Design change

A design change is a modification to a toy's design prior to the sculpt's initial release. The changes can affect the sculpting of parts, the transformation mechanisms, the articulation, the gimmicks and even the assembly of individual parts.

The reasons or those changes are multifold: Sometimes the original design would have just used up more budget than Hasbro was willing to spend on the price point, so some elements (such as gimmicks) had to be gutted. Sometimes the toy is based on a third-party design (most prominently in the case of the live-action film series), and when the original design was changed, the toy's design has to follow suit. Sometimes the toy's alternate mode is based on an existing design, and Hasbro decides to modify it in order to avoid legal trouble with the vehicle's manufacturer. And sometimes things have to be redesigned for safety reasons or to fix design flaws.

Design changes can be discovered out by comparing a toy to the stock photos in its packaging which use earlier prototypes. A toy's 2D designs are also a possible reference, since control drawings are occasionally published in various Japanese guide books or other supplementary material. And lastly, the instructions sometimes also reveal design changes.

Design changes are not to be confused with misassemblies. Misassemblies are errors that occur on a factory level and are contrary to the intentions of the designes. Design changes are intentional decisions, often compromises, that occur on a design level. Design changes are also not to be confused with retools: Although retools are effectively design changes, they don't occur until after the initial version of the sculpt has only been released. For the purpose of this article, design changes only refer to modifications that occur before the first release of a sculpt.