The latest news from the US toyfair covers Transformers Universe Galvatron, originally confirmed for a release at BotCon last year. The information is that Galvatron turns into a tank, has the G1 cartoon colour scheme in robot mode (purple) yet a grey tank mode. The toy also includes his orange cannon.

Next up was the showing of Transformers Animated Jazz, with the news confirming that reported by Minion, exclusively at Transformers At The Moon, after the UK toyfair. Also noted is that the bonnet of the car forms Jazz's chest.

Update: From Seibertron.com - Hasbro is now taking the Star Wars Transformers and combining them with the Marvel Transformers and they will now collectively be known as Transformers Crossovers .... In a conversation with Aaron Archer, Ryan found out that Hasbro has been working with the Paramount/Dreamworks for the past 3 weeks. The current designs that they have come up with have been submitted to Tomy/Takara.

Update 2:

Tformers are confirming that Transformers Animated Soundwave's guitar transforms into Lazerbeak and that The company (Hasbro) is currently trying to figure out a way to get the Alternators line out there again, but haven't pinned down how or yet at this point.

The Allspark are reporting that a "Deluxe Decepticon named "Oil Slick" is present, a motorcycle with a skull motif." here

TFWorld2005 have images of Transformers Universe Galvatron, taken on a phone. Here and here. As expected their server cannot cope with the demand, so please be patients. We'll not be mirroring their images out of respect.

Update 3:

Leader-class Bulkhead comes with a Headmaster toy, who can be made to "enslave" any other Leader toy with a cry of "Ownage! Total ownage!" - Report by The Allspark (see link above) - GMT 22:14

Update 4

The Allspark are now reporting "Apparently Hasbro and Takaratomy have been considering several candidates for the next Masterpiece. Among the possibilities are Hot Rod, Grimlock, and Soundwave. They're also wondering about combiners for the upcoming 25th anniversary."

In related news The Transformers Collector's Club Members Only section updates with exclusive Toy Fair coverage, including the first pictures of the Animated Activators and Robots Heroes Arcee VS Rumble!

Toy Workers have updated their blog with an entry that is for a pre-order of what they are referring to as the 2008 San Deigo Comic Con exclusive Classics Nemesis Prime. The figure is a black and silver repaint of Transformers Classics Optimus Prime. You can view the image below.

At this time it is not known whether the item is legit or not, hence why this news story is under the rumours category.

Credit to Nevermore for the link.

Toy Workers have updated their blog with an entry that is for a pre-order of what they are referring to as the 2008 San Deigo Comic Con exclusive Classics Nemesis Prime. The figure is a black and silver repaint of Transformers Classics Optimus Prime. You can view the image below.

At this time it is not known whether the item is legit or not, hence why this news story is under the rumours category.

Credit to Nevermore for the link.

Well its been over a week since the British Toy Fair 2008 took place and what a toy fair it was. As we previously reported, Transformers won the best film license of 2007, the Movie Legends was the number 1 selling Action Figure within the UK, and a lot of new and some previously unseen items were displayed at the event. Now, with a big thanks to Minion, we can bring you information on exactly what was shown off at the event by Hasbro UK. Photos were not allowed at the event, so you'll have to wait for the US toy fair for those to be leaked out, but here's the good stuff.

Transformers Animated

Bulkhead was shown in three sizes. Deluxe, Voyager and Leader class. The leader size had a large jetpack with four wing blades coming out.

Optimus Prime was also shown in the same three sizes.

The voyager scale Megatron was on display along with what was probably the leader class, due to its size, helicopter version which had a cannon on the underneath of the cockpit. Minion asked the Hasbro representative who is was and she confirmed it was Megatron. It reminded him of the Miles Mayhem chopper in MASK.

Transformers Animated Fast Action Battlers were on display, though the line has officially bene renamed, only Minion can not recall exactly what to. They now have electronics and sounds as well as the pull back action and pop-out features. Three figures were on display, though Bumblebee is the only one he can recall at this time.

Jazz was also shown off in vehicle mode looking very sweet and G1 like (colour wise).

Other Animated figures were also on display, but nothing else was new as was the packaging.

Transformers Movie

Hasbro confirmed that the Transformers Movie line will run, within the UK, up to the launch of Transformers Animated, at which point it will be phased out. The Robot Heroes Optimus Prime / Bonecrusher 2-pack was part of the display.

Transformers Universe Classics AKA Classics 2.0

Sunstreaker, Prowl, Onslaught and Powerglide were all on display.

Powerglide was fully coloured and was pretty big, comparable to Jetfire. Not enough red for Minion's tastes as they made a lot of use of silver on his colouring.

