It’s 2010. Hasbro has re-branded its Universe line into Transformers: Generations, a platform from which to release what it calls “legacy” characters from all generations of Transformers.

One of the first Transformers from this range is the ever-popular Bumblebee. And this time he’s part of the oldest generation of all, and the one Transformers collectors have been intrigued about for more than 25 years: the ancient civil war on Cybertron.

Bumblebee has become a bona fide film star. As the lead character in the “Transformers (2007)” feature film, Bumblebee is the one that the next generation of Transformers fans are likely to pick up first. The saying goes that: “the driver don’t pick the car, the car picks the driver”. Apt in this case, that’s for sure.

Firecracker’s mould was reissued again in the year 2000 for the Japanese “Car Robots” range as “Eagle Killer”.

Hasbro moves into the neon-coloured nineties with more Micromasters, expanding on the previous year’s range. The first Micromaster Patrol is the Race Track Patrol. It’s the Decepticon’s answer to last year’s Race Car Patrol but with brighter and more bilious colour schemes.

After the initial batch of Micromaster Patrols, Hasbro released the Micromaster Transports. Micromaster Transports are large Micromaster vehicles. But isn’t that an oxymoron? But the less moronic part is that it’s only the cab (in three-out-of-four cases) that is the actual Micromaster which tows the rest of the vehicle.

Not since the Stunticons of 1986 has the Transformers line given collectors a team of recognisable sports cars. Did I say sports cars? I meant race cars, since that’s what this team of Autobot Micromasters is called. Except only one is a race car. (True, all cars can be raced, but let’s not get into semantics.)

The Mini-Autobots assortment from 1986 (aside from Wheelie) consists of reused but retooled moulds from the 1984 assortment. In Hubcap’s case, it is the Cliffjumper mould that has been tinkered with. After such a varied and diverse assortment in 1985, it’s a bit of a shame that the latest batch of Mini-Autobots are more of the same.

Bumblebee, one of the first of The Transformers toys, was released in 1984 and can transform into an oddly proportioned likeness of a Volkswagen “Beetle” car.