Released at a time when Transformers were already firmly on the wane after six years on toy shelves, 1990's Action Masters were Hasbro's attempt at 'rebooting' the line by bringing back familiar A-list characters and delivering them in more 'action figure' style. The concept was inherently divisive from the start: they're Transformers that don't transform. For a brand built entirely around transformation, this felt to some like abandoning the core premise.

Soon seen as having killed the franchise after they proved to be the last year of original series product in North America (even though it continued elsewhere in the world), Action Masters have never quite shaken the infamy ever since. The very mention of them online typically triggers passionate reactions about how they represent everything wrong with late-G1 desperation, a fundamental misunderstanding of what made Transformers special.

However, there are also collectors who have given them a sharp reappraisal in more recent times, finding a lot to admire about these admittedly clunky efforts to deliver something different — even if the flaws are there for all to see. Today we give this derided roster another look, taking in the vintage charm these surprisingly unposeable specimens possess, alongside the goofiness of the accompanying accessories and vehicles they were packaged with.

We discuss what Action Masters were trying to achieve, why the concept failed so spectacularly with fans, and whether modern collectors approaching them without the baggage of 1990 can find merit in their quirky existence. Did they really deserve the hate, or were they simply the wrong idea at the wrong time? The action is alive — whether you want it to be or not.

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