Roleplay toy

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Pew, pew, pew! I'm Bumblebee!

Ever want to pretend to be an actual Transformer? Roleplay toys are for you! Grab a sword or blaster, put on a voice-changing helmet, and your ready to roll as your favorite Autobot or Decepticon!

What are roleplay toys?

Roleplay toys are known for a different play pattern compared to most Transformers toys, intending to allow kids (or adults) to use their imagination as as part of play. This can allow them to pretend to be something else, such as being a firefighter, superhero, or event a Transformer. Dress up items and toy weapons can help to enforce this aspect and provide props to act out play scenarios. Another aspect of the Transformers brand is some figure releases have alt modes that can be used as part of that play as well. This gives the ability to both play with them as a figure and as a gun, sword, or more mundane object like a watch or video game controller.

Roleplay Toy Releases

Due to the large volume of roleplay toys that have been made, the following list is of unique first-use items only. Additionally, while Halloween costumes do potentially fall under roleplay, these are covered in Halloween instead.

Dress-up

Given most Transformers don't wear clothing, Transformers dress up roleplay toys tend to focus more on helmets and masks.

Dress-up sets

These costume playsets tend to be the least common dress-up roleplay type.

Optimus Prime Complete Child's Costume


Helmets

Full head covering helmets tend to skew as higher end collectibles. Many contain electronic lights and voice-changing abilities.

Optimus Prime Modern Icons Replica Helmet


Masks

Masks are the less head covering cousins of helmets. While some can contain electronics and sound effects, most tend to be lack these, simply asking as full or half face covering.

Robots in Disguise Strongarm Vision Mask


Weapons

With the war between the Autobots and Decepticons being so ingrained into the Transformers brand, it's makes sense that many roleplay toys are weapons.

Guns and blasters

One of the most common type of roleplay toys are guns. While some early earlier releases may have replicated more realistic gun appearances and shapes, due to modern safety standards, most now are clearly designed to appear as toys. Additionally modern releases tend to be called blasters instead to further separate them from real world firearms.

Electronic

Electronic guns and blasters are intended to make noises or light up when their trigger is pulled. Basically they're the ideal toy to give to the kids of a parents you really want to drive crazy.

Beast Wars II Cybertron Buster


Projectile firing

Some guns and blasters fire darts, pellets or other projectile. Many of these are co-branded with Nerf, as it's a Hasbro brand, and include darts that are compatible with Nerf blasters. Some may also include electronic lights and sounds to enhance the firing effects.

Dark of the Moon Optimus Prime Cyber Blaster


Gun alt modes

Due to modern safety standards, it's less common to see newer figures with gun alt modes. This includes both realistic ones as well as Cybertronian ones. Typically these characters will have their alt mode changed, such as with Megatron commonly being a tank with modern releases. Others are...creatively reinterpreted, such as Titans Return Sixshot's gun mode being flipped upside down and being called a submarine. Some of these do also overlap with electronics or projectile firing capabilities.

File:Megatronclassicstoy.jpg
Classics Megatron


Swords and melee weapons

While there are less melee weapon roleplay toy releases compared guns, these do still pop up semi-regularly. Most tend to feature sound effects such as clanging noises or other effects.

Cyber Sword


Electronics items

One of the largest category of roleplay toy are electronic related. Funny enough, many electronic items don't actually contain electronic components.

Cameras

Canon/Transformers Optimus Prime R5

Say cheese! These cover film, digital, and video cameras.


Cell phones and tablets

Given the widespread usage of cellphones and tablets, it's not surprising that roleplay items using them have started to become common.

Xiaomi / Transformers Soundwave


Music devices

Due to the fact that many musical devices aren't as commonly seen in modern days, roleplay toys are based on are less commonly seen now. However thanks to certain iconic characters, they do still see release.

Real Gear Robots Booster X10


Mini-cassettes

Thanks to their prevalence in G1, the micro-cassettes are fairly commonly revisited.

The Transformers Ravage


Video game and computer accessories

More of a modern ropleplay style of item, these cover controllers and other computer devices. It's worth noting that those released in the "Transformers Device Label" line are actual working computer accessories.

BotBots Outta Controller


Watches

Watches are another rolepley type less commonly seen as modern releases. As a bonus, almost all watch releases actually function in telling time.

The Transformers Autoceptor


Optical items

The bulk of optical related roleplay alt modes are thanks to Perceptor. While all of them do contain transparent viewers to look through, most don't actually work to magnify what's seen very well.

File:Generations-Selects-Deluxe-Class-Magnificus.jpg
Generations Selects Magnificus


Multiple types

A few roleplay toys don't neatly fall into one of the above category. These typically have a melee and gun weapon modes or a mundane item and weapon modes.

Armada Laserbeak


Other

Some roleplay items don't fit into any of the above catagories. These typically are unique, one-off item releases.

Optimus Prime Pen


Miniature roleplay toys

A number of Transformers toys have everyday object alt modes that are smaller than the object they represent. As such it's a bit harder to use them as roleplay items. Of note almost every BotBots figure falls into this category and due to the large volume of BotBots, we're not going to list them all below.

Optimus Prime featuring Original PlayStation
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