Modularity Takes Center Stage in Takara Tomy’s Diaclone Toy Reboot

When it comes to purchases of expensive geek collectibles, I do a pretty good job at restraining myself from spending too much money. However, with its recent re-designs of its Diaclone line, Takara Tomy has been making it difficult for me to keep my financial resources secure.

As anyone who knows their Japanese toy robot history can tell you, Diaclone was a toy line from early ‘80s Japan that Hasbro later imported into the U.S. and repackaged as the Transformers line. However, Hasbro only imported the Diaclone items that transformed between robots and vehicles; the rest of the Diaclone line, which consisted of giant robots that could be rearranged into smaller vehicles and machines, were not included in the Transformers line. So, in order to cash in on the ‘80s toy robot nostalgia bandwagon like Hasbro has, Takara Tomy has been re-designing its non-Transformers Diaclone products and releasing them for the current toy collector market.

Above: One of the toys from the original Diaclone line.

Below: An advertisement for one of the original Diaclone robot toys. 

I first blogged about the Diaclone revival back in 2016, when Takara Tomy released its first sets. I recently saw some of the newer releases and I have to say that these are some very impressive toys. I can’t emphasize the word “toy” here enough: Unlike other high-priced geek collectibles, which can include statues and busts, the Diaclone items are toys in the fullest sense. If I were still a kid and had oodles of money to burn, the new Diaclone line would top my list of must-get robot toys.

The modularity of the Diaclone line was what set it apart from other robot toy lines, and the Diaclone redesigns push it to new levels. As you can see in the pictures below, the redesigns’ selection of robots, vehicles and mech suits can be rearranged into a wide number of unique configurations. Even other robot toy lines that feature deluxe combiner sets don’t have anything as varied or creative as this.