Triple Takeover Toycast

Triple Takeover

Welcome to the Triple Takeover Toycast — a fun and informative fortnightly podcast all about Transformers and other amazing toy lines. From vintage rarities and prototypes to modern releases, cartoons, comics, and films, your hosts Sixo, Liam, Jason and Maz dive deep into toy history and pop culture with passion, humour, and plenty of nostalgia — plus the occasional special guest.

  1. Sep 29

    1990 Micromasters: American G1's Last Hurrah

    As the final year of the original Transformers toy line in North America, 1990 is typically thought of for precisely one thing: Action Masters. Yet aside from the notorious non-transforming examples, there was also a whole second wave of Micromasters unveiled alongside them — and they're every bit the mini-marvels as the previous year's efforts. With new multipacks of four individual robots — including the Construction, Air, Monster Trucks, Hot Rod, Race Track, and Military Patrols — now bolstered by a heavy focus on Micromaster Combiners such as the Metro, Astro, Battle, and Constructor Squads, alongside the notoriously hard-to-find Combiner Transports, there's plenty to contemplate from this last hurrah of the line. In fact, there's an argument to say that "Generation 1" showed no sign of sputtering out at this point, considering how vibrant it all is. We examine all these toys and more, including the larger Anti-Aircraft Base and Battlefield Headquarters sets, exploring how this final wave built on the Micromaster concept introduced the year prior. More than anything though, this is a love letter to Micromasters as a whole, contemplating how sometimes, the best things really do come in small packages. — Enjoying the show? There’s more than meets the ear... Find show notes at https://www.tripletakeover.com Join the conversation with us on Discord Support the podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tripletakeover

    1990 Micromasters: American G1's Last Hurrah
  2. Sep 15

    Our Favourite Optimus Prime Toys: A Celebration

    The Transformers fandom was recently rocked by the tragic passing of legendary voice actor Peter Cullen, who famously provided the iconic voice of Optimus Prime for over forty years. We've already expressed our appreciation for the man himself in a dedicated minisode, but now we're back to celebrate his legacy in a different way — by selecting some of our favourite Optimus Prime toys from over the years. And boy, are we spoilt for choice. Right from the earliest years of the brand, Optimus Prime has had some of the best toy designs to his name — be they from the 1980s, '90s, '00s, or beyond. Today, we each highlight two examples that have spoken to us or stand out for various reasons, but what becomes clear is the sheer range of amazing options for representing the character in plastic. No two examples here are the same, yet they all share one thing in common: they're some of the definitive Transformers toys of all time. And that's Optimus Prime. Inevitably, there's some lighthearted landgrabbing along the way, along with the usual confusion about just what constitutes 'the brief' for the conversation. However, once we're all aligned, there's little doubt that this is a wall-to-wall celebration of some outstanding toy designs representing one of the most iconic characters in fiction — all in the memory of the man who famously brought him to life. — Enjoying the show? There’s more than meets the ear... Find show notes at https://www.tripletakeover.com Join the conversation with us on Discord Support the podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tripletakeover

    Our Favourite Optimus Prime Toys: A Celebration
  3. Sep 1

    TakaraTomy's New Legends: A Fresh Spin on Generations

    It's a busy old time for new Transformers toys currently, but don't let that stop TakaraTomy. Now they're back with New Legends, a fresh spin on their Japanese equivalent to the Generations line, promising plenty of fun redecos and retools alongside the occasional new moulds and other surprises too. Today, we're here to see what it's all about. After the hugely popular collector-focused fare found in the original Legends line of the 2010s, New Legends promises much of the same — and then some. Built as a spin-off-of-sorts from the celebrated 40th Selection Lio Convoy release, there's already an impressive roster of figures on the way before too long, including a glow-in-the-dark repaint, the Generation 2 Motormaster of our dreams, a Nemesis Star Convoy, Gigatorm, some Earthspark designs, and a whole new mould in the shape of an upcoming Leader-scale Beast Wars II Galvatron. There's plenty to be excited about amongst all of this, so we take our time to discuss what each reveal means and why this new direction has us so enthused. Ultimately, it feels as though New Legends promises to be something super special, and that's what we're here to celebrate — and get suitably enabled by, naturally. — Enjoying the show? There’s more than meets the ear... Find show notes at https://www.tripletakeover.com Join the conversation with us on Discord Support the podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tripletakeover

    TakaraTomy's New Legends: A Fresh Spin on Generations
  4. Jul 21

    Before Transformers: The Story of Vintage Sci-Fi Diaclone

    Way back at the turn of 1980, years before Transformers became a thing, Takara led the way forward for transforming robot toys with Diaclone — all about non-sentient mecha piloted by one-inch figures. The most well-known examples are from the Car Robots subline that would find new life as robots in disguise, but today we're exploring the fantastically old-school sci-fi fare of the earlier years. Prior to churning out realistic vehicles and recognisable car models, Diaclone was all about big, over-the-top futuristic spacecraft and bases that became modular robots, all operated by a team of Dia-nauts versus their alien opposition, the evil Waruders. The concept was new, but as we'll discover, these toys have an unusual origin story themselves, harkening back to the 1970s in a tale that begins with another, lesser-known collaboration between Takara and Hasbro — ironically enough. We trace the building blocks from those earliest years through to the toys that would eventually be repurposed as Transformers when Hasbro came back on the scene looking for inspiration. Along the way, we explore how Takara's Diaclone robots helped lay the foundations for the international mega-hit to come, and why these early designs remain so fascinating decades later. This topic was chosen in a fan vote by the Patrons on our Discord, so we hope it was worth the wait. — Enjoying the show? There’s more than meets the ear... Find show notes at https://www.tripletakeover.com Join the conversation with us on Discord Support the podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tripletakeover

    Before Transformers: The Story of Vintage Sci-Fi Diaclone
  5. Jul 7

    Sports Transformers: The Tries, the Passes, and the Open Goals

    With the World Cup in full swing, sports mania is at fever pitch across the globe right now — yet Transformers tie-ins with sport have been surprisingly few and far between over the years, despite some obvious potential. Today we're looking at the various tries made so far, and the open goals that remain untapped by the toymakers. Sixo has finally relented (against his better judgement) and allowed Liam to have the sports episode of his dreams. From Takara's Sports Label line in the mid-2000s to modern-day collaborative attempts such as the recent NFL and soccer-themed figures, there's plenty to discuss — and yes, we even manage to cram in a bit of motorsports along the way. It's a surprisingly rich vein once you start digging, spanning official partnerships, licensed tie-ins, and the occasional oddity that defies easy categorisation. As it turns out, there's a lot to enjoy even for collectors who aren't big sports fans, with a surprising amount of creativity thrown in throughout. Whether it's clever integration of sporting motifs or oddball aesthetic swings, these releases prove there's real potential in the crossover. Can we keep Liam focused on the chat, though, or will he be simply too distracted come the final score? — Enjoying the show? There’s more than meets the ear... Find show notes at https://www.tripletakeover.com Join the conversation with us on Discord Support the podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tripletakeover

    Sports Transformers: The Tries, the Passes, and the Open Goals
5
out of 5
54 Ratings

About

Welcome to the Triple Takeover Toycast — a fun and informative fortnightly podcast all about Transformers and other amazing toy lines. From vintage rarities and prototypes to modern releases, cartoons, comics, and films, your hosts Sixo, Liam, Jason and Maz dive deep into toy history and pop culture with passion, humour, and plenty of nostalgia — plus the occasional special guest.

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