Kre-O

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Kre-O Transformers
Car me now!

Kre-O is Hasbro's second foray into the world of brick-based construction toy sets, several years after the ignoble effort that was Built to Rule.

Unveiled at Toy Fair 2011, Transformers was the first Hasbro brand to be released as Kre-O construction brick kits. The kits (generally) center around a Transformers character that can be taken apart and reassembled into a vehicle. Mini-figures called Kreons are also included in the larger kits, and these mini-figures are a mix of Transformers characters and human drivers (mostly nameless generics). Prices range from $7.99 to $59.99, plus individually-bagged Kreon figures at $2.99.

The line launched in the US on June 6th, 2011. Since then, Kre-O has expanded into a multi-property brand, with sets based on other Hasbro franchises including G.I. Joe, Battleship, and Dungeons & Dragons, as well as the licensed properties Star Trek and Cityville Invasion.

In 2013, TakaraTomy brought the line to Japan, primarily the second-year Transformers sets.

Currently, the line is in a sort-of limbo in most of Hasbro's markets. The 2015 series mostly shipped only to Canada and Asian markets, with US releases relegated to closeout stores, and several items not being released at all. As of 2016, all "new" Kre-O product in the US is made up of mostly re-released and repackaged kits sold through discount chains like Dollar General. In China, however, the line is still going, but only under the Armor Hero Captor brand, a live-action tokusatsu TV series similar to the Kamen Rider series.

It's not that thing that begins with an L! But it sure works with that thing that begins with an L. L employees are asked to please not view this webpage.


Building sets

2011

The first series saw widespread brick-and-mortar distribution in the US. The main focus of the sets were large robot/vehicle builds with a lot of parts. Really a lot. Limbs were many times thick masses of panel-parts laid over each other, and many sets had extremely limited posability, with simple swivel elbows & knees. Robot builds took many elements from the then-current Dark of the Moon series, though the heads were mostly designed around the characters' Generation 1 incarnations.

The robot Kreons? VERY G1-inspired. And regrettably, with a fair number of tolerance issues.

Optimus Prime, the biggest of the first-year sets (naturally).

2012 (Quest for Energon)

The second-year Kre-O Transformers sets mark a definite change in style. Dubbed "Quest for Energon", each set contains several "energon" pieces; at least one clear-plastic Kreon torso (blue for Autobots, purple for Decepticons), and several clear-purple "Dark Energon" parts to assemble a giant "ultimate Dark Energon weapon". The robot/vehicle builds in this year's sets are generally smaller, simpler, and less reliant on the "massive stack of flat plates" construction style common in the first year, relying a lot more on large ball-and-socket-jointed bricks to build limbs and bodies around.

There was a heavier focus on the Kreons overall, with mini-playsets, mini-vehicles and a pair of army builder sets. The robot Kreons are more often based on their Aligned continuity family incarnations than Generation 1. Human Kreons had new arm-pieces with rounded-off shoulders, rather than the blocky shoulders of all first-year Kreons.

This series also suffered a distribution issue in the US. Walmart stopped carrying Kre-O after its first year (with one tiny exception), and only ToysЯUs appeared to carry the entire second-year assortment; the "Rotor Rage" and "Destruction Site Devastator" sets in particular didn't seem to show up at certain retailers.

Most of these sets were also made available in Japan as part of the initial Kre-O roll-out by TakaraTomy.


2013 (Beast Hunters)

Bringing the series in-line with the then-current Beast Hunters branding of Prime, the focus of this years' sets were buildable beasts. Every kit came with one, though one set had a huge buildable beast with an alternate robot build. None of the other beasts have official robot builds, but hey, try making your own! Interestingly, the human Kreons were based on specific Transformers human characters from prior series rather than the prior two years' nameless generics... much to the bafflement of the fandom, who wanted them to be doing that from the get-go.

This series was even more limited in its US distribution, seemingly available only at ToysЯUs and Meijer, though some set eventually filtered out into discount stores.


2014 (Age of Extinction)

Tying in with that big new movie in 2014, the 2014 Kre-O line-up features dinosaurs aplenty. Many sets also feature "Dino Force Technology", which are pieces that include magnets in them so claws and dino-maws can snatch up Kreons wearing ferrous-metal backpacks or helmets. Each set also comes with a red 2x4 Kre-O brick.

Notably, this line also marks the complete abandonment of the 'rebuild to transform' play pattern, in favor of the playset approach more typical of construction brick toys. As part of this change, human Kreons now use the small body style that debuted in the Kre-O CityVille Invasion line, to indicate a scale difference between them and the normal-sized Transformer Kreons.

