Complete History of the Transformers - 1980s | G1 | Vintage Toy Documentary 1984 ~ 1989 Generation 1

[@spqr7742]

Star Wars, He-Man, GoBots, GI Joe, Voltron, Transformers, and BMX ...we 80's kids had it all.

[@steve2275]

yes we did

[@SimplicityBeatZ863]

Yup😊

[@charlesbailey7839]

I was 5 when Transformers hit the shelves, me and my friends were so impressed, we all went crazy for them

[@RowdyRodimus]

I was born in 1976, and I'll go to my grave saying that it was the best time ever to be born for toys. Very end of Mego (so underrated and the sheer number of licenses it had was amazing. I mean where else can you have Spider-Man fight Paul Stanley of KISS Ann then have them attacked by Dr. Zaius and Tarzan before they are saved at the last minute by The Riddler and Fonzie from Happy Days lol), then right into MotU, Go Joe, Go-Bots, DC Super Powers, Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars, and finally Transformers---and that's just leading into the first half of the 80s and doesn't even bring into consideration the video games. Kids today will sit with a phone and play Minecraft or whatever on it for hours, see, I think we had it so much better when some friends got together, each bringing some action figures or vehicles and w staged massive battles for control of XYZ and if you had a rudimentary knowledge of table top RPGs, you could work that into your play pattern and make the battles even more fun since you never knew how the dice would land. Great video, sir. Thanks for sharing this with us.

[@ToyKennections]

'76 was a fantastic time to be born. Caught the peak of the big 3, the tail end of Star Wars and prolly the start of TMNT!

[@drewlovelyhell4892]

When my brothers and I were kids, we would pretend to be characters, or even mecha. "I'm a Spartan Destroid!" "I'm Dai-X!" We'd make absolute fools of ourselves stomping around like giant mechanoids. Do kids even do that anymore?

[@dennisveneman9469]

Now we have a real oprimus and grimlocl who transform😂

[@joshuadabbs1380]

Amazing video! So many awesome bots and cons

[@inflewence]

Appreciate the time you put into this video!

[@streetcreature74]

Thank you for making such an awesome video.

[@ToyKennections]

You're very welcome.

[@headkrack]

Thank you for all of your hard work

[@ToyKennections]

Thank you for watching.

[@Sochilln75]

1987 was a great year for toys. It was very difficult to choose what I was going to get when my parents said it was OK to get something from the toy isle!

[@ToyKennections]

I loved 87.

[@RowdyRodimus]

1985 was that year for me, with Transformers it was easy- just get them all (Yes, I was that spoiled kid that had all of a certain thing) but GI Joe was tough because I couldn't afford everything and 85 was arguably the best year ever for that line.

[@markplott4820]

Ummm, 1970 was a Banner year for Japanese toys POPPY, DX chogokin, and JUMBO machinder all predate the Transformers.

[@RowdyRodimus]

@@markplott4820 But to be honest in the pre-internet era, things released primarily in Japan, it might as have been on Mars . Sure there were very specialized places and people that dealt in those type things here in America but they were very few and far between. Hard to believe it's been about 25 years that the Internet opened up the world so that most everyone has the ability to get almost anything they want. (Although I did get a Godginrai set in like 1989/90 from my Uncle who did some work in Japan and brought me one back.)

[@Darkbotsz5]

1986 a si fue que finalizado la serie de la última temporada de la g1 original Ya que fue todo exitoso.

[@Trueno1600]

Man, that brings back memories! I may not be a Transformers nerd, but I grew up to be a serious car guy. And what I really nerd about, and wonder why no one seems to talk about, is what truck brand was the cartoon Optimus based on. I narrowed it down to 2: Either a Kenworth K100 or a Peterbilt 352. I came to the conclusion that the closest is the Kenworth for the overall shape, vibe, and grille shape, although the Peterbilt seems to have the round front fenders... It's really hard to tell since the toys differed so much from the cartoons, and the cartoon models seemed to change a little from season to season!!!!

[@bayarearetro3986]

This is good dude. Really well done, and I know I'll be watching it several more times. Thank you for this.

