Transformers: Generations (toyline)

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The name or term "Generations" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Generations (disambiguation).
Insignia-like logo used on packaging for late 2014-onward Generations toys, in combination with the new generic Transformers logo.

Transformers: Generations is a line of figures launched in 2010. Like the earlier 2006 Classics and 2008 Universe lines, along with much of the 2010 Transformers line, it aims to recreate older Transformers characters as new toys and celebrate the history of the brand. The line lapsed after the end of 2011, but was relaunched in mid-2012 and has run continuously ever since.

The Generations line can be divided into three "eras", each of which saw a new logo and new packaging designs.

Original line (2010–2011)

The initial Generations line featured only Deluxe Class toys, and included both characters from the concurrently released War for Cybertron video game, and “modernised G1” figures in the spirit of the previous Classics and Universe toylines. In a first for the franchise, the Drift toy and its Blurr retool were based directly on designs created by Guido Guidi for IDW's Generation 1 comic universe. The earlier waves of figures sported advertising for The Hub or War for Cybertron.

Deluxe Class (general retail)

RETRIBUTION!
I'm just a miner.
And that's when Hasbro ran out of movie-era Decepticons.

Wave 1

ToysЯUs and online retailers like Entertainment Earth and BigBadToyStore received special cases containing only Cybertronian Optimus Prime and Cybertronian Bumblebee as a promotional tie in for the release of the War for Cybertron video game before the general release of the Generations toyline.

Wave 2

Wave 3

Wave 4

Wave 5

Wave 6

Wave 7

Wave 8

Wave 9


Asian market exclusives ("GDO")

Asian market exclusive packaging for Cliffjumper, Springer, Swerve and Wheelie (top) and North American market ToysЯUs exclusive packaging (bottom).
Voyager Class "Protectobot Hot Spot", not named "Hot Zone" unlike previous toys.

In mid-2012, Hasbro's Asian division released a variety of redecos and retools in their markets such as China, Singapore and the Philippines. This lineup, which featured the same general packaging design as the 2010–2011 figures, introduced the first non-Deluxe toys in the line (as Generations had been limited to the Deluxe price point up to that point). Western online retailers referred to these figures under the mysterious term "GDO" (which was later revealed to be an abbreviation for "Global Development Organization"[1]).

Hasbro's United States and Canadian divisions later decided to release all these figures in North America as well, as a massive batch of ToysЯUs exclusives for the 2012 holiday shopping season. Strangely, while the Asian market versions were released in standard English-only packaging, the versions available in the United States and Canada came in bilingual English/Chinese packaging. Also, the Deluxes came packaged in their alternate modes, whereas the Asian versions were packaged in robot mode.

Legends Class

Scout Class

Deluxe Class

Voyager Class

Brawn was intended as part of the GDO lineup. The newly created head sculpt would later be used by TakaraTomy for their version of Brawn released under the Cloud line.

Leader Class

The Leader Class figures were only released in Generations packaging in Hasbro's Asian markets. While their United States releases were canceled, they were released in Canada, albeit in bilingual Dark of the Moon packaging with additional Movie Trilogy Series labels for whatever reason.

Fall of Cybertron and Thrilling 30 (2012–2014)

Fall of Cybertron (2012–2013)


After a six-month hiatus, the Generations line was relaunched mid-2012, starting out the Fall of Cybertron toyline with eight Deluxe Class figures. The line continued into 2013, with Legends and Voyager Classes being introduced too. Unlike the previous Legends Class, now absorbed into Cyberverse under the name 'Legion Class', these new products consisted of two-packs of data disc Deployer figures designed to interact with the Voyager Class Soundwave mold.

Legends Class (Series 01)

You'll need more than a glass of water to swallow this tablet.

Wave 1

Wave 2


Deluxe Class (Series 01)

Another line, another Prime.
And Rotorstorm gets the last laugh.

Wave 1

Wave 2

The five Combaticons introduced in wave 2 combine into Decepticon Bruticus.

Wave 3

Wave 4

The five Wreckers introduced in wave 4 combine into Ruination.


Voyager Class (Series 01)

This time, I brought backup!

Wave 1

Wave 2


Thrilling 30 (2013–2014)


In mid-2013, Generations was rebranded to become part of Hasbro's Thrilling 30 anniversary campaign, which saw the line return to the Classics/Universe-style updates of older characters. This refresh was notable for introducing close ties with IDW Publishing's Transformers material – many toys were based on designs from comics, and for the US market*, every Deluxe figure was packaged with a comic issue. The format of Legends Class was also changed, now including a vaguely Cyberverse Commander-sized figure with a smaller, triple-changing partner. Thrilling 30 saw two new size classes introduced to the line – 2013 featured the huge Titan Class Metroplex figure, whilst 2014 debuted Leader Class with Jetfire.

