Maz has been writing articles for TFSource but hasn't been making threads for them here like the updates to his site. So here is a thread just to discuss those. I considered making a new thread for them but we can split this up later if need be since the response to the last one (G1 Cybertron Cars) wasn't that big.

 

Newest: The Appeal of Pre-Production

http://tfsource.com/blog/the-appeal-of-pre-production-part-1/

 

Past articles:

http://tfsource.com/blog/diaclone-abroad/

http://tfsource.com/blog/diaclone-more-than-just-car-robots/

http://tfsource.com/blog/diaclone-car-robots-part-1/

http://tfsource.com/blog/diaclone-car-robots-part-2/

http://tfsource.com/blog/diaclone-car-robots-part-3/

http://tfsource.com/blog/mexican-g1-transformers-the-sublime-and-the-ridiculous/

http://tfsource.com/blog/the-world-of-minibots/

http://tfsource.com/blog/japanese-g1-cybertron-cars/

http://tfsource.com/blog/japanese-transformers-1985-1987/

 

I will edit this thread as new ones show up. If you want to find out about them first, you can follow TFSquareOne on Twitter.

That was a good read. So Encore boxes are the smaller size box right? Its been so long since I have seen a vintage boxed G1 car in person. I thought the Encore boxes were based on (US) G1 boxes.

I'm not sure about the size. Some of the Encore ones do have a top flap... Does Encore have foam inserts?

No, they all had plastic inserts. Rathcet, Ironhide, and Trailbreaker all had flaps, everything else car wise that I have are the book style reissues.

The Japanese reissue boxes should be based on the Japanese G1 boxes - Japanese packaging is usually smaller than Hasbro packaging because:

1: Most Japanese collectors store and display their toys in box, even after opening them. This is useful because of the frequent seismic activity in Japan -- a collection of loose toys displayed can be easily damaged if a small tremour knocks them over.

2: Many Japanese homes aren't very spacious, so consumers prefer to have things in smaller sizes to economise on space. Just have a look at the original 8-bit Famicom compared to an NES! The NES is huuuuge - even the NES cartridges dwarf the Famicom cartridges.

 

Considering that Takara is marketing their reissues at the Japanese market, I think it's perfectly reasonable that they be the same dimensions as the smaller G1 Japanese boxes. It gets weirder when Hasbro doesn't apply this for their market... like the Optimus Prime reissue that used the JAPANESE G1 box art! Whaaa??

 

Here are some pics for comparison:

Original G1 Optimus Prime in box

Original G1 Convoy in box

Reissue Convoy in box

Reissue Optimus Prime in box

 

...you can see that Takara's box is a more accurate reproduction of the original Convoy box compared to the reissue Optimus Prime's box. The fact that Hasbro just recycled Convoy's box art instead of Optimus Prime's box art just reeks of laziness or inattentiveness to me. (-_-)

The newest article is The World of Minibots. Collecting all of them is probably harder than collecting Minicons, only because some of them are quite rare. This is also even more daunting if you want to get the boxed/carded ones.

 

I've seen some Microman ones show up from time to time, even at good prices... But I'm always hesitant to spend that kind of money on such a small item. Especially the smaller packaged bots which are just about as big as the toy in vehicle mode itself!

 

The Peru minibots were ones I've only recently learned about... maybe only 3 or 4 years ago.

Released today: Mexican G1 Transformers on TFSource. This article is a good stepping point from the Minibots article, as they are also featured in it.

 

I personally don't have any of these IGA Transformers, but honestly I don't see them pop up that often. Then again, I'm usually not searching for them either.

Diaclone Car Robots!

http://tfsource.com/blog/diaclone-car-robots-part-1/

 

Interesting that Diaclone is Diamond Cyclone. Reminds me of the olden days of using a web-translator on Diaclone.net, where it would translate it as "Diamond Clone" ... close enough I guess!

Learn something new every day.

http://tfsource.com/blog/diaclone-car-robots-part-2/

 

I didn't know about the scooter, nor the gold Lucky Draw!

thoroughly enjoying these articles...please keep them coming...