[@ToyKennections]

Thanks for the kind words. Indeed the hope is to turn this into a timeless reference videos for fellow fans to come back to.

[@apriloneil-c5t]

Amazing video!!!

[@wilhelmtoyandhobby]

Great job 👏

[@ToyKennections]

Thx for your help again on the 86 segment!

[@JONNYSORENSEN_AU]

He had ONE job! And he did it well. 😀

[@semicharmedlife311]

@@ToyKennections Agree. Very well done and much enjoyed. Other than referring to Sideswipe as "timid". While he wasn't as cocky and bombastic as Sunstreaker, there was nothing timid about Sideswipe. He was a man of action in the cartoon and always more than held his own. No hesitancy, no timidity.

[@bsimon9427]

awesome video. it was definitely more than meets the eye

[@ToyKennections]

Thx for watching Bart!

[@Chris.Mc83]

Nice trip down memory land! My first Transformers was Windcharger, my favorite was Soundwave, and of my childhood collection, the only one I have left is a Seacon Skalor.

[@tubetop123]

Awesome video, subscribed

[@ToyKennections]

Much appreciated.

[@SabertronToys23]

FANTASTIC VIDEO!!!

[@ToyKennections]

Thx for watching

[@MythonThePython]

Great video Ken! Really enjoyed this visual journey!

[@ToyKennections]

Thx for watching man!

[@SirDGentry]

Hi There, mines was Deceptions Devestator & Starscream & next generation of Optimus Prime & Megatron was my most favorites

[@ToyKennections]

Good choices!

[@SirDGentry]

@@ToyKennections yes I've believed Constructions are another special part of G1 Era

[@TheLilith1978]

I wasn’t much a transformer fan growing up. I did enjoy the cartoon series as it played on tv. I owned two transformers in my life as in hound and blitzwing but a interesting fact I was given one for my birthday think it was wheeljack and I was so upset that I made my dad take me swap it out for something Joe related. I think the problem I had with transformers growing some of first wave of transformers never reflected what they look like on cartoon. But as time went on my friend Nathan got more into them and wanted to include em in our play time. I think what won me on transformers toys was that line rise of the titan that toys look awesome both in robot and vehicle mode and in cartoon too. I never got heavy transformers comics so I not up on the lore. But I have few in my collection today but those first waves I do struggle with but I do lov those Dino bots a lot. Thanks for doing this video it’s very educational and has help me a lot

[@ToyKennections]

Glad to help. Yeah i found the toys lacked articulation, but i sorta just dealt with it as a kid. Thx for the comment!

[@gmb7mm]

Soild Gold Ken!!!!!!!! Well done.

[@ToyKennections]

Woot! Happy to see you here as always, Joe.

[@jedijian]

This so brought back nostalgic memories! I remember pestering my parents to buy me a transformer after watching the cartoon. My very first transformers were Smokescreen and Skywarp. I was always wanted Hound as he was my favourite but could never find it at any of the toystores my mum would take me to, so I got Grimlock instead. Also, thank you for jogging my memory as I totally forgot that i had both the jumpstarters, Top Spin and Twin Twist! Love this video! Proper walk down memory lane! Wishing I could go back in time and become a kid again! Haha!

[@ToyKennections]

Glad I got to help you relive some good memories. 😎

[@Steven-ip8xo]

Hi Ken, Great video about Complete History of the Transformers-1980s|G1|Vintage Toy Documentary 1984-1989, keep them coming, Also your previous video was outstanding, Also Incredible shout out to 1.Wes from Fandom Power Podcast,2. Treasures For Trigger, for The Transformers 1980's Complete History video, Also The Autobots and Autobot Subgroups are my best and most favorite Transformers Heroes not only are my best and most favorite Hasbro Heroes and Hero Teams but also my best and most favorite Transformers Hero Teams and Organization of all time, Also The Decepticons are my best and most favorite Transformers Villains, not only are the Decepticons my best and most favorite Hasbro Villian Teams/Organizations, but also my best and most favorite Transformers Villian/Villian Teams of all time, Also Autobot City is located outside of Chattanooga, Tennessee, at lookout mountain the same city has the tow truck hall of fame and the home of the first two trucks, Also I'll watch the movie tomorrow and i loved the fishing part with Hot Rod and Damiel, Also Star Wars, He-Man, GoBots, GI Joe, Voltron, Transformers, and BMX we 80s kids hadit all. And yes we did, Also 1987 was a great year for toys, Also as for the latest video I'll watch it tomorrow, Also Amazing video! So many awesome bots and cons, Also awesome video. it was definitely more than meets the eye, Also Great job👊 Also Soild Gold Ken!! Well done. Also thanks for sharing Ken keep up the good work stay safe out there in Canada have a goodnight, Transform and Roll out, Till All Are One, and I'll see you next time and take care.🙂🟢👊👍😎🦸🥊🇺🇲💪😀🥷🏋️🤩 4:53 am.

