Kabaya
From Transformers Wiki
Kabaya Foods Corporation(カバヤ thực phẩm Kabaya Syokuhin) is aJapaneseconfectionery company. In business at least since the 1960s, they are well known for theircandy toys:a variety of figurines,model kitsand other widgets that come packaged with a variety of different candies and gums. And they make alotof them, with boy-oriented products alone ranging from plastic dinosaur kits to a broad variety ofLEGOproperties toTransformerstoys and merchandise, the most widely-known being their many kits that usually replicate scaled-down versions of larger figures.
Kabaya's relationship withTransformersbegan in the Generation 1 era, when they consistently produced figures and model kits of various size from 1985 to 1990. The dawn ofBeast Warssaw the relationship reignite in 1997, and continue throughCar Robotsand theUnicron Trilogy.There was another pause in releases after 2005'sGalaxy Forceassortment, but Kabaya returned to theTransformersbrand yet again in 2009, with a series of Generation 1 themed products being released up until 2016 andTransformers Adventureproducts also being released in 2016. Unfortunately, there hasn't been another been another line of Kabaya kits since.
Contents |
Generation 1
As mentioned, Kabaya is best known for their snap-together model kits, which were released in two separate series: the small-scale, single-colorTransformers Choco,and the larger, multi-colouredTransformers Gumseries, the latter being the premiere line for which Kabaya is most widely recognized. Both types of kit were fully transformable, but theGumkits went the extra mile by preserving many of the gimmicks from the original toys they were based on.
Kabaya also released a variety of soft rubber figures (similar to theDecoys,a type of figure known askeshigomuin Japan) through theirTransformers CaramelandTransformers Ramunelines;Ramunewas also home to a variety of other candy toys, including PVC figurines and keychains.
When Generation 1 surged in popularity in the early 21st century, Kabaya got in on the nostalgia act with a series of "bottlecap" figurines. Later, they revivedTransformers Gumto celebrate various eras of the Generation 1 franchise, spinning it off into a separate lines of candy toy models dedicated to new characters.
| Classic products (1985-1999) | Modern products (2000-today) |
Beast Era
The formula employed during Generation 1 was faithfully replicated during the Beast Era, with the assortedGumandChocolines offering variously-sized model kits. Later waves of theGumseries along with the numerousRamunelines offered fully-painted PVC figurines, while theBeast FightersandBeast Battlerlines took things in asuper deformeddirection.
| Beast Wars | Beast Wars II
|
Beast Wars Neo | Beast Wars Metals |
Car Robots
The lines produced forCar Robotswere all quite small, with only theTransformers DXfigures being capable of transformation.
Unicron Trilogy
Model kits were fully abandoned for the Unicron Trilogy product line, in favor of a wide variety of transforming miniature figures, and PVC figurines.
| Legends of the Microns | Super Link | Galaxy Force |
Adventure
Notes
- This is actually the most extensive English-language article about Kabaya Foods on the internet, sadly.
