Titan Heroes
From Transformers Wiki
Titan Heroes is a cross-property brand used by Hasbro to sell 12" or larger figures that are inexpensive to produce, durable, and minimally articulated. While the implementation in other properties worked out okay, the complex nature of many character designs left the Transformers offerings looking woefully under-painted and often misproportioned. Despite pretty much everyone's first impression, these were not third party knockoffs.
In later years, the line transitioned to focus on Titan Changers, which retain the standard Titan Hero packaging profile, but are capable of transforming (albeit simply) into an alternate mode.
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Prime
The line's initial offering of Transformers: Prime figures first appeared at Toys"R"Us in late spring 2013 ($25 for 16", $10 for 12") and trickled into other stores, although the 16" variety seems to only be sold at Toys"R"Us. By the end of 2013 it was possible to buy a two-pack of the 12" versions for $9.99 at Walgreens, with a $4 off coupon... and people still felt vaguely ripped off.
12" assortment | 16" assortment |
Prime: Beast Hunters
For the Beast Hunters subline imprint, a range of PVC 6" Titan Guardians was introduced at a $7.99 price point. Rather than being packaged, the figures were sold loose with manufacturer tags attached to them.
Titan Guardians wave 1 |
Age of Extinction
For the Age of Extinction toyline, the line returned to the 12" and 16" sizes, now titled Titan Heroes ($9.99) and Titan Guardians ($19.99) respectively.
Titan Heroes wave 1 | Titan Heroes wave 2 | Titan Guardians
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Exclusives
Big W
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Kmart/Argos
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Target
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San Diego Comic-Con 2013 / Transformers (2014)
For San Diego Comic-Con 2013, a set of five Generation 1 inspired 6" PVC Titan Warriors was released as a Hasbro convention exclusive, with remaining stock of the pack also later sold on Hasbro Toy Shop. In late 2014, four of the five figures were re-released individually at retail with generic 2014 Transformers-branded manufacturer tags. While retaining the Titan Warriors name, in terms of distribution, they were treated as a second wave of the Beast Hunters Titan Guardians assortment (A6107) as listed above, thus making them a multi-brand assortment.
The tags for the retail releases include a list of available figures on the reverse side, but in addition to the four figures in the wave, Bumblebee, Shockwave and Wheeljack are given, with Wheeljack's name covered by a sticker. Wheeljack would presumably have been a new figure; it is unclear whether the same would have been true of Bumblebee and Shockwav, but either way their names were likely left uncovered due to their existing presence in the assortment via the original Beast Hunters wave.
SDCC 2013 Titan Warrior 5-Pack | Titan Warriors wave 2 |
Robots in Disguise (2015)
The Robots in Disguise toyline returned to the previous naming standards of 6" Titan Guardians and 12" Titan Heroes, but also debuted a new concept for the range, the transforming 12" Titan Changers.
Titan Guardians | Titan Heroes wave 1 | Titan Heroes wave 2 | ||||||
Electronic Titan Heroes | Titan Changers |
Notes
- The phrase "Titan Heroes" is not found on the first wave packaging. However, similar toys in other lines do use the term.
- The first wave packaging looks like a box but is actually more of a card wrapped into a box shape. It includes bio notes and tech spec numbers.
- The figures are fused together rather than held with screws, so they cannot be easily taken apart for customization or part-harvesting.