[@ToyKennections]

Till all are one!

[@Teletran35]

Most of those 80s toons were never on satarday mornings only sfter school in the afternoons

[@Clam73]

I have to look, but I think I still have Mirage which I really liked playing with and Trailbreaker too. Thundercracker was another favorite that I had...think I lost a wing at some point.

[@TheSandwhichman108]

Something interesting I wanna point out about double dealer’s toy continuity is double dealer kept his power masters separate from one another. Neither knew about the other’s existence or knew about double dealer’s true motives.

[@Rob-z7k]

I loved growing up in the 80s

[@bowelrupture]

As a kid i had from first to last, Cliffjumper, Warpath, Windcharger, Quake and Skids.

[@davidheard709]

Well,,,,, Transformers was a blast, as for the toys I had a few... Blaster, Jump starter, & Constructicons. I just wondered, where could U go to join a fan club? An auto-bot I really enjoyed was Mirage..... the best part was his strategy to surprise his enemies.

[@halbourneutube]

Duke was supposed to die in the Joe movie. The Hasbro execs thought that it was such a good idea that they told the Transformers writers to kill off Prime. Then the Joe movie hit development hell and the Transformers movie was produced first. Then the death of Optimus traumatized kids so hard that they forced the rewrite of the Joe movie. Can we be clear and blame GI Joe for the death of Optimus Prime? All because the G1 Joe line didn't have the swivel arm battle grip.

[@Rob-z7k]

Prime stayed dead...till the red dust episodes came out. I was like 12yrs old and said..wowww....Optimus is back!!!

[@matthewgaudet4064]

I fell in love with the show on television we barely got WLVI TV 56 with rabbit ears. There was no VCR, I recorded episodes on my cassette recorder. It aired all the way up to the powermaster Optimus reruns and then was cancelled. The comic book continued for some years and also was cancelled. I didn't even know about the Japanese shows as they were never localized in English or released here. Headmasters I had no idea about.

[@ToyKennections]

So many fun memories indeed! Yeah the Japanese cartoons were a gem I found years later.

[@GeneralAMSEL79]

❤ into my Favorits

[@Никита-м5у]

I have KO G1 Optimus, Bumblebee and Warpath from AliExpress. They're really good. I got them for my birthday. Also Prime and Bee have rubsymbols.

[@Никита-м5у]

I mean OP and BB from 1984 and Warpath from 1985.

[@RetroBusker]

Can u do complete history of first half of 90s transformers, as thats wen it really got great and no one on yt is shoeing it

[@ToyKennections]

I do plan to circle back to the 90s at some point. Unsure how soon.

[@RetroBusker]

@@ToyKennections My fond memories of toyshops with TMNT & Transformers was 1990 - 1995, thn i moved on🥲 I had alot of heman & turtles, transformers were waaay too expensive for my parents 😭... so wod just day dream in the toy shop.. Only had 1 transformer per year, altho had friends who had som i didnt.. thr was a rich friend who had allot of tranformer toys in either 1990 or 1991 and i stole his black car transformer, wod be fasinated to see it again altho its not showing on the yearly transformer pics

[@saintcalibre]

The mini autobots weren’t just microchange. Huffer, Windcharger, Brawn, and Gears come from the Mysterians line.

[@ToyKennections]

The Mysterians line was cancelled though.

