Unreleased toy

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For every Transformer that makes it to store shelves, there are always some that fall by the wayside. Lines get canceled, retailers back off on exclusives, designs go over budget, focus groups pass on a concept, or maybe they just weren't cool enough. Regardless of the whys and wherefores, this article aims to document the unreleased toys that never quite saw retail.

Note that this list will likely never be "complete," as for every concept design that makes it into collectors' hands, a countless number wind up in the garbage can.

(Quick! Get to the landfill outside Pawtucket and START DIGGING.)

Regular releases

Generation 1

Concepts
Concept art
Yup, they wanted to make me, but oh well.
  • A Rodimus figure with a strange design and transformation. It is believed that the Target exclusive transforming Optimus Prime gift card is based on this figure, as it is similar in design and transformation.
  • A "Decepticon Stingray" revealed in Transformers Vault. Though the image caption identifies it as "an unreleased and nameless Decepticon Headmaster", the artwork shown does not appear to agree with the "Headmaster" description.
Prototypes
  • Arcee in her original design
Unicron wanted a toy, but his bargaining posture was highly dubious.
  • Two Unicron prototypes were created during G1, neither saw full release.
  • Diaclone Triple Changer - His design was later used for Dropshot.
Toys


Generation "1.5"

"Hi, I'm the Bonecrusher-Bonecrusher fuzor!"

(This section is about the line available in parts of the world (most prominently Europe) between the US G1 and G2 lines.)


Concept art

Generation 2

Prototypes
  • Cyberjets retooled with armored limbs and larger weapons.
  • Two new-sculpt Go-Bots, one of them a military SUV that would have been named "Hound".
  • A version of Mirage in green and pink
  • A version of Starscream in jungle colors. Whether this figure would have actually been Starscream or not is unknown.
  • A version of Starscream in a black deco. Whether this figure would have actually been Starscream or not is unknown.
  • A version of Ramjet in sky blue colors. Whether this figure would have actually been Ramjet or not is unknown.
Packaged samples (test packaging)
Packaged samples (final packaging)
  • "Combat Hero" redecoes of the two G2 Hero sculpts: Optimus Prime in a dark-blue and red color scheme, and Megatron in a gray and black camouflage.
Honorable mention goes to "ATB" Megatron (with Starscream), which was released to test markets in Ohio in very limited quantities, but was never available as a wide release.

Beast Wars

One of the most well-known unreleased toys.
Concept art
Prototypes
Packaged samples


Transtech

It was not to be.
Concept art
Prototypes

Armada

Prototypes
Packaged samples

Alternators/Binaltech

Concepts
Prototypes
Jazz, not Meister. And Smoke... streak?
  • Jazz (Porsche 986 Boxster)
  • Smokescreen (Subaru Impreza WRX, Deluxe-sized)
  • Autobot Tracks (Chevrolet Corvette Z06, yellow version; intended to be released by Hasbro with a running change to blue later down the road, but ultimately only released in blue; yellow version released in Japan)
  • Blackwidow (Honda S2000, prototype sporting the long gun barrel and right-hand steering wheel of Binaltech Overdrive and the head sculpt, hardtop roof and rear spoiler of Alternators Decepticharge, originally announced as Wildrider but then given a deco based on Beast Wars Blackarachnia; ultimately released in Japan in new colors as Binaltech Arcee)


Smallest Transforming Transformers

Prototypes

Attacktix

Prototypes
  • Uh... the entire second wave, pretty much.

Universe (2003)

Prototypes

Energon

Packaged samples
2 HOT 4 U!


Titanium Series

Two for the price of... none.
Prototypes


Revoltech

Prototypes

Cybertron

Buried by his namesake.
Concepts
Prototypes


Classics

Concepts
Tapedeck superior SUV inferior!
Prototypes
  • A Deluxe Class Optimus Prime that looks a lot like the Voyager Class version, with fixed on knee parts.[1] Apparently, an early plan was for this toy to be released without a trailer at the Deluxe price point, and with a trailer at the Voyager price point.[2] It's unclear whether the trailer ever made it past the early planning stage before the decision was made to uspscale Optimus to Voyager size.