Onslaught was much chunker than expected, the SWAT APC mode looked much better in person than the official images.

Sunstreaker had been over-handled by the end of the weekend and had fallen to pieces (it was a prototype being displayed).

Prowl looked great

Robot Heroes

Blitzwing and Galvatron were on display, as were a few others. They all looked great and continue the tradition of these collectable figures

Marvel Transformers

The Marvel Transformers were also on display, the first three figures being Hulk, Venom and Iron Man. Much smaller than the metamorphs and comparable to the Star Wars Transformers. Venom turns into a jeep/APC, Hulk a Tank and Iron Man a jet. They all looked pretty cool

We'd like to thank Minion for his report and hope you enjoy this awesome report of the 2008 British Toy Fair. We'd like to thank you in advance for linking to this article rather than copying its contents

Singapore based seller, The Falcon's Hangar, has published an image of Transformers Henkei 07 Astrotrain which shows that the figure will be recoloured from the original white version to a grey version, thus making him appear more like the TV Show. Click on the image below to view the full size version.

Hasbro have updated Transformers.com with the first official images of the Transformers Universe Classic Deluxe and Ultra Wave 1 figures. The images are of the unpainted prototypes and can be seen below.

Sunstreaker

Prowl

Powerglide

Tankor (Octane)

Onslaught

Here is a copy of the press release.

Get the inside scoop on wave 1 of the Transformers Universe Classic Deluxe and Ultra figures with first looks of grey model images, character names and design notes from the toys’ lead designer – Bill Rawley.

The Classic Series is back in Transformers Universe with updated versions of your favorite characters. We chose G1 characters that translate well into today’s world with realistically-styled “alt modes” and cues from the characters’ heritage to create awesome, updated robots. Wave 1 will hit stores in August 2008.

Transformers Universe Classic Deluxe

SUNSTREAKER
For SUNSTREAKER, the design team sought to create a cool concept sports car that was reminiscent of the character’s G1 form. In robot mode, the team modernized Sunstreaker’s head from G1, but originally weren’t able to achieve the proper fit to allow for the toy’s conversion. A final change to convert part of the “ear” panels allowed the team to capture the look it desired.

PROWL
In robot mode, it was important that Prowl have his shoulder mounted missile launchers, as he did back in G1. The design team also worked with TakaraTomy to create an innovative head reveal as part of the conversion process.

TANKOR
This triple-change converts to a robot, airplane and tanker truck. Originally planned as Octane, the team ended up having to change the name to Tankor. Like Prowl, this character also features an exciting head reveal. Painted with all the details, this guy looks like a mean Decepticon ready to blast and cut something to shreds.

Transformers Universe Classic Ultra

POWERGLIDE
For POWERGLIDE there were a few important design considerations. First, the design team wanted POWERGLIDE’s head to still have a dome-like point, but in a more updated way. Second, his wings needed to be in his shoulders as they originally were in G1. To stay true to the realistic nature of the Classic Series, the deco will be more silver than red, but with multiple red cues to connect to POWERGLIDE’s original look.

ONSLAUGHT
Bill chose ONSLAUGHT because he always loved his design and the two large signature barrels on the character’s back. The design team worked to retain that very characteristic silhouette in this new Ultra scale version of ONSLAUGHT. In choosing a vehicle mode, design went with a cool S.W.A.T. Urban assault vehicle to set it apart from the tanks in other TRANSFORMERS product lines. The vehicle choice and theme lent itself to the creation of a riot shield in robot mode. The final version does an excellent job recalling the G1 characters the design team grew up with.

The Botcon website was updated yesterday with the brochure for Botcon 2008. Amoungst the pages of the document is the background story to this years set.

"This year’s chronicle shatters everything you thought you knew about Transformers! Here is a universe you never expected... On a world known as Cybertron, a ruthless and cruel tyrant prepares his army for an all out attack. Their destination: a planet, rich in resources, known as Earth! Only a small band of rebels stands between this evil warlord and his plans for universal conquest. If these brave soldiers are unable to stop the attack, then there will be nothing to prevent this shattered universe from falling victim to the maniacal Optimus Prime and his evil
legion of... Autobots? This is truly a malformed universe where the Decepticons are heroic and the Autobots are evil! Coming this spring, the battle lines will be drawn and a new champion will emerge. A young and noble Decepticon will stand up and fight for freedom, the freedom, which is the right of all Transformers! Advising him will be his trusted lieutenant Starscream, and his fellow virtuous Decepticons. They will fight to the very last to stop the spread of Optimus Prime’s tyranny! Don’t miss this outstanding collection of Transformers figures as it is a one-of-a-kind “must have” for every Transformers Fan’s collection"

The Transformers Collectors Club big surprise last night consisted of listings for Transformers Universe (Classics 2.0).

