The toy and packaging variation oddity, mystery and discovery thread

[Nevermore]

The original European Transformers release of Prowl in "Milton Bradley"-branded packaging was literally a repackaged Joustra Diaclone Fairlady Police. Thus, it features no red "R" and no "Diaclone" markings on the factory-applied stickers for the car hood and doors. However, the included sticker sheet had been replaced with the standard Hasbro Transformers version, now also lacking the red "R" and the "Diaclone" markings. (Source: 20th Century Toy Collector)


The crazy train hits full steam with Hasbro's 1989 Chinese-market release of Prowl: The included sticker sheet is again the standard Hasbro "Transformers" version lacking the red "R" and "Diaclone" markings... but the factory-applied stickers not only feature "Diaclone" markings (but lack the red "R") for the hood like on the early pre-rub US version, but also on the doors, which have never been seen in this particular configuration before! (Source: TF Scraps)


And because the 1990 European "Classic Heroes" reissue of Prowl was produced at the same time as the "Chinese" version, this version of course also features the "Diaclone" markings on the he factory-applied stickers on the car hood and doors. (Source: Maz)

 

[Nevermore]

All known versions of the RID logo:

 

[Nevermore]

Aaaaaaand there's a third variant for European Razorbeast!

The extremely early version of the English/Spanish/Italian packaging variant uses a dark background for the cross-sells on the back, the same also used for the bat Optimus Primal/crocodile Megatron two-pack:




The first running change variant replaces the cross-sells with new ones featuring a brighter background, and then the second running change variant adds the "Biocombat" title and the Italian name "Razor".

 

[Nevermore]

So since this next one at least partially involves a toy-specific fandom myth, I thought I'd just keep it to this existing thread as well.

Why was Overbite called "Jawbreaker" in the Marvel UK comics?

I've tried my best to assemble a comprehensive timeline of events to explain what exactly happened when.


1) April 1984: Marvel US writer Bob Budiansky considers the name "Jawbreaker" for the Dinobot leader. The name even makes it into the show bible for the cartoon's first season, but is crossed out by hand and replaced with the final name "Grimlock".


2) Some time ca. mid-1987: Hasbro decides to call the Seacon shark toy "Overbite", and commissions a model sheet.

3) Late 1987: Bob Budiansky decides to use his originally intended name for Grimlock, "Jawbreaker", for the Seacon shark instead. The printed name "Overbite" on the model sheet is crossed out, with the new name "Jawbreaker" written below it by hand.


4) Late 1987: Marvel UK writer Simon Furman is supplied with early reference materials (when asked about it at BotCon 2022, he seemed to recall that he was indeed working off the model sheets) that feature the name "Jawbreaker", and writes several comic stories that feature that name.

5) Presumably, whoever at Hasbro had rejected the name "Jawbreaker" for Grimlock rejects it again for the Seacon shark. Thus, the toy ends up being released under the name "Overbite" after all, which is not only printed on the toy's packaging, but also in the pack-in toy catalog. This applies not only to the English-only US release, but also to the Canadian release in bilingual English/French packaging, the UK release (which uses the same English-only packaging as the US version) and the continental European release in bilingual French/Dutch packaging.


Despite this, his own instructions still refer to his weapon as a "Jawbreaker cannon", as does his bio written by Marvel US writer Bob Budiansky (spelled with a lowercase "j", thus implying that it was meant as a mere descriptive term, rather than an official name), and Snaptrap's instructions not only refer to his weapon mode for Piranacon as "Jawbreaker weapon", but even identify the figure itself as "Jawbreaker" at one point ("Transform Jawbreaker, Seawing and Skalor to weapon form").


6) February-April 1988: Furman's stories featuring the character under the name "Jawbreaker" get published in UK issues #152 and #160. The introductory pages for issues #152 and #153 also use that name. (Additionally, Snaptrap is spelled "Snap Trap", and Piranacon is spelled "Pirranacon".)


7) May 1988: A UK reader named Paul Addleton notes the naming anomaly between the toy available at UK retail and the name featured in the UK stories. His letter gets published in issue #164, with the answer providing an ad-hoc in-universe "explanation".

 

[Nevermore]

8) August-October 1988: The Seacons make their US debut in issue #47. Because Marvel US writer Bob Budiansky was the same person who wrote Overbite's bio, he was aware which name Hasbro had ultimately approved. Thus, the shark character is referred to by his correct toy name, "Overbite". This is repeated in another appearance in US issue #49.


9) October 1988: Despite all this, an "A to Z" profile published in the 1989 UK Annual still uses the name "Jawbreaker", and once again refers to his weapon as a "jawbreaker cannon" with a lowercase "j".


