Cataloging Simba's Transformers bootlegs (and other Transformers-like toys)

 

I will start by this post like the most insufferable speakers do: with a long self-indulgent personal anecdote that eventually transitions into this post's actual topic - so bear with me, we'll get there when we get there.

One mildly amusing memory that I have from being a young Transformers collector - back in the bygone ancient era of 2009 - was when I took a shopping trip with my mom to C&A. Going to a clothing retailer was, of course; not the most exciting thing in the world to a 12-year-old, but what made the trip just slightly worthwhile was how C&A also had a tiny (and I really mean tiny) toy shelf near the check-out counters, mostly consisting of cheap toys that I now realize were most likely strategically placed there to be impulse purchases for all the bored kids accompanying their parents... Like me.

The bizarre little toy that started it all.
(Source: this Ebay auction since
I'm too lazy to dig mine out
of the attic for a pic)

Most of those toys sucked, of course: but that was when a couple of odd cardbacked robots, decoed in white with a coat of extra garish red, green, and blue paint applications and Gundam-like heads, caught my eye. At a glance, they seemed like pretty generic figures - but on a closer inspection, my autism-ridden 12 year old self was quick to recognize the fundamental shape and gimmick of the Transformers Generation 1 Top Spin toy. Since I had never even seen an original version of that figure in person, only through pictures on the internet, I immediately begged my mom to buy it, excited to be able to get even a mere knockoff of what felt like a magical artifact from a bygone era in Transformers history. On the way home, as I was inspecting the blister card like a sacred scroll (moments before eventually tearing it apart), I remember looking at the info on the back: to my surprise, this toy was apparently produced by "Simba Toys", a German manufacturer represented by a quirky logo of an elephant... Humping the company's name. Odd, I thought; as most bootlegs seemed to come from China instead (I was too young to think about the humping elephant part).

Fast-forward to nearly a decade later in 2017, when I'm passing by a Pingo Doce supermarket and notice a stack of official Hasbro-branded die-cast cars and figurines based on the cast of characters for the then-recently released Transformers: The Last Knight, sold in small cardbacks alongside the likes of Hot Wheels and Matchbox. Curious, I looked at the manufacturer and realized it was a German company called "Dickie Toys", whose logo consists of a cheerful-looking hippo.

A select assortment of official Transformers
merchandise released by the Simba Dickie
Group. (Source: official product images)

For some reason, a vague memory of the Jumpstarter bootlegs I had seen eight years ago as a child came to mind, so I decided to look up Dickie and who could have guessed: They are, in fact, essentially the same company as Simba, with the two originally being separate entities that merged into the "Simba Dickie Group" all the way in 1993 (despite still releasing toys with separate Simba and Dickie branding depending on market segment). As seen on their TFWiki page, Simba Dicke began producing Transformers merchandise since 2015 - with most of it being sold under the Dickie brand, with only a few sand buckets getting sold as Simba-labelled products instead - and their later-purchased subsidiary Jada Toys has also been making official Transformers merchandise (mostly of the die-cast variety) since 2017, which means that they still very much remain connected to the Transformers brand as merchandise manufacturers to this day... And yes, that a company which once produced Transformers knockoffs is somehow out here making "real" Transformers toys!

Now, if this was all that there is to Simba Dickie - that a Transformers licensee had also released a couple of Jumpstarter bootlegs in the relatively distant past - then it would still be an interesting bit of trivia, but it would also ultimately not be that impressive or unseen in the history of Transformers as a brand (I am reminded of cases like HUDE, a Peruvian toy company that distributed Hasbro's Transformers figures in the country during the 1980s but also simultaneously released a pair of Jumpstarter knockoffs, or Radioshack's Tandy having sold a bootleg Optimus Prime radio and then later producing official merchandise for the 2007 Transformers film). But here's the kicker that distinguishes Simba Dickie from others: the Jumpstarters weren't the only ones. Not even close.

Simba Dickie has actually released a lot of Transformers bootlegs.

And not just that, but also a lot of non-Transformers toys clearly marketed to compete with Transformers. Often to legally dubious extents.

Thus, this article will serve as an attempt to catalogue every single bootleg - and, for good measure, every other "Transformers-like" toy as well - released by Simba into one comprehensive page. The keyword here is "attempt": once you go down the rabbit hole of trying to figure out exactly how many goddamn bootlegs they've put out in stores over the past couple of decades, it's not hard to see why no one has attempted to create a full list yet. Very often, you'll only find proof of the existence of most of these toys through low-resolution stock pictures left abandoned on long-defunct online shops, mentions on forums and blogs, and the occasional Ebay listings. The lack of reliable information turns this cataloging task into something close to actual detective work, like a complicated mess of digital anthropology aided by Google Lens and raw reverse image searches in hopes of finding all the breadcrumbs left behind by Simba, but alas; I am glad to have at least arrived at something closer to a comprehensive documentation.

