Wheeljack’s Lab – Vintage Toy Blog

Follow this blog for the new, the unusual, the rare and cool Generation 1 G1 Transformers toys. Reviews, news, toy resources, galleries, unboxing, opinions and personal reflections on vintage toys.

All About Diaclone

The Diaclone toy line first released in 1980 and is the series that started the widely popular Transformers toys. Although toy companies released changing robots previously, Diaclone made this feature it’s central purpose. This line of toys, released by Takara Toys in Japan, include robots and vehicles that transform. The Hasbro toy company then licensed […]

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Moments in Toy History: Converting Japanese Toys into the Transformers

In 1984, Hasbro created history when they introduced the Transformers action figures to the market. With a powerful story and exciting gameplay, these toys captured the hearts of children across the planet. While Transformers made a huge splash, they were not the first toy to depict transforming robots. For instance, Bandai created toys with basic […]

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Ten Most Expensive Transformers Toys

Throughout the 70s and early 80s, American and Japanese toy companies pushed forward universes filled with robots. While most robots were vehicles for humans to ride in during this era, some were presented as sentient beings. However, a world of form-changing robots that both functioned as vehicles and battle machines was on the horizon. The […]

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The Top Ten Generation 1 Transformers Toys

The Transformers is a successful toy line that features giant robots that transform into various vehicles and creatures. Initially, a Japanese toy-producing powerhouse, Takara, produced the Diaclone toy line. However, when Hasbro bought the license to produce the toys in the west, they reimagined the series as the Transformers. Following the financial success and the […]

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