Although we’ve been doing our analysis of Beast Wars on a year by year basis, since the 1999 and 2000 toylines are much smaller than previous years, we will consider them both in a single essay. The three defining features of these two years of toys are the introduction of Transmetal 2 figures, the Fox Kids redecos, and the Mutant figures of the 2000 line. Much like 1997, these years continue to articulate a vision established earlier in the toyline. However, even in decline, Beast Wars was influential. 1999 and 2000 are also among the first years to demonstrate many of the hallmarks of the last stages of a toyline; a decline in the production of new figures, figures taken from other lines, and redecos of older figures.
The defining feature of the 1999 Beast Wars line was the introduction of Transmetal 2 figures. Every new mold figure in the line featured the Transmetal 2 styling. (Monzo) Essentially, this styling was a continued exploration of the initial Transmetal concept. Where the original Transmetal figures featured organic robot modes and robotic beast modes, Transmetal 2 figures featured a hodgepodge of organic and mechanical detailing and a high degree of asymmetry. (Suki Brits) Because of the involved demands of this sort of styling, these figures feature unusually high levels of sculpted detailing. Between their intense detailing, varied color schemes, and the continued use of vacuum metalized pieces, Transmetal 2 figures are some of the most visually complex in the history of the brand.
In lieu of more traditional faction symbols, or the ‘energon chips’ of earlier beast wars assortments, 1999 introduced Spark Crystals, a design element which would continue to see regular use in various toylines until the termination of RID (2001). (Reptillia 28) These were “plastic bubbles in various colors, covering a vacuum-metal insignia of the allegiance of whatever Transformer possesses it”. (Reptillia 28). Although initially the crystals did nothing more than reflect the show plot point of sparks as the life essence of a transformer, (which in and of itself was hugely influential, and reflected in almost every subsequent piece of fiction, in subsequent toylines they often served to activate some sort of gimmick. (Reptillia 28)
The non-Transmetal 2 figures of 1999 were mostly redecos of 1996 show character molds in apparently arbitrary color schemes, in order to “get classic show characters back on shelves” and “Celebrating the move to the Fox Kids programming block”. (Monzo) Although the first wave of these figures was entirely 1996 toys, subsequent waves were all 1998 transmetal figures, with similar color schemes. (Monzo) Several of these were even released in 2000, alongside the Mutant assortment. (Monzo) These figures appear to reflect some of the logic of the original Transmetal upgrades of these characters, since “Initial Hasbro solicitations gave the toys “power up”-style descriptors”. (Monzo) To that extent, the Fox Kids redecos represent something of a novelty; they are the first systematic usage of simple redecos of existing molds to pad the end of a retail line. This practice would later become commonplace for successful toylines.
1999 also featured a significant decline in the number of new mold show character figures. Where almost all of the 1998 Transmetal figures were characters in the show, the Transmetal 2 figures contained merely five. (Monzo) This begs the question of why more show characters were not revamped into new Transmetal 2 forms. The Fox Kids redecos already made incarnations of the core cast available on shelves; Hasbro may have felt this was sufficient representation. Hasbro may have also concluded that it was too soon to refresh many of the characters. Of the characters who did receive Transmetal 2 figures, Blacharachnia had not previously been upgraded, while Dinobot 2 and Tigerhawk were new characters. (Monzo) Cheetor and Megatron had received transmetal toys, but are arguably some of the most central members of the cast.(Monzo) It is telling that Optimus Primal did not receive a Transmetal 2 upgrade. This is likely because, although he was a core character, he had received two upgraded forms in 1998. (Monzo) Indeed, Optimus Primal, Megatron, and Cheetor are the only three characters to receive three new mold toys over the course of Beast Wars. (Monzo) These characters are simply more marketable, given the status of Optimus and Megatron as faction leaders, and Cheetor as the kid appeal character. (Deceptitran)In essence, more show characters weren’t released as Transmetal 2 figures because there weren’t that many to release.
While half of the 2000 line up of beast wars was the final few Fox Kids redecos, the other half consisted of the Mutant assortment.(Monzo) These figures are among the more unique in the history of the brand, in part because of their origins as figures in the Animorphs line, another line of converting action figures based on the Animorphs book series.(Tantrum) Essentially, these four figures don’t feature a traditional robot mode. Instead, they convert between two beast modes. (Tantrum). As mentioned long, long ago in my discussion of alt mode sample space, these figures are among the handful of toys with two alternate modes.
These figures are also remarkable because, by 2000, Beast Machines was already in full swing. (Monzo, Tantrum) Much how HasTak padded out the successful Transformers toyline with figures from the less successful Diaclone and Microchange lines, they made a similar decision to capitalize on the phenomenal sales of Beast Wars via figures from the infamous Anamorphs line. (Flicky1991, Tantrum) This is remarkable both because it established a trend of using molds that might otherwise not have seen the light of day at the end of popular retail lines, and because Beast Wars in particular was so popular that toys nominally associated with it continued to sell well after the end of the series, and indeed, well into the run of its successor.
1999 and 2000 demonstrate, and indeed partially establish, many of the features of a successful retail toyline coming to an end. 1999 continues to explore the ideas postulated by earlier Beast Wars lines, and both 1999 and 2000 feature a plethora of redecos of earlier figures, figures from other, unsuccessful lines, and a decline in the rate of new figures. It is a testament to the success of Beast Wars that it ran for fully 4 years; most contemporary toylines manage at most one or two.
As this will be the last instalment in our consideration of Beast Wars, we will take a moment here to consider the line as a whole. To describe Beast Wars as innovative and influential is to make a dramatic understatement. Beast Wars canonized much of what it means to be a Transformers line; ingenious engineering and significant articulation, fixed size classes, weapon integration and storage, a smaller core cast with multiple releases, and eventually redecos of earlier figures to extend the line. It is no exaggeration to say these traits are common to almost every single subsequent toyline, to such an extent that we often overlook these features, simply taking them for granted. G1 was, broadly speaking, a very fluid environment in which many kinds of transformers found a home, with lots of articulation or little, with car modes and fantastic spaceship modes and everything in between. Beast Wars focused the design space of subsequent lines; what kinds of figures they would make, what kinds of elements they would include, what sorts of standards they would adhere to, and arguably even how long those lines would run. As Newtonian mechanics is to the modern study of physics, so Beast Wars is to those Transformers lines that came after. More than influential, Beast Wars is fun. It has toys that are a joy to play with, compelling characters, and it’s the line that gave us a transformer that turns into a hammerhead shark. What more could one ask for?
Works Cited
Monzo et al.“Beast Wars:Transformers(toyline)”, TFwiki, https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Beast_Wars:_Transformers_(toyline) Accessed 5/1/2020
Suki Brits et al. “Transmetal 2” ,TFwiki, https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Transmetal_2 Accessed 5/1/2020
Reptillia 28 et al. “Spark Crystal” , TFwiki, https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Spark_crystal Accessed 5/1/2020
Deceptitran et al. “Kid-appeal Character”, TFwiki, https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Kid-appeal_character Accessed 5/1/2020
Tantrum et al. “Mutant (BW)”,TFwiki, https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Mutant_(BW) Accessed 5/1/2020
Flicky1991 et al. “The Transformers (toyline)”, TWwiki, https://tfwiki.net/wiki/The_Transformers_(toyline), Then and Now Accessed 4/25/2020
Transformers Aesthetics 