00:05In a world of uncertainty, a civilized colony on a lone planet explores the
00:12surface, sea and stars for answers to their greatest questions. Discovery and
00:19curiosity often drives them to no end in sight. Thankfully, one man can provide
00:26the details to a lost topic to the planet known as construct bots. I know if you
00:35mind, but I'm gonna take down this green screen. If a brand is going to survive
00:38for generations, it needs to change, adapt, and experiment a little. The same
00:43goes for Transformers. While staying in touch with generations, reissues, movie
00:47bots, and cartoons, they pitch some other lines. Examples include Creo, bot shots,
00:52battle masters, but every Transformers line has to start from an idea, an
00:56inspiration. So where else to start this discussion with, than with Bionicle.
01:03Lego started the brand in an attempt to save their company in the early 2000s, and
01:08it worked. Bionicle became a household name and a big franchise that still has
01:12loyal fans to the state. Bionicle's original run lasted from 2001 to 2010
01:17before getting discontinued. It came back for two years in 2015, but we don't need
01:21to talk about that. With a gap for former Bionicle buyers, Hasbro tapped into the idea
01:26and themes in 2013 with the new line, ConstructBots. This line took the Transformers
01:31characters and made them into building toys with a similar technical frame. Not
01:36everyone was into it. The similar system and crazy grappling of Bionicle mixed with
01:40the traditional boxy Transformers. What right-minded person would ever consider
01:45buying me? The answer is me. But even then they had their problems. The brittle clips
01:51and rubber ball joints that would get too loose or tight would cause the parts to
01:55snap in hard play. But if you were careful, you can find some crazy looking gems in
02:00multiple classes. While most figures had the same frame, their class was dependent on
02:04additional parts included to bulk out the set. Speaking of those sets...
02:092013 featured three waves of Scouts, Elites, two Triple Changers, and an Ultimate Pack.
02:15Some do reuse helmets from other figures, but will feature a different face. All the
02:20sets were also numbered. Scouts had Starscream with a weirdly unpainted side of
02:24the helmet and Ironhide to start. The following wave had the super bright
02:28Thundercracker and battle-masked version of Bumblebee with blue like those
02:33AllSpark toys from the first movie. The third wave had the Prime Base Dead End, the
02:37mixed theme Breakdown, the red Bumblebee named Cliffjumper, and Silverbolt who had
02:43Wheeljack's helmet for some reason. Elite figures not only had more parts but had
02:47containers to keep the parts in for storage. The first wave had Soundwave with
02:52the Jetform and Wheeljack who was probably the best-looking one of the group.
02:56Look how handsome he is. Wave 2 featured Hound with similar parts from Breakdown and
03:00both Optimus Prime and Megatron with transparent parts. Wave 3 had Shockwave who I
03:05regret missing out. It also had Dragstrip who looks massive and Smokescreen who at
03:11least has the shoulder rockets. Triple Changers needed the cases because you
03:15have to choose what form they would take. The spare parts for whatever vehicle
03:19mode you decide not to use had to go somewhere. Blitzwing made sense but
03:23Bumblebee... actually Bumblebee looks kind of cool. Lastly there's the Ultimate
03:28Optimus Prime versus Megatron set. It's the same figures as the Elites but with more
03:32solid colors and additional weapons. The second year focused on Beast Hunters from
03:38Transformers Prime while the second half featured characters based on the then
03:41relevant Transformers Age of Extinction. The frames were also changed to a much
03:46more simpler design but the idea stayed the same. A few Arsenal packs were meant
03:50to be released with either the previous Scout Bumblebee, Starscream, Elite
03:54Wheeljack, or Soundwave with extra weapons. Most of the Beast Hunters figures were
03:58based on the mainline toys. Apparently they didn't have much of a release in the US.
04:03With Scouts there was the Beast Hunters Bumblebee with his ongoing crossbow
04:07weapon. Ripclaw was introduced based on their deluxe toy and same with Starscream
04:13especially with the deco. Elite had Optimus Prime with a huge arsenal attached to a
04:18ring like the ultimate figure and green that they kept randomly throwing in.
