We all know there were numerous variations to the Transformers toy line, with terminology like "bloated fist Prime" or "metal chest Springer" having collectively entered the fan lexicon ages ago. Some variations are very commonly discussed and have been well-documented, but some of them I'm just now finding out about, and sites like TFU.info don't even list them as known variations.

I suppose it also depends on your sample size. A lot of us have been exposed to mutiple copies of the same toy, especially ones that have been reissued a few times. But, if you've only owned, say, one G1 Stranglehold toy your whole life, you would have very little incentive to go track down another one (especially at today's aftermarket prices). I would think that eBay resellers who specialize in Transformers, like Wheeljackslab, would be the most knowledgeable people about these, as they probably have the largest sample size to draw from.

It also depends on what actually matters to you as a collector, I suspect. The difference between rubber tires and plastic wheels is a pretty obvious distinction, but a minor modification to the shape of a single plastic tab that locks a vehicle cockpit in place might go completely unnoticed by most people, and might not even be considered a "true" variation in their minds.

So, some real-life examples. Apparently G1 Scourge has a variation where he has a head laser that is either a solid piece, or is actually three separate parts connected together. I assume the three-piece head laser came first, and then they switched to a single piece later in production, which would be cheaper to produce. I owned the G1 toy a long time ago but it was stolen from me. I have zero memory of the head laser ever being able to come apart, though, so you can imagine my surprise when I first started seeing these eBay auctions for only *part* of one. This is not a very well-documented variation at all, and it surprises me.

Also, I guess there was a version of Deluxe Insecticon Barrage whose large front insect horn was either all one piece, or a separate part that could be removed. I would expect, as with Scourge, it was remolded at some point by Hasbro into a single-piece unit for the sake of production costs. I never owned any of the Deluxe Insecticons at all until a month or two ago, so this was something of which I was completely ignorant.

The variations in the Battlecharger guns, and corresponding shoulder-slots, are also something whose existence I stumbled across only a few months ago.. I actually *have* owned multiple Battlechargers in my lifetime (I think I have three Runabouts now) so this is something I should have reasonably expected to notice, but it went unknown to me for ages. I guess there are short-slot guns and long-slot guns, and they are not universally interchangeable with the Battlecharger robots. But, I imagine the percentage of people who are currently in the market for Battlechargers are vanishingly small. Like, a fraction of a percent.

Even late-run toys like Roughstuff (the Decepticon Micromaster Transport from 1989) are not immune. I had to piece one together by collecting parts from different sellers, and imagine my surprise to discover that his little black roller coaster safety bar even has a variation, and that not all parts are universal.

I've discovered variations on toys that I've taken apart, because the differences are on the inside and not readily visible. G1 Apeface, for example, has differences in the way he's put together, but you'll never know which version you own unless you dismantle him with a screwdriver.

Thanks to the advent of the Internet, I feel like modern toys have variations that are more well-documented, even comparatively minor ones, because there are many hundreds of fans all buying the same toys when they come out and we can all compare notes. Everybody wants to be the first to report a running change, even a tiny one. But, the number of people going back and buying the vintage toys at any given moment is destined to be a much smaller subset of the fandom. There are more fans buying modern toys right now, so asking "hey, does anybody else's Golden Disk Jackpot have a weird mold line down the middle of his head?" is going to get a much wider range of responses.

It really makes you wonder how many more hundreds of undocumented variations exist, and how many people already know about them but are not sharing their knowledge. Like, I feel like the Scourge head laser thing should just be something everybody knows, but I was completely in the dark about it. It's like everybody got caught up in the whole "painted wings vs. stickered wings" difference, but nobody ever talks about the head laser.

Why are the variations even important? What does it matter? Well, when you're collecting toy parts to build complete units, it's a huge disappointment to discover that the parts you bought, ostensibly all for the same toy, are not compatible with one another, because they're different variations from different production runs. Also, some changes actually affect the functionality of the toy. For example, I am of the firm opinion that G1 Bombshell needs to be able to point his stinger fully forwards when he's in robot mode, but many versions of the toy can't do this because they're missing the little groove in his stinger that allows the parts to mesh properly. (Likewise, during the Hasbro days we never got a fully-functional Long Haul whose truck grill helps hold the Devastator chest plate in place, because that element was neutered from the get-go. Only the Diaclone toy can do this.)

I am no doubt going to continue discovering new variations as I continue to collect, especially at the rate at which I seem to be acquiring unwanted doubles or even triples in my quest to piece together unbroken, complete vintage units. It's likely I'll share my findings!

