Something a lot of younger fans of Transformers don't realize is that the concept started in Japan simply as a toy series. Takara produced the first wave of figures, which drew interest from Hasbro, who figured they could make a few bucks by bringing the toys over here and creating a corresponding Saturday morning cartoon. Things have come full circle, as Soap Studio is producing Japanese sofubi figures of Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Megatron, and Starscream. Each stands about 12 inches tall and comes in standard or metallic colorways. You can preorder them for $170 here.

Check out more Transformers here | See more sofubi here