5 mm post

Weapons for everybody!

One of the simplest innovations in Transformers toys, using universally sized posts for accessories, weapons and figures is something that has characterised several Transformers lines throughout the years. The most common universal post and port size is the 5-millimetre (5mm) post. This size was used throughout Generation 1, Generation 2, and almost universally throughout Armada, Energon and Cybertron.

Using a single, universal size of weapon post allows Transformers toys to swap weapons between one another. During most Transformers toy lines, this interchangeability was seldom advertised as a feature of the toys, but during Armada, that changed. The introduction of the Mini-Cons gave 5mm posts an entirely new purpose: A hollow 5mm post could now become a mounting point for a Mini-Con. The interchangeability suddenly became an advertised feature of the toys.

Since the end of the "Classics" toy line, the 5mm post hole has become far less ubiquitous, though it's making a comeback in a big way with Power Core Combiners, and some of the later Revenge of the Fallen toys.

Functionality

Backwards compatibility

"Dude, you're right. Guns with their posts in the right place rock!"

Probably the biggest, most meaningful aspect of using a universal fist size is compatibility between toys. You can share your accessories or Mini-Cons or even some integral parts of toys around to other toys from the same line. Even better for long-term fans of the franchise is that the continuous use of 5mm posts from Generation 1 onwards into modern lines means that toys are actually backwards-compatible with the accessories from older toys. As well as delightful opportunities for mixing and matching, this means that characters who get new toys can use accessories from their old toys. Even if you don't like "Classics" Optimus Prime's rifle, you can always just give him Powermaster Optimus Prime's rifle, or Star Convoy's.

This compatibility works both ways, allowing you to use Armada, Energon and even Power Core Combiners weapons with old Micromaster Bases or Headmasters toys.

A matter of tolerance

Despite the fact that 5mm posts are supposed to be universally the same size, this isn't always the case. Sometimes, due to play wear or simply to slight (very slight) differences in tooling, some posts are tighter or looser than others. This can mean that sometimes a toy will hold a gun loosely, or that a weapon will be too tight to fit into another toy's hand.

Generally, this is only a problem on toys or toolings that have seen a lot of use. A Generation 1 toy like Soundwave that was produced for several years and re-released many times might actually show a difference in tolerance between different samples of the toy. Similarly, toolings which see a lot of use, such as "Classics" Starscream, can begin to show mould wear. There are many reports of later Henkei! Henkei! versions of the mould not being able to hold their weapons correctly because tolerances are poor.

If a toy sees a lot of play, especially if weapons are being removed and replaced repeatedly, a hole (or sometimes a post) can wear down, making the weapons looser. It's possible to increase this problem while swapping weapons between different toys. If a gun post from a Pretender Bumblebee is slightly smaller than the post from Pretender Grimlock, then Grimlock's gun might actually stretch Bumblebee's fists. This could result in Bumblebee no longer being able to hold his own gun firmly. It's advisable when swapping guns between different toys to be aware of the slight differences in tolerances between toys.

Multiple posts and double posting

"Pssst—hey, bud!" "WHO, ME?!" "Shhhhhh!" "Who, me?" "Riiiiiiiiight."

Some Transformers toys come with multiple figures, such as a Pretender shell and its inner robot. Other toys are small and merge with bigger toys to become still larger. Other toys come with a trailer or base which has larger weapons than the core robot. Because of the size difference between the two components, two different weapon post sizes are required.

The early Pretenders usually handle this by simply giving the gun two different posts: a larger 5mm post for the outer shell, and a smaller post for the inner robot. The result is that the two figures hold the same gun in different ways. For the purposes of this article, we'll refer to these as "multiple-post weapons".

Another solution, one often used with combiners, is simply to have the two posts one on top of the other—the smaller post on the bottom and the larger post on the top, both forming the same handle of the gun. The problem with this solution is that, when one gives weapons to unrelated toys, Transformers with fist holes that don't go all the way through the hands (such as Armada Hot Shot) often can't hold these guns. We'll call that "double-posting" or "double-posted weapons" for the purposes of this article.

5mm Screw Holes

Many Transformers over the years have indented holes to allow screws to hold two pieces of the toy together. These screw holes come in all shapes and sizes but often they are also 5mm ports. Sometimes this is intentional, and the screw hole is deliberately moulded to 5mm to give the toy more functionality. Most of the time though, they aren't intentionally 5mm ports and are either very tight or slightly loose.

5mm screw holes can add functionality to many toys which otherwise aren't 5mm compatible, especially if a fan is creative. However, we have only included 5mm screw holes in the compatibility list bellow if they are particularly notable. So if you suspect a toy's screw holes are 5mm and he's not on the list, at least give it a try.

