Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2001 toyline)

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

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When the Transtech toyline concept was dropped, Hasbro needed additional time to develop a new franchise to follow the Beast Era. In 2000, the company therefore opted to bring over Takara's Transformers: Car Robots line, rebranding the toyline as Transformers: Robots in Disguise.

The Car Robots line consisted of a group of new-mold toys, along with several redecorated toys from previous lines.

As sales rose and more toys were needed, Hasbro added in still more redecorated toys to pad the line out toward its end. By the time all was said and done, Robots in Disguise included molds from Generation 1, Generation 2, Beast Wars, Machine Wars, and Beast Machines—in other words, every American toyline that had been produced to that point. Several cancelled/delayed/unproduced molds from previous lines were brought out as well, such as Air Attack Optimus Primal.

The line is therefore marked by an extremely wide variation in quality, complexity, realism and posability. At one end of the spectrum were fairly simple designs from previous lines, such as the Commandos and Spy Changers. On the flip side, most of Takara's original mold designs were extremely complex, often to the point of frustrating fans with their origami-like shellformer transformations that required stuffing robotic bits just so to make them all fit together in vehicle form — though some fans also found this same complexity to be an enjoyable challenge.

Several elements introduced by Robots in Disguise would recur in the subsequent Unicron Trilogy and various other storylines, such as Optimus Prime combining with other major toys, and Prime and Ultra Magnus as brothers.

Robots in Disguise was the first (and thus far, the only) time an existing Japanese line was brought over wholesale to the US. Though the toys were new to the line's primary audience of children, many fans had already paid considerably higher prices to import the toys from Japan. Despite this, the line was met with a generally positive reception by fans (particularly those who'd found import prices to be more than they were willing to dish out), and seemed to sell well enough to kids as well, if the number of later redeco additions to the line is any indication.

Some minor changes were made to the Hasbro releases of the toys, most notably the application of tampographed faction symbols.

Car Robots

2000

Cybertrons

Super Fire Convoy/RID Optimus Prime, the largest vehicular toy since Optimal Optimus.
Known as the "3 Car Robot Brothers", the preceding three molds share highly realistic vehicle forms and complicated, shellforming transformation schemes.
The Spychanger group were redecorated Generation 2 Go-Bot molds. The toys featured faction symbols hidden by heat-sensitive paint.
Known as Team Shinkansen, these three Takara-original molds can combine into JRX.
The Flipchangers originated as canceled G2 items, though they had previously surfaced in Machine Wars.
The Buildmasters share a very blocky aesthetic which conceals a complex design, allowing them to combine in multiple ways.
God Magnus can combine with Fire Convoy to form God Fire Convoy.

Destrongers/Combatrons

Gigatron - the only new-mold bad guy in the line.
Known as the "3 Metal Beast Brothers" in the toyline, the preceding three molds were redecoed from Beast Wars basics.
The five Combatrons were redecos of the Generation 1 Combaticons.

Exclusives

JUSCO

Transparent redecos of the Spychangers were only available from JUSCO stores as direct-mail premiums to members of their "Peppy Kids Republic" (元気キッズ共和国, Genki Kidzu Kyōwakoku), a sort of subsidiary/offshoot for selling baby goods and children's clothing. Since membership was open only to kids 12 and under and these versions were shipped blind-packed, getting the entire set of six was extremely difficult.
Super Indy Heat was only available with the purchase of a JRX giftset.

Daiei

Super Wrecker Hook was only available with the purchase of a Build King giftset.

Toys R Us

Osaka Toys Land Show/Super Festival 19/BotCon Japan 2000

  • S(uper) Car Robo 3 Kyodai Set <Clear Version> (Sカーロボ3兄弟セット <クリアーバージョン>, includes C-024-S Wild Ride, C-025-S Mach Alert, & C-026-S Speedbreaker)

Robots in Disguise

2001

Basic

Wave 1

Wave 2

The North American releases of the Spychangers dropped the heat-sensitive faction symbols, but added additional detailing not present on the Japanese toys. Several molds that were developed for G2 but never released were added to the ranks, as well as several entirely new molds representing characters from the line who had larger toys.

Wave 3

Deluxe

Wave 1

Wave 2

Wave 3

Wave 4

Mega

Wave 1

Wave 2

Ultra

Wave 1

Super

2002

Basic

Wave 4

Wave 5

Deluxe

Wave 5

Wave 6

Mega

Wave 3

Ultra

Wave 2

Exclusives

KB Toys

KB Toys/Target

Target

Toys R Us

Wal-Mart

2003

Tiny Tins

Exclusives

KB Toys

Target

Wal-Mart

Car Bot

In 2003, Takara-licensor Sonokong imported the Car Robots line into the Korean market as Jeonguiui Yongsa: Car Bot (정의의 용사 카봇, "Brave Heroes of Justice: Car-Bots"). For the most part, these imports followed the Japanese toy line, with only cosmetic changes on the boxes. At the tail end of the line, however, Sonokong repackaged several Destrons from the older Beast Wars II line in Car Bot boxes; the toys themselves were unchanged, which meant that the figures who were sold as heroic Cybertrons still had the Predacon insignia on them. While most of these re-releases had new names, the Sonokong line also re-released Beast Wars II Galvatron as the Destronger "Gigatron Z", seemingly an additional version of Car Robots Gigatron/Robots in Disguise Megatron.

Cybertrons

Gigatron Z in Korean Carbot Packaging

Destrongers

Innovations and lasting effects

  • Like Beast Wars before it, Robots in Disguise also integrated the robots' weapons and accessories into their alternate modes, now applying the concept to Transformers who transform into vehicles as well.
  • Robots in Disguise firmly established redecos of previously released toys from the same line marketed as the same characters as the older toys (as compared to different characters), with the accompanying fiction often identifying the new decos as the result of a "power-up".
  • Robots in Disguise also introduced trilingual packaging to the United States market, which would last four years.
  • While store exclusives had existed since almost the beginning of the brand, the expanded Robots in Disguise line was when the concept really took off beyond "three or four exclusives for an entire line".

Notes

Foreign names

  • French: Les Robots Mutants (France), Robots Déguisés (Canada)
  • German: Getarnte Roboter
  • Spanish: Transformers: Robots Camuflados (America)
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