Is this article complete? Is every single Simba Transformers bootleg and Transformers-like toy documented here? Most likely not - but if I ever discover others that are missing, then I'll waste no time with adding them to the article. If you've also found any Simba Transformers that I missed (as well as corrections on any other pertinent information that might be absent from this page) then make sure to either comment them down below or shoot me a message in the contact form!

1) Galaxy / Transformer (1990s)

(Source: the-liberator.net)

The first known Transformers-like toys to be released by Simba, these are actually just localized German releases of a famous little transforming robot toyline from the 1980s released by Macau-based company MC Toy (even retaining their copyright stamp on the toys) called DynaBot... Or Motorized Robot. Or Transfo-Robot. Or Playbots. Or, Robo Toys. Or Mighty Bots. Or, really; as known by a plethora of other names: as documented by the-liberator.net - perhaps the finest online resource when it comes to listing out obscure vintage Transformers-like toys - these figures were re-released by many, many different companies all around the globe, with the names given to each toyline varying widely depending on the preference of each distributor. As the Motorized Robot name given to one of its incarnations suggests, the main gimmick of these toys consisted of their small pullback motors which could be detached and reattached from robot to vehicle mode.

Simba's versions of the Dynabots were released sometime during the 1990s - unfortunately; a more precise date isn't known as of now - under the Galaxy label, an overarching brand that Simba used for toys with a sci-fi theme during this time (a few of the non-transforming-robot variety which will be mentioned a little bit later). But, of course, Simba wasn't content with just selling them under the Galaxy name: thus; as shown in large green lettering on their cardbacks, these figures were surreptitiously called "transformer" (not capitalized for whatever reason - one might assume that this was a matter of graphic design but, like... Just look at how horrible those cardbacks look) in a gesture of trademark defiance that I could only imagine didn't bother a lot of Hasbro lawyers at the time because there weren't enough around in Germany to see it.

Yet again, the folks at the-liberator.net have an (albeit, as of now, still unfinished) article which covers these releases specifically, so I'll be brief and just shamelessly copy-paste their list down below.

(Source: promo pictures on cardback, scans provided
by the-liberator.net)

 In reading order (per original MC Toy names): 

- 1) Dump Truck (orange)

- 2) Jeep (green with gun)

- 3) Pick Up (yellow)

- 4) Jeep (red) 

- 5) Train (black & red)

- 6) ATV Trike (red & black)

- 7) Jet (grey)

- 8) Pick Up Camper (black & gold)

- 9) Truck (blue & white)

(Source: this todocoleccion
listing)

It is also worth mentioning that Dickie - before their merger with Simba - also released the Dump Truck and the Pick-Up molds sometime in the late 1980s under their own branding as the tiny Truck + Robot toyline. While it's unknown exactly when Simba released their transformer toys, this makes it likely that it was after the 1993 merger, with Dickie's licensing rights for the MC Toy molds possibly passing on to the joint company.

There are actually a couple more MC Toy DynaBot localizations - again, under the "transformer" name - that aren't (at least as of now) covered by the previously-mentioned article. These are part of a slightly larger batch of figures, a handful of which feature articulated trailers.

Also, I mentioned this before, but it begs repeating: Jesus, those cardbacks really do look hideous. It's like they specifically picked the lowest resolution image they could get for the key art.

(Source: this todocoleccion listing)

 In reading order (per original MC Toy names): 

- 1) Crane Truck (black)

- 2) Container Truck (blue & white)

- 3) All-Terrain Trekker (white)

- 4) Tanker Truck (red & white) 

- 5) All-Terrain Trekker  (red & white, w/ shovel)

- 6) Fire Truck (red)

Hey, we found some actual graphic
designers! (Source:the-liberator.net)

Sometime later during the 1990s, Simba's Galaxy toyline would undergo a rebranding of sorts, with their packaging now sporting generally less horrendous graphic design... And their transforming robot toys now featuring the "TRANSFORMER" name in all-caps, thus making it look even closer to that one other toyline that just so happened to also have a very similar-sounding name.

The first known batch of toys under this logo are new versions of MC Toy's All-Terrain Trekker mold, now featuring the addition of light and sounds. Yet again, the-liberator.net has us covered with another excellent article, featuring the complete listing of figures - that I'll again just blatantly copy-and-paste into this post - as well as audio samples of the (frankly horrid) sounds that these toys made. Fun!

(Source: promo pictures on cardback,
scans provided by the-liberator.net)

 In reading order (per original MC Toy names): 

- 1) All-Terrain Trekker (black & red)

- 2) All-Terrain Trekker (red & white, w/ shovel)

- 3) All-Terrain Trekker (yellow & red)

(Source: promo pictures on cardback, photos from
this Wallapop listing - notice that only four of the
eight available robots in the toyline are pictured. The
same cardback was used across both known giftsets.)

