Tat Tuesday.

It's time to look at some more Tat. Recently I have reminded of a cool toy line from the 80's. While I wasn't a huge fan of these at the time, looking back I can easily see the appeal. On this edition of Tat Tuesday we are going to look at Battle Beasts.

 Battle Beasts like a lot of the cooler toys from the 80's came from Japan. The "Bisutofoma" or "Beastformers" were created by Takara Tomy in 1987. They were licensed by Hasbro for distribution outside of Japan.

It's amazing what you can find on deviantART.

 The Battle Beasts themselves were small anthropomorphic warriors. They appeared on the "Transformers: the Headmasters" series in the episode "Rebellion on Planet Beast". That series was only shown in Japan and as such the Battle Beasts were not connected to the Transformers in America.

 

There were a total of four series of figures released. The main gimmick of the first three series of  figures was the heat sensitive stickers on their chest. Each figure was aligned to a class. There were three classes in total. Wood, Fire, and Water. These classes acted like a "Rock, Paper, Scissors" style power ranking. Fire beat Wood. Wood beat Water. Water beat Fire. The cool thing was that you had no idea which figure had which alignment. It wasn't until you had the figure out of the packaging that you would learn it's power type. Which was a huge selling point. The slogan for the series was "Fire! Wood! Or Water!... You'll never know until you own them!"

The figures were usually sold in two packs. Each figure came with it's own weapon. I have seen descriptions listing the size of these figures anywhere from one inch to two inches. I can't be sure exactly how large they were. I do know that they were smaller than G.I.Joes.  

The fourth series of figures which were called Shadow Warrior (or Laser Beasts in Japan). Theses figures had a different gimmick. Instead of a heat activated sticker they had a see through orb. You would look through the orb to see the alignment of your figure. This was the last series of figures for this line. 

When all four series are combined you get a total of 112 unique figures. The key to a line like this is collect-ability. The Battle Beast figures were perfect for collecting. As toys they had just enough detail, possibility, accessories, and playability to draw you in. Once you started the many different characters and small size made them perfect to collect. They sat directly in between the smaller less detailed figures like M.U.S.C.L.E. and the larger more expensive figures like G.I. Joes.

Like most small figures the Battle Beast line included larger accessories. In this case mainly vehicles and playsets.

I just love the sad look on the spider's face.

While the series had a comparatively short run  there is no denying their popularity. Not only could you buy lunch boxes, Halloween costumes, and a belt (to carry your figures); but you could also buy  comics and a video game.

Modern Battle Beasts.

After years of being nothing more than nostalgia fodder the Battle Beast are primed to make a comeback. In 2009 Diamond Select acquired the right to the Battle Beast brand. So far only one beast has been released. Although it has seen a number of repaints. The figure uses the basic Minimate body as a base. Which makes perfect sense. The Minimates brand has been used to make figures from Marvel, DC, Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, 24, and many other series. While there is no word on just what Diamond Select has planned we do know when that plan will be unveiled. Diamond Select has released a count down clock can be accessed here.

Non Minimate based modern Battle Beasts.

My own history with the brand has been very limited. I had one figure. I don't where I got it or when. I do remember enjoying it and taking it with me very often. It was the perfect little toy. I wish I had gone farther into the brand. For a bit of fun check below for the :Transformers: the Headmasters" episode the Battle Beast debuted on.

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Toy Archive
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