Inside The Transformers 35th Anniversary Celebration Box: Spring, 2019

This week the folks at Hasbro sent out a number of sizeable cardboard boxes to the media. These boxes contained large arrangements of toys – Transformers toys. It's the 35th anniversary of the original release of Transformers into our collective conscious – and it's apparently time to celebrate. This celebration is connected to the hashtag #morethanmeetstheeye, because of course it is.

Hasbro sent one of these boxes to SlashGear adorned with a promise of a secret message inside. As if we'd need any enticing to open a big box of toys. The code, it turned out, was hidden behind a secret panel behind the toys – right inside the very walls of the display.

If you'd like to follow along at this point, head over to the Hasbro Transformers War for Cybertron code website. The box suggested that we take the code to the aforementioned website, where we'd find a keyboard. The keyboard shows the one-for-one symbol-replacement alphabet synonymous with Transformers: It's called Cybertronian.

If one enters the code above in the website above, a door will be unlocked. This door opens to the Transformers Issue #1 comic book as originally released in March of this year. But now it's free – in PDF form, how about that?

Amongst the most radical toys in the collection were a pair of action figures from Transformers: War for Cybertron SIEGE. Shown above is "Alt Mode: Voyager class wfc-s25 soundwave" aka the newest version of the audio tape-loving music-bot of your dreams.

Oddly, this toy comes with a tape deck but not tapes for its deck. For that, they've sent a separate pack called "Siege Micromaster Wfc-S18 Soundwave Spy Patrol 2 Pack" – with a tiny doggy and bird – laserbeak and ravage! They fold up into armor for other Transformers in this series, and into tape deck size so they can travel with Soundwave, no sweat.

If this is any indication, Transformers is currently in a golden age, once again. These are the sort of technically intriguing AND rugged/robust Transformers I remember loving in the early 1990s. We'll be watching for future series.

Also note: Soundwave is eating a jelly sandwich – but that jelly sandwich is literally more than meets the eye. Unfold that jelly sandwich and you'll find one of the ever-expanding collection of Transformers Botbots, which you can learn more about in our 2018 holiday gift guide for kids. Don't let the name of the guide fool you – they're totally legit for all ages.