By this point, Kre-O in its entirety became officially a ToysЯUs exclusive toyline.

2015 (Robots In Disguise/Generation 1)

2015's Kro-O product was largely split between sets based on the new Robots in Disguise series, and Kreon-focused Generation 1-based product. Unfortunately, this is also the year that Kre-O all but vanished from US store shelves, relegated to Canada and Hasbro Asia markets. Even ToysЯUs dropped the line, and it wasn't until the latter half of the year when various sets began to filter into the US through discount chain TJ Maxx and Marshalls, though some older sets got a second life through "dollar" stores (see below).

This was accompanied by a change in Kreon construction, including new hands designed with a raised "upper" part so they can act as pegs (aka "just like mini-figures from that L-company"), and a new inner post in the torso that slides into the waistpiece's now-hollow spine-post, allowing for a sturdier grip, needed for the much larger Kreon builds of most of the Generation-1-based sets. The 2x4 logo blocks were also dropped, replaced by a 3x4 flat plate with an unpainted Kre-O logo, but included only in the blindbagged toys.


Robots in Disguise
This series is based heavily on "vehicle" play, with non-transforming rigs loosely based on their pilots' alternate modes, though each one does have some sort of "action feature".
Battle Changers
After four years, the line finally releases buildable Transformers figures that transform "traditionally" rather than needing to be taken apart and rebuilt. How successful they are at this... varies. The figures are mostly based on their "Generation 1" forms, with some concessions to more modern media.
Collection 1


Collection 2
  • Release date: March 2015


Versus Pack Collection 1


Kreon Triple Changer
Thee Battle Changers upped the game by having two altmodes you could transform them into without rebuilding. This series was shown at Toy Fair 2015, but no accounts of it seeing release in any market have ever surfaced.
Your bargaining posture is highly dubious.
Your bargaining posture is highly dubious.

Proceed on your way to oblivion.
This item has been canceled, with no current plans for release.


Kreon Warriors
Replacing Micro-Changers (see below) as the Kre-O line's blind-bagged assortment, Kreon Warriors features popular characters reimagined as historical warriors. Unlike their predecessors, the Kreon Warriors do not have vehicle modes. Their G1-y-ness is variable, with some versions owing a bit more to their Prime or live-action film series iterations in the facial feature department.
Series 1
  • Release date: January 2015
Series 2


Kreon Mini-Con Combiners
One of the more bizarre items in the line, these sets come with one standard Kreon and four Cityville mini Kreons of the same character, each one a different incarnation from various franchises. With some extra parts, the mini-Kreons become limbs to make a larger combiner-bot.
Unfortunately, like the Battle Changer Triple Changers, these items apparently never saw release anywhere. Pity.
Your bargaining posture is highly dubious.
Your bargaining posture is highly dubious.

Proceed on your way to oblivion.
This item has been canceled, with no current plans for release.

2015~2016 ("Budget store" releases)

Starting in mid-2015, numerous Kre-O Transformers sets were repackaged (sometimes combining multiple smaller sets) in a new red-box style, sold only at Dollar General stores in the US, for considerably lower than the original sets went for. Curiously, the packaging and instructions omit any reference to the large robot builds... yet the extra parts for the robot builds are still in the box, and the "robot only" parts are still in the parts checklist in the back. Why they did this is a mystery. These sets continued to come out well into 2016, and were joined by choice repackagings of Cityville Invasion and Dungeons & Dragons sets, shipped all together.

We won't list the Cityville and Dungeons & Dragons sets that were released alongside these, even though they shipped in the same cases.


Meanwhile, five Brick Box sets saw wider release at Dollar General, Family Dollar, Big Lots and Ollies stores. These $5 cubes come with two bags of bricks and at least one Kreon. The first two sets released are simple repackagings of prior smaller kits. While these releases come with all of the Kreons and parts of the original releases, there are no instructions, apparently an attempt to pass the set off as a "build what you want" deal. Three more sets were released later, only with a single all-new 2015-style Kreon and two bags of parts per box. The larger bags of parts all come from previous older sets. The second bag in each is a seemingly random collection of parts in the same color palette as the other bag. And no instructions. Weird!

In addition to all this, Collections 1 and 2 of the blind-bagged Micro-Changers were re-released primarily through Dollar General. These are new versions of the toys, re-made with 2015-style Kreon bodies, altered tampographs, some plastic color changes, a handful of parts changes... and no individual-identifying codes on the bags, so hope you're good at the "feel through the bag" method. (See below for links to the individual Micro-Changers in those assortments.) Bizarrely, in addition to keeping the flak jackets for the collection 1 re-release, the pack previews show the new tampographs *on* the flack jackets, a change that apparently did not make it through to production.

