Toy Fair 1986
Toy Fair 1986 was held in New York City, New York. It's likely that the event was more geared towards retailers than the press. The notion of catering to communities of adult fans and collectors would probably have seemed fanciful at the time, and there certainly was no online fanbase (or for that matter, much of an online anything).
Below are scans from Hasbro's pre-Toy Fair 1986 catalog, which also included pages on My Little Pony, Hasbro Softies, and G.I.Joe. Many of the toys seen in the images are not final. Some don't even appear to be transformable. These images were put together to entice retailers into buying product assortments for the coming year.
Gallery
Transformers Fan Community Charity Drive
On February 23, 2010, an auction for the above pre-Toy Fair catalog was spotted on eBay. Dropping the required $500 would have been overkill for one person, but it was suggested that if multiple fans donated $5 each, the catalog could be bought and shared with everyone. The Allspark, a Transformers fan messageboard, orchestrated this drive, and very quickly reached the required monetary amount.
In fact, the Allspark raised more money than was needed, and so instead of returning the surplus donations, it was suggested that the excess funds be donated to Hasbro Children's Hospital. The drive continued, but this time with the goal of raising $2000. Ultimately, the charity drive raised $2340. The names of the contributors are listed below.
Contributors
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