Size class
Size class is how Hasbro determines the size and price of a toy. It also determines the amount of budget spent on the production of a toy, such as paint or electronics.
Size class has not been consistent from line to line, with names often changed to affect marketability.
Beast Wars
Beast Wars had five size classes. The cheapest, with the price around US$5, was Basic. Deluxe was the next cheapest, being around US$10 in price. The two smallest classes are sold on cards to this day. The next step is Mega, with a price of US$15. Toys of this size were often shelfwarmers. Only six toys were sold as the next largest size, Ultra, with a price of US$20. The largest size, Super, was only attained by one toy, Optimal Optimus, which was sold for US$35. All of the classes larger than Deluxe were, and are, sold in boxes.
Beast Machines
Beast Machines continued Beast Wars' size classes, but increased the price of Basic to US$7 while lowering the price of Super to US$30. Supreme was introduced as a US$40 size class; Cheetor was the only Supreme in this line; a Supreme Optimus Primal toy was planned to be in this line, but was moved to Robots in Disguise. Two other size classes were added, Deployers and Beast Riders. The size of Ultra toys were increased while maintaining the price.
Robots in Disguise
Robots in Disguise used the Beast Machines size classes, though the Basic price point was once again lowered to US$5.
Armada
The Armada toyline replaced the Basic price-point with packs of three Mini-Cons, thus establishing it as the Mini-Con pricepoint. It renamed or repurposed every other price point as well; the Deluxe pricepoint was renamed Super-Con, while the old US$15 Mega size class was effectively discontinued, taken up by role-play toys like Laserbeak.
The old "Ultra" size class became Max-Con, and a new size class priced at US $25, Giga-Con, was introduced. The US$40 class (formerly Supreme) was renamed Super-Base, and the US$50 class was introduced simply as "Unicron".
Universe
Universe used the Beast Wars size classes, but only had Deluxe and Ultra. After the Universe line as such had effectively ended, repackaged Energon toys were sold on Universe cards as discount chain exclusives, divided into the price points Basic (US$2) and Deluxe (US$5).
Energon
Energon took a somewhat random approach to size-class naming. The second pack-in catalog introduced the size classes as Energon (basic), Combat (deluxe), Mega Combat (mega), Commanders (ultra), and Leaders (the former "Super Base"), with no size-class for Unicron.
The third catalog explicitly referred to the price points as Energon Class, Combat Class, Mega Class, Command Class and Leaders Class, with no class listed for Omega Supreme. The fourth and final catalog continued using the terms originated by the third (although listed no price points for the combiners), but finally listed Omega Supreme as Supreme Class.
Cybertron
Cybertron changed the naming of some size classes, but retained others. Basic was changed to Scout and Mega to Voyager. A new class, Mini-Con, was added for the Mini-Con two-packs, and was set at US$5. The Legends of Cybertron figures are set at US$4 at Toys "R" Us, but varied at the drug stores the figures were first released at.
Classics
Classics so far has only the Scout, Deluxe and Voyager size classes.