Powerlinx Ports

I want it all, and I want it now!

During the Armada toy line, a new spin on the 5mm post and port was developed: the Mini-Con Powerlinx. Using hollow 5mm posts, Mini-Cons could activate the gimmicks of other toys or simply mount on other toys. Because the Mini-Cons use a special kind of port, they cannot be mounted on 5mm posts that aren't hollow. In theory, this means only toys with specific Powerlinx ports can hold Mini-Cons. In practice, this isn't the case at all.

Throughout the history of the Transformers franchise, for one reason or another, toys have come with 5mm posts which are hollow, creating a kind of unintentional back-compatibility with many Mini-Cons. We'll list this back-compatibility in individual toy entries further down the page.

The other significant aspect of the Powerlinx ports is that they act like regular 5mm posts too. This means that you can use them to mount any weapons or accessories that are designed to mount on 5mm posts. Does mounting a bunch of miniature cars on Armada Starscream's arms seem silly to you? Maybe it's time to use the guns from the Micromaster Anti-Aircraft Base.

Generation 1

In the first few years of the toy line, partly because of the mix-and-match nature of the line itself, Transformers didn't have very standardised fist sizes. The Diaclone-descended toys usually had no single standard, with only the toys with the biggest weapons or fists having 5mm posts. The Micro Change-descended toys were much more consistent about post size, using 5mm posts on almost all of the toys with weapons or accessories.

As Generation 1 evolved 5mm posts and ports became nearly universal. Only the switch to smaller toys with Action Masters changed this -- a new, smaller, universal post size was used for that line. These smaller sized posts carried over into the UK Transformers, while in Japan the rise of Micromasters lead to 5mm staying predominant throughout the line.

1984

AUTOBOTS

• Optimus Prime The only Autobot this year to use 5mm posts, Prime's main rifle sadly has a terrible design flaw (that has never been corrected, despite all the reissues) which makes it much less interchangeable with other toys. The gun's handle is moulded in the wrong place, and there's a false handle where the real one should be. Prime has actually been retooled to allow him to hold the rifle better -- by increasing the size of the rims on his fists. Too bad they didn't just put the rifle's handle post in the right place. In addition to the rifle, Roller's fuel pump is also a 5mm post. It's possible to use this to either give the pump to other toys, or to pump up Roller with some heavy weaponry.)

DECEPTICONS

All the 1984 Decepticons use 5mm posts in some capacity.

• Soundwave

• Buzzsaw, Frenzy, Laserbeak, Rumble and Ravage — Due to the post holes in their bodies, they can be pegged onto Mini-con ports, or similar 5mm posts.

• Starscream,Thundercracker and Skywarp — Their wings and their weapons have 5mm posts.

• Megatron — Most notably his large chrome rifle has a 5mm post on it, allowing it to be given to other toys.

1985

AUTOBOTS

• Blaster

• Topspin and Twin Twist — These toys do NOT have 5mm post holes, but their rifles have a 5mm base to the gun peg, effectively creating a very shallow double-peg that allows their guns limited inter-changeability with toys with 5mm fists.

• Perceptor

DECEPTICONS

• Devastator — Devastator's is a classic double-posted rifle. Devastator's fists are 5mm holes, but he shares his rifle with Mixmaster and his tiny, tiny fists.

• Dirge, Ramjet and Thrust

• Blitzwing — The strange construction of Blitzwing's weapons make them fairly unappealing for use with other toys. But you can. I guess.

1986

1986 saw the introduction of the Transformers Special Teams, or "Scramble City" combiners. All of these combiners used 5mm posts as standard to peg in their fists and feet in combined mode, meaning you could swap these parts between any of the combiners. The fists of the combined forms almost universally used 5mm holes (all except Superion and Piranacon) and almost all the leaders of the teams (except Silverbolt) used 5mm posts for their fists.

The smaller members of the Special Teams almost all had small pistols or rifles that used variably compatible smaller posts, and larger alt mode weapons that used 5mm posts -- often taking advantage of post holes used for the combined form's fists or feet. The earlier toys often used weapons with 5mm ports which would peg onto the robot -- allowing those weapons to be pegged onto Mini-Con ports and other similar 5mm posts. The later toys tended to use 5mm posts which peg into ports on the toy.

AUTOBOTS

• Outback — The only Mini Vehicle with a weapon at all, Outback sports a 5mm post that lets him use all kinds of crazy weapons.

• Steeljaw and Ramhorn — But not Rewind or Eject, strangely. Ramhorn's peg holes are very loose.

