About

About Diaclone Reboot

In 1980, Takara created the ground-breaking “Diaclone” toyline in Japan as an original science fiction series of figures, vehicles and playsets.

The name “Diaclone,” was derived from the idea “comrades who have strong friendship and unity like a DIAMOND, ​​and are powerful like CYCLONES.”

Originally conceived as a spinoff of the immensely popular “Microman” line, Diaclone shifted focus to larger scale bases and playsets by reducing the Microman figures from 3.75 inches to approximately one inch. The line incorporated popular Japanese toy trends of the time such as transformation and combining robots into the line. Indeed, Macross alumni Shoji Kawamori and Kazutaka Miyatake were even drafted in to design the mecha.

A couple of years into the line, Diaclone standardized to a 1:60 scale (after being roughly 1:72 for the first year or two), although it was not 100% consistent.

Along with “Microman”, Diaclone treated the world to a science fiction setting with a simple story of “good vs. evil”. Diaclone machines were not sentient life but were piloted mechs, part of a military force standing firm against an alien invasion of terrifying proportions.

After having started in a very much sci-fi vein with robots and spaceships, the line hit even greater heights with the revolutionary introduction of the “car robots” concept; robots that changed into real-world vehicles.

For five years, Diaclone enjoyed huge popularity in Japan, and after amazing Hasbro executives at the Tokyo Toy Show in 1983, deal was struck Between the two companies to import many Diaclone figures (along with a few similar transforming robots from other lines) to the rest of the World and re-brand as The Transformers.

The sheer power of Hasbro meant The Transformers could be supported in a way that Diaclone never was, and as a result, The Transformers got to enjoy the best of everything, starting with the beautiful aesthetics and the highly technical transforming mecha from Diaclone (intoxicating to a Western audience not so used to transforming robots as the Japanese), additionally, Marvel were contracted to create character bios, comics, theme music, cartoons, a movie and a rich & compelling Transformers mythology underpinning it all.

Takara could not withstand the juggernaut that was The Transformers, and the pragmatic decision was made to bring The Transformers to Japan.

By 1985, Takara had ended Diaclone.

In 2015, thirty-five years after its birth and subsequent overshadowing by its own spawn, Transformers, and after laying dormant for decades, the Diaclone line was revived and relaunched as Diaclone Reboot and a brand-new chapter for the 1:60 scale Diaclone world began!

It is this Diaclone Reboot line that we are dedicated to. Up until this point there have been no full English language Translations of the material available for this awesome Japanese only collectors line and it is part of our mission statement to rectify that.