MC Toy's DynaBots wouldn't be the only transforming robots featured under the new "TRANSFORMER" name: Simba would also release ES Toys' "Mighty Minis", from The Formulator Force toyline, in cardbacked packs of four. Under Simba's branding, these figures would earn the title of "Micro-Robots".

ES Toys is a peculiar and infamous enough company that they could potentially merit their own post (they don't have any official relation with the Transformers brand like Simba does but their figures did a fascinating job at skirting the line between being bootlegs and original toys), but in short; these are very clearly Micromasters-inspired molds, featuring mostly original designs but obviously sharing a lot of engineering traits with the Transformers subline and even featuring a handful of chest designs blatantly copying their Hasbro counterparts (plus; to make the similarities all the more evident, the Micromasters were also first sold in teams of four). This means that yes; depending on how you look at it, these might be the very first actual Transformers bootlegs released by Simba.

(Source: this Wallapop listing)

Micro-Robots Giftset #1

In reading order (per original ES Toys names): 

- 1) Night Warrior (red & yellow firetruck)

- 2) Red Flame (red & yellow utility vehicle)

- 3) Speed Deman (white & yellow car) 

- 4) White Knight (white & yellow ambulance) 

 

(Source: this Wallapop listing)

Micro-Robots Giftset #2

In reading order (per original ES Toys names): 

- 1) Sky Hook (yellow & black crane)

- 2) Terrain Tracker (yellow & black excavator)

- 3) Captain Attack (grey & yellow car) 

- 4) Venom Van (grey & yellow van) 

(Source: this Ebay listing)

As a small addendum to cap off this section, it's also worth noting that Simba released a handful of other non-robot toys under the Galaxy name - presumably derived from a 1994 toyline called Multimac from Thinkway Toys - which would frequently repeat the "Transformer" adjective in their titles: in fact, it is surprisingly difficult to find a Simba Galaxy release that does not feature something that's called a "transformer" somewhere on the box! Some (admittedly rather neat-looking) colorful modular futuristic vehicles would be sold under the "Planet-Transformer" name, and a larger version of this type of toy would be sold under the "Super Transformer Set" name. It is interesting that there seemed to be an attempt at a unified theme of transforming mechanical things for toys released under the Galaxy brand: reminds me a little bit of Diaclone, with the pilots and all the additional non-robot vehicles releasing alongside the pre-Transformers figure we now know of today. Who knows, maybe Simba's Galaxy is destined to become a multi-billion dollar franchise someday too!

2) Space Transformer (2000s)

Possibly the least well-documented Simba toyline, very little is known about Space Transformer other than that it sure is a change of pace from the previous Galaxy line we took a look at: whereas most of those toys were otherwise legitimate original products only sold under a very copyright-risqué title, this is Simba's first known example of a toyline that seems to be entirely made out of bootlegs. One interesting peculiarity is that all the toys seem to have a multilingual story blurb of sorts written in German, Spanish, French, Dutch, Italian, and English on the sides of their packaging:

"The universe is full of secrets. Nothing is at it appears. Lots of moving and removable parts mean that you can transform everything. It's completely up to you whether you choose to attack or defend."

Since there are no dates listed on the packaging of these toys, it is ambiguous as to when exactly they were first released - however, given the simpler and cheaper graphic design and the overall much smaller known range of toys, I am assuming that these predate most or all of the Planet Fighter releases that will be looked at in the upcoming section.

(Source: this Ebay listing)

Shuttle

Presumably the largest release under Simba's Space Transformer brand, "Shuttle" is a very blatant copy of the original Brave Series Granbird (and the first of many Brave bootlegs we'll see in this article - which, really; given their Takara origins, pretty much count as honorable Transformers bootlegs). He comes decoed in an all-grey paintjob.

This toy was actually originally released by Happy Well, being most famously sold under their Galaxy Defender brand (and also under the "Star Force 2000" name at one point). On top of being the first Brave bootleg on this list, it's also one of the first of many Simba bootlegs whose origins can be traced to Happy Well, suggesting that the two companies might have had very strong business relationships at one point.

(Source: this Ebay listing)

Supertank

Speaking of which; "Supertank" is a weird giftset which also seems to have its origins as a Happy Well set. He consisting of a generic real-robot-looking mech and a bootleg of none other than Transformers Generation 1 Quake, sans his Targetmasters and now featuring a regular gun instead!

Again, notice the depressingly all-grey and black color schemes (a sharp contrast with Quake's original splashes of wine red and dark blue): A common trait of Happy Well imports, as we will soon see.

It's funny how bright and colorful these boxes are
and yet how utterly lifeless the actual toys look. 
(Source: this Ebay listing)

Superwings

The last currently-known Space Transformer release, the "Superwings" are a pair of robots that transform into basic bird-looking alt modes.

Curiously, these are bootlegs of the Chouja Raideen line from Bandai, specifically of Raideen Falcon, Raideen Owl, and Raideen Condor. Again, the dull color schemes also suggest potential Happy Well origins for these bootlegs.

