Transformers: Classics
| The name or term "Classics" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Classics (disambiguation). |
When the live-action Transformers film was pushed back from November 2006 to July 2007, Hasbro needed to create a filler line to bridge the newly created gap in their product offerings. That bridge was a revisitation of the original Generation 1 characters, dubbed Classics.
Later, Mini-Cons which were originally meant for the end of the Cybertron line and Generation 1-inspired Legends redecoes were also added to expand the line further.
Although no original animation or full-length comic fiction is planned for the line, the Fun Publications Official Transformers Fan Club Magazine comic will be utilizing the Classics in their 2007 story-arc and setting them in a continuation of the old Generation 1 Marvel Comics universe (A version of this universe that includes everything up until the end of the original Marvel run, but excludes the events of the Generation 2 book that followed, taking things in a new direction instead.)
Toyline
Legends
Mini-Cons
Deluxes
Voyagers
Box sets
- Optimus Prime vs Megatron: The Ultimate Battle (versus 2-pack w/DVD)
- Ultra Magnus vs Skywarp: Battle for Autobot City (versus 2-pack, Target exclusive)
- Constructicon Devastator (Wal-Mart exclusive giftset)
Miscellaneous
- Optimus Prime (20th Anniversary redeco with talking base)
- Soundwave with Laserbeak and Battle Ravage (Generation 1 reissue; Uses the Soundblaster version of the mold, which had a remolded door that can hold two cassettes.)
What counts as Classics?
The Classics toyline is a little tricky to define because some of the items which one would think belong to it -- the Magnus/Skywarp two-pack for instance which redecoes two Classics figures -- do not actually say "Classic" anywhere on their packaging. Even the toys that are definitely "real" Classics toys only have the word on one panel of their packaging as a prefix to their size class ("Classic Deluxe" or "Classic Voyager").
For simplicity, MediaWiki is considering all toys that come in the Classics-style packaging to be Classics toys, even if they do not self-identify as such. Those toys include:
- Prime vs. Megatron Ultimate Battle set
- Magnus vs. Skywarp Battle for Autobot City set
- 20th Anniversary Prime redeco
- Mini-Cons (the Mini-Con sets have been referred to as Classics toys on Hasbro's website, but not on the packaging)
Future?
With the upcoming movie toyline and the new television-supported series scheduled to follow it, the fate of the Classics line is currently unknown. While it is true that Hasbro has gone on record to say that they would like to make some other figures for the line (even going as far as creating concept art for an updated Cosmos figure), with the massive amounts of merchandise being created for the movie and the inevitable new line of figures that will come with the new series, it seems that Classics will not continue for the foreseeable future. Though response to the figures has been very positive, it was credited as a line to fill the shelves between Cybertron and the movie. Just as the Alternators line was put on hold (save for the release of Rumble and Ravage), it doesn't seem as though Hasbro will push three separate toylines (movie, post-movie, Classics) all at once. However, given the overall positive reception to the line, it is not implausible that the line will continue in the future.
The upcoming BotCon 2007 exclusives are set in the Classics universe, and (at least as far as the main box set is concerned) are made of redecoes (and possible retools) of Classics toys as Generation 1 characters, most notably Thundercracker, dirge and Thrust, completing the Classics Seeker set
