![]() 19 Beast Wars toys by Kenner continued to use diorama group photos of the toys for the back of their packaging.Įnhanced prototype photos and CG renders (Hasbro) Generation 2 featured cross-sells in the form of group photos of the toys on their packaging, set on "rocky terrain" backgrounds similar to the group photos from the 1985 Generation 1 catalog. Where it gets tricky with the catalog stock photography is that many of the toys used were early prototypes (or, in some cases, possibly recycled Diaclone production toys): 1984's Bluestreak was consistently depicted in the infamous blue and silver Diaclone color scheme his Transformers incarnation was never available in, 1985's Astrotrain featured extendable arms, a different head and a different color scheme than the final toy, 1988's Powermaster Optimus Prime featured either retractable or sawed off super mode hands on his trailer in vehicle mode, and a lot of toys were equipped with different weapons than they actually came with. European Classics combiner team members also depicted the entire team as cross-sells on the back of their packaging. ![]() In addition, the 1989 Small Pretenders featured cross-sells on the back of their cards, and carded Micromasters depicted stock photos of the included toys on the back of their cards. Starting in 1986, the catalogs no longer featured real backgrounds, instead depicting the toys superimposed over whatever background the general catalog had. In later years, the amount of stock photos was reduced to one photo of each mode, which were used on the packaging as well as in catalogs. The 1984 catalog featured a lot of group shots of the toys on color-neutral (but presumably real) backgrounds the 1985 catalog, meanwhile, featured many toys in diorama settings with "rocky terrain" backgrounds, while some larger toys were simply superimposed over the catalog's own background. Just about everyone who got a Transformer with a catalog can remember poring over it, examining those photos and trying to decide which toys to talk their parents into getting. Probably the most familiar Transformers stock photography from those early years, though, were the Hasbro catalogs. Larger scale toys like Omega Supreme or Fortess Maximus also featured additional detail photos of various features and gimmicks of the toy on the front of their boxes. The only exceptions were combiner components, who often showed the other team members as cross-sells. Subsequently, stock photography disappeared almost completely from the back of Transformers' boxes. In 1984, the instructions were also made up of stock photographs.īy 1985, Hasbro switched to line art for the instructions. Photos of the toy in both robot and alternate mode(s) were printed on both side flaps of the packaging, and who could forget the Start>Change>Finish transformation sequence that was printed on the top of the boxes. Furthermore, Hasbro also have stock photos of the toys in packaging, often including international, multilingual variations.ĭirection arrows not included.Early Generation 1 toys featured plenty of stock photography. Production samples may also be used for stock photos. ![]() The toys used for stock photos are often early prototypes that might differ from the final toys. The photographers often have a tendency to photograph the toys in (sometimes glaringly) incorrectly transformed states. Sometimes stock photos are taken in-house, while in other instances, the job is outsourced to external photo studios. Stock photos may also be supplied for magazines and other media outlets. Hasbro and Takara sometimes use the same stock photos for the same toys, but in many cases, the two companies use different stock photos, often because the toys may not be entirely identical in terms of coloring and details. Stock photography, often simply referred to as stock photos, is official photography of Transformers toys used by Hasbro and Takara to illustrate toy packaging, catalogs, instructions and toy listings on their official websites. ![]()
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