3) Planet Fighter (2000s - Present)

In contrast to Planet Fighter, the previous toylines were nothing more than a small warm-up: this massive multi-decade long brand is actually where the majority of Simba's Transformers bootlegs ended up being released in. Much like Galaxy, Planet Fighter was conceived by Simba as a somewhat generic all-purposes brand for sci-fi toys, although; instead of neat imported toylines with even a modicum of prestige like the DynaBots and Multimac, most of them ended up being budget toys of the more generic Chinese dollar store variety. Naturally, these included laser blasters, fake lightsabers, and, eventually, a staggering amount of transforming robot figures.

Interestingly, per Simba's website, they still sell products with the Planet Fighter branding to this day, meaning that this is, technically, still an ongoing toyline - although the line's modern toy range is much smaller than it used to be during the 2000s and 2010s.

3.1 - Jumpstarters knockoffs

Copyright infringement, now for
only 6€! (Source: unknown
catalogue promo)

Simba's most well-known bootleg type, their catalogue has featured an impressive amount of remolded and somewhat oversized variants of the original Transformers Jumpstarter molds (or, technically, the Diaclone "Baku-Ten Attack Robo" molds if you want to be irritatingly pedantic regarding their origins), with many clones of Twin Twist and Top Spin popping up across European stores over the years. All told, it appears that they made three series of Jumpstarters from the 2000s until today, with each one presumably containing multiple variants for each of the molds: this accounts for a total of twelve different currently-known unique mold/deco combos, with even more potentially existing (the assumed missing gaps in this list will be clarified below).

As the TFWiki article on knockoffs mentions, the Jumpstarters have historically been some of the most bootlegged Transformers toys, mostly owing to their relative simplicity - and as such, it might not be completely surprising to learn that Simba does not seem to have based their Jumpstarter clones on the original Hasbro / Takara versions, but rather; on those of other manufacturers who had in turn copied the Transformers / Diaclone molds. The first clue we have for this comes from an interesting quirk of these molds: one major alteration that Simba's Jumpstarters feature is the addition of a new chunk of the vehicle that flips out of the robot's back and attaches to the front of the alt modes. One of the most common Top Spin bootlegs during the eighties - sold in Germany at one point under the Star Selection brand name - features this same addendum to the designs.

(Source: these two Ebay listings)

But the most concrete origin point we have for these particular molds actually comes from a Hong Kong-based company called Flying Dragon Toys, which released at least two heavily modified bootlegs of the Jumpstarters at some point in the 1990s under the Robot Troop name (with Twin Twist and Top Spin earning the names of "Robot Captain" and "Robot Colonel", respectively). This version of the Twin Twist mold is virtually the same as the one used by Simba, and while the Top Spin mold is different, it seems to be heavily based on the previously-mentioned Star Selection bootleg, and by extent, it is not too dissimilar from Simba's Top Spin. Unfortunately, I cannot find images of any other toys from this Robot Troop toyline, but a 2009 catalogue for Flying Dragon Toys actually shows a page with their Jumpstarter bootlegs and, beyond promoting re-releases of these two same knockoffs, it also features the inclusion of an "Electronic Robot Majar [sic]" which is, effectively; the same mold used for Simba's Top Spin (minus the electronic components). What this means is that either A) this Top Spin clone was already part of Flying Dragon's Robot Troop toyline from the 1990s at some point - despite the unfortunate lack of pictures that show this - or B) it was maybe a later addition to Flying Dragon's offerings, likely introduced during the 2000s. In either case, it seems fair to pinpoint the aforementioned company as the origin for these specific Jumpstarter bootlegs.

(Source: instructions on cardback, pic from this Ebay listing)

One extra peculiarity regarding Simba's Jumpstarters is that, whereas most other figures in the Planet Fighter toyline are rebranded imports from other toylines, I cannot actually find any instances of these particular Jumpstarter clones having been released by different companies with Simba's specific decos: this suggests that they are, in fact, original Simba products rather than just plain unaltered repackagings from other manufacturers... At least insofar as repainted bootlegs that are themselves bootlegs of another bootleg that's in turn a Transformers bootleg can be considered "original", that is.

Series #1

As mentioned in the beginning of this article (I told you it was not going to be completely tangential!), the first known Simba Jumpstarters seem to have been released sometime in the late 2000s. This batch consisted of significantly-modified versions of Twin Twist and Top Spin, with Twin Twist also earning a spaceship portion added to its transformation, while Top Spin would earn an excavator bucket instead. The Twin Twist bootleg also retains his little drills.

Unfortunately, I can't find any pictures for the packaging of this first batch of toys, or any official stock photographs for the matter: thus, I cannot confirm if they had been given some unique name like those of the second and third series which we'll look at soon. Each toy also came with a Gundam-like rifle that isn't pictured with most of the copies below since, given the lack of official photographs, these are loose samples found on the net instead.