For 2013, toys featured packaging art by Clayton Crain and the Deluxe pack-in comics were Spotlight issues. Continuing into 2014, the included issues tied into the "Dark Cybertron" story and Phil Jimenez, who helped plan and draw that event, took over package art duties.

*Australia, New Zealand and Hasbro's Asian markets typically get toys in whatever format is also used for the United States. The markets that traditionally get multilingual packaging are Canada, Latin America and Europe, which meant no comic books for Thrilling 30.

Legends Class (Series 02)

Still just a miner, but hey, check out this bug I found!

Wave 3

Wave 4

Wave 5

Wave 6

Wave 7

In the United States, the wave 7 figures were released about a month later than the wave 8 figures.

Wave 8

The numbering of the Legends Class figures skips the numbers 11-17. The reason for this is unknown; however, the names of two more planned two-packs, "Brawn & Mudslinger" and "Gnaw & Gnash", were leaked to the public and might have been canceled.


Deluxe Class (Series 02)

Liquor bottle accessories sold separately.
Can be repurposed as gender-swapped Thrust.

Wave 5

Wave 6

Wave 7

Wave 8

Wave 9

Wave 10

Wave 11


Voyager Class (Series 02)

You could redeco me into anybody and please anyone.
File:TFGenerations Voyager Sky-Byte.jpg
Delicious subway cake was budgeted out.

Wave 3

Wave 4

Wave 5

Wave 6

Wave 7

Wave 8


Leader Class (Series 01)

Right when you thought your wallet was safe...


Titan Class

Come oooon, Trypticon!


Exclusives

If you think this is huge, wait until you see his aftermarket prices...
The Bruticus gift set was exclusive to Hasbro Toy Shop and San Diego Comic-Con 2012.
This version of Metroplex was exclusive to Hasbro Toy Shop and San Diego Comic-Con 2013. It also doesn't sport a Generations logo anywhere on its packaging or instructions.
This version of Metroplex was exclusive to Animation-Comic-Game Hong Kong and is basically a slightly altered version of the Hasbro Toy Shop/San Diego Comic Con version, down to nearly identical packaging. The twelve miniature figures are cast in differently colored plastic.
The Ultimate Gift Set was released at general retail in Hasbro's Asian markets, and was also made available as a "shared exclusive" between various online retailers in the United States, including the online storefronts of major retailers such as Walmart and Toys"R"Us).
The above three gift sets were exclusive to Hasbro Asia markets.

Prime Wars Trilogy (2015–)

Combiner Wars (2015–2016)


Like most Deluxe Class figures, Swindle was available with a comic book in the US, Australia, New Zealand and Asia (left), and with a character card in Canada and Latin America (center) as well as Europe (right).

For 2015, the line was given another subline imprint titled Combiner Wars, which saw Deluxe, Voyager and some Legends figures able to form combiner robots. The format for Legends Class was changed once again, dropping the small partner figures of the Thrilling 30 line.

The packaging of IDW comic books with US* Deluxes continued, whilst Legends, Voyagers and non-US* Deluxes gained collector cards featuring art taken either from the Transformers Legends mobile game, or simply the toy's package art (which doubles as the comic book cover for the US* version). However, due to production schedule problems,[2] Deluxe wave 1's initial US* release featured the collector cards. Along with the concurrently released Robots in Disguise line, Combiner Wars also heralded the return of multilingual packaging to the United States* market, now in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. The sole exception to this was the Deluxe figures packaged with comic books, which retained English-only packaging.

*Australia, New Zealand and Hasbro's Asian markets typically get toys in whatever format is also used for the United States. The markets that traditionally get multilingual packaging are Canada, Latin America and Europe. See the image to the right for a comparison.

Legends Class

"I'm gonna go make my own toyline, with Blackjack and Huffer!"
Pictured: Hasbro's entire 2015 G.I. Joe line.

Wave 1

Wave 2

Wave 3

Wave 4

Wave 5

Wave 6


Deluxe Class

You can't take the sky from me.

Wave 1

As described above, the initial US market release of wave 1 lacked packed-in comic issues. The comic book variant of Decepticon Dragstrip was later released in a revision of wave 2. Stock photos depicting the comic book variants of all four figures were mistakenly featured at several online retailers' websites, and Entertainment Earth even listed individual preorders for all figures depicting the comic book versions but later changed the images to the non-comic versions. Some time later, the wave 1 comics were released in a bundle at a Taiwanese comic convention, separate from the figures.