04:22Skystalker did away with his skinny form and Shockwave seems off from the show but
04:27you know I still kind of want it. Triple changers were replaced with triple teams
04:32including a smaller bond and another that turns into a weapon. Bulkhead came with
04:36Airazor and Wolfang but I really wanted the Unicron Megatron with Ratbat and
04:42Barrage as it was the most accurate version of the Megatron in Predacons Rising.
04:46Speaking of Predaking got released as a singular exclusive Construct bot figure from
04:50the target exclusive Predacons Rising subline. Moving on to Transformers 4
04:55smaller figures called the Dinobot Riders could attach and well ride the
04:59Dinobots. Genius. There was Optimus Prime, Lockdown, Drift and Bumblebee in the
05:06first wave, Crosshairs and Hound in the second and Galvatron and Starscream
05:11randomly shown up in the third wave. Apparently a Shockwave was planned but
05:15sadly didn't actually happen. But the Dinobots themselves each featured some sort of
05:20moving gear function. The first wave had a basic version of Grimlock with the
05:25moving jaw, Strafe with flapping wings and Slug with a spinning frill. Wave 2
05:31featured Slash with scratching claws and Scorn whose spines would shift. A third
05:35wave was planned but only three codenames were mentioned, two of which would have
05:40been likely Snarl and Slug. I wonder if they could have made Steeljaw for the
05:44Decepticons. Dinobot Warriors released with the more traditional bots but with bonus
05:49Dinobot themed creatures that could be pulled apart and attached as weapons and
05:53armor. In Wave 1, Optimus includes Naw Dino, Unrelated, Lockdown had Hangnail
05:59Dino and Drift had Roadneck Dino. Apparently a Galvatron figure was
06:03cancelled. Wave 2 featured the Weapon Specialist Hound with Wide Load Dino and
06:08Bumblebee with Nosedive Dino. As for PAX, there was the Target exclusive and
06:12brightly colored Grimlock with the blue frame, black markings, and Silver Knight
06:17Optimus Prime Dinobot Rider. Walmart had a brightly colored strafe with a super
06:21neon Dinobot Rider Bumblebee and Stinger to counter it. Lastly, there was the
06:26massive Dino Fire Grimlock with an Optimus Prime. This Grimlock was armed with
06:32launching shoulder rockets, large talons, and a huge blade.
06:40Hold on, I'm just getting reports in. We got breaking news. More ConstructBots have just
06:45been discovered out of nowhere. So apparently we're not done. After I wrote this, an
06:50Instagram account shared renders of ConstructBots that tied into the Robots in
06:54Disguise series, a show that premiered after Age of Extinction, so it was after ConstructBots
07:00was already canned. These are what we could have got if they continued. Dinobot Riders would
07:05be released as just small versions of Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Sideswipe, and
07:10Steelja. I'm guessing they planned a Grimlock to ride it. We also have the mainline with
07:14Sideswipe, Bumblebee, a Thunderhook with big antlers, and surprisingly Terashock, which with
07:21the canceled Creon and Tiny Titan, means only one of his toys ever got released. I kind of
07:27feel sorry for the guy. And now, after writing that, more ConstructBots got revealed. And these
07:34ones include super long ball shooters, there's an alternate Optimus Prime, a Decepticon Underbite,
07:41and oh, I guess this Grimlock is why they did the Dinobot Riders. ConstructBots was short-lived,
07:48it had issues with the quality, and was probably hard for casual fans to get into with its Bioncle
07:53style. It seemed to have a very narrow group of collectors it could grab, and the small numbers
07:58just wasn't enough to sustain it. But, I appreciate the attempt. I loved Bioncle growing up, I built
08:04Transformers with my Bioncle parts. To this day, I still buy them. I have a handful of ConstructBots,
08:10and though I feel I need to be super careful, I love how weird and obscure they are. ConstructBots
08:16started on a level that could only catch the attention of someone like me, and in a way,
08:20I think that's kind of special.
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