Micro-Changers

Introduced in 2012, the Micro-Changers sub-line adds a new element to Kreon figures; extra parts allow each figure to "transform" into a vehicle or beast (or whatever).

Thankfully, the Micro-Changer series did not suffer the limited-distribution fate of the Beast Hunters sets; after a rocky start, by 2013 the series was stocked regularly not just by ToysЯUs, but Target as well, plus many large drug store chains began carrying the individually-bagged figures.

Blind-bagged figures

This portion of the line features individual blind-packaged Kreons. Thankfully however, code numbers printed on each bag allow you to know which figure is inside... or at least avoid buying two of the same by accident.

Preview Series
  • Assortment No.: A2034
  • Release date: August 2012
This series differs a little from the later waves, and not just because of the smaller (all-badguy) cast. In an unusual backwards move, the tampographs on these figures' chests use only a single color, typically black.
This is also the only Kre-O Transformers product to be sold (briefly) at Walmart since the initial year.


Collection 1
  • Assortment No.: A2200
  • Hasbro release date: November 2012
  • TakaraTomy release date: November 2013
For the first full series, the multi-colored tampographs made a glorious comeback. Also, a new display-stand brick was added to every figure, a black 2x4 piece with the "Kre-O" logo in white on one edge.
Also changed is how the bag numbers work, with a 7-digit code. Only the final two numbers in the codes are indicators of what Kreon is in the bag, the first five are likely manufacturing plant codes or something and have no bearing on the contents, and can vary from case to case. For simplicity's sake, we've *****'d out the first five digits from here on out.


Collection 2
  • Assortment No.: A2200
  • Release date: May 2013
This series replaced the flak jackets used to attach stuff to Micro Changers' torsos in prior waves (which most fans hated since it obscured the chest tampographs) with a new simple one-peg "backpack" piece. And there was much rejoicing. On top of that, at this stage the "vehicle" builds become a little more complex, using more parts to make them look more like tiny vehicles than just robots laying face-down with a thing or two on their backs.
This series was re-released in 2016 through budget chains like Dollar General and Family Dollar, but the bags no longer have the content-identifying numbers.


Collection 3
  • Assortment No.: A2200
  • Release date: August 2013
This series had...more fanwank, we guess? No particular innovations this time around.
This series was re-released in 2016 through budget chains like Dollar General and Family Dollar, but the bags no longer have the content-identifying numbers.


Collection 4
  • Assortment No.: A2200
  • Release date: March 2014
Sooo much fanwank. The last wave of Micro-Changers available at "normal" retail, though largely being distributed via the Walgreens drug store chain in the US. This is the only batch (so far) to have a significant variant, as Cyclonus can come in either bag-back lavender or a much darker purple, depending on the batch. This is also the first wave to use "harness" pieces in colors other than the standard light gray.
Unlike prior waves in which every figure came with individual instructions, these all come with the same large fold-out instruction for all of the models in the series, making the "feel parts through the bags" method very difficult (but you have the code numbers here, so why are you even doing that, huh?). Unfortunately, later re-releases of this wave have no individual codes, so if anyone is looking to find a particular Kreon from this wave, be prepared to get plenty of doubles.


Age of Extinction Collection 1
  • Assortment No.: A6947
  • Release date: May 2014
In-tune with the ToysЯUs-exclusive Age of Extinction Kre-O products, this wave features a number of classic characters plus two movie-inspired Dinobot original characters.
This series goes back to having individual instructions for each figure.


Age of Extinction Collection 2
The second wave of the Age of Extinction-tied Micro-Changers, with a couple of unconventional builds, and two more new Dinobot characters. Unlike the preceding waves, this round of Micro-Changers sadly don't have any codes on their bags.
This wave was originally slated for a ToysЯUs release in the US, but was canceled, coming out only in Canada and some Asian markets. Eventually in mid-late 2015, cases of this assortment started appearing in Dollar Tree stores in the US, at $1 a bag. Naturally, they didn't last long.

Micro-Changers Combiners

Four Kreons per pack combine into one larger robot. Each set also comes with a single red stand-block, and extra limb pieces. Just in case. As most of the original teams these sets are based on have five or six members, the "lost" members saw release through the blind-bagged series.

