Diaclone: Dia Battles V2 by Takara Tomy – Available From HobbyLink Japan
By Cacophanus from Mecha Damashii
When Takara Tomy showed the world they were restarting their classic Diaclone toyline from the ’80s, like many I did a doubletake. So this new Dia Battles V2 toy has a great deal of history behind it, and those who are fans of Transformers need to sit up and take notice, as without Diaclone there would be no Transformers and this new toy is clearly the start of something potentially momentous.
Transformers was formed from two separate toylines, namely Microman and Diaclone. However, the bulk of what many identify as being Transformers came from Diaclone.
This means all the transforming cars and planes were from Diaclone, including the much-loved Optimus Prime that was originally known as Battle Convoy when it was part of the series.
Diaclone was also immensely popular during its lifetime and it’s this popularity that Hasbro latched onto and repurposed into Transformers.
While the transforming cars and planes joined the Transformer ranks, there were a lot of other Diaclone toys that were in some ways far more iconic to the toyline but never entered the Transformers fold.
These were the bigger and more base-like mecha, which included the original Dia Battles. The other important point to mention here is that the creator of Macross, Shoji Kawamori, also worked on Diaclone in his formative years, with both the massive Robot Base (shown below) and Battle Convoy.
The other big and important point about Diaclone that needs to be made is that they all had awesome little figures that went in the cockpits. As a kid, when I played with my Transformers toys I always wondered why the toys all had seats and cockpits but no little people to go in them.
This is because the Diaclone figures were never included in the Transformers toys and it wasn’t until many years later did I realise why.
So this Dia Battles V2 is a pretty big deal when it comes to the history of not only Diaclone but also many Japanese toys in general.
I will be honest here, this is a brilliant toy and one I have had a huge amount of fun playing with, so keep your eyes peeled for the review!