Heroes

  • Rhinox
  • Hot Rod (or "Rodimus")
Transformers: Heroes was a planned series that eventually evolved into Animated.

Animated

You'll never find me! Hahahaha!
Prototypes
Packaged samples


United

Prototypes

Transformers (2010)

Averted by the FIBRIR crowd.
Packaged samples


Movie Trilogy Series

Kill all Generation 1 homages.
Packaged samples
Prototypes


Prime

Prototypes
  • A redeco and retool of Deluxe Class Ratchet with the toy's alternate head, possibly as the Prime version of Gears
  • A Hasbro release of Deluxe Class Ironhide (released in Japan)
  • A redeco and retool of Deluxe Class Rumble with the toy's alternate head as Frenzy

Unused pretool heads

I can haz toy? Plzz?

In recent years, Hasbro and TakaraTomy have begun to design toys with retools in mind from the get-go, and thus have created alternate head sculpts and other parts that are often gang-molded with the original release's parts. Those head sculpts are created as prototypes, which occasionally leak out to the public, and sometimes show up in the instructions for the original release most likely by mistake[3], though Hasbro representatives have stated that those could also be considered "previews". Sometimes those pretool parts end up unused by Hasbro. Some of these have, however, been used long after the fact by TakaraTomy or Fun Publications. (Some instances where the plans went a step further to the point where an actual deco was created for a planned release of the sculpt using the alternate head are listed further above.)

And you are...?
  • 2010 Transformers Reveal the Shield Deluxe Class Optimus Prime's alternate head was ultimately only used by Fun Publications for the BotCon 2012 exclusive Timelines Shattered Glass Ultra Magnus figure.
  • The alternate head sculpt for 2010 Transformers Reveal the Shield Deluxe Class Special Ops Jazz shown in the slideshow during the BotCon 2010 Hasbro panel was ultimately only used by Fun Publications for the BotCon 2012 exclusive Timelines Shattered Glass Treadshot figure.
  • The 2010 Transformers Reveal the Shield Voyager Class Lugnut sculpt has an alternate head (depicted in the instructions) that was stated at BotCon 2010 to have been designed without any specific character in mind. Thus far, it has never been used for an officially released toy.
  • The head sculpt shown in Generations Deluxe Class Scourge's instructions was based on "Senator" Ratbat as seen in IDW's Megatron Origin mini-series, but was ultimately only used by TakaraTomy for Generations Ratbat and by Fun Publications for the Transformers Figure Subscription Service exclusive Timelines Serpent O.R., both of them several years later.
  • Generations Deluxe Class Warpath's alternate head was depicted in some steps of his instructions and was most certainly intended as Hardhead, but has never been put to use thus far.
  • Dark of the Moon Deluxe Class Laserbeak had a different, more realistic bird head depicted in his instructions, which might be either an unused pretool head or an instance of a design change.[5]
  • Generations Voyager Class Fall of Cybertron Grimlock was designed with a Beast Wars ("Transmetal") Megatron alternate head. A prototype sporting the alternate head sculpt surfaced in early 2013[6][7], but with the announcement of the Combiner Wars segment of the Generations line replacing the Thrilling 30 installment, it appears that boat has sailed.
Honorable mention goes to Generations Deluxe Class Sergeant Kup and 2010 Transformers Hunt for the Decepticons Deluxe Class Terradive and Voyager Class Highbrow, whose alternate heads were used for Generations Swerve, Dark of the Moon Space Case and Generations Powerdive, respectively. While both Swerve and Powerdive were released under the Generations line relatively close to their respective sculpts' original iterations, they were only made available as part of the "GDO" line-up that was initially intended for Hasbro's East Asian markets, and later brought to North American retail as Toys"R"Us exclusives. Similarly, Space Case was only made available as a Target exclusive in the US (and exclusive to other stores in other countries) several years after the fact.

