Triple Takeover Toycast

We're back for a seventh round of Hidden Gems, our popular format where each of us nominates a figure from Transformers history that we feel has been rather overlooked by the fandom at large and now deserves a little more attention. And today, the choices are more unusual than ever before.

From movie-styled Masterpiece fare to Mini-Cons and early examples of cross-brand collaborative projects, everyone brings something hugely differ...

Way back at the turn of 1980, years before Transformers became a thing, Takara led the way forward for transforming robot toys with Diaclone — all about non-sentient mecha piloted by one-inch figures. The most well-known examples are from the Car Robots subline that would find new life as robots in disguise, but today we're exploring the fantastically old-school sci-fi fare of the earlier years.

Prior to churning out realistic...

With the World Cup in full swing, sports mania is at fever pitch across the globe right now — yet Transformers tie-ins with sport have been surprisingly few and far between over the years, despite some obvious potential. Today we're looking at the various tries made so far, and the open goals that remain untapped by the toymakers.

Sixo has finally relented (against his better judgement) and allowed Liam to have the sports epis...

Between Hasbro and TakaraTomy, there has been a significant volume of new Transformers product of late — so much so that many collectors are forced to pick and choose through practicality if nothing else. Between mainline Generations, Studio Series, MPG, Missing Link, reissues, Collaborative releases, and much more, it's a great time to be a fan. But what has tickled our fancy more than anything else in the first six months o...

Imagine a world where Transformers Armada never happened and the brand had gone a completely separate route. Back in the early 2000s, that was almost the case. After the smash success of Beast Wars and the hugely divisive follow-up that was Beast Machines, Hasbro originally planned a third era — one that would build on the existing direction and pave further towards fusing the technological and organic themes prevalent at the...

With Missing Link Ironhide having just been fully unveiled, there's a lot to talk about. Perhaps more than any other release in the TakaraTomy line, this one has defied fan expectations and delivered something that no one could have predicted by entirely reimagining the classic toy from the ground up. The result feels in the spirit of a vintage design, but much more in the style of the character's fictional portrayals from over the...

Released at a time when Transformers were already firmly on the wane after six years on toy shelves, 1990's Action Masters were Hasbro's attempt at 'rebooting' the line by bringing back familiar A-list characters and delivering them in more 'action figure' style. The concept was inherently divisive from the start: they're Transformers that don't transform. For a brand built entirely around transformation, this felt to some like aba...

This episode is the opposite of our Hidden Gems discussion. Rather than bigging up amazing Transformers toys that nobody mentions, we're re-assessing former releases which are already well known — but not in a good way. These are the perceived stinkers, the Renford Rejects, the real bottom-of-the-barrel stuff. The toys that as soon as they're mentioned online, everyone will quickly jump in to give them a major kicking, swiftl...

Q-Transformers is a 2014 Japanese exclusive line centred around being both a homage to and a spin-off from Takara's own classic Choro-Q line of super-deformed cars (known as Penny Racers in the West). Except here, the central gimmick isn't a pull-back-and-go mechanism but the ability to transform from licensed-but-chibified real world vehicles into familiar robots in disguise characters. Plus, as the name suggests, they're super cu...

The general aftermarket value of second-hand Transformers items has skyrocketed in recent times, driven by what appears to be a collecting boom over the last five years or more. What was once a reasonably accessible hobby has become increasingly pricey, with even previously unloved releases now commanding premium prices. It's a hot topic that affects every collector, regardless of focus or budget.

We're here to establish whether suc...

The so-called e-Hobby era has become a landmark of Transformers collecting for many fans. Running predominantly through the 2000s, the TakaraTomy-affiliated online store offered recolours of classic Transformers toys in weird and wonderful colour schemes — sometimes referencing Diaclone or Micro Change releases, occasionally diving into exceptionally niche corners of the brand's lore, and often just embracing pure creative ex...

We've tackled the topic of head sculpts before, but tonight we're returning with a mission: to highlight specific examples that represent the absolute best the franchise has to offer. Whether it's modern era mainline, Japanese exclusive fare, classic Generations, or our beloved Beast Wars, we're unpacking what makes a great Transformers head sculpt and why their design is so integral to making toys work and feel memorable.

The choic...

Let it never be said that Triple Takeover doesn't enjoy a bit of beast. Having already done deep dives into the classic Kenner line and Takara's Beast Wars II, we're back for more — and this is where things get really weird, with 1999's Beast Wars Neo.

Tonight it's all about the Maximals: a crew of twelve toys that run the gamut from intriguing repaints and retools to flat-out Japanese exclusive oddities. Sixo guides Liam and...

We first covered the beginnings of Transformers Generations toys with 2006's Classics line back in episode #16, but now we're back for the Takara equivalent: Henkei! Henkei! Transformers. This Japanese roster — which also spans parts of 2008's Universe line and literally translates to "Transform! Transform! Transformers" — is a jewel in the crown of mid-2000s robots in disguise.

Henkei! offered surprisingly varied &mdash...

Collecting Transformers should be a joy, but what happens when it starts to feel like a chore? This episode tackles collector burnout — that creeping sense of being overwhelmed, stressed, or feeling obligated rather than excited by your hobby. It's a topic chosen by our patrons, and it's one we approach with honesty, care, and maybe a bit of catharsis.

Burnout can happen to any collector. The pressure to acquire everything new...

As another year of collecting draws to a close, the Triple Takeover crew sit down to reflect on the Transformers toys that defined 2025 for them.

Rather than chasing completeness or release lists, this episode focuses on personal favourites — the figures that made the biggest impression in hand, sparked the strongest emotional response, or simply reminded us why we enjoy collecting in the first place. From the long-anticipated...

IDW artist Nick Roche returns to Triple Takeover to talk Transformers Generations: Thrilling 30 — the 2013–2014 toy line — and the unusual creative journey that links Sandstorm and Springer.

Nick discusses supplying an original Sandstorm concept to Hasbro, how that design eventually became a finished toy, and how it was later retooled into Springer — released first, and coincidentally based on Nick’s ow...

The Transformers Collectors’ Club (TFCC) and Figure Subscription Service (TFSS) are front and centre this week as we delve into one of the most fascinating — and at times frustrating — eras in Transformers collecting.

We were never members ourselves (thanks, geography!), but that didn’t stop us getting FOMO from afar. Today we're diving into the toys, the distribution choices, the aftermarket drama, and the n...

Studio Series has been a cornerstone of modern Transformers collecting since its debut in 2018 — but what exactly does the line represent today?

Originally conceived as a celebration of the live-action movies, Studio Series has steadily expanded its remit. With characters from The Transformers: The Movie (1986) now sitting alongside Bayverse designs, the line’s identity has become broader — and occasionally more am...