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In 1984, Hasbro introduced a line of toys to the U.S called Battle Beasts. 76 humanoid animals in armor, the Battle Beasts stood about 3" tall, and each came with a small rub symbol that showed their element power. There were three powers, Fire, Wood, and Water, and played much like the game paper, rock, scissors. Later, around 1985/6 or so, the Sunburst power was created. This element was simply a sun symbol, but defeated all three elements.
Originally, the Battle Beasts were called BeastFormers, made by Takara of Japan meant to be a shootoff of the popular Transformers series. Intended to be Powermasters, the idea never really caught on and they became their own independent line. This does not mean that they weren't included in the Transformers universe, toy or otherwise. There has been a LOT of Transformer/BeastFormer related merchandise. Each Beast was designated as either an Autobot or Decepticon, and came packaged in small boxes that had the symbol of their allied side, along with a trading card that identified the Beast and their weapon.
Three vehicals, called chariots were made for the Battle Beast toyline, as well as three Bases, one for each elemental camp. The chariots were made to hold three Beasts, one in the middle, and one on either side, supported by pull out racks that held them in place. Each cariot ressembled an animal, the Tearing Tiger(Tiger,) the Battleing Big Horn(Ram,) and the Deer Stalker(Deer.) You could pull the chariots back, and once released, they would roll a little bit, then get a burst of speed as the jaws of the animal repeatedly chomped up and down.
A base was made for each camp as well, also ressembling an animal. The Red Phoenix base for Fire, the Shocking Shark for Water, and the Wood Beetle bas for Wood. Each base could hold about 10 Beasts once it was opened up into battle station mode.
Special Items and Mail Aways