• Superion — Barely. The Aerialbots are the only Special Team whose leader doesn't use 5mm posts, and who have no members with larger vehicle weapons which use 5mm posts. Superion doesn't have 5mm fists either. Only the posts and ports for the combined form's hands and feet are 5mm posts. Superion even has what looks like a hollow 5mm peg on the underside of his combined form's chest plate -- however this peg is just slightly too big to be of use.

• The Protectobots — In the standard style of the Scramble City teams, described above.

• Wreck-Gar

• Ultra Magnus — Most of Magnus' accessories use 5mm posts. Interestingly enough his rifle has two ways of being held -- the large robot uses a larger peg than the small inner robot's 5mm post. So you can only let other toys hold the gun in the same way as Magnus' inner robot.

• Metroplex — Uses 5mm posts for his weapons, and his fists. He can happily wear any Scramble City fists instead of his own. Six-Gun and Scamper do not use 5mm pegs for their weapons, however Slammer does. His turret is on a hollow 5mm post so it can be mounted on (or rather under, most of the time) Mini-Cons!

DECEPTICONS

• Ratbat

• The Stunticons — In the standard style of the Scramble City teams, described above.

• The Combaticons — In the standard style of the Scramble City teams, described above.

• The Predacons — Unlike the Scramble City toys, all the Predacons use 5mm posts as standard, with no accessories at all with smaller pegs, making all their weapons usable by Predaking.

• Scourge — Only his head-mounted gun, his rifle uses a smaller peg.

• Galvatron — However remember, Galvatron's weapons pegs can be any size he wants!

• Trypticon — Full-Tilt does not use 5mm posts. On the other hand the Brunt's tank turret does use them. It's completely possible to mount the turret as an arm cannon for an Armada toy, or anyone else with 5mm posts.

1987

By 1987 5mm posts had become almost universal. Only some smaller toys, and those toys without weapon accessories didn't have them.

AUTOBOTS

• The Technobots — In the standard style of the Scramble City teams, described in the 1986 section above.

• Fastlane & Cloudraker

• Punch-Counterpunch

• The Monsterbots

• The Targetmasters — Kup, Hot Rod and Blurr were retooled to be 5mm peg compatible so that they could use Targetmasters this year. The other Targetmaster moulds were all made with 5mm pegs in mind.

• The Headmasters — Fortress Maximus was the only Headmaster not to use 5mm pegs exclusively. Nearly all his accessories and the weapons for his smaller components were 5mm pegs. However his larger rifles were so huge they used much, much larger peg sizes which are not compatible with any other Transformers mould.

DECEPTICONS

• The Terrorcons — Blot and Cutthroat are the only small Special Teams members outside the Aerialbots not to have alt mode weapons with 5mm posts. Blot has a backpack, and Cutthroat has a transforming tail weapon, instead.

• Slugfest & Overkill

• Pounce & Wingspan

• Sixshot

• The Targetmasters — Cyclonus and Scourge were retooled to be able to use the 5mm pegs associated with Targetmasters and released again as part of this range.

• The Headmasters — Scorponok is the only Decepticon Headmaster not to use 5mm pegs universally. Most of his accessories use them, except for his four large double-barrelled cannons and his shield, which has a slightly wider peg hole. The shield does have a hollow 5mm peg on it, though, allowing you to mount a Mini-con on the shield. Sweet! Oh yeah, that does mean, by the way, that his tremendously enormous rifle does use both 5mm pegs and 5mm peg holes. Fasttrack doesn't use 5mm pegs for his hands, but his arms are mounted on 5mm pegs, so you can give him all sorts of crazy gun arms.

1988

5mm pegs on Pretenders: A demonstration.

1988 introduced a new line dependent on the 5mm peg, the Pretenders. As mentioned above, in the section on multiple posts and double posts, the Pretender shells all had 5mm pegs, while their robots had smaller (less universally sized) pegs. Pretenders usually had at least one weapon (sometimes more) that was meant for both the shell and the inner robot. For the 1988 Pretenders, these weapons had multiple pegs on them, allowing different components to hold them in different ways. These weapons were also usually a part of the Pretender's vehicle mode, and mounted on them in that mode using 5mm pegs.

Later Pretenders used double-posting instead of multiple-posting, so that the inner robots often lacked the 5mm compatibility in their vehicle modes that earlier Pretenders enjoyed. But for 1988 it was 5mm compatible city!

AUTOBOTS

• Grand Slam & Raindance

• The Targetmasters

• The Headmasters — Unlike in 1987, the 1988 Autobot Headmasters had two sets of weapons with different post sizes. There was a single main rifle for the main robot with a 5mm post, and two smaller pistols that were both vehicle mode weapons and antennae for the robots' head.