(Source: these two Ebay listings - I couldn't find a picture
for the first variant's alt mode, so this is a rough digibash instead)

Toy #1

In reading order (per original Hasbro name): 

- 1) Top Spin (white body, black torso, green & blue accents)

- 2) Top Spin (white body, red torso, blue & green accents)

(Source: this Ebay listing)

Toy #2

- 1) Twin Twist (light grey arms, dark grey legs, teal blue torso, yellow accents)

(Note: given how Simba seems to release multiple colors variants for each mold, common sense dictates that there should be another variant of this toy out there - however; in the absence of images for this likely second variant, I'll only list the one known figure here.)

Series #2 - Enginebot / Space Bot

(Source: this Ebay auction for 1st figure, official
product image for 2nd figure)

The second batch of Simba Jumpstarters essentially consists of re-releases of their first versions - but now in much wilder and extravagant colors! Each mold would receive a whole three different deco variants, and they would all be labelled under the new peculiar name of "Enginebot" on the bottom left corner of their cardbacks.

Speaking of cardbacks, they would also be released on two packaging types, the first conforming to Simba's usual Planet Fighter graphic design standard and the second being entirely new. This new cardback would also rename the toy into "Space Bot" instead. An alternative, somewhat plainer variation of the first cardback design (which maintains the Enginebot name) also exists: all of these point towards this batch of toys having been reprinted for quite a long while.

Amazon has a page for these toys that dates them to January of 2013, though this might have been the date when they were added to Amazon rather than released on retail. As such, I suppose that "sometime in the early 2010s" would be the safest guess as to when these versions first dropped.

(Source: official product images)

Enginebot #1

In reading order (per original Hasbro name): 

- 1) Top Spin (lime green torso, orange head, arms and legs, blue & lime green accents)

- 2) Top Spin (blue torso, orange head, arms and legs, blue & lime green accents)

- 3) Top Spin (black, orange head, arms and legs, dark green & blue accents)

 

(Source: official product images)

Enginebot #2

In reading order (per original Hasbro name): 

- 1) Twin Twist (red torso, white head and legs, black arms, red & yellow & black accents)

- 2) Twin Twist (black torso, red head and legs, white arms, red & yellow & black accents)

- 3) Twin Twist (white torso, black head and legs, red arms, white & yellow & red accents)

Series #3 - Space Bot Pro / Robot Patrol

(Source: official product images)

The most recent of Simba's Jumpstarters, these are actually new molds featuring extensively modified versions of the previous designs, further diminishing their resemblance with the Hasbro originals. Beyond the many different detailing and greebling alterations across both modes (as well as the addition of new weapons), the most noticeable features are the new headsculpts: instead of a generic Transformers-like head, Twin Twist is now a happy-looking 'bot wearing a hardhat and a pair of headphones, and instead of a generic Gundam-like head, Top Spin is now wearing that appears to be a fighter pilot helmet with an oxygen mask. Why a robot would need an oxygen mask is beyond me, but it sure looks neat! One sad small omission is that this Twin Twist unfortunately no longer features his drills.

Yet again, they were released in two different packaging styles, with the first one giving them the name "Space Bot Pro" - hinting at an upgrade of sorts from the previous "Space Bot" - and the second one renaming them into "Robot Patrol". The second whiter cardback is probably their newest version, as it is the one that currently appears on Simba's website.

Speaking of Simba's website... These figures are actually still on stock, apparently being part of a new-ish batch of toys made during the 2020s. This means that yes, Simba now both makes official Transformers merchandise and yet, somehow, they also still manufacture and sell a Transformers knockoff! Since we still have a lot of other bootlegs to look at, you can scroll to the end of this article for an extra section - "The legal kerfuffle" - which aims to shed some light on how this might have happened.

(Source: official product images, this
Ebay listing)

Space Bot Pro #1

In reading order (per original Hasbro name): 

- 1) Twin Twist (yellow torsos, orange arms, grey legs and head, orange & black accents)

- 2) Twin Twist (grey torso, yellow arms, orange legs and head, yellow & black accents)

(Note: I couldn't find any other image of the second variant, hence why the one in this article is sadly just a cardbacked sample seen on Ebay. It is also possible that other as-of-now undocumented variants exist.) 

(Source: official product images)

Space Bot Pro #2

- 2) Top Spin (grey torso and forearms, red legs and wings, blue & red & black accents)

(Note: again, common sense dictates that this toy should have more than one variant, but unfortunately only images of this one exist on the net.)

