Beast Wars: Transformers (toyline)

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With sales of the Generation 2 toyline proving unremarkable by 1995, Hasbro faced a choice: end the Transformers brand for a second time, or completely revamp the concept. They chose the second option, and Beast Wars was the result.

Megatron, an Ultra-class toy released in 1996.


The new franchise consisted entirely of robots who transformed into beasts: insects, mammals, and more. The traditional factions of Autobot and Decepticon were replaced with heroic Maximals and evil Predacons. Most radically, the beast modes were intended to represent fully natural and organic animals, as opposed to the "mechanical beasts" represented by the likes of G1's Dinobots and Terrorcons.



File:Airazorbwtoy1.jpg
Airazor, a 1997 Basic.

The Beast Wars toyline brought poseability to full fruition. Whereas G2 marketed a handful of toys as "super poseable", Beast Wars made it standard for virtually every toy. Heavy use of ball joints gave the figures unprecedented degrees of freedom -- often greater than that of a normal, non-transforming action figure. Poseability -- a rarity in the days of G1 -- became commonplace and expected after Beast Wars.

Concealed parts and weapons also became standard during Beast Wars. Again, G2 had introduced a number of toys whose kibble had a place to store when not in use, but it was Beast Wars that made it a universal feature.

Beast Wars also introduced a standardized system of price points to Transformers: $5 Basics, $10 Deluxes, $15 Megas, and $20 Ultras. The price for Basics eventually rose to $7, but the system remained largely unaltered through the end of Beast Machines. Portions of the system continue to be used today (the Basics were "Scouts" during the Cybertron franchise, and the Mega has been replaced with the $20, slightly-larger "Voyager".) A rarely-seen, extra-large Super class was introduced with the Optimal Optimus toy in 1998, which was also the first Transformer toy to feature a vehicle mode since the end of G2.

File:Transmetal rhinox toy.jpg
Transmetal Rhinox.


The toyline evolved over its 3-year run. The first year featured purely-organic beasts exclusively. The second year was dominated by two sublines: Fuzors, whose beast modes combined aspects of two different animals, and Transmetals, which featured metallic-finished chrome and sleekly mechanical beast modes. In 1998, the Transmetal 2s were the primary offering, featuring asymetrical and often bizarrely patchwork fusions of mechanical and organic in both modes.

Beast Wars largely ended as a toyline when Hasbro elected to revamp the franchise and re-introduce vehicular Transformers, leading to the Beast Machines toyline. Though a new franchise, Beast Machines continued many aspects of the Beast Wars toyline including a number of major characters, the Maximal faction, and beast forms that combined mechanical and organic aspects. Furthermore, the Beast Wars title would continue to grace sporadic toys such as store exclusives, convention exclusives, and a 10th anniversary line in 2006.


1996

Maximal

Basic


Deluxe

Mega

Ultra

McDonald's Happy Meal Toys

Predacon

Basic

Deluxe

Mega

Ultra

McDonald's Happy Meal Toys

1997

Maximal

Basic

Deluxe

Mega

Ultra Combiner Magnaboss

Microverse

Eggbots

Predacon

Basic

Deluxe

Mega

Ultra Combiner Tripredacus

Microverse

Dark Eggbots

1998

Maximal

Basic

Deluxe

Mega

Ultra

Super

McDonald's Happy Meal Toy

Predacon

Basic

Deluxe

Mega

Ultra

McDonald's Happy Meal Toys

1999

Maximal

Basic

Deluxe


Mega

Ultra

Predacon

Basic

  • Scarem (Transmetal 2 scarab beetle)
  • Spittor (Transmetal 2 poison arrow frog)

Deluxe

Ultra

2000

Maximals

Deluxe

Predacon

Deluxe

  • Classic Transmetals Waspinator (Transmetal hornet)

Mutants

Deluxe

2001

Predacon

Deluxe

2006 (10th Anniversary)

Maximal

Predacon

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