TOYLINE DESCRIPTION
scramble city what is a Japanese exclusive toy line?
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Takara's 1986 offerings consisted of most of the new Hasbro products for 1986, more or less unchanged from the Hasbro versions. And since most of the new toys lacked the missile launchers included with the previous year's figures, there's not even that difference. (It is currently unknown if toys with metal/plastic part variantsin Hasbro markets saw similar mid-run changes in Japan.) Some stragglers from 1985 were also thrown in, which included the "VSZ" set, a multi-pack that was the only way to get Skids, Sunstreaker, and Buzzsaw (who had been replaced by Rumble as Soundwave's pack-in partner the previous year). The only real dropouts from this year's line-up were the non-Takara-sculpt Sky Lynx and, bizarrely, the Battlechargers Runamuck and Runabout.
Hey baby I hear the blues a-callin', tossed salad and scramble city!
A considerable portion of the 1986 Takara figures featured an additional "Scramble City" logo on their packaging in addition to the main "Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers" title, meant to accompany the OVA of the same name. The figures released under this branding included not only the year's Combiner "Special Teams" (Airbots, Protectobots, Stuntrons and Combatrons), but also Metroflex (Metroplex), his opponent Dinosaurer (Trypticon) and the two "City Commanders" Ultra Magnus and Galvatron. Ultra Magnus was a redeco of a figure from Takara's Diaclone line, and Galvatron a new toy created for Hasbro's The Transformers: The Movie animated feature film whose Japanese release was delayed by several years. The centrally featured Combiner teams and Metroflex, meanwhile, were originally designed for an aborted 1985 Diacloneline named Jizai Gattai (自在合体, "Limitless Combination"), which was shelved when Transformers proved successful in America and Takara elected to import it instead. The line was so named for the modular construction of the limb toys to "free-combine" (later, "scramble") to form any arm or leg of the larger robot. Dinosaurer, finally, was a new toy designed to interact with the Combiner teams in the same fashion as Metroflex.
The remaining figures released by Takara in 1986 accompanied the Japanese version of the Transformers cartoon's third season, released in Japan as Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers 2010, although the toys themselves did not feature the "2010" branding. Also included among the Japanese 1986 releases were the remaining figures created for The Transformers: The Movie.
Last year's two big exceptions, Astrotrain and Megatron, changed for their 1986 re-releases. Astrotrain was changed to match the Hasbro version. Megatron —this year only available as part of a "Good Bye Megatron" multi-toy set— remained unchromed gray plastic, but got the red trim and scope/arm-cannon accessory to make him more animation-accurate... while still not coming with the silencer and stock. (He also kept the bullet-launching mechanism and sword accessory from before).
One important change to the packaging this year was that the toys' ID numbers were now split by faction, with "C-XX" (Cybertron) and "D-XX" (Destron) numbers on every box, with the numbering picking up after the last 1985 release, 49 Laserwave. This would continue though all subsequent lines up until the end of "Generation 1", and the numbers themselves did not re-set from year to year, they just kept getting bigger. (Lines after "Generation 1" would still number the toys, but the C/D distinction would sometimes be dropped, and the numbers would frequently re-set when a new line was not a direct sequel to something else.)
Toys
Airbots (Scramble City)
C-50 Silverbolt
C-51 Skydive
C-52 Firebolt
C-53 Sling
C-54 Air Rider
C-55 Superion
(gift set of all five Airbots)
Minibots C-56 Bumble C-57 Hubcap C-58 Werve C-59 Outback C-60 Pipes
C-61 Tailgate
C-62 Powerglide
C-63 Beachcomber
C-64 Seaspray
C-80 Wheelie
Cassettbots C-65 Steeljaw C-66 Amhorn C-67 Rewind C-68 Eject
VSZ set, the only way to get Sunstreaker and Skids in Japan for years.
Good Bye Convoy set
Good Bye Megatron set
City Commander (Scramble City)
C-69 Ultra Magnus
Cybertron City (Scramble City) C-70 Metroflex (w/ Scamper, Six-Gun, Slammer)
Protectobots (Scramble City) C-71 Hot Spot C-72 Graze C-73 Streetwise C-74 Groove C-75 First Aid C-76 Guardian (gift set of all five Protectobots)
Cybertrons C-77 Rodimus Convoy C-78 Hot Rodimus C-79 Blurr C-81 Wreck-Gar C-82 Cher Triple Changers C-83 Sandstorm C-84 Sprang C-85 Broadside D-72 Octone
Stuntrons (Scramble City) D-50 Motormaster D-51 Breakdown D-52 Drag Stripe D-53 Wildrider D-54 Dead End D-55 Menasor (gift set of all five Stuntrons)
Jetron D-56 Ramjet D-57 Thrust D-70 Cyclonus D-71 Scourge
Cassettrons D-58 Frenzy D-59 Jaguar D-60 Condor D-61 Ratbat Fortress Staff (Scramble City) D-62 Galvatron
Destron City (Scramble City) D-63 Dinosaurer (w/ Brunt, Full-Tilt)
Combatrons (Scramble City) D-64 Onslaught D-65 Blast Off D-66 Vorter D-67 Brawl D-68 Swindle D-69 Bruticus (gift set of all five Combatrons)
Animatrons D-73 Razorclaw D-74 Rampage D-75 Dimebomb D-76 Tantrum D-77 Headstrong D-78 Predaking (gift set of all five Animatrons) VS sets VSZ Sunstreaker & Skids vs Buzzsaw
"Good Bye" sets Good Bye Convoy (Alert, Ligier & Convoy) Good Bye Megatron (Starscream & Megatron)
Robot Point mail order items Camshaft Downshift Overdrive Ratchet Year 1986
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