Transtech

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Transtech Shockwave concept art. Shockwave-transtech.jpg
Transtech Shockwave concept art.

Transtech is an unreleased line of toys under the Transformers franchise.

Toy Thing to be played with

A toy is an item that is used in play, especially one designed for such use. Playing with toys can be an enjoyable means of training young children for life in society. Different materials like wood, clay, paper, and plastic are used to make toys. Many items are designed to serve as toys, but goods produced for other purposes can also be used. For instance, a small child may fold an ordinary piece of paper into an airplane shape and "fly it". Newer forms of toys include interactive digital entertainment. Some toys are produced primarily as collectors' items and are intended for display only.

Contents

History

After the Beast Machines toyline ended, Hasbro planned a follow-up series called Transtech with character designs commissioned from designer Draxhall Jump. The Transtech line was intended to take the Transformers toyline to its design limits with futuristic-looking bodies and vehicle modes instead of the animal modes used in Beast Wars and Beast Machines. The series was planned to include several surviving Beast Machines characters, one character who died in Beast Wars , and several Transformers: Generation 1 characters. Many concept sketches and several toy prototypes were created, but Hasbro abandoned the idea, importing Car Robots to their markets as a placeholder under the title Transformers: Robots in Disguise until the Transformers: Armada franchise was in production.

Hasbro American toy and media company

Hasbro, Inc. is an American worldwide toy and board game company. It is the largest toy maker in the world in terms of stock market value, and third largest with revenues of approximately $5.12 billion. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of Kenner, Parker Brothers, and Milton Bradley, among others.

Transformers: Generation 1 is a children's toy line that ran from 1984 to 1992 and was produced by Hasbro. It was a line of toy robots that could change into an alternate form by moving parts into other places, and it was the first line of toys produced for the successful Transformers toy and entertainment franchise. The line was originally called The Transformers, with "Generation 1" originating as a term coined by fans of the toys when the Transformers: Generation 2 toy line was released in 1992. Hasbro eventually adopted the term "Generation 1" to refer to any toy produced in that era.

Transformers: Robots in Disguise is an anime series which has an associated toy line released in 2001 by Hasbro. The anime and toy line were originally released in Japan in 2000 by Takara as Transformers: Car Robots (トランスフォーマー・カーロボット).

Transformers: Timelines

The Transtech concept was incorporated into the Transformers mythos with the Timelines comics released at the BotCon convention. In this medium, the Transtech are the native inhabitants of a reality referred to as Axiom Nexus, which serves as a hub for travel between dimensions.

BotCon, briefly known as "The Official Transformers Collectors' Convention", was an annual convention for Transformers fans and collectors. BotCon has been held annually since 1994. BotCon is a syllabic abbreviation for "Robot Convention" but also refers to "Autobot" and "Decepticon", the protagonist and antagonist robot factions in the many continuities in the Transformers franchise.

Releases and designs

Although the Transtech line never reached production, prototypes for Starscream and Cheetor were constructed, and eventually found their way into the hands of private collectors. Concept sketches have also been seen for Blackarachnia, Cheetor, Depth Charge, Megatron, Nightscream, Optimus Prime, Scavenger, Shockwave, Silverbolt, Starscream and a new character called Immorticon. Below is a more descriptive guide to the designs:

Starscream character from the Transformers franchise

Starscream is a fictional character in the many continuities in the Transformers franchise. He is one of the most frequently occurring characters in the Transformers fictional work, appearing in almost all continuities of the Transformers franchise. Generally depicted as a deadly Decepticon who transforms into a jet fighter and who serves as Megatron's second-in-command, Starscream's defining trait is his desire to supplant Megatron as Decepticon leader.

Optimus Prime Fictional character from the Transformers franchise

Optimus Prime, known in Japan as Convoy, is a fictional character from the Transformers franchise. He is a Cybertronian, an extraterrestrial species of sentient self-configuring modular robotic lifeforms, a synergistic blend of biological evolution and technological engineering. In almost every version of the mythos, Optimus is the leader of the Autobots, a faction of Transformers who are rivals of the Decepticons, another faction. He is defined by his strong moral character and is almost always portrayed as the primary hero of the story, opposing the evil Decepticon leader Megatron.

Shockwave is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers robot superhero franchise. Throughout his incarnations, he is usually distinguished by a laser cannon instead of one of his hands and his distinctive face, which is featureless save for a single robotic eye. He is also commonly portrayed as a cold, emotionless Decepticon that serves as Megatron's "mad scientist". Due to issues with Hasbro's trademark of the name Shockwave, some products were also released under the name Shockblast or "Shockblast the Great".

Optimus Primal

Optimus Primal is a fictional character from the Transformers toyline, and the leader of the Maximal forces and the protagonist in the Beast Wars television series. He is sometimes called Optimal Optimus. The name Optimus Primal was given to Optimus Prime during the initial run of the Beast Wars toy line, before it was decided that Optimus Primal was a separate character.

Timelines additions

Transtech has also been used in an exclusive 2008 comic produced for the official magazine. The comic and associated fiction have added the following to the ranks of the Transtech:

<i>Transformers: Cybertron</i> television series

Transformers: Cybertron, known as Transformers: Galaxy Force in Japan, is a 52-episode series co-produced by Hasbro and Takara, set in the Transformers universe. A corresponding toy line was released with the series.

Waspinator is the name of four fictional characters from the Transformers robot superhero franchise. He is sometimes called Wasp. The original Waspinator was voiced by Scott McNeil in the Beast Wars animated series.

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Spark (Transformers) life source of the Transformers

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