Theory about boxed/carded japanese series 2 minis...
    Posted by: "Martin"
    Date: Fri Jul 21, 2006 8:34 am (PDT)


I my ever-lovin' pursuit to get a definitive release list of G1
Seasprays, I thought about the 2 very distinct packaging variations for the
Takara releases. To quote the Variquest:

"[The] minicars were released in small boxes, similar to the Micro
Change boxes. The later-series mini-cars in Japan came carded, and with the
familiar collector cards that most Japanese Transformers had."

The general assumption is that the boxed version of Seaspray (as well
as Powerglide and Beachcomber) came first, and then the carded one (well,
at least that was /my/ assumption) as a cost-cutting measure from
Takara's side.

But I beg to differ.

Looking at the carded version here:

http://i5.tinypic.com/20kqib9.jpg

Exhibit A: It's barely noticable, but if you look in the lower
right-handcorner, you will see the old diamond-shaped and romanized Takara logo,
that we know from the initial waves of Takara Transformers (1985 and
1986).

(and, as should be obvious, no trading card was included with this
release, in response to the last sentence quoted from the Variquest).

Now, looking at the boxed version here:

http://i5.tinypic.com/20kqikj.jpg

Exhibit B: Looking at the Takara logo in the lower right-hand corner
yet again, we now have the white one with katakana writing and the
familiar"pixie" next to it, as we know it from Headmasters (1987) and on.

Exhibit C: As Maz so graciously explained to me a few weeks back, the
first trading cards that Takara included were with the 1986 releases,
and were of a "simpler" design. The boxed Seaspray has a Headmaster style
checkered pattern to it, suggesting to me that the boxed version did
in fact appear *after* the carded one.

I have not been able to locate any precise release dates for Seaspray
in Japan, but looking at the designation number (C-64), he must obviously
have appeared along the Scramble City combiners, which puts him in the
1986 area (a full year after his US release).

So, my suggestion is, that the carded japanese Seaspray hit the market
first in 1986, but was repackaged for a late 1986/early 1987
re-release with the "new" trading card design.

Why Takara decided to upgrade the packaging -- and not doing that with
the series 3 minis -- is beyond me. A theory could be that Takara wanted
to "update" the few series 2 minis they had to be uniform with all the
other releases for 1987; everything Takara put out in 1987 was boxed, even
the Throttlebots and the Dinocasettes.

In Generations, Seaspray, Beachcomber and Powerglide are dated 1985
(obviously based on their US release), but since they had the
packaging upgrade, I suspect they were released /before/ the series 3 minis in
Japan-- possibly making them an early 1986 release, and the series 3 minis
(along with the single-pack casettes) a late 1986 release.

Too far fetched?

/Martin, trying to avoid writing on his Masters' paper today...