Some rare material here, catalogue scans from the Argos Catalogue. These scans cover the years from 1984 to 1986, as you will no doubt note some are mis-transformed. Also of note is the US/Asia issue of Ultra Magnus (clearly identified by the paint application to the face plate and rubber tyres).
*Also worth a note are the Blackstar figures, these were produced by Galoob and were released along side Masters of the Universe figures between 1983 and 1985, in a bid to cash in on the others success. Filmation did a 13 part cartoon series in 1981, this pre dating Masters of the Universe but again to cash in on its success it was aired again in 1983, with little success and plans for a second series were dropped along with the toyline.
Both the above toy adverts like the previously posted one are from the early 1980′s, both pre dating the start of The Transformers. It is interesting to note, with the exception of Convoy, how the colour schemes changed from Diaclone to Transformers. What I like about these early adverts is the detail in them, almost like a mini serial, unlike the later Hasbro adverts.
Toy advert for Diaclone Dinosaur Robo
Now who doesn’t like the Dinobots, however how much cooler is pre Grimlock with actual working flame thrower ?
An early T.V ad for what would become Ultra Magnus, here in his former guise as Powered Convoy.
Also of note here is the cars on the trailer, a grey Skids and red Tracks. These colours were never used in the Transformers line but in the early 2000′s they were reissued by eHobby. The diaclone colour scheme for Ultra Magnus was seen in a Transformers the Movie (1986) preview, however at this time I am not sure if it was an intentional use or just test animation shots. This can be seen in the video below.
Of note here is the “blue” Bluestreak, this figure was never released in the Transformers line despite reports of people reporting they had one. It is more likely that this one ended up on the catalogue due to either availability or the final production colours not been finalised at the time of photography.