Zob (whose fist-holes were widened for his Targetmaster release)

On Sunday, August 20, 2023 at 7:58:23 PM UTC-5, Zobovor wrote:
> We all know there were numerous variations to the Transformers toy line, with terminology like "bloated fist Prime" or "metal chest Springer" having collectively entered the fan lexicon ages ago. Some variations are very commonly discussed and have been well-documented, but some of them I'm just now finding out about, and sites like TFU.info don't even list them as known variations.
>
> I suppose it also depends on your sample size. A lot of us have been exposed to mutiple copies of the same toy, especially ones that have been reissued a few times. But, if you've only owned, say, one G1 Stranglehold toy your whole life, you would have very little incentive to go track down another one (especially at today's aftermarket prices). I would think that eBay resellers who specialize in Transformers, like Wheeljackslab, would be the most knowledgeable people about these, as they probably have the largest sample size to draw from.
>
> It also depends on what actually matters to you as a collector, I suspect.. The difference between rubber tires and plastic wheels is a pretty obvious distinction, but a minor modification to the shape of a single plastic tab that locks a vehicle cockpit in place might go completely unnoticed by most people, and might not even be considered a "true" variation in their minds.
>
> So, some real-life examples. Apparently G1 Scourge has a variation where he has a head laser that is either a solid piece, or is actually three separate parts connected together. I assume the three-piece head laser came first, and then they switched to a single piece later in production, which would be cheaper to produce. I owned the G1 toy a long time ago but it was stolen from me. I have zero memory of the head laser ever being able to come apart, though, so you can imagine my surprise when I first started seeing these eBay auctions for only *part* of one. This is not a very well-documented variation at all, and it surprises me.
>
> Also, I guess there was a version of Deluxe Insecticon Barrage whose large front insect horn was either all one piece, or a separate part that could be removed. I would expect, as with Scourge, it was remolded at some point by Hasbro into a single-piece unit for the sake of production costs. I never owned any of the Deluxe Insecticons at all until a month or two ago, so this was something of which I was completely ignorant.
>
> The variations in the Battlecharger guns, and corresponding shoulder-slots, are also something whose existence I stumbled across only a few months ago. I actually *have* owned multiple Battlechargers in my lifetime (I think I have three Runabouts now) so this is something I should have reasonably expected to notice, but it went unknown to me for ages. I guess there are short-slot guns and long-slot guns, and they are not universally interchangeable with the Battlecharger robots. But, I imagine the percentage of people who are currently in the market for Battlechargers are vanishingly small. Like, a fraction of a percent.
>
> Even late-run toys like Roughstuff (the Decepticon Micromaster Transport from 1989) are not immune. I had to piece one together by collecting parts from different sellers, and imagine my surprise to discover that his little black roller coaster safety bar even has a variation, and that not all parts are universal.
>
> I've discovered variations on toys that I've taken apart, because the differences are on the inside and not readily visible. G1 Apeface, for example, has differences in the way he's put together, but you'll never know which version you own unless you dismantle him with a screwdriver.
>
> Thanks to the advent of the Internet, I feel like modern toys have variations that are more well-documented, even comparatively minor ones, because there are many hundreds of fans all buying the same toys when they come out and we can all compare notes. Everybody wants to be the first to report a running change, even a tiny one. But, the number of people going back and buying the vintage toys at any given moment is destined to be a much smaller subset of the fandom. There are more fans buying modern toys right now, so asking "hey, does anybody else's Golden Disk Jackpot have a weird mold line down the middle of his head?" is going to get a much wider range of responses.
>
> It really makes you wonder how many more hundreds of undocumented variations exist, and how many people already know about them but are not sharing their knowledge. Like, I feel like the Scourge head laser thing should just be something everybody knows, but I was completely in the dark about it. It's like everybody got caught up in the whole "painted wings vs. stickered wings" difference, but nobody ever talks about the head laser.
>
> Why are the variations even important? What does it matter? Well, when you're collecting toy parts to build complete units, it's a huge disappointment to discover that the parts you bought, ostensibly all for the same toy, are not compatible with one another, because they're different variations from different production runs. Also, some changes actually affect the functionality of the toy. For example, I am of the firm opinion that G1 Bombshell needs to be able to point his stinger fully forwards when he's in robot mode, but many versions of the toy can't do this because they're missing the little groove in his stinger that allows the parts to mesh properly. (Likewise, during the Hasbro days we never got a fully-functional Long Haul whose truck grill helps hold the Devastator chest plate in place, because that element was neutered from the get-go. Only the Diaclone toy can do this.)
>
> I am no doubt going to continue discovering new variations as I continue to collect, especially at the rate at which I seem to be acquiring unwanted doubles or even triples in my quest to piece together unbroken, complete vintage units. It's likely I'll share my findings!
>
>
> Zob (whose fist-holes were widened for his Targetmaster release)

