Rubsign: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 14:35, 27 January 2023

A rubsign is a small pre-applied heat-sensitive sticker. Rubbing the sticker reveals a hidden symbol.

Operating principles

Demons make the color change. Anybody who tells you otherwise is a witch, and should be burned, burned at the stake. Death to the evildoers! Ahem. The working part of a rubsign is a layer of Mylar plastic which contains thermochromic liquid crystals. At different temperatures, the liquid crystals' molecular structure changes reflecting different wavelengths of light and making a visible faction symbol appear. Mood rings work by the same principle but have more bogus magical properties.

Toys

The Transformers

It's like a Kinder egg toy, but without the Kinder. Or the egg.

The first toys to sport rubsigns were the Mini-spies from the original toy line in early 1985, miniature Transformers that came with repackages of the 1984 Mini-Car toys. The faction of a Mini-spy remained hidden until someone opened up the package and rubbed the rubsign revealing an Autobot or Decepticon insignia... or if it got warm enough to activate the sticker while the toy was still sealed away.

Later that year, all Transformers toys featured a rubsign that revealed an Autobot or Decepticon insignia. The purpose of these rubsigns was (in theory) to help consumers distinguish genuine Transformers toys from the many knockoffs their success inspired (off-brand versions of the Dinobots, Soundwave and his cassettes were particularly common in 84/85), as well as Tonka's GoBots toys and similar toys of other competitors. Re-releases of 1984 toys sometimes had rubsigns slapped on in odd places in addition to their standard customer-applied insignia stickers, but some, like the aforementioned Mini Cars, had their factory-applied insignia replaced with rubsigns.

The Clones from 1987's series had special rubsigns that revealed their personal insignia. The rubsign could be activated so their true identity could be revealed without having to transform them (or, you know, rotate them slightly).

By 1988, rubsigns were dropped from the line (presumably as most of the competition had been long-buried, but cost-saving may also have played into it), even though several toys from that year still had molded spots for them. Later releases/reissues of various toys designed with rubsign indents were retooled to remove or otherwise alter those indents.

Beast Wars

Rubsigns would not appear again on Transformers toys until the second year of Beast Wars product in 1997, called "hidden energon chips". These decals lacked the silver border of the prior rubsigns, being solid black when cool. When warmed, the background changes color into rainbow hues, revealing a solid-black Maximal or Predacon insignia.

"Energon chips" continued to be used through the following year's Fuzors and Transmetals toys, but were replaced by the time of the Transmetal 2s (and in the Beast Wars Neo new-mold toys) with "spark crystals".

Classics

Rubsigns were reintroduced to the Transformers line in 2006 with the Classics series, appearing on all toys at the Deluxe and higher price-point. They are effectively the same as the originals, having silver borders and rainbow-hued symbols.

Reveal the Shield

Rubsigns were used as the main gimmick of the Reveal the Shield subline imprint of the 2010 Transformers toy line. These versions are not square, but borderless black decals cut into a rough silhouette of the Autobot symbol, though the Decepticon insignia fit snugly in there as well.

The toy packaging directed people to "Press to reveal Autobot or Decepticon allegiance." However, the back of the packaging also featured a large faction symbol for the character, spoiling the "mystery" of the character's allegiance.

Reissue toys

Many/most of the reissued "Generation 1" toys released over the years also have rubsigns, though often their positioning has changed from the originals. At some point, the older style of rubsign was replaced with a new version, featuring a near-mirror-like silver border, and solid-red insignia regardless of faction. These are most notable on the various Walmart-exclusive reissues from the latter half of the 2010's, but have appeared on other recent re-releases.

Generations Selects

Generations Selects Galvatron features an optional sticker sheet as a throwback to the original "Generation 1" stickers, including a Decepticon rubsign intended to be placed on the right side of the cannon. A black bar has been added beneath the faction border's "chin" to make it less pentagonal.

Fiction

Battle Beneath the ice

Having EXTREMELY toy-accurate artwork, many of the Transformers sported rubsigns. Battle Beneath the Ice

Transformers Comic-Magazin

Needlenose, Darkwing and Dreadwind were hiding in an airbase in Nevada before revealing their liquid crystal Decepticon insignias and flying off. A Big Day for Powermaster Optimus Prime

Dreamwave Generation One continuity

Dreamwave Productions, famous for their re-launching Transformers comics and generally featured a few posters of Transformers featuring rubsigns.

Rubsigns were used as a way of disguising Autobot Smokescreen's faction symbol which had been outlawed. War and Peace

2005 IDW continuity

RUBSIGN DEPLOY. OPERATION: TOY NOSTALGIA

Soundwave used a rubsign to gain access to the illegal gladiatorial games. Megatron Origin #3

Brainstorm's security pass, which he used to get on board the Lost Light, featured a rubsign. How to Say Goodbye and Mean It

Animated

Yeah, that spiky, edgy, black-metal-facepaint guy could totally be a friendly Autobot. Obviously.

The bounty hunter Lockdown appears to sport a rubsign probably to indicate that he's just in it for the parts and hunts he gets out of it. The Thrill of the Hunt

After being 'dishonorably discharged' and sent to the Stockade, Wasp has been seen wearing a rubsign probably to indicate he's not with the Autobots anymore. When he was reformatted into Waspinator, he completely changed sides and instead sported a Decepticon insignia. Predacons Rising

Commercial Appearances

Generation 1

Cliffjumper and Huffer let a yellow Mini-spy into the Ark. They then got suspicious and rubbed his rubsign, revealing him to be a Decepticon. Commercial/Generation 1

Notes

The original patent for the Generation 1 rubsigns is shared by Henry Orenstein and George Dunsay. The patent term expired a few years ago.
A variation on the rubsigns was also used in the spin-off Hasbro/Takara toyline Battle Beasts. Of special note is that late in the line, those rubsigns changed to have full-color illustrations revealed, rather than the "rainbow" effect of prior rubsigns.

Foreign names

Japanese: Secret Emblem (シークレットエンプレム Shīkuretto Enburemu)

External links

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 ===''Beast Wars''===
 [[File:BW Razorclaw toy.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb]]
-Rubsigns would not appear again on ''Transformers'' toys until the second year of ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (franchise)|Beast Wars]]'' product in 1997, called "hidden energon chips". These decals lacked the silver border of the prior rubsigns, being solid black when cool. When warmed, the ''background'' changes color into rainbow hues, revealing a solid-black [[Maximal]] or [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] insgnia.
+Rubsigns would not appear again on ''Transformers'' toys until the second year of ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (franchise)|Beast Wars]]'' product in 1997, called "hidden energon chips". These decals lacked the silver border of the prior rubsigns, being solid black when cool. When warmed, the ''background'' changes color into rainbow hues, revealing a solid-black [[Maximal]] or [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] insignia.
 "Energon chips" continued to be used through the following year's [[Fuzor]]s and [[Transmetal]]s toys, but were replaced by the time of the [[Transmetal 2]]s (and in the ''[[Super Lifeform Transformers: Beast Wars Neo (franchise)|Beast Wars Neo]]'' new-mold toys) with "[[spark crystal]]s".