Clones.

• Kabutron (Bombshell/Salvo)
• Battas (Kickback/Shothole)
• Kuwagatrer (Shrapnel/Zaptrap)

Train Robo

The Train Robo molds were only released as Transformers in Japan during the Headmasters franchise as Raiden and his individual components, the Trainbots. There were two color variations released for the Diaclone line, making 12 individual trains total. Numbers 7-12 are much rarer and were never released as a giftset.

• No. 1 Tōkaidō 0 Series Shinkansen (Shouki)
• No. 2 EF65-1000 Blue Train (Getsuei)
• No. 3 Tōhoku Jōetsu 200 Series Shinkansen (Yukikaze)
• No. 4 Tōkaidō Main Line 153 Express Train (Suiken)
• No. 5 L-Limited express 485 (Seizan)
• No. 6 DE10 Diesel Locomotive (Kaen)
• No. 7 Tōkaidō 0 Series Shinkansen Metallic (Silver Liner)
• No. 8 Limited Express EF76 (Battle Liner)
• No. 9 Doctor Yellow 922 (Yellow Liner)
• No. 10 Yokosuka Line 113 (Miracle Liner)
• No. 11 Sleeper Express 583 (Thunder Liner)
• No. 12 DE10 Diesel Locomotive Transparent (Crystal Liner)

Triplechangers

Only the Jet Fighter Type Triple Changer was ever released in the Transformers line, but the Helicopter Type later inspired three fiction-only characters. Astrotrain and Octane may have been in development when the change to the Transformers brand occurred.

• No. 1 Jet Fighter Type (redecoed in purple and beige as Blitzwing, original Diaclone dark green and white deco later released as Overcharge)
• No. 2 Helicopter Type (Rotorbolt/Skyklik, original blue deco. Fumes sports a unique fully gray deco)

Other

• Dia-Battles — not released as a Transformer but inspired the comic background character Stormbringer. A 2016 remake, DA-01 Dia Battles V2, inspired the Beast Wars: Uprising incarnation of Magmatron.
• Guts Blocker — not released as a Transformer but did inspire a background comic character.
• Fortress X — not released as a Transformer but did inspired a background comic character.
• Warudaros — not released as a Transformer but later inspired the BotCon toy Storm Rider, a successor to Warudaros.

Fiction

Animated cartoon

Wyatt Toys advertised Diaclone and Microman toys for sale in the Detroit Powell Press. The AllSpark Almanac

Notes

• Diaclone is a portmanteau of "diamond" and "cyclone": "strong as a diamond, fast as a cyclone".
• Designs from Diaclone were plagiarized for the Korean animated movie Diatron 5 (다이아트론5), which for a time haunted Walmart dollar bins as Space Transformers.
• Like Transformers after it, Diaclone was also released in other countries, in some cases licensed to other companies:
  • Takara themselves had a short run in the U.S. market under the name Diakron, featuring three toys that were later released as Transformers in different colors.
  • Italian company GiG initially released toys under the name Diaclone, but soon changed it to Trasformer [sic]. Whether GiG was copying Hasbro or the other way round is unclear; however, Trasformer did feature a blend of Diaclone toys and elements original to Hasbro's Transformers line, possibly due to production reasons.
  • French company Joustra released the toys under the name Diaclone in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany, featuring a blend of Micro Change and Diaclone toys with unique packaging designs and origin stories, but eventually sporting factory-applied Autobot or Decepticon stickers, also due to production reasons.
  • Takara themselves released toys in Finland under the name Diaclone, sharing elements of the packaging design with GiG's Trasformer line. This release is notable for a unique black version of the Corvette Stingray (pre-Tracks).
• General Motors stopped using the "Stingray" name after the 1976 model year. Though the Corvette mold is obviously a 1980 to 1982 model year, Takara incorrectly called it a Stingray.

See also

• Pre-Transformers
• Diakron
• Kronoform
• Micro Change
• Trasformer

External links

• Diaclone.Net
• Diaclone at the Pre-Transformers Page
• Diaclone® Action Figure Collectors' Guide At Transformersland