10) December 1988 - February 1989: The stories from US issues #47 and #49 get reprinted in UK issues #194-195 and #206-207, respectively. The name "Overbite" is not changed, and the introductory page for UK issue #195 explicitly refers to him as "Overbite" as well.


11) August 1989: For the Seacons' next appearance in a UK-original story, published in the 1990 Annual, Furman, who is by this point aware of the discrepancy, makes sure to use the toy's correct name, "Overbite".


12) August 1989: Nine issues after their untimely demise, "Transformers Universe"-style profiles for the Seacons, which are essentially just Bob Budiansky's original writeups for the characters that were shortened for the on-packaging toy bios, are published in US issue #59. Once again, the shark is called "Overbite", while his weapon is referred to as a "jawbreaker cannon" with a lowercase "j".


13) April 1990: Though the Seacons appear in one more UK-exclusive story in issue #268, none of them besides their leader "Snap Trap" are referred to by name.

14) March 1991: Another UK reader by the name Richard Fourke brings up the Overbite/Jawbreaker naming discrepancy again. By this point, the toy has long disappeared from store shelves, the character hasn't appeared in the comic for nearly a year, and the name "Jawbreaker" hasn't been used for two and a half years. The letter gets published in issue #327, and whoever answers the letters pages by this point is clearly out of the look, and claims one is his UK name and the other one the US name. In fact, this very bold statement might very well be the original source of the urban myth that the toy was allegedly sold under the name "Jawbreaker" in the UK or parts of Europe.


15) 1999: Ultimately, the name "Jawbreaker" wouldn't get used by Hasbro until Beast Wars, by which time Bob Budiansky had long since stopped being involved with the Transformers brand. Ironically, the Transmetal 2 hyena that ended up getting named "Jawbreaker" had an earlier working name, "Cackle"... which was for some reason still used for both European packaging variants of the figure.

 

[Sabrblade]

Hey Nevermore, if you're up to it, I got a research-related mystery for you to solve.

In Simon Furman's writer's commentary given in the back in Secrets & Lies #1, Furman claims that, long before Beast Wars, the Decepticon warship Nemesis was first named in one of the Marvel UK letters pages! He doesn't say which issue, though.

Finding out if this is true, which issue's letters page it was said in, and what the exact quote about was -- Therein lies the mystery.

 

[Nevermore]

There are some scans of the UK letters pages online, but tracking them all down and sifting through them in a systematic order is going to be tough, even for me.

I did find some weird conflicting claims elsewhere, though:

Wikialpha, for example, claims the following:

According to the letters page in the US comics it was subsequently used by Shockwave as his base in the Civil War against Scorponok.

Meanwhile, the Fandom Wiki claims this:

Note: The ship's identity and part of its history was revealed in the letters page, which directly conflicts the earlier U.K. story. Simon Furman wrote both stories, though not necessarily the letters page.

 

[Sabrblade]

I did find some weird conflicting claims elsewhere, though:

The Wikialpha claim is talking about Shockwave's underwater base first seen in Marvel US #71 "Surrender!", which the TFWiki currently claims that a US letters page said it was the same ship that first brought the Decepticons to Earth four million years ago in its pursuit of the Ark.

The Fandom Wiki note is talking about the same underwater base having been that same ship, and notes how it being said vessel contradicts the ship's earlier destruction in the UK-only story "Target: 2006".

TFWiki has that note too, but it's currently hidden until someone can find a proper source citation.

 

[Nevermore]

Here's another quickie:

It's sometimes claimed that the number "38" on G1 Smokescreen's doors and hood, as well as on his Diaclone predecessor, "Fairlady Z Racing Type", was the result of a deliberate change similar to how the sponsor decals on several other Diaclone figures with racing alternate modes had been altered: Mirage and his Diaclone predecessor advertised a fictional "Citanes" rather than the real-life cigarette brand Gitanes, Jazz and his Diaclone predecessor advertised a fictional "Martinii" (with a double "i" at the end) rather than the real-life aperetif brand Martini, Wheeljack and his Diaclone predecessor advertised a fictional "Alitalla" (with a double "l") rather than the real-life airline Alitalia, and the Diaclone figure that would later inspire the Transformers character Exhaust advertised a fictional "Marlboor" rather than the real-life cigarette brand Marlboro.


I mean, the actual number used by the real-life Datsun 280ZX Turbo driven by Don Devendorf for the Electramotive team was 83, so they reversed it for the Diaclone and Transformers figures, right?


Right?


Well actually, Devendorf's Datsun did use the number "38". Once.


