Hasbro Generations Rumors for 2019: Micromasters Are Coming!

[Zobovor]

According to buzzing over on the TFW2005 message boards, the next Generations toy line to follow Power of the Primes is called War for Cybertron. Yes, we've heard that name before, and it bothers me that they're recycling it.

The current rumor is that the size classes are getting revamped, and we will get toys in the Leader, Voyager, Deluxe, Micromaster, and Battlemaster categories.

I'm not sure what a Battlemaster is. Some have speculated that it will be the equivalent to the single-pack Headmasters that came with mini-vehicles or the tiny Pretenders. If they're going to do Micromasters, it would make sense for some of them to come with tiny vehicles to emulate the Micromaster Transports (Flattop, Overload, Erector, Roughstuff).

The two main size classes are supposed to be able to carry Micromasters and Battlemasters. It's easy to jump to conclusions and assume that they will be large playsets, like Countdown and Skystalker, but I don't think that's going to be it. I don't think we're going to get an entire toy line of nothing but Micromaster characters, because they lack star power.

I suspect what we're going to see is a mix of Micromaster characters from 1989-90 in addition to more familiar 1984-85 characters, but that the older characters will have vehicle modes that can interact with the Micromasters. Fold-down ramps and hidden opening panels for them to fit into. Conceptually similar to the base modes for the Titans Return versions of Powermaster Optimus Prime, Blaster, etc.

I'm excited about this idea, but I feel like Hasbro is getting ahead of themselves a little. They did a good job with Combiner Wars (even doing some lovely G2 tributes!) and it looks like the teams we didn't get are still coming eventually. Titans Return was phenomenal, but they diverged considerably from the original Headmasters characters from 1987-88. I'm really glad we got new toys for Topspin and Twin Twist, Perceptor, etc. but it feels like we're still missing some important Headmaster characters (The Horrorcons, Scorponok, not to mention every Headmaster from 1988). We're getting a taste of Pretenders with Power of the Primes, but there's an entire slew of 1988 characters who are being ignored (Triggerbots and Triggercons, Sparkabots, double Targetmasters, etc.) Plus, we're still missing 1987 guys like the Throttlebots.

So, now we're marching ahead into what looks like a planned tribute to 1989, which is great. But it will be incomplete. There were 89 Micromaster characters during G1 in America (more in Japan, of course). There's no way Hasbro is going to be able to get to all of them. Of course, Micromasters is more of a toy concept than a collection of beloved characters. A few of them like Roadhandler and Blackjack and Fixit got significant roles in Marvel Comics, but the rest of them are just oversized Micro Machines. Meltdown, Blast Master, Hydraulic... I have no idea who these guys are. They're just toys I never bothered to collect.

So, I don't think we're going to see the standard four-member Micromaster Patrols. I imagine we're going to get a single Micromaster packaged with each of the larger toys, which means we're going to be largely at the mercy of which random Micromasters that Hasbro decides to update.

For now, I remain optimistic. The idea of new Micromasters is quite exciting!


Zob (starting vacation tomorrow, and not an astro-second too soon)

[Irrellius Spamticon of the Potato People.]

So Armada Minicons?
Or do the Micromasters have no real interaction with a deluxe figure?

> For now, I remain optimistic. The idea of new Micromasters is quite exciting!
>
>
> Zob (starting vacation tomorrow, and not an astro-second too soon)

I could see them working the Actionmaster vehicles in.
Starscream transforms into the Turbo Jet and be crewed by Micromasters.
Sprocket becomes the Attack Cruiser, and multiple Micromasters, Titan masters, or Prime Masters can crew it.
Optimus Armored Convoy is a robot, a truck, and a Micromaster battle station.
Jazz comes with a Micromaster that is robot, vehicle, gun, and Turbo skateboard.

[Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats]

On Thursday, May 17, 2018 at 8:54:18 PM UTC-7, Zobovor wrote:
> According to buzzing over on the TFW2005 message boards, the next Generations toy line to follow Power of the Primes is called War for Cybertron. Yes, we've heard that name before, and it bothers me that they're recycling it.

They're just trolling us at this point, right?

I eagerly await the day that they decide to name the next toyline "Generation 1", and we all have to figure out whether to write G12, G1-2.0, or what. And the next toyline should be named whatever people have come up with to try to distinguish the second coming of "Generation 1".

> The current rumor is that the size classes are getting revamped, and we will get toys in the Leader, Voyager, Deluxe, Micromaster, and Battlemaster categories.
>
> I'm not sure what a Battlemaster is. Some have speculated that it will be the equivalent to the single-pack Headmasters that came with mini-vehicles or the tiny Pretenders. If they're going to do Micromasters, it would make sense for some of them to come with tiny vehicles to emulate the Micromaster Transports (Flattop, Overload, Erector, Roughstuff).

I'm going to guess that Battlemasters are Micromaster combiners, adding a combined robot mode, and that they are named after Battletrap.

> The two main size classes are supposed to be able to carry Micromasters and Battlemasters. It's easy to jump to conclusions and assume that they will be large playsets, like Countdown and Skystalker, but I don't think that's going to be it. I don't think we're going to get an entire toy line of nothing but Micromaster characters, because they lack star power.

It wouldn't surprise me if they added the core cast of the G1 cartoon as Micromasters, like they added them to Combiner Wars.

> I suspect what we're going to see is a mix of Micromaster characters from 1989-90 in addition to more familiar 1984-85 characters, but that the older characters will have vehicle modes that can interact with the Micromasters. Fold-down ramps and hidden opening panels for them to fit into. Conceptually similar to the base modes for the Titans Return versions of Powermaster Optimus Prime, Blaster, etc.