• The Powermasters. — Powermaster Prime in particular is notable because his weapons are massive, badass and freakin' awesome. You know they are. Admit it.

• Quickswitch

• The Pretenders — Including the regular Pretenders, Pretender Beasts and Gunrunner, the Pretender Vehicle.

DECEPTICONS

That gun mode stinks!

• The Seacons — Because of his Targetmaster gimmick, Piranacon is the only Generation 1 combiner robot without 5mm post hole fists. Instead he has special ports for the square pegs which are used as part of the Special Teams style combination. Each of the five smaller Seacons also come with a special Targetmaster stand which allows them to use their gun forms independent of Piranacon. The stand is divided into three parts, a connector, a post and a base. The post is moulded to look like a large rifle and has multiple posts on it letting it be held as a weapon both by the small Seacons and by anyone with a 5mm fist. The connector has a 5mm post hole and can be used to mount the Seacons on Mini-Con ports or other similar gun posts when in gun mode, how awesome is that?

• Squawktalk & Beastbox

• The Targetmasters

• The Headmasters — The small Decepticon Headmasters did not have two sets of weapons like their Autobot counterpart and relied entirely on 5mm posts.

• The Powermasters — Doubledealer came with a special Powermaster Engine cover with a 5mm post on it. The post is hollow, allowing you to mount a Mini-Con on it.

• The Pretenders — Including the regular Pretenders, Pretender Beasts and Roadgrabber, the Pretender Vehicle.

1989

This year introduced the Micromasters, as well as introducing a truck load more Pretenders. The Micromasters emphasised inter-compatibility in a way Transformers hadn't really done before. All the bases were able to connect through special ramps, and all the weapons for the bases used 5mm posts. The Micromasters themselves all had small post holes in their feet that corresponded to small posts all over the bases — letting you stand them freely. The Micromasters' association with 5mm pegs would continue through into the Japanese toy lines, and would be reflected in the Mini-Cons who would come down the pipeline many years later.

As we mentioned above the Pretenders this year were a little less 5mm compatible. While the first year Pretenders generally had 5mm ports on their vehicle modes as well as their Pretender shells, those 5mm posts disappeared on most of the inner robots for this year. Instead of using multiple posts on the same weapon more toys this year used a double-post.

AUTOBOTS

Literally all the Autobot Pretenders from this year used 5mm posts. All of the Micromaster bases and transports except for Overload and Hot House used 5mm posts for their weapon accessories. Hot House and Overload don't really have any accessories, so that's understandable.

• Pincher, Doubleheader and Longtooth
• Classic Pretenders — Bumblebee, Grimlock and Jazz. These toys were re-released without their shells as Legends. They only came with their smaller weapons, which are double-posted. While the inner robots can't hold 5mm weapons their weapons can be used with other toys. Bumblebee and Jazz's guns were switched for the Legends release, so if you're pedantic about continuity feel free to give Jazz's gun to Classics Bumblebee without feeling guilty.
• Crossblades and Vroom
• Skyhammer

• Erector and his Crane — Erector's weapons are all 5mm posts. While Erector's trailer hitch is not a 5mm post it is hollow and works as a 5mm port, allowing Erector to connect to other TFs and bases like a Mini-con.
• Ironworks's Construction station — In station mode, Ironworks's base has two hollow 5mm posts on its scaffolding section. These are completely compatible with Mini-cons. In windmill... errr... radar tower mode these two pegs are used to mount the scaffolding to the tower, so aren't accessible.
• Groundshaker's ATV and Countdown's Rocket base

DECEPTICONS All the Decepticon Micromaster bases and transports were 5mm compatible this year in some capacity. The Pretenders also, except for the Monster Pretenders.

• Monstructor — As with nearly all combiners, Monstructor uses 5mm fist holes. However none of the individual Monster Pretenders do. Their shell covers sometimes have relatively inaccessible 5mm posts or ports for Monstructor's accessories, but that is more-or-less the extent of their compatibility.
• Octopunch, Stranglehold and Bludgeon
• Classic Pretenders Starscream — Also available as a Legends figure without any of the 5mm compatibility conferred by his shell.
• Thunderwing
• Roadblock

• Flattop's Aircraft carrier and Roughstuff and his Military transport — Roughstuff's are the only large Micromaster weapons without 5mm posts, making him far less compatible with other toys than he should be. However his trailer hitch is a 5mm post and port. That might be of... some use.
• Greasepit's Gas station and Airwave's Airport — Greasepit has a host of little 5mm post accessories that aren't weapons like a set of petrol pumps and a street sign. Airwave's compatibility is limited to having several 5mm ports on the top of his base's station mode.
• Skyhopper's Helicopter and Skystalker's Interstellar shuttle

1990

Action Masters pretty much dropped the 5mm posts in favour of a smaller standard-sized peg. Some of the bases use 5mm posts for their weapon systems, but for the most part this was the end of 5mm pegs being universal in Transformers for a very long time -- it wouldn't happen again until the Unicron Trilogy, almost a decade later.

