Machine Wars: Transformers
Machine Wars was line of Transformers released in 1997 as a Kay-Bee Toy Works exclusive. Apparently the line was an attempt to bring vehicular characters and popular names back into Transformers. Only one wave of figures was produced, and memory of the line has mostly faded.
It is speculated that the line was a "stopgap" measure due to very early ideas (which Hasbro ultimately did not go through with) having been told to fans at BotCon 1996 by the Hasbro representative there, Anthony Gaud, and Hasbro putting together a quick line to capitalize on the rapacious hunger of the fandom for vehicle-form toys. The line is entirely old molds; four small molds originally developed for Generation 2, and four larger toys released in the final year of Generation 1 in European markets. The card artwork is often cited as a testament to rushed production; many of the packages have character art from different toys, altered to very vaguely resemble the toy inside the package.
Machine Wars' placement within the larger fiction is questionable at best, as there was no form of accompanying fiction, or even a story-establishing packaging blurb. Ten of the twelve toys are blatantly returning Generation 1 characters in new bodies, and as such many fans have taken to thinking these forms appeared "after" Generation 2. However, the bio for the e-hobby exclusive black G1 Starscream mentions his Machine Wars form in the past tense. Of course, the e-hobby bios are also generally very nebulous in when they take place.