I remember all the people who demanded pictures when I told them I had stickered Autobot Cassettes as well as Tampographed, or the plastic toes Frenzy vs the metal toes. Then we had all the gold weapons vs silver plated weapons. A variation I found only last week in G1 Primes, there are different tabs on his front grill to fit on different cabs differently, and they aren't easily interchangable. ome have the taps on a solid plastic bar between the tabs, some have a gap between the tab that a cab divider wall goes between. There are 2 different variations on how Metroplex's legs attach, and neither properly addresses the weak waist joint. There are also white hips with a chrome stripe, or entirely chrome hips.

Today someone brought in 3/5ths of the SDCC Fall of Cybertron Bruticus gift set, and 3/5ths of it is worth only about 15% of a whole one. Oddly enough I only needed a Blast Off to put together the whole combiner, but if I use the SDCC colors someone will have a cow and tell me how offended they are that the combiner isn't perfect. Even though they weren't going to buy it either way.

On Tuesday, August 22, 2023 at 7:45:38 PM UTC-6, Irrellius Spamticon wrote:

> I remember all the people who demanded pictures when I told them I had stickered Autobot Cassettes as well as Tampographed

Dude, I got both Rewind and Eject at retail in the 1980's, and I ended up with a stickered Rewind and a painted Eject. I thought everybody knew about both versions. (The only cassette variation I've never seen with my own eyes is a painted Laserbeak, which I am told was available in Japan.)

> or the plastic toes Frenzy vs the metal toes.

I'm assuming the plastic Frenzy was from the 1987 production run, when he was paired with Ratbat and still selling as a pseudo-1986 product that carried over to the following year. There are color variations of him as well.... I've seen ones with upper legs that were either blue or black.

> A variation I found only last week in G1 Primes, there are different tabs on his front grill to fit on different cabs differently, and they aren't easily interchangable. ome have the taps on a solid plastic bar between the tabs, some have a gap between the tab that a cab divider wall goes between.

See, that's the sort of thing I'm talking about. I've only ever owned a single G1 Prime, and I've never really been able to dismantle him fully (the front axle gets in the way), so I've never gotten a good look at his insides.

> There are 2 different variations on how Metroplex's legs attach, and neither properly addresses the weak waist joint. There are also white hips with a chrome stripe, or entirely chrome hips.

I assume the proper chromed hip parts were from the original 1986 production run with rubber tires, and then they switched to shiny stickers for the cost-cutting version with the all-plastic wheels.

Zob (has a Nomi chatbot that I'm giving a crash course in Transformers)

On Wednesday, August 23, 2023 at 4:08:49 PM UTC-5, Zobovor wrote:
> On Tuesday, August 22, 2023 at 7:45:38 PM UTC-6, Irrellius Spamticon wrote:
>
> > I remember all the people who demanded pictures when I told them I had stickered Autobot Cassettes as well as Tampographed
> Dude, I got both Rewind and Eject at retail in the 1980's, and I ended up with a stickered Rewind and a painted Eject. I thought everybody knew about both versions. (The only cassette variation I've never seen with my own eyes is a painted Laserbeak, which I am told was available in Japan.)

I've never seen a stickered Ravage

> > or the plastic toes Frenzy vs the metal toes.
> I'm assuming the plastic Frenzy was from the 1987 production run, when he was paired with Ratbat and still selling as a pseudo-1986 product that carried over to the following year. There are color variations of him as well.... I've seen ones with upper legs that were either blue or black.
> > A variation I found only last week in G1 Primes, there are different tabs on his front grill to fit on different cabs differently, and they aren't easily interchangable. ome have the taps on a solid plastic bar between the tabs, some have a gap between the tab that a cab divider wall goes between.
> See, that's the sort of thing I'm talking about. I've only ever owned a single G1 Prime, and I've never really been able to dismantle him fully (the front axle gets in the way), so I've never gotten a good look at his insides.

There are also so many trailer variations, so I can't re-pin trailer sides to other better condition trailers, and the rear doors are so varied

> > There are 2 different variations on how Metroplex's legs attach, and neither properly addresses the weak waist joint. There are also white hips with a chrome stripe, or entirely chrome hips.
> I assume the proper chromed hip parts were from the original 1986 production run with rubber tires, and then they switched to shiny stickers for the cost-cutting version with the all-plastic wheels.
>
>
> Zob (has a Nomi chatbot that I'm giving a crash course in Transformers)