For some reason, I think they will use this as an opportunity to explore the larger characters of G1, and that they will end up completely botching the Micromasters as tiny robots.

So the larger toys would be things like Omega Supreme, Ridiculous Purple Griffon, Sky-Lynx, etc.

> I'm excited about this idea, [...] but it feels like we're still missing some important Headmaster characters (The Horrorcons, Scorponok, not to mention every Headmaster from 1988). We're getting a taste of Pretenders with Power of the Primes, but there's an entire slew of 1988 characters who are being ignored (Triggerbots and Triggercons, Sparkabots, double Targetmasters, etc.) Plus, we're still missing 1987 guys like the Throttlebots.

They need to save some characters for Titans Return Returns. Or Titans Return Again. Or Titans Return 2: This Time It's Personal.

> So, now we're marching ahead into what looks like a planned tribute to 1989, which is great. But it will be incomplete. There were 89 Micromaster characters during G1 in America (more in Japan, of course). There's no way Hasbro is going to be able to get to all of them. Of course, Micromasters is more of a toy concept than a collection of beloved characters. A few of them like Roadhandler and Blackjack and Fixit got significant roles in Marvel Comics, but the rest of them are just oversized Micro Machines. Meltdown, Blast Master, Hydraulic... I have no idea who these guys are. They're just toys I never bothered to collect.

Also, Big Daddy. Big Daddy is the pimpin' best.

> So, I don't think we're going to see the standard four-member Micromaster Patrols. I imagine we're going to get a single Micromaster packaged with each of the larger toys, which means we're going to be largely at the mercy of which random Micromasters that Hasbro decides to update.

I expect that the larger toys would come with a Micromaster, and that there would be Micromaster patrols sold separately. Like Armada and the Minicons.

This is totally going to be Armada with G1 characters, isn't it?

> Zob (starting vacation tomorrow, and not an astro-second too soon)

My vacation was a sinus infection from hell. I hope yours is somewhat more pleasant.

[Zobovor]

On Friday, May 18, 2018 at 12:46:35 AM UTC-6, Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats wrote:

> They're just trolling us at this point, right?

Feels like it. On the one hand, I'm glad that Hasbro places value on terms like "Cybertron" and "Energon" and tries to work them into the names of the toy lines. On the other hand, it really makes things feel homogenous after a while. They really couldn't mix it up a little? The Quest for Cybertron? The Secrets of Cybertron? The Hunt for Cybertron?

> I'm going to guess that Battlemasters are Micromaster combiners, adding a
> combined robot mode, and that they are named after Battletrap.

Any guess is a good guess, at this stage. Somehow I feel like the early Micromaster characters are more iconic than the Micromaster Combiners. At least those guys showed up in the comics in some capacity. (Why, yes, I do assign more intrinsic value on characters who got media roles! Arbitrary is what I do best!)

> It wouldn't surprise me if they added the core cast of the G1 cartoon as
> Micromasters, like they added them to Combiner Wars.

I would have loved to see that in 1989. I already pretended that Overload was Optimus Prime, Freewheeler was Sunstreaker, Tote was Ironhide, etc.

(I keep typing "Micromater." Best tiny backwards driver in Carburetor County!)

That raises the question of what they'll do with the bigger size classes, though. I really don't want to see an entire toy line of Micromasters and playsets. I'm okay with a Transformer who can also turn INTO a playset (again, Titans Return base modes), but at least you're buying a character and not a high-tech doll house.

I think it's vital that the Leader- and Voyager-class toys are legitimate Transformers characters in their own right. I guess they could try to emulate the base modes of bigger toys like Countdown, Skystalker, etc. only with a twist. Maybe the Countdown rocket base transforms into a huge robot, but he also comes with a tiny moon buggy avatar?

I feel like the Deluxe-class slots need to be used to continue to bring us updates for older characters. Maybe some Triggerbots and Triggercons.

> For some reason, I think they will use this as an opportunity to explore the
> larger characters of G1, and that they will end up completely botching the
> Micromasters as tiny robots.

I hope not. It's really hard to get Micromasters wrong. They've already established the Titan Masters and the Prime Masters as the new, smaller mini-figure, so I hope that the Micromasters are made at the same scale. They wouldn't be able to fit into Titans Return cockpits because of the wings and car parts on their backs, but I hope they have peg holes in their feet to make them backwards-compatible with all the various toys with mini-pegs we've gotten in the past few years.

> They need to save some characters for Titans Return Returns. Or Titans Return
> Again. Or Titans Return 2: This Time It's Personal.

Titans Re-Return!

> I expect that the larger toys would come with a Micromaster, and that there
> would be Micromaster patrols sold separately. Like Armada and the Minicons.

Patrols would be a good way to knock out a bunch of characters at once. Honestly, I'm not particularly confident they're going to cover a lot of existing Micromaster characters, given the way they're only giving us an appetizer sampler platter of Pretenders. (I guess if I wanted a full complement of Micromasters, I could just hunt down the G1 toys.)

> This is totally going to be Armada with G1 characters, isn't it?

SUNSTREAKER: Wow! I never knew I had these driving claws! WHy mY sHoUlDeRs rEd?

> My vacation was a sinus infection from hell. I hope yours is somewhat more
> pleasant.

Sorry to hear that. Hope you're feeling better soon.

I've actually been hoping I catch a cold at some point, because I have a project I want to do, but my Victor Caroli impression isn't deep enough unless I'm a little congested.


Zob (it is the year two thousand fhHHaaaaack cough phlegm spittle)