The cooler Space Bot Pros. (Source: official product images)

There are also stock images for different versions of these molds, featuring quite a few deco differences (noticeably, a lot of fancy silver paint applications). However, they do not show up on Simba's website and I can't seem to find any other pictures of these versions besides the stock photographs, and on top of all, one of the retailers that uses these images in place of the more standard ones features a red disclaimer proclaiming that they are "Not final" - so,  these are likely just prototypes rather than retail-released figures (additionally; notice how the yellow portions of Top Spin and purple portions of Twin Twist cover the areas where the stickers are added in the retail versions: this suggests that they're placeholders for where those stickers would later be added in the finalized products).

3.2 - Armada knockoffs

Curiously, a disproportionate amount of Simba's Transformers bootlegs were based on the line-up for Transformers Armada.

(Source: Happy Well product images for grey ver.,
TFArchive for tan ver., unknown source for
box image)

TankBot

Likely the biggest of the Planet Fighter knockoffs, "TankBot" is an upscaled version of the 2002 Armada Giga-Con Megatron figure, being maybe ~30% or so larger than his original toy. He doesn't include any of his original accessories like the antlers and his Mini-Con partner, but a couple of new ones have been added, like a large rifle and a chunk that tabs into the front of his tank mode and "partforms-lite" into a shield in robot mode (similar to what the Earthrise Voyager Megatron would do quite a few years later).

As one might deduce by the drab and lifeless colors, these were also originally born as a famous Happy Well bootleg.

In reading order (per original Hasbro name): 

- 1) Megatron (grey / urban camo pattern)

- 2) Megatron (tan brown / desert camo pattern)

JetBot

(Source: official product images)

Released across four individual blister cards, the "JetBots" are actually significantly oversized (at about 14-ish centimeters tall) versions of Scattor and Wreckage, two out of the three Minicons that constitute the Energon Saber, and Runway, another Minicon that would later be retooled into the aforementioned Wreckage.

Weirdly, instead of picking out another Minicon to fill in the ranks (they could have added Skyboom to complete the Energon Saber trio!), Scattor would instead be duplicated and modified to resemble a different plane, now earning an F-16 based alt mode.

(Source: official product images)

JetBot #1

In reading order (per original Hasbro name): 

- 1) Scattor, retooled into an F-16 fighter jet (olive and transparent green)

- 2) Scattor, maintaining original alt mode

 (olive and transparent green, )

(Source: official product images)

JetBot #2

In reading order (per original Hasbro name): 

- 1) Wreckage, maintaining original alt mode  (olive and transparent green)

- 2) Runway, maintaining original alt mode (olive and transparent green)

4-in-1

(Source: alma.skr.jp)

Seemingly lacking any proper name on the packaging, "4-in-1" is one of the more interesting offerings from Simba, consisting of a combiner made out of the Mini-Cons Payload, Runway (again), Waterlog, and Ransack. All of these would be extensively retooled (Runway, for instance; is now a Space Shuttle rather than the weird Concorde / Tu-144 / SR-71 Blackbird hybrid of his original alt mode). But the most interesting aspect, these Mini-Con bootlegs can also merge into a quirky hunchback-looking combiner!

As with so many other Simba Transformers we've seen by now, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise - save for the fact that they're not completely grey this time - that these are also unaltered imports presumably first made by Happy Well, with pictures of this same toy having been promoted in Toy Fair 2005 (and yes; perhaps surprisingly, Happy Well had a big enough presence that they went to Toy Fair at one point).

Interestingly, according to this Japanese article (where the images in this section come from), it appears that the 4-in-1 set was also sold by Simba in Singapore of all places, through French retailer Carrefour.

(Source: alma.skr.jp)

In reading order (per original Hasbro names): 

- 1) Ransack, retooled into a cargo truck (green, grey & black)

- 2) Payload, retooled into a fire truck (blue, white & black)

- 3)Waterlog, retooled into... A futuristic hovertank, perhaps? The original was a hoverboat but this doesn't really look like one. (yellow, red & grey) 

- 4) Runway, retooled into a Space Shuttle (white, black & grey)

3.3 - Dinobot knockoffs

(Source: official product images)

Simba also released a good amount of transforming dinosaurs that are heavily modified (and also very, very simplified) clones of the original Beast Wars Dinobot toy. What's interesting about this series is that, even though it featured multiple dinosaurs, every single one uses the same overall transformation scheme as the original figure (the robot legs fold out of the dino chest, the dino legs become the robot arms, and the dino head becomes the robot chest) and they all feature the very distinctive hinged arm design of the Hasbro toy - arguably the closest giveaway to their origins, as these might almost pass for original toys otherwise. As with the Hasbro Dinobot toy, their tails split open, but cannot be removed and used as a weapon.

These molds have been released by many, many other companies countless times (including at one point by none other than Estrela, Hasbro's famous Brazilian Transformers licensee), but their most likely origins stem from Japanese company Hayakawa Toys, since their versions have significantly higher-quality packaging and apparently predate other mentions of these molds on the internet. Flying Dragon Toys - remember, the company that made the original Jumpstarter bootlegs which'd later be adopted by Simba! - also released many, many versions of these figures that'd be later sold on retail worldwide, making it likely that Simba might have obtained these molds from Flying Dragon rather than Hayakawa.