AUTOBOTS

• Lionizer. Because of his beard he actually has a double-post, so he has a 5mm post, though it's very tight.

• Prowl's Turbo Cycle. — His engine intakes have a 5mm port, so they can be mounted on Mini-con pegs if you'd like, and his wheel section has a 5mm post. The rest of his accessories use the more standard smaller pegs used by Action Masters.
• Over-Run. — While both he and his helicopter aren't really 5mm compatible, he does have hand-held missile launchers with 5mm post holes on them. They can be mounted on Mini-Con ports, or you can mount 5mm guns on top of them while Over-Run is holding them -- but good luck keeping his arms up. There's a couple of posts on the back of his helicopter as well.
• Optimus Prime's Armored Convoy — Has a bunch of black guns and orange guns with 5mm posts. Yes, you can give all these weapons to Classics Primes. The black guns have hollow posts and so can be mounted on Mini-Cons. The entire Armored Convoy, both cab and trailer, is littered with 5mm ports.

• Missile Launcher (with Retro & Surge) and Tanker Truck (with Pipeline & Gusher) — Both bases have a new mould Micromaster ramp with a double-peg on it. Unfortunately it's very hard to access, and not very effective as a shield for other toys The combiner bases also extensively use 5mm ports and pegs for all their weapons, and even their main combining pegs. This means they can be connected to each other, or to any other 5mm pegs or ports.
• Battlefield Headquarters with Full-Barrel & Overflow

DECEPTICONS

• Megatron's Neutro-Fusion Tank
• Gutcruncher's Stratotronic Jet — His missiles have 5mm post holes, rather than 5mm posts. This means you can mount his missiles on mini-con ports or other similar 5mm posts.

Blackout and shout!

• Cannon Transport with Terror-Tread & Cement-Head — Features the same 5mm compatibility as the Autobot Combiner Transports.
• Anti-Aircraft Base with Blackout & Spaceshot — Is one of the most versatile 5mm-compatible toys of all time. All up the base features eight 5mm ports, seven 5mm posts and a variety of different accessories. The base's main guns are designed to peg onto 5mm posts so can be used with mini-con ports. The base's radar equipment and additional weapons are all designed with 5mm posts. Even the base's ramp features a 5mm port, rather than the limited 5mm post of the Micromaster Combiner Transports. The four 5mm posts on the base proper are hollow, also allowing them to be used as mini-con ports.

UK Generation 1

After Generation 1 ended in the US it continued in the UK unabated. Well, a little bit abated. It wasn't as big as it was. The UK line at first consisted of redecos of Japanese toys and Action Masters that hadn't made it to America. After that they continued to produce their own toys. Okay... but what does that have to do with 5mm pegs? Well, sadly, not much. The UK lines did not make extensive use of 5mm pegs, even when they really should have (we're looking at you, Predator jets). The compatibility of these toys is incredibly limited.

1991

The Action Masters from this year didn't use 5mm pegs at all, meaning that there were only three toys this year with 5mm pegs.

AUTOBOTS

• Flame, Gripper, Lightspeed. — The Motorvators, being recycled Japanese toys, used 5mm pegs as standard for their weapons. Their weapons had two sets of pegs letting them be held as swords or guns.

1992

This year introduced the Turbomasters and Predators. Even though both sets of toys (who all have massive guns) would have benefitted from 5mm posts, only two toys out of the entire line have them.

AUTOBOTS

• Rotorstorm

Stalk 'er? I hardly knew 'er.

DECEPTICONS

• Stalker — Unlike Rotorstorm his hands are not 5mm pegs. Instead the ports on his shoulders are 5mm pegs -- his massive missile and his radar dish are on 5mm posts. His lack of 5mm hands is made up for by two screw holes on his wrists which are 5mm holes, allowing him to hold guns there.

1993

AUTOBOTS

• Pyro

DECEPTICONS

• Clench

Japanese Generation 1

There's not a lot to say about Japanese Generation 1. The main thing is that there are more Micromasters. More Micromasters means more 5mm pegs.

The first few lines that the Japanese marketed independently were mostly reuses of American moulds, with only a few differences. Basically if the American version can use 5mm pegs, so can the Japanese version. In these cases there's only a handful of toys that need pointing out as independent and unique but the overall line was generally a mess of 5mm pegs everywhere.

