Transformers: Generation 2 (toyline)
 |
| |||||||||||||||
Transformers: Generation 2 was the first Transformers toy revamp, relaunching the line in 1993, two years after the last of the original Transformers figures were off the shelves in the United States. It began with recolored versions of Generation 1 toys, but soon consisted entirely of new molds made for the line.
Generation 2 saw more-or-less simultaneous release in the US and European markets, but Japan would not start the line (or even have any Transformers product at all on shelves, for that matter) until 1995.
Overview
Initially, the line featured re-releases of several "Generation 1" toys with new accessories and tweaked decos, alongside several molds that had been recently released as part of the European-market line (many of which would be re-released in Europe under the Generation 2 banner.)
Because of this early product, and particularly because of the radically redecorated Aerialbots and Combaticons, Generation 2 is sometimes inaccurately and unfairly remembered by fans as consisting solely of garishly recolored Generation 1 toys. As the line continued, however, numerous new molds and play features were introduced. Among them were:
- Go-Bots - Hot Wheels-styled figures with simpler transformations and "precision" wheels
- Rotor Force - featured firing plastic rotor weapons
- Laser Rods and Laser Cycles - featured light-up LED weaponry
- Cyberjets - realistic fighter planes with complex transformations.
These last groups also featured unprecedented articulation.
Multiple new versions of Optimus Prime and Megatron were also released: though Optimus' original toy saw re-release with tweaked deco and new accessories, Megatron received the first all-new mold of the line early on as a colossal tank, as making him a handgun no longer seemed feasible. Both characters would receive multiple toys over the course of the line, in the form of both new molds and redecoes of previous characters' toys. Late in the line's run, Hasbro would use the same general tactic, applying numerous Generation 1 characters to toy redecoes in the hopes of stirring up nostalgic interest.
Later toys included a pop-up bio card, referred to on the packaging as a "Real Action Pop-Ups 3-D Transformer Trading Card!"
Decline and cancelation
The series debuted to lackluster sales, despite featuring fan-favorites like the Dinobots and Constructicons. Some fans blamed color selections, but it seems far more likely that it was simply a case of bad timing combined with too much product "your older brother has in the attic". Kids still weren't into robots that turned into cars at the time, it seems, and the "older nostalgic" market (which can rarely sustain a major toy brand at nationwide retail even today) was downright microscopic at the time. Being up against the then-new Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, the still-popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles brand and the ever-growing popularity of home video game consoles certainly didn't help. The toyline also was not supported by a new cartoon, relying instead on repackaged G1 episodes.
Generation 2 was ended after about two and a half years, with several new products trapped in development limbo. A handful saw release in the European market (namely the Power Masters), but most of those canceled new molds stayed unreleased for years. As Hasbro had recently acquired Kenner, and the Transformers franchise facing extinction, the decision was made to shift the boys'-toy production to Kenner and take Transformers in a different direction to hopefully revitalize the seemingly-tired concept... Beast Wars.
1993
Leader
Cars
Small Cars (sometimes known as Axelerators)
Leader
Combine to form Devastator
Skyscorchers (also known as the "Skirmish Patrol")[citation needed]
1994
Autobots
Combine to form Superion.
Heroes
Decepticons
Combine to form Bruticus
Heroes
Others
- Dreadwing with Smokescreen
Exclusives
1995
Autobots
Leader
- Blowout
- Bumblebee
- Double Clutch
- Firecracker
- Gearhead
- High Beam
- Ironhide
- Mirage
- Motormouth
- Optimus Prime
- Sideswipe
Decepticons
Unreleased
Advanced Tactical Bomber (A.T.B.)
Auto Rollers
- General Optimus Prime
- Sgt. Hound
- Unknown APC (later became Autolauncher)
- Unknown jet (later became Autojetter)
Combat Heroes
Go-Bots
- Greasepit and the Go-Bots Racing Rig
- "Vinny's Pro Stock" (evidently Rumble, later became Side Swipe)
- "GTP Racer" (later became Daytonus)
- "911 Police Car" (later became Prowl/Prowl 2)
- "Black Viper" (later became Side Burn)[1]
Laser Cycles
Stunticons
- S1 Motormaster
- S2 Dead End
- S4 Drag Strip
- S5 Wildrider
Protectobots
- P1 Hot Spot
- P2 First Aid
- P3 Groove
- P4 Streetwise
- P5 Blades
Innovations and lasting effects
- Generation 2 was the first line to sport a uniform, gimmick-spanning sub-title in addition to the main "Transformers" name. (Although the "Generation 2" moniker would be dropped for the tail end of the line, mostly affecting toys that would never be released on the US market)
- Though some earlier toys used them, the Cyberjets were the first toys to introduce ball joints on a wider scale. By the following toyline, Beast Wars, ball joints had become a regular feature of Transformers toys.
- The new molds created for Generation 2 also dropped stickers in favor of paint operations and tampography for deco details.
Notes
- Artwork or packaging mock-ups for various toys seemingly intended for release in the Generation 2 toyline have surfaced over the years. Among them:
- Sludge, Swoop, and another version of Grimlock.
- Recolored card art of Power Master Ironhide, in yellow and blue, attached to packaging mock-ups bearing the names Belzone, Light Speed, and Pothole.
- A Generation 2 exists within the fictional Unicron Trilogy universe, as a toyline! According to the online Cyber Key Code bio for the Cybertron Decepticon, Shortround, he is an avid toy collector whose prize pieces are Generation 2 Defensor and Menasor. However, it is not specified whether or not these items are actually Transformers toys like their real world counterparts.
- The theme for BotCon 2010 was 'Transformers - Generation 2: Redux'. The convention exclusive figures include the formerly European exclusive G2 Transformer Pyro (under the name Spark), which is a redeco of the 2008 Universe version of Inferno (itself based on G2 Inferno).
- Generation 2 shares some engineering with Takara's other transforming robot toy series from around the same time, the Brave Series. That line also featured in some instances light-piped heads, ball joints, Gatling-style missile launchers, and spinning rotor projectiles.
References
- ↑ Designations for four unreleased Go-Bots from the BotCon 1996 "Toys For Tots" charity auction listings. Note that "Vinny's Pro Stock" is an inaccurate reading of the sponsor logos on "Rumble" — they actually read "Vinny's Pizza" and "Jerry's Motors", with "Pro Stock" underneath each respective logo.