Wave 2

File:GenerationsCWRook.jpg
So, he combines with this guy, right?

Wave 3

Wave 4

Wave 5

Wave 6

Voyager Class

"You better eat your Wheaties."

Wave 1

Wave 2

Wave 3

Wave 4

Wave 5

Wave 6


Leader Class

Packed in with a Nurse Whitney DVD.

Wave 1

Wave 2

Wave 3

Wave 4

Wave 5


Titan Class

Your childhood has returned- but this time it's after your wallet.


Exclusives

"May Mayhem"

Initially left out of the wave 1 and 2 Aerialbot and Stunticon teams and replaced by Alpha Bravo and Offroad, respectively, Hasbro later made the Combiner Wars versions of Slingshot and Wildrider available (under different names due to trademark reasons) as "shared exclusives" between various online retailers in North America, whereas they were available at general retail in Asia.
Groove was initially released as a promotional item from Toys"R"Us Taiwan but later saw a general retail release in Taiwan. In North America, he was made available as a "shared exclusive" between various online retailers in North America like Quickslinger and Brake-Neck before him. He was the first Deluxe Class figure of the line that didn't include a comic book in any market, not counting the planned-but-canceled United States re-releases of the wave 1 Aerialbot figures.

Conventions

In the US, the Devastator gift set was exclusive to the Hasbro Toy Shop website and the Hasbro Toy Shop booth at San Diego Comic-Con 2015. In Asia, it was also available at Animation-Comic-Game Hong Kong 2015 and subsequently stocked by Toys"R"Us Hong Kong. Later, it was also available at The Falcon's Hangar booth at Singapore Toy, Game & Comic Convention 2015.
In the US, the Combiner Hunters gift set was exclusive to the Hasbro Toy Shop website and the Hasbro Toy Shop booth at San Diego Comic-Con 2015. In Asia, it was also available at Animation-Comic-Game Hong Kong 2015 and subsequently stocked by Toys"R"Us Hong Kong. Later, it was also available at The Falcon's Hangar booth at Singapore Toy, Game & Comic Convention 2015.

"Online exclusive" box sets

Or you could pick... WHAT'S IN THE BOX.
Or you could pick... WHAT'S IN THE BOX.

This item is currently scheduled for release, but is not yet available at mass retail.

Or you could pick... WHAT'S IN THE BOX.
Or you could pick... WHAT'S IN THE BOX.

This item is currently scheduled for release, but is not yet available at mass retail.

Liokaiser is the only multi-pack with a Platinum Edition branding. Unlike the previous sets, which were shared exclusives between numerous online retailers, Liokaiser has been confirmed to be exclusive to Entertainment Earth.

Titans Return (2016–)

Mid-2016 introduced a new subline imprint, Titans Return (initially touted under the early working name Titan Wars), with its own new line-wide gimmick: all Deluxe, Voyager and Leader class figures all include a Headmaster-style Titan Master partner. Additionally, a new Titan Master assortment was introduced, each including a single Titan Master, plus a small vehicle or beast. These can transform into a vehicle/beast for the Titan Master to ride, a second vehicle/beast formed by combining with the Titan Master, and a 5mm weapon for a larger figure to wield. Legends Class figures are predominantly Mini-Cassette characters, and can transform into both a vehicle and a blocky PDA that can fit inside Leader Class figures such as Blaster. Though never officially addressed by Hasbro, Deluxes no longer included comic books in any market, thus eliminating the need for English-only packaging entirely. However, the character cards included with all figures (except for Titan Masters) now featured Tech Spec stats on their back.

Voting for the second Titan Class figure was conducted via Facebook, with fans choosing between a remake of Omega Supreme, Trypticon, or Scorponok.[3] Trypticon won.[4]

Titan Masters

Wave 1

Wave 2

Wave 3

Or you could pick... WHAT'S IN THE BOX.
Or you could pick... WHAT'S IN THE BOX.

This item is currently scheduled for release, but is not yet available at mass retail.


Legends Class

File:TitansReturn-Rewind.jpg
The unexpected return of Micro Change!

Wave 1

Wave 2

Or you could pick... WHAT'S IN THE BOX.
Or you could pick... WHAT'S IN THE BOX.

This item is currently scheduled for release, but is not yet available at mass retail.

Wave 3

Or you could pick... WHAT'S IN THE BOX.
Or you could pick... WHAT'S IN THE BOX.

