COUNTDOWN: 6 unreleased Transformers repaints we’re still sad about!

As fun as collecting new Transformers is, many of us cannot help but cast our minds to the endless ‘what ifs’ that have happened down the road.

Yes, today we’re thinking of all those unproduced toys from over the years. It’s not unusual for specific designs to be shelved before ever seeing the light of day, although certain examples cannot help but stick in the mind after eventually coming to light online. In these cases, the ideas employed are often just so promising that their becoming a perpetual pipe dream is a true injustice!

So today, here are six examples from over the years to show you what we mean. We’ve tried to avoid the obvious names like G1 Unicron (and other examples we may have mentioned on previous occasions…), and instead focus on unusual or lesser-known designs. Let’s get to it!

#6: Botcon/ OTFCC Alpha Trion (circa 2003/4)

We’re kicking off today with a true oddity, especially as it’s debatable how close this particular idea ever actually came to being released at all. Still, it’s a real beauty and would have been incredible to see in reality, considering how influential it’s become on later Transformers lore. You see, back in the early 2000s, 3H Productions published a comic book entitled Transformers: The Wreckers, which initially debuted at Botcon 2001. Though the series itself ended up being delayed at various points, there were early plans to include a lion Alpha Trion in the storyline (Alpha Lion, I guess!). Thus, a mock-up was made by hand-painting a copy of Beast Machines Snarl to resemble the character’s traditional colour scheme, although apparently the real desire was to negotiate use of the Beast Wars II Lio Convoy mould for a potential convention exclusive instead. Either way, the idea never came to fruition, leaving this one sample as the only remaining evidence of what might have once been, but that’s not to say it doesn’t remain an intriguing prospect all the same. Even better, it’s likely this unproduced design was at least a partial influence on the 2016 Titans Return Alpha Trion, which revisited the premise of the character turning into a lion, though now with a fairly distinctive unicorn-like horn. If that sounds familiar, then you may be thinking of last year’s Transformers One, which immortalised the whole beastly business on the big screen, thus making this original take arguably even more intriguing in retrospect. A shame it was never to be, but at least it lives on in spirit!

Image credit: Transformers at the Moon

#5: Universe Menasor (circa 2003/4)

Image credit: The Spacebridge

There are certain moulds from over the years that no matter how many times they might be repainted, one more could never be a bad thing. I suppose we should count ourselves lucky that 1992’s incredible European-exclusive G1 Thunder Clash found a new lease of life as Optimus Prime during Machine Wars in 1997, especially given the original outing’s notorious GPS issues in more recent times. Yet like much of the early-90s Euro line-up, there was a further use of the mould mooted for use in 2003’s Universe roster, although sadly it was nixed before ever making it to the final hurdle. Now realised in sultry purple, green and burnt magenta with vibrant yellow highlights, this Decepticon outing of the design would have been titled as Menasor, although really only for trademark purposes. Instead, the intended character was the Stunticons’ chief truck man Motormaster, the appeal of which should be inherently obvious to just about everyone, surely. Prototypes of this release have shown up on auction sites more than once over the years (though these days, it’s fair to say they sit well outside of the budget of your more casual collecting crowd!), forever rubbing salt in the wound of this not having been made real.

#4: Binaltech Paradon Medic (2008)

Binaltech was an incredibly popular collector-oriented real-world licensed car line that ran initially between 2003 and 2005, before returning for an exceptionally brief but super sweet last hurrah in 2008 with four new repaints. Amongst those was the drastically overlooked BT-21 Arcee, which is not only a truly gorgeous figure (and quite unusual for realising the traditionally pink Autobot with a mostly pearl white finish) but also has the honour of being the first transformable toy of the character that turns into a car. However, akin to much earlier releases such as BT-08 Meister and BT-15 Prowl, the original plan was to release Arcee in two separate colour schemes, with the second stab at the sleek street performance Honda S2000 incorporating minty green highlights into the colour scheme in an effort to represent a Paradron Medic in a distinct nod back to the classic 1980s cartoon episode Fight or Flee. There, the medics on the planet Paradron were portrayed using Arcee’s G1 animation model but in a distinct green hue instead, although this would have been the first time they were made in transformable toy form. Sadly, the idea was shelved (presumably as Binaltech was soon to say a final goodbye), and it would take until 2016 for another figure of the character to finally see the light of day!

#3: Animated Vortex Blurr (2010)

The late-2000s Animated toy line is full of all-time bangers, but even amongst such stiff competition, 2008’s Deluxe Blurr remains a standout. It would later be retooled to work as Timelines Cheetor in 2011, which is an equally worthwhile release. Yet by all rights, we could have enjoyed an additional outing before that had the entire Animated endeavour not been summarily cancelled in 2009 after Hasbro decided to pivot towards production of Transformers Prime on their homegrown Hub platform, thus removing Cartoon Network from the equation. Sadly, this left a whole raft of toys to go unproduced, despite many of them having already been showcased on existing packaging adverts doing the rounds at the time, including this rather beautiful black Blurr overhaul. It’s certainly a very different vibe for the commonly comedic character, and presumably was intended as a quasi-reference to his legendary speed-run through space (shortly before being squished!) in season 3’s TransWarped Part II. Whatever the case, we can’t help but be more than a little sad such a thing never came to pass!

#2: Universe Toxitron (circa 2004)

Before Toxitron became a fairly rare and desirable Transformers Animated convention exclusive in 2011, the so-horrific-it’s-somehow-surprisingly-awesome puke green and purple colour scheme was first conceived for the 2003 Universe line, where such whacky but wonderful repaints were but par for the course. Sadly, much like Menasor above, the project was seemingly cancelled due to stalling sales and the increasing need for retail partnerships to bring such larger figures to fruition, but none of that prevented Toxitron from living on in infamy. The presumably hand-painted mock-up of the Generation 2 Laser Optimus Prime repaint was first glimpsed at Botcon 2005 and then again in 2007, with its visual charms both delighting and disgusting those in attendance in seemingly equal measure. It was enough for the sickly idea to be resurrected for the 2011 convention and that Animated exclusive, and then again in 2017 for a Combiner Wars repaint. More recently, we came full circle with the updated take on the classic Laser Optimus Prime design being realised in those unmistakable hues as part of 2023’s Legacy line-up, scratching a long-time itch as far as most of us are concerned. Still, we can’t help but admire what might have originally been!

Image credit: Transformers at the Moon

#1: Action Master Bruticus (2017)

Image credit: Botcon

There surely must be a master list somewhere of ‘Transformers repaint ideas that are so bloody good yet bleeding obvious, it’s a miracle they never happened’, and chief amongst all of those is this absolute oversight. After all, ever since the Euro-exclusive Action Master Elites became a thing towards the tail end of G1 in 1991, it was readily apparent the design for Turbo Master (no relation) was heavily inspired by that of Bruticus from five years prior, albeit now minus the original figure’s signature combination gimmick and sporting a rather inexplicable (but undeniably rad) pink colour scheme. Anyway, fast forward two-and-a-half decades and the Transformers Figure Subscription Service (TFSS) was readily knocking out all manner of exclusive repaints, often with a keen eye on delivering rather clever new takes on existing moulds in a way which felt suitable referential of the past. Sadly, one such idea apparently considered but never acted upon was revisiting that Elite design and yes, doing the obvious after all those years, the concept for which looks every bit as good as we might have always imagined it would. The reality of this never becoming a thing genuinely hurts.

So that’s our list! What do you make of our choices?

TTFN