[@Supertron1]

It's a shame that Overlord did got get an American release. But, i kind of understand why Hasbro didn't release his figure. There was a limited amount of space on shelves in the toy department. With the release of Powermaster Optimus Prime and the re-release of Fortress Maximus and Scorponok, there might not have been enough room for another giant figure/base.

[@ToyKennections]

Probably. At least he got a European release though.

[@Supertron1]

@@ToyKennections Indeed. They even made a commercial for him. The Brainmasters also go a European release, albeit with different names and color schemes.

[@Darkbotsz5]

Bueno recordemos que a principios de los 80s Transformers tuvo que ser de Paramount marca de insignia De la franquicia junto con la propiedad de Hasbro Para tener figuras y cómics basadas Y tener adaptaciones de Paramount En toda la vida que tendremos más de esos proyectos como tal. Transformers es una de la famosa franquicia oficial americana de figuras y cómics Siendo popularmente en Nueva York Hollywood. Como marvel y Star wars.

[@drewlovelyhell4892]

If I were to be pedantic, I would insist that the "tech specs" were just the graph of the character's abilities that accompanjed their biography and motto.

[@Phonesavanh-dd7oh]

First “ blue streak “ I got was call Silver Streak TRU reissue. I didn’t care on the name as long the toy is still the same .

[@semicharmedlife311]

Fair play, but I'm the opposite with name changes, i.e. who the hell is "Slug"???

[@starby1243]

Great stuff. Although I wished the audio recording was better and 90% less slideshows

[@superiorcybergodzilla5670]

Transformers, G.I.JOE, Godzilla, Star Wars

[@owood5243]

Should have just left off Ironhides head to be more accurate to the 1986 movie.

[@ToyKennections]

Haha

[@Gemini22-v4w]

Autobot city is located outside of Chattanooga Tennessee at lookout mountain dude the same city has the tow truck driver hall of fame and the home of the first two truck I love transformers and tow trucks my family owned the tow truck that is used in the movie with Jamie Lee Curtis called Grand View U.S.A. please go and watch that movie dude and I loved the fishing part with hot rod and Daniel

[@ToyKennections]

Awesome! Thx for that tidbit of info. Love your logo too.

[@JONNYSORENSEN_AU]

Can I ask your source? In the cartoon it's a bit like Springfield, where it shows mixed elements of each coast, but also elements of other states with hydro-dams melanged together. I figured they just put in whatever elements they wanted making it kind of everywhere, but nowhere. And whenever they drive somewhere the geography never makes any kind of sense if you match it the real world. but it's was a cartoon and we are not meant to dissect it decades later. Still, if you have a source it's a topic I've looked into at various times in my own TF retrospectives and blogs over the years and I'd be keen to check it out. 😀

[@Gemini22-v4w]

@@JONNYSORENSEN_AU please look at the thing that Daniel is holding and where the two line cross on it ok dude

[@Gemini22-v4w]

@@ToyKennections thank you my bro

[@drewlovelyhell4892]

I never had any firm concept of where Autobot City was exactly, because it appeared in The Movie without explanation. All I know is that The Ark is located at the base of Mount St Hillary in the Cascade mountain range in Oregon. A fictional Mountain that was inspired by the famous Mount St Helens which had recently erupted. Geography on the show was always a bit iffy, because the Autobots could seemingly drive anywhere in the world in a matter of hours.

[@deceiver444]

The sound of your voice in the beginning is bad. It sounds distorted. Did you have some technical issues ?

[@ToyKennections]

Hi - Which part(s)? The 1984-85 section that starts about 4mins in? If so, those were recorded way earlier in the life of the channel before I switched microphones. The whole video is a supercut of videos from 2022 to 2024 and the recording gear changes as my gear gets upgraded.

[@diggdirkler9445]

Why didn't you mention the train or race set?

[@ToyKennections]

Was focusing more on Hasbro toys. That one i think was by Tyco

[@diggdirkler9445]

@ToyKennections yea they were tyco ig it makes sense to focuse more on hasbro for purposes of the documentary

[@ToyKennections]

@@diggdirkler9445 I guess it still makes sense to include in some ways. In some aspects i was lumping that set in with lunchboxes and things that werent part of their main wave of action figures.