This item is currently scheduled for release, but is not yet available at mass retail.

Deluxe Class

Wave 1

Wave 2

Or you could pick... WHAT'S IN THE BOX.
Or you could pick... WHAT'S IN THE BOX.

This item is currently scheduled for release, but is not yet available at mass retail.

Wave 3

Or you could pick... WHAT'S IN THE BOX.
Or you could pick... WHAT'S IN THE BOX.

This item is currently scheduled for release, but is not yet available at mass retail.


Voyager Class

Wave 1

Wave 2

Or you could pick... WHAT'S IN THE BOX.
Or you could pick... WHAT'S IN THE BOX.

This item is currently scheduled for release, but is not yet available at mass retail.

Wave 3

Or you could pick... WHAT'S IN THE BOX.
Or you could pick... WHAT'S IN THE BOX.

This item is currently scheduled for release, but is not yet available at mass retail.


Leader Class

It's good to be back!

Wave 1

Wave 2

Or you could pick... WHAT'S IN THE BOX.
Or you could pick... WHAT'S IN THE BOX.

This item is currently scheduled for release, but is not yet available at mass retail.

Wave 3

Or you could pick... WHAT'S IN THE BOX.
Or you could pick... WHAT'S IN THE BOX.

This item is currently scheduled for release, but is not yet available at mass retail.


Titan Class


Exclusives

Conventions

In the US, the "Titan Force" gift set was exclusive to the Hasbro Toy Shop website and the Hasbro Toy Shop booth at San Diego Comic-Con 2016. In the UK, it is going to be exclusive to the A1 Toys booth at the London Film & Comic Con 2016.
In the US, this version of Fortress Maximus was exclusive to the Hasbro Toy Shop website and the Hasbro Toy Shop booth at San Diego Comic-Con 2016. In the UK, it is going to be exclusive to the A1 Toys booth at the London Film & Comic Con 2016.

Store exclusives

Or you could pick... WHAT'S IN THE BOX.
Or you could pick... WHAT'S IN THE BOX.

This item is currently scheduled for release, but is not yet available at mass retail.

In the US, the single-packed version of Brainstorm is going to be exclusive to Walgreens pharmacy stores.

"GDO" Cyber Series figures

Three years after a large batch of redecos and retools had been created for Hasbro's Asian markets (with North American Toys"R"Us branches later picking them up as exclusives), Hasbro's Global Development Organization ("GDO") division was given a budget to design entirely new toys. Taking a cue from the tail-end Beast Hunters Deluxe and Voyager Class figures (with the Deluxes having ended up being available only in international markets such as Asia and Europe not by design but by circumstance), most of these figures were based on smaller figures from the 2010 Transformers Reveal the Shield Legends Class, Transformers: Prime Cyberverse Legion Class, Generations Thrilling 30 Legends Class and 2015 Robots in Disguise Legion Class ranges, with the designs upsized to roughly Deluxe or Voyager size, keeping the engineering mostly unchanged. These figures were not only released in Hasbro's Asian markets in 2015, but also in Latin American markets.

Cyber Battalion Series

Cyber Commander Series

Platinum Edition

Main article: Transformers: Platinum Edition#Generations

Japan

TakaraTomy initially had Transformers United as their counterpart to the first phase of the Generations line. In 2012, with the revival of the Hasbro Generations line, TakaraTomy decided to use the same name for their successor to the United toyline. Similarly to United, many of the figures have been given "premium" paint jobs, being coated in shiny paint and featuring numerous additional paint details. Japanese Generations ended roughly halfway through the Hasbro's Thrilling 30 assortment, and subsequent Generations molds were released in Japan under a new banner, Transformers Legends. The "Combiner Wars" toys were released under the Unite Warriors toy line, which featured five-packs of the Combiner Wars combiner teams. Sling, Wildrider, and Groove (redecos of Hasbro's Quickslinger and Brake-Neck and an original mold, respectively) are included instead of Alpha Bravo, Offroad, and Rook, and Blast Off was similarly replaced with a new mold. The deco on Unite Warriors toys focuses primarily on accuracy to the Generaton 1 cartoon compared to Hasbro's more G1 toy-accurate approach. Also, every Legends mold released between Skrapnel and Groove was redecoed, retooled to have a circular sticker indent, and drafted into the Adventure Series toy line. Starting from Shockwave, they came back in the Legends toy line.

Only in Japan, baby. (So far.)

Wave 1 (December 28, 2012)

Wave 2 (January 26, 2013)

The five Combaticons introduced in wave 2 combine into Bruticus.