Headmasters

Most of this line was just American release toys repackaged. Basically all of them were 5mm compatible. Almost all of the moulds unique to the Japanese line were also 5mm compatible.

CYBERTRONS

• Stepper and Artfire. — Jazz and Inferno, two previously non-compatible toys, were retooled and redecoed in Headmasters and used as Targetmasters. Artfire's fists are expanded to allow him to hold his targetmaster gun Nightstick. Stepper meanwhile has Jazz's missile launcher replaced by a plug-in port to allow him to use his Targetmaster unit Nebulon as a shoulder cannon.
• Billy Blaster Twincast — Redeco and slight retool of G1 Blaster.

• Graphy, Noise, Dial and Saur
• Raiden — Like Devastator before him (well, sorta), Raiden can use 5mm weapons while his components cannot.

DESTRONS

• Soundblaster — Redeco and slight retool of G1 Soundwave.

Masterforce

Again, Masterforce is almost entirely American moulds, but this time there's more redecos. There's a few retools, and a handful of new moulds too, with 5mm compatibility.

CYBERTRONS

• Metalhawk — He's a Pretender. And what have we learned so far? That's right: Pretenders are 5mm compatible.

• Super Ginrai and Godbomber — Ginrai is a retool of Powermaster Optimus Prime, with brand new hands. Brand new retractable 5mm hands! (To replace his old unretractable 5mm hands!) Godbomber is designed to be compatible with Ginrai, to use his accessories and to merge with him, so he gets to be 5mm compatible too. Sweet.
• Grand Maximus — Fortress Maximus with a new deco and some new accessories. He's compatible with 5mm pegs in the same way as Fortress Maximus, and his new parts are mostly a Pretender shell with some extra weapons. Pretender shell? Well, we know what that means!

DESTRONS

• Overlord — Does not have 5mm pegs for his hands, but has limited compatibility thanks to a handful of 5mm holes and some 5mm pegs on his smaller accessories. This toy was also released in Europe in 1992.
• Browning — As well as multiple sets of fists, Browning also has 5mm post holes on his shoulders for added shoulder cannon action.

• BlackZarak — A retool of G1 Scorponok with a new robot mode head and some new weapons. He's 5mm compatible in the same ways as Scorponok, but with updated Gold Plastic Syndrome compatibility to boot.

Victory

Victory was radically different from the American toy line of the time. Most of the toys were unique to Japan, and most of them had 5mm compatibility to some extent.

• Star Saber, Victory Leo and their combined form Victory Saber
• Blacker, Laster, Braver and their combined form Road Caesar
• Landcross — While the individual components are not generally 5mm compatible, Landcross has 5mm fists. Some of his components have 5mm holes on their vehicle modes for storing merge parts.
• Galaxy Shuttle — Dude's basically a Micromaster toy, of course he's 5mm compatible.

• Greatshot — A retool and redeco of Sixshot.

DESTRONS

• Liokaiser — As with most every merge group, Liokaiser's fists are 5mm pegs. His individual components are mostly not 5mm compatible. Leozack has 5mm ports, and Gaihawk and Hellbat have 5mm posts, used in merging. Killbison's tank mode guns are on a 5mm plug, which becomes Liokaiser's hand-held weapons. None of these ports and plugs are particularly accessible or useful. Unless you want to give Leozack gun knees, which... who wouldn't want to?

• Dinoking — A redeco of Monstructor with new Pretender shells, he's 5mm compatible in exactly the same way.
• Black Shadow and Blue Bacchus — Retools and redecos of Crossblades and Thunderwing.

Zone

Zone is basically the Japanese equivalent of the American Micromasters line. Most of the toys were straight repackagings of the American releases, with basically no changes. The rest were either new Micromaster bases (with 5mm weapons) or redecos of American bases. 5mm compatibility had been more or less the norm for Japanese Generation 1, and Zone would cement their place with only the individual Micromasters not being fully 5mm compatible.

CYBERTRONS

• Dai Atlas, Sonic Bomber, Road Fire and their merged form Big Powered
• Landshaker and Sky Hyper — Redecos of Groundshaker and Sky Hopper's bases with new pilots and the same ole weapons.

DESTRONS

• Metrotitan — Dude, a crazy Decepticon redeco of Metroplex. Just as compatible with 5mm pegs as Metroplex ever was. But more blue.

Return of Convoy

Is there nothing they can't do?!

Yup, Optimus Prime got a new toy this year. Yawn. What we're really interested in is two brand new concepts. First of all all the Micromaster patrols were re-released this year, and packaged with brand new Micro Trailers. Secondly we were introduced to six-member Micromaster combiner teams which merge more traditionally than the American Micromaster combiners.