(Source: official product images)

DinoFighter

 In reading order (per original Hasbro names): 

- 1) Dinobot, retooled into a Pentaceratops (green)

- 2) Dinobot, retooled into a Stegosaurus (green & yellow)

- 3) Dinobot, retooled into an Ankylosaurus (blue & green)

- 4) Dinobot, retooled into a Triceratops (brown)

- 5) Dinobot, retooled into a Tyrannosaur (green & brown)

(Source: official product images)

TyrannoBot

This is a larger figure with battery functions that also reuses the overall engineering of Beast Wars Dinobot. He was also released by numerous other companies worldwide and also seems to have its origins as a Hayakawa Toys product (though; given that I can't find any pictures of it in Hayakawa-branded packaging, it is not totally impossible that this might have been an original Flying Dragon variant instead).

3.3 - Brave knockoffs

While that's it for all the currently-known Simba Transformers knockoffs, they also released quite a lot of Brave bootlegs - and again, considering how Brave is essentially a sister-franchise of the Transformers, they feel like a similarly important addition to this article.

(Source unknown - my apologies to the original
uploader, but their watermark is basically
illegible)

ShuttleBot

"ShuttleBot" is a presumably unaltered re-release of the aforementioned Happy Well Granbird that was first sold by Simba under the Space Transformer label.

Given the obscurity of the Space Transformers releases, I can't help but wonder if this means that there could be more Planet Fighter toys that were also first released under that label (and it would make sense too, considering Simba's seemingly close relationship with Happy Well) - though, so far; this seems to be the only documented case.

(Source: @Sam_Makes_Toys on Twitter)

MultiBot

"Multibot" is a bootleg consisting of three combining trains, which seems to be heavily based off Battle Bomber from 1993's The Brave Express Might Gaine. Given the grey primary color, it's likely that, as with so many others, these were also originally Happy Well bootlegs, but I cannot find anything that confirms this.

On another small personal anecdote; I actually have memories of getting either this exact same giftset (or at worst a shockingly similar one - childhood memories are very fallable after all) at some point as a kid, so it's really cool to finally learn of its origins!

(Source: official product images)

BattleMachine

"BattleMachine" consists of three individually-sold figures based on the 3-Unit Combination from Brave Fighter Exkizer, which combine to form God Max. As usual, these molds have been released by numerous other companies and thus it's hard to pinpoint their exact origins, but it is likely that they were first made by PlayMind for their Transbotix toyline. 

 In reading order (per original Takara names): 

- 1) Dash Max (red & blue)

- 2) Drill Max (green & blue)

- 3) Sky Max (blue & white)

3.4 - Other transforming robots

We've just looked at all the currently-known Simba bootlegs based on Hasbro and Takara molds, but of course, there are even more generic transforming robot toys amongst the ranks of the Planet Fighter toyline. Obviously, I understand that most people come to a Transformers webpage to read about, uh, Transformers, but I also set out to cover all the other non-Transformers transforming robot products released by Simba (and oh boy, there are a lot of them!), so we'll briefly have a quick rundown of these remaining ones instead of dedicating a separate section to all of them.

(Source: official product image) HeliBot - A transforming helicopter, based on this Japanese toy. (Source: official product image) BikeBot - A die-cast transforming motorbike, originally from Hayakawa Toys.	(Source: official product image) PistolBot - A transforming gun, originally from Hayakawa Toys.   (Source: official product image) ActionTruck - A transforming truck, originally from Hayakawa Toys.	(Source: official product image) ArchBot - A transforming pterodactyl, originally from Hayakawa Toys. (Source: official product image) RoboBot - Robots that transform into ships, based on PlayMind Transbotix toys.
(Source: official product image) TuneBot - A series of transforming cars, originally from Hayakawa Toys.	(Source: official product image) AirBot- A transforming Airbus A380, originally from Flying Dragon Toys.	oi do u have a loicense for that bot??? (Source unknown) KnifeBot - A transforming knife, origins unknown.

4 - Roadbot

(Source: official product image)

One small last addendum to the "non-Transformers transforming robots" portion of this article (but one not released under the Planet Fighter label and thus worthy of its own brief extra section), the Roadbots were a popular Happy Well toyline - arguably their greatest claim to fame that helped them transition from bootleg manufacturers to a somewhat semi-reputable company - that featured transforming robots based around licensed automobiles, clearly produced in an attempt to compete with the Transformers Alternators / Binaltech series.

Among the many Happy Well-made toys that Simba imported, they also put out a few Roadbots. As usual with Simba, these just seem to be straight-up repackagings with no known differences compared to their original versions.