Wave 1
Wave 2
Wave 3
Sadly, this wave suffered from a limited retail release, only popping up in discount chains months after the intended release date, but oddly did show up at Hasbro Toy Shop.
Wave 4
Ready for something new? This wave, available only at ToysЯUs as part of the Age of Extinction-branded product, consists entirely of new-character beast-bots, rather than re-creating classic combiner teams.


Custom Kreons

First released at the back-end of 2013, these individually-carded Kreons include a huge number of extra body parts and accessories, many chromed (thus resulting in some extremely tight fits) or translucent (which, when combined with the chromed parts, may end up with stress fractures). Their "normal" body parts have a metal-flake sheen (usually). They also come with a customizable "rack" to store their unused parts, though the helmets just kind of sit on the torso's neck-pegs, not secure at all. Returning characters typically have altered and more extensive tampographs across most of their opaque parts.

The "Autobot Command Center" set includes a Custom Kreon rack/part setup as well.

This series was intentionally produced in smaller numbers than the other series.

Collection 1
ToysЯUs was the only US retailer to order them, though they were made available off of Hasbro Toy Shop as well. All of the Kreons in this assortment come with a red weapons rack.


Collection 2
Though revealed online and at Toy Fair 2014, this series ultimately never saw release outside of Canada and Hasbro Asia distribution. These kits have blue parts racks.
  • Release date: ??? 2014


Age of Extinction Collection 1
This assortment, using the new unified packaging style introduced in mid-2014, is entirely movie-based, showcasing characters from Age of Extinction. The parts count has been drastically reduced, each kit only having about 30 pieces as opposed to the 40-ish of the prior two waves. They all come with dark green racks.
  • Release date: May 2014


Age of Extinction Collection 2
Another movie-based round. The part count remains in the low 30s. These kits come with brown racks.
  • Release date: September 2014


Age of Extinction Collection 3
A wave featuring the Age of Extinction Dinobots, making heavy use of the new parts created for Kre-O Dungeons & Dragons, what with the "knight" theme. These kits come with gray racks. These figures never hit the US, but did get released in Canada and Hasbro Asia regions.
  • Release date: November 2014


Robots in Disguise Collection 1
This assortment showcases characters from the Robots in Disguise animated series.
The part count takes another hit, now in the mid-20s, with simpler weapons and no backpacks. No more chromed robot parts either, only a single chromed weapon part. The racks are now in the characters' base colors, and built on a new baseplate piece. This wave does add a 1x1 cylinder to attach to the unused torsos' neck-pegs to keep the unused helmets in place, so there's that. Like the entire 2015 new product line, these use the reworked 2015 style Kreon, making virtually everything from the neck down incompatible with prior Kreons.
  • Release date: January 2015


Store exclusives

CostCo exclusives

  • Megatron with Sideswipe (30668/31771) - a twin-pack of the regular release sets above with no changes.
  • Starscream with Prowl (30667/30690) - a twin-pack of the regular release sets above with no changes.

Toys"R"Us exclusives

An expanded version of the "Destruction Site Devastator" set, adding a large Ironhide robot/truck build, a "Gunner" Kreon, and a port-a-potty (yes really). The Devastator Kreon is also in Generation 2 style yellow-and-purple rather than the original bright-green-and-purple.
Special packaging to include 2 exclusive Kreons with different print from other regular release of the same characters. These Kreons are available with either Blu-Ray Combo or DVD only set.

Family Mart (Taiwan)

Released in 2012 in Taiwan in conjunction with a toy fair. The USB hub is almost 4 times larger than normal Kreons, while the other 5 figures are almost 2 times larger.

  • 8" (20 cm) Optimus Prime USB Hub
    • Oversized Kreon Optimus Prime with 4 USB 1.1 ports
  • Stylus Pen - approximately 3" (7 cm) with detachable head that can be used as a stylus
    • Optimus Prime & Starscream
  • LED Lights - approximately 3" (7 cm) with light up chest
    • Bumbleebee, Sideswipe & Megatron

Universal Studios

  • Kreon 4-pack
    • Set number: A9370
    • Kreons: Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Megatron, Evac

Only available at Universal Studios. Only Evac is an exclusive figure.

Convention Exclusives

The Machine Wars five-pack was exclusive to BotCon 2013, limited to 1500 pieces. They have generally more parts than the Kreons packed in with larger Kre-O sets, but do not have alternate vehicle builds like Micro Changers.


A BotCon 2014 six-figure set commemorating 20 years of BotCon exclusives with Kreons of past exclusives. This time they're also Micro-Changers, with generally more parts and paint than most retail Micro-Changers.