Specifically, the number 38 was used for the 6 Hours of Fuji race on October 3, 1982.

Considering this was the only time the car participated in a race in Japan, this might explain why Takara at the time deemed that number more "relevant" for its Japanese audience than the more commonly used numer 83.

 

[DefaultOption]

Also the "BM" decal on the hood of the #38 car is in the same place as the "RR" sticker on the Diaclone version, while none of the pictures of the #83 car show any decals on that location.

 

[Nevermore]

Someone over at TFW2005 pointed out to me that one of Bob Budiansky's early working names for Grimlock was "Jawbreaker". I completely rewrote all the relevant parts, and added a new final part that covers the use of that name in the Beast Wars line.

 

[Nevermore]

Found photos of a Canadian-packaged Overbite and an English-only Overbite cardback with a Woolworth price sticker in Pounds!

 

[Nevermore]

What exactly does the name "Sparkler mini-bots" refer to?

Like with the Overbite/Jawbreaker case above, expect a lot of revisions for the following writeup, in case someone spots a glaring omission or points out something I wasn't aware of.


So that batch of model sheets that include "Overbite Jawbreaker" also include Fizzle, Sizzle, Guzzle and Snaptrap:


Note how both Fizzle and Guzzle are identified as "Sparkler Mini-Bot", while the super-category for all of these that is visible in the Snaptrap scan is... "Sparkacons/Sparkabots/Firecons"?

Also note how Fizzle and Sizzle have their colors swapped compared to their toys.

Hasbro's 1988 pre-Toy Fair catalog, the 1988 pre-Toy Fair line art and the 1988 Toy Fair catalog all referr to the shared assortment as the "Sparkabot/Firecon asst."


The final Hasbro toy catalog included with the 1988 figures calls the three Autobots "Sparkabots", and the three Decepticons "Firecons".


Each of the three Autobots Fizzle, Sizzle and Guzzle is identified as a "Sparkabot Autobot" on its packaging, and each of the three Decepticons Cindersaur, Sparkstalker and Flamefeather is identified as a "Firecon Decepticon" on its packaging.


The Canadian and UK releases of the Sparkabots are also identified as "Sparkabot Autobot".

 

[Nevermore]

A 1988 toy ad by Dutch retailer Bart Smit features the name "Sparkle minibot" (omitting both an "r" and a hyphen, and spelling the work "minibot" in lowercase), but only depicts the two Decepticons Flamefeather and Sparkstalker.


A Dutch pack-in catalog included with the 1988 figures collectively refers to both groups as "Sparkler Minibots", spelled without a hyphen. The Autobots are identified as "Sparkabots", and the Decepticons as "Firecons".


In the Marvel UK comics, the characters first appear in the two-parter "Enemy Action!" published in issues #152 and #153, in February of 1988. In this story, Cindersaur, the narrator, Sizzle, Guzzle and Flamefeather all refer to the Decepticon team as "Firecons", whereas Springer refers to the Autobot team as "Sparkler Mini-Bots" (spelled with a hyphen), and Fizzle also addresses his teammates as "Sparklers".


The same names are also used in the text introductions for both issues, as well as in the preview for issue #153 at the end of #152, although "Sparkler mini-bots" has the word "mini-bots" spelled in lowercase in all three instances.


The next time the three Autobots appear in the UK title is the two-parter "Salvage!", published in issues #160 and #161, in April of 1988. In this story, both Fizzle and Galvatron only refer to the team as "Sparklers".


The preview for issue #161 at the end of #160 once again calls them "Sparkler mini-bots", with the word "mini-bots" spelled in lowercase.

 

[Nevermore]

Subsequently, the three Autobots find themselves at the very center of a multi-part story alongside Ultra Magnus, beginning with the two-parter "City of Fear" published in issues #164 and #165, in May of 1988. Right on the cover of issue #164, Ultra Magnus refers his the three fellow Autobots as "Sparklers", and within the pages of issue #165, Sizzle referrs to his group once (colored correctly in alternate mode, as is Fizzle in the same panel) as "Sparkler Mini-Bots" and a second time (colored incorrectly again in robot mode) simply as "Sparklers", as does Ultra Magnus.


The text introductions for both issues, as well as the preview for issue #166 at the end of #165, also once again call them "Sparkler mini-bots", with the word "mini-bots" spelled in lowercase in each instance.


The story is continued in the two-parter "Legion of the Lost!", published in issues #166 and #167, in May of 1988. Within that story, the rogue Autobot Flame refers to Fizzle, Sizzle and Guzzle as "Sparkler Mini-Bots" on two separate occasions.