Wave 3 (February 23, 2013)

Wave 4 (March 23, 2013)

Wave 5 (April 27, 2013)

Wave 6 (May 25, 2013)

Wave 7 (June 29, 2013)

Wave 8 (August 31, 2013)

Wave 9 (September 28, 2013)

Wave 10 (October 26, 2013)

Wave 11 (November 30, 2013)

Wave 12 (December 28, 2013)

Wave 13 (February 22, 2014)

Wave 14 (March 23, 2014)


Exclusives

Notes

I don't belong here, bitches!
  • During 2010, clicking "War for Cybertron Toys" on Hasbro's War For Cybertron web page actually brought up the whole Generations toy line. Looking for War for Cybertron toys? Here you go.
  • Since the toys released during the first phase of the Generations toy line were all Deluxe-sized, the difficulty level bar on the front side of the packaging (which indicates how hard it is to convert a toy from mode to mode) denoted each individual toy's challenge level (Cybertronian Bumblebee, for example, is a Level 4, while Thrust is a Level 2).
  • The plastic-coated wire twist-ties, which were normally used to secure a toy in its packaging in past toylines, have been replaced with rattan tie-downs. The paper-based tie-downs are also used in the 2010 Transformers toy line and subsequent toy lines until being replaced by sock ties near the middle of 2014. The tyranny of twist-ties has mercifully never sullied these toys.
  • The 2010 Transformers toy line, particularly the Reveal the Shield subline imprint, contains several toys with a design aesthetic similar to the Generations line. This led to confusion when fan expectations were contradicted by official Hasbro announcements. Subsequently, Hasbro released Wheeljack, a retool of Reveal the Shield Turbo Tracks, and Junkheap, a retool of Reveal the Shield Wreck-Gar, under the Generations banner, later followed by Generation 2-inspired redecos of Reveal the Shield Optimus Prime and Special Ops Jazz released as part of the "Ultimate Gift Set" and the Asian market/Toys"R"Us exclusive Wheelie redeco/retool of Special Ops Jazz, all of them also in Generations packaging, thus further strengthening the ties between the two lines.
  • Most of the 2010–2011 Generations toys (along with several from the 2010 Transformers toy line) were released by TakaraTomy in their Transformers United toyline. The toys representing characters who appeared in the video game War for Cybertron (which is part of the Aligned continuity family) were released as their Generation 1 continuity family counterparts in Japan. The waves from 2012 and onward were released under the Generations banner in Japan as well.
  • As the toy list in the article above shows, the 2012-onwards figures were numbered in sequence for each size class assortment separately. However, the Combaticon and Wrecker combiner teams were also additionally numbered as members of their respective teams, and the sequences for those two separate sets of numbers are completely inconsistent with each other: For the Combaticons, team members 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 correspond with Deluxe Class Series 1 figures #004, #008, #006, #005, and #007, respectively; and for the Wreckers, team members 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 correspond with Deluxe Class Series 1 figures #014, #016, #018, #017, and #015, respectively. The only consistent system is that each sculpt is given the same number as a team member between both sets.
  • In a frankly inexplicable turn of events, the existence of Huffer and the name of Blackjack in the Combiner Wars subline imprint were first revealed by a stock photo of Menasor released during San Diego Comic-Con 2014. What appeared to be a plain white background was, with color correction, revealed as a Mac OS screenshot displaying filenames for those two characters. Blackjack could easily be identified as the unnamed black-and-purple car revealed at SDCC, whilst Huffer's toy was later announced at New York Comic Con.
  • The limb robots substituted out of Combiner Wars Superion, Menasor, and Defensor, namely Slingshot, Wildrider, and Groove, also happen to be the same members whose Kre-O incarnations were sold separately from their teams. Coincidence? Probably.
  • No wave 2 products of any size classes of Combiner Wars were ever released in any European markets, with the sole exception of Legends Class Blackjack, who was eventually released as part of a revision of wave 4. Even Motormaster, who was re-released as part of wave 4 of the Voyager Class assortment alongside Battle Core Optimus Prime, was omitted from then European wave 4 case assortment in favor of (presumably) Hot Spot.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ TFW2005 thread containing an answer by Hasbro's customer service regarding the meaning of the term "GDO".
  2. ↑ Interview with Jerry Jivoin at BWTF.com
  3. ↑ November 24 2016 photo
  4. ↑ There truly is nothing that can stand in the way of Trypticon. With your votes, he smashed his way to becoming the next Generations Titans Return Titan Class toy. Mark your calendars, and look for him to hit shelves late 2017.
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