  • San Diego Comic Con 2014 Kreon Class of 1984 (B0090)
    • Released in July 2014 at San Diego Comic-Con, this set contains 30 exclusive Kreons and accessories from G1 series.
  • San Diego Comic Con 2015 Kreon Class of 1985 (B0090)
    • Released in 2015 at San Diego Comic-Con, this set contains 30 exclusive Kreons and accessories from G1 series.



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Promotional releases

  • Matrix Optimus Prime Kreon
Promotional item given at BotCon 2011, as a special mail-in promotion through the Kre-O website and a give away with the UK Doctor Who Adventures comic. Redeco of Optimus Prime Kreon showing the Matrix of Leadership.
  • Clear Energon Bumblebee Kreon
An exclusive New York Comic Con 2012 handout, this redeco of the Bumblebee Kreon is done entirely in translucent blue plastic, and comes in its own special little window box with an outer sleeve.
  • Constructicon Devastator Kreon
A Devastator Kreon sporting an orange Generation 2 deco and including a translucent purple pistol based on Generation 1 Megatron's alternate mode. Packaged in an individual window box and handed out with Kre-O purchases at Toys"R"Us stores, as well as BotCon 2013.
  • Orion Pax Kreon
Based on Orion Pax's appearance from "War Dawn", this was available with the Transformers: Kre-O Character Encyclopedia.
  • Dinobot Ride Polybag
Polybag of a mini buildable Grimlock and Citiville-sized mini Kreon Optimus Prime. Given out at Toys R Us during build-a-figure event. Also available in selected Asian countries as a gift with purchase at stores.
  • Elite Optimus Prime Polybag
Another polybag with buildable Optimus Prime with larger hands and legs on a Kreon sized torso. This figure was given our at Toys R Us Canada during build-a-figure event while Asian countries saw very limited released.
  • "Winter" Optimus Prime Kreon
Optimus Prime in winter clothing and orange skis were handed out during Toy Fair 2015.


Media

Videos

Main article: Kre-O Transformers (cartoon)

A series of videos have been released on Hasbro's Kre-O website and on YouTube, featuring the wacky antics of the Kre-O Transformers and their Kreons.

Games

Main article: Online game#Kre-O

Books

Online comics

Main article: Kre-O Transformers (comic)

Short tongue-in-cheek gag strips drawn and written by Hayato Sakamoto and Makoto Wakabayashi for TakaraTomy's Kre-O site.

Notes

  • Kre-O bricks were manufactured by Korean toy company Oxford,[1], who had been making not-L sets for a while, up through 2014. However, it is very much a lot of new part design work, especially the far more involved construction of the Kreons; Oxford's pre-Kre-O mini-figures were basically straight-up L Minifigure construction. The 2015 Kre-O product seems to have been produced by Hasbro proper, which would explain a lot of the changes to the product for that year, including the almost completely altered Kreons.
  • Kreon Hound was among the upcoming items revealed at BotCon 2011... and was only announced to be released in late 2013, and wasn't released until midway through 2014. Amusingly, his helmet has become one of the most ubiquitous among the Kreons thanks to its very generic styling.
  • Small images of a Kre-O Transformers set featuring a big mechanical scorpion and another set featuring a buildable Soundwave were shown at Toy Fair 2012 during the slide presentation, as part of the demonstration of the "build a big energon weapon from parts of the different sets" concept. Neither were present in the showroom or mentioned in the press materials. This same slide was shown during a presentation at BotCon 2012, again with no explicit mention of the mechanical scorpion or Soundwave.
  • While the Kre-O bricks and such are compatible with L bricks, take care with mixing Kreon and Minifigure parts, particularly helmets. Full-coverage Kreon helmets like Optimus Prime's and Soundwave's are a bit tight, and getting a L Minifigure head out of them is exceedingly difficult. They'll pop off the neck before the helmet relinquishes the head. Open-face helmets like Starscream's, where you can get a "grip" on the head with the pad of your finger, should be fine. Just be a bit careful you don't scrape face-paint off.
  • The L company has since released sets that are explicitly marketed as being able to assemble as robots and various vehicles and aircraft, very similar to the Transformers Kre-O concept.
  • Several Kre-O bricks are reuses of Hasbro's long defunct Built to Rule interlocking brick system. Most Kre-O bricks, that is parts not designed specifically for Kreons, with detailed moulded surfaces (especially where the L counterpart has a smooth surface) are Built to Rule parts.

References

  1. ↑ Transformers Kre-O - Thoughts? on TFW2005
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