[@diggdirkler9445]

​@ToyKennections yea also since you emphasized the Takara releases

[@ToyKennections]

@@diggdirkler9445 true. Though it's inevitable to mention Takara since they owned the original molds. Anyway, I think Tyco may have done a GI Joe train set too.

[@lsduanugauge]

This one was just in

[@jeffbrothers]

where can you find vintage transformers now?

[@ToyKennections]

I just get them at toy shows and local shops

[@jeffbrothers]

@@ToyKennections i got a g1 huffer at a local toy shope but i think mine is broke or loose

[@Hybrid_Prime]

Did you happen to trade a Japanese Abominus box for your custom Bluestreak?

[@ToyKennections]

No. I paid cash for it back in 2007.

[@Hybrid_Prime]

@@ToyKennections it looks exactly like the one I built and traded in 06 😂 same tone of blue and everything. Are the back of the doors completely painted?

[@ToyKennections]

@@Hybrid_Prime where did you trade it? In Vancouver? Back of the doors are still grey-ish...

[@Hybrid_Prime]

@@ToyKennections I traded it to a guy in Canada is all I remember. The back of the doors just barely got some over spray on em. Inside of the fists are still smokescreen blue. The blue paint is testors acrylic out of one of those old ozone can airbrush kits. I traded it for an some Abominus parts and he threw in a Japanese gift set box and foam as a bonus. Made it out of Prowl, Smokescreen,and prowl reissues and used left over chrome G1 gun and missiles. 100% sure it's the one. Traded it on TFW2005 site.

[@Hybrid_Prime]

I meant to say silver streak, not prowl twice 😂

[@thatsandwich2go531]

Windcharger had a voice please if u review watch the show

[@JONNYSORENSEN_AU]

More more more, so much more more gotta get metroplex's cog is it over here is it over there, go go go, gotta transform and find it, now now now, watch the Ken show show show!

[@ToyKennections]

Lol. I tried to read this in Blurr's voice.

[@Dhark370]

2:29:46 Deathsaurus is crazy lol

[@ToyKennections]

Yup

[@skeletorrobo]

Was 1989 the last year of G1?

[@ToyKennections]

No. In the US it ran until 1990 and overseas it continued until 1992. I just ended the segment at 1989 as Hasbro was in the midst of some corporate changes (across other brands including GI Joe too) and in Japan it was the last full season of the cartoon before switching to one shots and the Battlestars comic.

[@DangerDave-e7u]

Roll out!

[@ToyKennections]

Roll out!

[@dragoonseye76]

I was 8 😊

[@Phonesavanh-dd7oh]

Rodimus prime is best thing came out of this . His character ( not the toy ) is better than Optimus prime in my opinion. I didn’t care Optimus die when I first watch .

[@semicharmedlife311]

Complete and utter opposite. How in the world is he better than Optimus Prime? And not caring about the latter's death puts you in the very smallest minority there could possibly be. But entitled to your opinion.

[@markplott4820]

Toy kinections - but USA Transformers is not JAPAN Transformers. Japan Transformers is superior and has more CANON series. they Diverged when JAPAN created Scramble City OVA , and USA released the Movie. USA did not get TF 2010 or Headmasters OVA. Did not get TF VICTORY and so on.

[@VAULT-TEC_INC.]

Hope there’s something REALLY unique and interesting in this “documentary” to differentiate it from the numerous other “History of G1 Transformers” documentaries out there.

[@WraithMace]

Haters gonna hate!

[@markplott4820]

Toy Kinections - Diaclone has more Diverse Product , the Toys in general were better. but , Diaclone had no Cartoon. they did have stop motion Animated commercials . Hasbro created the cartoons w/ sunbow . but Hasbro NOT that creative. POPY diecast toys and DX Chogikins and ST Dircast, and JUMBO Machinder pre dated Transformers and were better in every way.

[@thatsandwich2go531]

You r review must be done by someone other than yourself

[@treytonhunsaker]

This video is incredibly cynical, but so is this comment.