The text introduction for issue #166, as well as the preview for issue #168 at the end of #167, once again call them "Sparkler mini-bots", with the word "mini-bots" spelled in lowercase in both instances.


The story concludes in the two-parter "Meltdown!", published in issues #168 and #169, in June of 1988. By this time, Ultra Magnus and his companions have joined forces with the Wreckers, who take over much of the spotlight, hence the Autobot trio isn't referred to by name within the story itself.

They are, however, once again referred to as "Sparkler mini-bots" in the text introduction for issue #168, as well as the preview for issue #170 at the end of #169, with the word "mini-bots" again spelled in lowercase in both instances.


Fizzle, Sizzle and Guzzle, alongside Ultra Magnus, are once again the focus of the subsequent two-parter "Deadly Games!", published in issues #170 and #171, in June of 1988. This story also sees the return of the Decpticons Cindersaur, Flamefeather and Sparkstalker. Cindersaur again refers to his team as the "Firecons", as does the alien Zabra, while Ultra Magnus, an unidentified Decepticon and a (once again) miscolored Fizzle all call Magnus's companions simply "Sparklers", and both Zabra and Cindersaur refer to them by their full name "Sparkler Mini-Bots".


Additionally, the preview for issue #171 at the end of #170 once again calls them "Sparkler mini-bots", with the word "mini-bots" spelled in lowercase.

 

[Nevermore]

In the Marvel US comics, the characters only appear in a single issue, namely #46, published in July of 1988, in a story titled "Ca$h and Car-nage!" Wthin the story itself, Flamefeather refers to his team as the "Firecons", whereas the three Autobots are never referred to by a collective name, especially since only Fizzle and Sizzle play a major part in the story (along with Triggerbot Backstreet), while Guzzle only briefly appears in the beginning.


When this US story is reprinted in issues #192 and #193 of the Marvel UK series, published in November of 1988, the text introductions to both issues do explicitly refer to Fizzle and Sizzle as "Sparkabots", contrary to the name consistently used for the group in the previous UK-only stories.


The UK reprint in issue #192 also changes some of the dialogue to avoid a continuity error, since in the UK continuity, the Sparkabots/Sparkler Mini-Bots have obviously been to Earth before.


In 2023, an internal Hasbro spreadsheet for the European 1989 lineup surfaced, which calls the Sparkabots/Firecons assortment "Sparkler Mini-Bots".

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1641041335447691270

Where things get even more confusing are the text stories by German publisher Condor Verlag. Not only does Condor reprint some of the UK stories (such as "Enemy Action") some four years after the fact, without any changes to the naming oddities such as "Jawbreaker" or "Sparkler Mini-Bots", they also create entirely new text stories that frequently feature our favorite spark-shooting Autobots and their Decepticon counterparts.

Without wanting to fill this page with endless paragraphs of German-language text stories followed by translations into English, here's a quick summary:

The Autobot team is consistently referred to as "Sparkler Minibots" (spelled without a hyphen) in the text stories published in Transformers Comic-Magazin #4, #9, #10 (which partially recycles material from issue #4), #11, #20 and #21 (which is recycled almost wholecloth from issue #4).

The Autobot team is consistently referred to as "Sparkabots" in the text stories published in Transformers Comic-Magazin #5 and #8.

The text stories in Transformers Comic-Magazin #2 and #12, the latter of which is later partially recycled for Transformers Comic-Taschenbuch #3, explicitly use "Sparkler Minibots" as a super-catagory for both the Autobot team Sparkabots and the Decepticon team Firecons. Additionally, the text story from Comic-Magazin #12/Comic-Taschenbuch #3 calls them "Sparkler Minibot Assistants", which is the result of a hilarious misinterpretation of the abbreviation "Asst" for "assortment", while Sizzle, Guzzle, Cindersaur and Sparkstalker are all attributed to the wrong faction.

The text story from Transformers Comic-Magazin #6, which is recycled almost wholecloth for Comic-Magazin #17, uses "Sparkler Minibots" several times, but also refers to Fizzle as "Sparkabot Fizzle" once, while Sizzle is identified as "Sparkler Minibot Sizzle".

The text story from Transformers Comic-Magazin #22 is where things go completely off the rails. While the story is mostly recycled from issue #5, there are some notable changes: First there's a Decepticon subgroup called "Sparkler-Cons", then the "Sparkler Minibots" are referred to as a Decepticon subgroup that exists alongside the Firecons, while the Autobots mobilize the Sparkabots against them.

 

[Nevermore]

EDIT:

Okay, I think I know what happened.

Somehow, Hasbro/GiG forgot/failed to give many of the 1997 line-up alternate Italian names for European English/Spanish/Italian "Beast Wars/Biocombat" packaging, as well as the cross-sells on the back. The only ones with Italian names appear to be Cybershark and Claw Jaw.