Wave 1 will consist of:-
Deluxes:
Sunstreaker
Prowl
Tankor (Formerly Octane)

Wave 2 will consist of:
Ultras:
Onslaught
Powerglide

They also mentioned the TFCC are hoping to get pre-orders for the Seacons and Nightbeat in March, with them shipping in April.

You need to be a member of the club to view the images.

In a thread over on TFW2005, LocustReign posted a report a stock list which he says was sent across from his toy shop's wholesaler. The lists showed the Transformers Animated figures has having a release date within the UK of April 4th, with the Transformers Classics 2.0 figures due on May 9th. Previously Hasbro UK told us that they had no plans to release the Transformers Classics 2.0 figures within the UK. With the UK Toyfair being held next Friday, confirmation of dates and items will probably be available after the initial press day.

Here's the post

"Just had an email from my toy shop's wholesalers saying that Animated Deluxe, Voyagers and the 2-pack are to be released (in the UK at least) on 4th April 2008. The price list also mentions leader class Bulkhead and Megatron - not sure if we've heard of these before???

Universe (aka Classics 2.0) deluxes are listed as having a release date of 9th May (just after my birthday, YAY!). Ultras and Voyagers are down as release date TBC."

Fan2Fan are reporting on a 2-day toy forum for retailer which just took place in Japan. At the event TakaraTomy were displaying many of the figures that will be released in Japan over the next 6 months. They included the Transformers Classics (HenKei "Transform!") series where Astrotrain and Hot Rodimus (Rodimus) were shown off. They are out in April and June respectively. Fan2Fan also report that Starscream and Grimlock will feature chrome parts. Encore figures 9 and 10 were also announced, Encore 9 will be a minibot set, released in May, with Encore 10 being a reissue of Omega Supreme. Like Skylynx, he will be a special release and is due for June. Also shown were MA-21 Optimus Prime Battle mode, with show accurate head and sword arm, MA-22 Bumblebee battle mode, new head sculpt, TS-01 Optimus Prime (Trans-Scanning), TS-02 Bumblebee and the movie screen battle packs

Two images of the Japanese version of Transformers Classics Megatron were posted over at a popular Japanese social networking site showing the figure to have a much closed Generation One colour scheme, due to the gun laws in Japan. You can view the images below

Cool Toy Review is featuring a list of Hasbro's 2008 Action Figure products (planned for US releases in 2008). Assortment and the Number of Items are revealed, although not exact details of who is in what.

"For their Transformers collection, Hasbro is putting a strong focus on the new Animated version of the characters, and we’ll see the following:

Transformers Animated Voyager Assortment
9 figures

Transformers Deluxe Animated Assortment
15 figures

Transformers Leader Assortment
3 figures

Transformers Animated Activators Assortment
8 spring-loaded quick transforming figures

Transformers Universe Deluxe Assortment
8 figures

Transformers Universe Ultra Assortment
4 figures

Transformers Universe Assortment
8 figures

Transformers Movie Screen Battles Assortment
4 figures with scaled human figures

Transformers Universe Robot Heroes Assortment
13 two packs

Transformers Allspark Battle Packs Assortment
8 two packs

Transformers Animated Battle Pack w/DVD

Roll Out & Command Optimus Prime
Optimus comes to life via automorph technology. This talking figure can automatically transform.

Marvel Legends Transformers
Well, there are 8 of these planned, and we guess some people might like them…

Note: The Transformers Universe lines is the official name for Transformers Classics 2.0

Fun Publications have updated Botcon.com with a teaser quicktime video and image which features Transformers Classics Optimus Prime, what appears to be Transformers Cybertron Crosswise and a third robot all with a purple hue. The quicktime video displays the message "This spring at Botcon 2007 everything you thought you knew will be shattered" and ends with a reversed gen1 scene shifting rift.

TFWorld2005 member Ages3AndUp has posted a thread stating that the Transformers Classics line will be released in Japan.

It looks like Japan is offering it customers the Classics line. It will consist of 4 figures at first, Optimus, Megatron, Starscream and Bumblebee. They will be priced at Japanese prices like $35 for Voyager size and $25 for Deluxe but for those who missed these figures, that seems like a small price to pay for them to be available again.

They will just have the C designation.
C-01 - Optimus (Convoy)
C-02 - Megatron
C-03 - Bumblebee (Bumble)
C-04 - Starscream