The Micro Trailers were simple launchers for the Micromasters, and there were (including the three packaged with the bulks from this year) 14 in all. From a 5mm compatibility point of view these things are incredible. They're designed to combine, pegging into each other. The result is two hollow 5mm posts, and two 5mm ports on each little trailer. You can load them up with weapons, plug Mini-Cons into them or just have larger robots hold them as weapons. Just to add to it they've got ports for American Micromaster Combiners to tow them with, connectors for Micromaster ramps, and a tab to let Sky Garry carry them. Interactivity? You freakin' bet.

The six member combiners are significant because they are the first (and to date only) combiner teams to use 5mm pegs to connect actual robots together. The six Micromasters in each team combine around a frame that makes up the torso, head and thighs of the robot. The shoulders of this frame use hollow 5mm pegs to connect its arms. It's significant because it means that the arm components for all the six member Micromaster combiners have large 5mm ports, allowing them to peg onto 5mm posts -- like Mini-con pegs, for example.

CYBERTRONS

• Grandus, Sky Garry, and Star Convoy
• Micro Trailers #0 to 12, and Star Convoy's Micro Trailer.

• Sixliner — Sixliner was the first of the six member Micromaster combiner teams. He had 5mm compatible fists, a 5mm compatible gun (with two hollow 5mm pegs on the side) and oddly enough 5mm compatible toes. His combiner parts can all become carriages for the train modes of his individual Micromasters. His main torso section has three hollow 5mm posts on it, allowing it to mount Mini-cons, or to be held by larger robots as a strange gun (which you can then mount Mini-Cons on). Sixliner's arms, Leaf and Alan connect to him via 5mm ports that can be used to peg them on any 5mm posts.

Operation Combination

The last gasp of Generation 1 in Japan. This line was a mish-mash of new moulds, redecos of old moulds and UK imports.

The most important part of the line from our point of view right now is the new six member Micromaster combiners. There was a retool of Sixliner, and 3 entirely new mould teams. The three new teams use a generic body frame which uses far more 5mm pegs than the Sixliner body. The head and feet, as well as the shoulders, now connect by 5mm posts. This new versatility meant that four members of the team, not just two, could peg onto 5mm posts. The parts of these new combiners could also merge into a jet -- but if you merge them into a jet you can't use the parts as weapons for larger robots, and who wants that? No one.

CYBERTRONS

• Sixturbo — His arms and legs, Circuit, Neo-Wheel, Discharge and Sireen all have 5mm ports.
• Sixbuilder — His arms and legs, Digger, Iron Lift, Mixing and Treader all have 5mm ports.
• Sixwing — His arms and legs, Falcon, Flanker, Raker and Supersonic all have 5mm ports.

• Guard City — A redeco, barely, of Generation 1 Defensor. Compatible in exactly the same way as the original mould.
• Sixtrain — A retool of Sixliner. His arms Atlan and Raise have 5mm ports.

DESTRONS

• Battle Gaia — A redeco of Generation 1 Bruticus. Compatible in exactly the same way as the original mould.

Generation 2

Come 1993 and Transformers was given a rebirth, both in the US (who hadn't had toys on the shelves since 1990) and in the rest of the world. It was called Generation 2. Generation 2 was a mixture of vintage Generation 1 Diaclone-based toys, redecos of toys released in the UK and later on a whole slew of brand new moulds created just for that line.

Generation 2 was only moderately 5mm friendly. The old moulds retained their old compatibilities, and the new moulds tended to be much smaller toys that weren't able to have large fist holes. Still, there are a handful of new and interesting toys with 5mm compatibility, and many of them would go on to be prominent toys in later lines as well.

1993

AUTOBOTS

• Optimus Prime — This toy is a redeco and retool of Generation 1 Optimus Prime. The main difference now is the addition of a voice pack with two 5mm post holes on it and the addition of two brand-new hand-held missile launchers with 5mm posts. This added versatility has basically never been carried forwards to other re-releases of the mould.
• Jazz and Sideswipe — These two (redecos of the g1 toys) are NOT 5mm compatible, but their missile launchers have a double-post, making their guns 5mm compatible.

DECEPTICONS

• Devastator — This toy was released twice in two different new decos, but it's still the same tooling as the Generation 1 toy with the same compatibilities.
• Ramjet and Starscream — Redecos of the Generation 1 toys with the same compatibilities. They also have new missile launchers (that actually launch!) and a new sound box, but neither of these really adds any new compatibility to the toys.
• Megatron — This is the first new Gen2 exclusive mould created for the American toy line. It's also the first new mould with 5mm fists.