Exclusives

Conventions

Transcon

Concepts

OTFCC

Why, 3H? Why????
Concepts
Prototypes

Wonder Festival

Packaged samples

Store

Robots In Disguise

Prototypes

Commemorative Series

Prototypes

Universe (2003)

Prototypes
I'm addicted to you
Don't you know that you're toxic?


Movie (2007)

Packaged samples
Would you like to play with my gunbarrel?
In early 2010, about two years after the first samples had surfaced, considerable quantities of the three unreleased Scouts were sold on eBay. Each of them came packaged with two instruction sheets, one in English and one in Spanish, suggesting that the batch was initially intended for the Mexican market. However, based on information from Mexican fans, the toys never actually made it to retail there.


Transformers (2010)

Shanghaied!
Megatron rising... not today.
Prototypes
Packaged samples
  • "Sideways Sneak Attack" multi-pack (intended for Target), containing:
  • "Megatron Rising" five pack, containing:
  • Megatron (Revenge of the Fallen Voyager Class Megatron redeco)
  • Long Haul (Legends Devastator component)
  • Mixmaster (Legends Devastator component)
  • Rampage (Legends Devastator component, yellow deco)
  • Scrapper (Legends Devastator component, red redeco)


Dark of the Moon

So close...
Packaged samples
  • "Autobot Team Racers" (intended for Target), contains:


Generations

Packaged samples
  • Brawn (intended as part of the "GDO" lineup for Hasbro's Asian markets, with the possibility of a later US release as a Toys"R"Us exclusive. The head sculpt would later be used for the TakaraTomy release of Cloud Brawn, using a different deco.)

Miscellaneous

Concepts

Statues/Busts

Walking the... cat?
Prototypes
  • Transformers vs GI. Joe Baroness and Ravage.
  • A Soundwave bust that didn't work well once it was downscaled for release.


Merchandise

Titanium Series

The star wouldn't leave his trailer.
Prototypes


Robot Heroes

Sooooooooo cute.
Packaged samples (final packaging)


Notes

Not the focus of this article.
  • Quite a lot of toys are effectively "unreleased" as far as Hasbro's primary United States market is concerned, but have been released in other Hasbro markets such as Canada, Latin America, Australia, Asia (not counting Japan, which is Takara's market) and/or Europe. For the purpose of this article, however, any toy that saw an official release in any Hasbro market does not qualify as "unreleased", or this list would easily multiply in length. Toys that were intended for release by Hasbro but ultimately ended up only being released by Takara do count, but they get a note that points out their Japanese release. In return, toys intended for a Japanese release that ultimately never made it to store shelves can also be found on this list.
  • In some instances, a toy was never released in its originally intended form, but a toy which sports remnants of the planned version was. See here for more details.


See also

References

  1. ↑ Translated TakaraTomy Henkei/Classics staff interview
  2. ↑ Rumor about the Classics lineup that turned out to be spot on aside from Voyager Soundwave and Deluxe Optimus Prime.
  3. ↑ The main evidence for the "by mistake" argument would be Generations Thunderwing's instructions, which originally depicted the head and chest that would later be used for Sky Shadow. A running change of the instructions eventually changed the head (but not the chest) to Thunderwing's. In addition, there's Generations Warpath's instructions, which only depict the alternate "Hardhead" head in place of Warpath's actual head in some steps.
  4. ↑ "Botcon 2010 Hasbro Designers Panel" at TFW2005.
  5. ↑ "Dark of the Moon Laserbeak Alternate Head" at TFW2005.
  6. ↑ "Generations Beast Wars Megatron - Fall of Cybertron Grimlock Remold" at TFW2005.
  7. ↑ "Generations 30th Anniversary Beast Wars Megatron New Images" at TFW2005.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Dairycon 2008 report
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