Transformers • Generation 1

The original Transformers toy line, launched in 1984 as a joint venture between Hasbro and Takara: Takara’s Diaclone and Micro Change robot toys were rebranded and sold under a single new concept. The robots changed into vehicles, guns, cassettes, animals or dinosaurs; the first series had 28 characters, 18 Autobots led by Optimus Prime, who turns into a tractor-trailer truck, and 10 Decepticons led by Megatron, who turns into a gun. The line ran for seven years in America and continued in Europe and Japan until 1992. The name “Generation 1” was coined by fans when Generation 2 was released in 1992 and was later adopted by Hasbro.