Basic Drill Bit:


Basic Claw Jaw/"Octopus":


Basic Lazorbeak:


Deluxe K-9:


Deluxe Bonecrusher:


Deluxe Cybershark/"Squalo Tigre":


Jetstorm features the alternate Italian name "Libellula", which is missing from the cross-sell of the later 1997 figures:



For some reason the alternate Italian names for Cybershark and Claw Jaw also appear in the cross-sell on the back of the French/Dutch/German "Beast Wars/Ani Mutants" packaging for the VHS pack version of Airazor:


However, the English/Spanish/Italian "Beast Wars/Biocombat" packaging for the VHS pack versions of Airazor and Razorclaw suddenly features alternate Italian names for all the figures that previously didn't have any:

 

[Nevermore]

There's another case of Italian names appearing in the cross-sell on the back of French/Dutch/German "Ani Mutants" packaging:

The 1997 Ultra Magnaboss and Tripredacus combiner sets.

English/Spanish/Italian "Bicombat" Magnaboss:


French/Dutch/German "Ani Mutants" Magnaboss:


English/Spanish/Italian "Bicombat" Tripredacus/Tripredator:


French/Dutch/German "Ani Mutants" Tripredacus:

 

[Nevermore]

The second European version (of which I don't know if Orcanoch and Arachnid were available in it) featured texts French, Dutch and German, with an additional "Ani Mutants" title.

It exists!

Ani Mutants Arachnid:


Ani Mutants Orcanoch:

 

[Nevermore]

Here is a very old theory of mine:

So it's been long established that the Generation 2 Go-Bots were gang-molded.

Wave 1 had Firecracker (clear car shell and painted blue face), Gearhead (with clear robot parts), Blowout (clear car shell), High Beam, Double Clutch and Motormouth (with clear robot parts).


Wave 2 had Optimus Prime (Firecracker with an opaque car shell, a painted blue helmet and a painted silver face), Gearhead (with opaque robot parts), Megatron (Blowout with an opaque car shell), High Beam, Double Clutch and Motormouth (with opaque robot parts).


Wave 3 had Sideswipe, Soundwave, Frenzy, Bumblebee, Mirage and Ironhide.


And then there are the Japanese versions of Optimus Prime, Soundwave and Megatron, with Takara Soundwave essentially giving the Hasbro Soundwave car shell to the wave 2 Hasbro Gearhead robot parts (featuring the opaque red plastic color also used for Optimus Prime's car shell, and the opaque silver plastic color also used for Megatron's car shell, whereas Hasbro's Soundwave had the blue plastic color also used for Sideswipe's car shell, and the purple plastic color also used for Frenzy's car shell). Likewise, Takara Optimus Prime has the same lime yellow robot parts as Hasbro Sideswipe (which are the same plastic color also used for Soundwave's car shell), rather than the yellow robot parts found on Hasbro Optimus Prime (which are the same plastic color also used for Gearhead's car sell).

This leaves parts for three figures unused - or does it? My very own theory is that the BotCon 1995 exclusive Nightracer figure came from the same production run as the three Japanese Go-Bots. The yellow robot parts are the same plastic color also found on Takara Optimus Prime and Soundwave, and the wheels are the wrong set!


Another clue are Raksha's original comments regarding Nightracer:

BotCon '95 - Raksha (convention organizer)

web.archive.org

The toy: I originally wanted something else altogether, but my choice was limited to one of the six Go-bots. So I chose the one that I thought looked best in vehicle mode and tried to make it as neat as possible. The black color was my choice, the godawful yellow wasn't -- that was supposed to have been blue. I was told they couldn't change that color -- though if you look at High Beam, the yellow is entirely different. So obviously they *could* change the color, as long as it was to something *worse*.

I assume this was a case of poor communication on behalf of Hasbro, and a heavily biased interpretation on behalf of Raksha. Hasbro didn't mean to imply they were incapable of producing the toy in a different color - they meant that the toy had already been produced in those colors (because it was gang-molded with Takara Soundwave and Optimus Prime), and thus they now couldn't change the plastic colors of the existing production run anymore.

Also, WhizBang Toys was later offered additional stock of the Nightracer figure for its 1996 FX convention, though lacking the paint operations that had been applied by hand by Raksha. Presumably, this was additional stock from the production run of the Japanese Go-Bots.

As an aside, the cross-sell featured on the back of the Japanese Go-Bots features a regular Hasbro Soundwave, and Hasbro Sideswipe and Frenzy with hand-painted car shells.