New York Toy Fair 2019: Hasbro – Transformers

The Transformers team showed off some incredible new reveals– and a fun new crossover– at Hasbro’s Toy Fair Collector’s Event.

It wouldn’t be Toy Fair without a check-in with Hasbro’s Transformers team, and their 2019 offerings did not disappoint. Just like last Fall, the toy line will be split into three threads– Cyberverse (focusing on a new story arc, “Power of the Spark”), the Studio Series continuing to release movie-based Auobots and Decepticons, and the Generations line which continues the War For Cybertron: Siege storyline.

For fans of the live action movies, the Studio Series’ new releases looked solid. This year we’ll see Constructicon Hightower, Drift, KSI Boss, and a Dark of the Moon Optimus Prime from the Michael Bay movies, as well as Dropkick and Optimus from the far superior Bumblebee movie.

War For Cybertron’s second year is bringing even more classic characters to the battle, with the same super-detailed robot sculpts, Cybertronian vehicle modes, and some of the finest paint detailing I’ve ever seen in the Transformers toy line. We’ll see Red Alert, Mirage, and Impactor in the Deluxe assortment, Springer and Thundercracker  in the Voyager lineup, an Armada era Optimus Prime in Leader Class, and the debut of a new Class, Commander, which launches with an amazing Jetfire with removable armor and a logo that can rotate from Decepticon to Autobot.

Later this year, the stunning Omega Supreme will join the Titan Class, and a new limited edition Generations Select figure was revealed– Combat Megatron, based on his G.2 camo deco. This is a great idea for a limited edition exclusive… a cool looking variant based on a lesser know era for the character, that isn’t essential to most collections but is a nice addition for those who want it. Smart!

And War For Cybertron is moving beyond the toy aisle… a new animated series based on this saga is coming to Netflix in 2020.

I think my personal highlight was the Transformers X Ghostbusters collaboration, a movie-accurate Ecto-1 that transforms into an all new robot, Ectotron. The vehicle mode looks perfect, and Ectotron is a cool new character, with a colorway that harkens back to the Ghostbuster’s jumpsuits… and even his own Proton Pack style weapon. Tying together two of the 80s most beloved properties seems like a home run, and Ectotron promises to be a great result of that franchise mashup. Preorders already sold out on Hasbro Pulse, but you can take your chances that Gamestop won’t cancel your preorder HERE.

Even without a movie in theaters, 2019 promises to be a great year for Transformers. I’m more stoked for the War For Cybertron series than I have been about any other Transformers toy line since G.1, and with outstanding products like Jetfire and Bumblebee Optimus, and fun new concepts like Ectotron, I doubt I’m alone in my eagerness for these new toys to hit retail as soon as possible.