(Source: official product image)  Hummer H2, 1:18

(Source: official product image)  Mitsubishi Evo 8, 1:18

(Source: official product image) Toyota Landcruiser,  1:18

5 - The legal kerfuffle

While we're finally done thoroughly documenting every known Simba Transformers clone and all their other transformers-esque robot toys alike, there's still one major question lingering in the air: how can it be that the Simba Dickie Group are now a major international conglomerate that directly makes official Transformers merchandise despite the overwhelming amount of times that they outright distributed and manufactured bootlegged Transformers toys? And, more importantly; how can it be that, by virtue of the "Space Bot Pro" / "Robot Patrol" Jumpstarter knockoff batch still consistently being in stock, they're still producing Transformers knockoffs even to this day?

The first portion of this question can only really be answered by the fact that, regardless of their past, Simba Toys and the Simba Dickie group broadly are simply no longer names that really get associated with knockoff manufacturing... Which might seem like some form of circular reasoning, but really, it isn't: for as shady as some of their older products might have been, the fact that they've slowly acquired other companies and built up a portfolio made out of progressively bigger and more reputable toy brands - such as Majorette in 2010 and Märklin in 2013 - has broadly increased their prestige, and in turn, allowed them to not be dependent on imports of cheap, usually Chinese-made toys of questionable origins. Effectively, beyond the Jumpstarters clones, it's fair to say that Simba doesn't really engage in bootlegging anymore: their modern catalogue overwhelmingly consists of unique, legitimate products bearing official licensing from all sorts of brands.

Born too late to explore the Earth, born too
early to explore space, but born just in time
to buy both official Transformers merchandise
and Transformers bootlegs off the same website.

Still, looking at their catalogue "beyond the Jumpstarters clones" is like trying to look past the elephant in the room: okay, but they're still making these specific goddamn things, so what gives?

Again, you might be tempted to think that these bootlegs are maybe just old unsold stock that Simba is trying to get rid of, but as we've already established, this is factually not true. Despite the launch date of the Space Bot Pro / Robot Patrol Jumpstarter bootlegs being unknown, they seem to be relatively recent products: according to the Internet Archive, the page for these toys was first added to the Simba website in 2024, and although there are some indicators that they launched earlier (one YouTube review for the Twin Twist clone was uploaded in April of 2023), it seems likely that they are nonetheless a product of the 2020s, at a time when the Simba Dickie Group was already on an official partnership with Hasbro for a good while! Again, you can still consistently find them on stock in Simba's aforementioned website - the same website where you're also a few clicks away from ordering official Jada Toys Transformers products from - and, to make this all the more shameless, one of the regional versions of Simba's website from Belgium actually outright mentions the Transformers franchise in the description for these toys:

"Most children know Transformers from a young age and have also become fans of the fun robots that can transform. Simba's 15cm Planet fighter Robots can be converted into an airplane or excavator. They are available in different versions and colors."

How Simba can get away with this without being slammed by Hasbro is anyone's best guess, but one convincing possibility is that maybe they didn't - so; let's engage with a little bit of speculation. Recall that there are three known line-ups of Simba Jumpstarters, with the second series being ongoing by the time that Simba began their partnership with Hasbro and an extensive amount of remolding occurring from the second to the third series. There have been sightings of that second series - the "Enginebot" figures - in stores dating to as recently as February of 2023, and though this doesn't necessarily mean that these versions of the Jumpstarters were still being made up until then (old stock exists after all), it does suggest that they were being made at least up until not too long ago. So, maybe what happened is the following: with Simba most likely being unaware of the origins of these molds as Transformers toys - remember that they're based on bootlegs rather than originals - they probably kept on making their second batch of Jumpstarters clones even after becoming Hasbro licensees, at a point up until Hasbro eventually caught wind of this and stepped in. The ensuing result, thus; might have been the remolded third batch of Jumpstarters-based figures - the "Space Bot Pro" batch - with all their extensive cosmetic changes implemented to look even less like the original Jumpstarter toys, perhaps as a compromise of sorts that'd allow Simba to continue manufacturing these figures without infringing on Hasbro's IP rights.

Again, this is just speculation, and I know that, at a glance, it sounds far-fetched to imagine Hasbro just allowing an associated company to bootleg their toys. But the other possibility, that Simba has just been making Jumpstarter clones without Hasbro taking notice of this for the better part of a decade, just seems far more unlikely to me. Either Hasbro doesn't care enough about these small toys to intervene (perhaps the fact that they're old molds and already looked distinct enough from the originals anyways might point in this direction?), or, as mentioned, they reached some agreement with Simba Dickie to allow them to continue manufacturing their Jumpstarter-like figures as long as they featured the necessary legally distinct modifications. I would be very, very surprised if either of these wasn't the case.

Updates:

03/06/2025 - Identifying original molds in Superwings section (thanks to wolf_rider in the comments!)

08/06/2025 - Identifying Flying Dragon Toys origins for a few figures.

09/06/2025 - Identifying Hayakawa Toys origins for a few figures.