Takara brought many of these toys to the 1983 Tokyo Toy Show where representatives from toy companies around the world would be attending.
The robots in this story were not sentient, they were instead lifeless mecha controlled by human or Waruder pilots/drivers. The name "Diaclone" was an amalgam of " Diamond" and "Cy clone", the strongest material on Earth and a powerful force of nature respectively in reference to the Earth-defending forces. A story of good vs evil was constructed by Takara whereby Earth was defended by the Diaclone forces against the invading alien Waruder army. In the early 1980s, Japanese toy company Takara produced a range of transforming toys called "Diaclone". The facts are as clinical as some of the speculation is vague, but the magic inbetween is undeniable. In this article we will look at the history, conception, evolution and eventual fate of the Joustra Diaclones. This superb toyline was released in Europe in 1984 (Wave 1), with a much rarer second year of toys released in 1985 (Wave 2). With their awe-inspiring exclusive packaging artwork, unique mini-comic chapters, unsolved mysteries and in some cases staggering rarity, they present one of the most irresistible and frightening challenges to a pre-Transformers collector. Whichever it is, the group of releases from Europe known amongst collectors as 'Joustra Diaclones' (or just 'Joustra') are a true jewel in Takara's crown. Maybe you collected them first as a child and now as an adult, wishing to expand that collection to include Diaclone toys sold abroad. Maybe you grew up with The Transformers and have since come to appreciate their ancestors from Japan, or you were lucky enough to have Diaclone toys sold in your country of youth.