1994

AUTOBOTS

• Superion — A redeco of the Generation 1 toy, with the same very very limited compatibility, but with the added bonus of Gold Plastic Syndrome.
• Silverbolt — A redeco of the Generation 1 toy, unlike the original toy this Silverbolt is retooled to have 5mm post holes on his wings, for a pair of new missile launchers (which he shares with the Skyraiders.)

• Hero Optimus Prime
• Electro and Volt.

DECEPTICONS

• Bruticus and the Combaticons — A slightly retooled and extensively redecoed version of the original toy with the same basic compatibilities. Onslaught also has a new missile launcher which is 5mm compatible.

• Hero Megatron
• Sizzle and Jolt

1995

The last year of Generation 2 was getting more and more experimental, with toys with all kinds of different gimmicks, all kinds of brand new features. Unfortunately this year also saw a severe downsizing of the toys -- smaller toys became the standard. That left room for only one toy this year with 5mm fists and accessories.

AUTOBOTS

• Laser Optimus Prime — Probably because of a decided downturn in the SIZE of individual toys in 1995, Laser Optimus Prime is the only toy this year with 5mm pegs.

Beast Wars

Share and share alike.

After Generation 2, 5mm posts took a pasting. Suddenly they just weren't standard any more. If Generation 2 was experimental in its last days, then Beast Wars was even more experimental. There were basically no singular standards for this line. Characters were completely self-contained play patterns, based around their animal modes. As the line evolved general gimmicks, again based on the aesthetics of the toy rather than their play pattern, began to dominate. The only place that 5mm post holes were generally universal were the larger scale Ultra toys who mostly featured 5mm hands.

Tolerances are a big issue with Beast Wars toys with 5mm posts, the following list is as comprehensive as it can be, but you might find you struggle to use the 5mm compatibility on some of your toys. In the testing phase different samples ranged from impossibly tight, to perfect, to really loose.

1996

MAXIMALS

• Dinobot — Dinobots's weapons and accessories and hands are all 5mm posts. This is great, seeing as this mould was released again, and again, and again. His famous rotating blade weapon has a 5mm post hole in it that allows it to mount on a 5mm post on his dinosaur mode back. This is especially useful for mounting the tail weapon on his back in robot mode.
• Polar Claw
• Ultra Optimus Primal
• Wolfang Has 5mm screw holes in his robot back, and a non-screw 5mm hole in his head--these are almost useless. However, his waist kibble has minicon-compatible pegs, as does the front of his shield.

1997

MAXIMALS

• Grimlock — A redeco of the Beast Wars Dinobot mould with the same compatibility.
• Ironhide and Magnaboss — Silverbolt and Prowl are not 5mm compatible, but Ironhide, Magnaboss' sword, and Magnaboss are. The small hollow pegs on Ironhide's elephant shell halves are NOT 5mm, but the size of the inner hole is such that they DO grip minincons.
• B'Boom

PREDACONS

• Ramhorn and Tripredacus — Ramhorn has 5mm hands, giving Tripredacus one 5mm hand too. The other members of the team are not 5mm compatible.
• Inferno

1998

MAXIMALS

• Transmetal Cheetor — His fists are an unconventional shape, but hold 5mm weapons just fine.
• Transmetal Optimus Primal
• Optimal Optimus — While he doesn't have 5mm peg holes for his fists, he does have 5mm pegs on his wrists, (on angles, so their use is limited) and he DOES have hollow 5mm pegs (perfect for Mini-Cons) on his rifle! On his shoulders are a couple of other 5mm pegs too.

• Torca

PREDACONS

• Transmetal Megatron
• Transmetal Rampage
• Botcon Antagony

1999

MAXIMALS

• Optimus Minor — His hand is a hollow 5mm peg that allows him to hold a Mini-con, and
• Tigerhawk

PREDACONS

• Transmetal II Megatron

Beast Wars II

Beast Wars II was a Japanese only line capitalising on the success of Beast Wars. It's mostly a redeco line, with a handful of brand new toys or moulds. There's a bunch of old toys in this line with 5mm compatibility, and a few retools and redecos. There's only one new mould. Lio Convoy looks like he should have them, but his fists are actually a bit bigger than the 5mm standard.

CYBERTRONS Santon and Magnaboss — Redecos of Beast Wars Ironhide and Magnaboss.

DESTRONS

• Autolauncher
• Megastorm
• Gigastorm
• Thrustor
• God Neptune
• Galvatron

Beast Wars Neo

CYBERTRONS

• Big Convoy
• Longrack

DESTRONS

• Hardhead
• Elephorca