Kabaya Milk Caramel
In the mid-1980s Transformers introduced the Decoys, small rubber figures representing mainline Transformers, but now in much smaller forms. These smaller toys were meant to be accessories to the much larger city-formers like Metroplex, Trypticon, and Fortress Maximus. In Japan, small rubber figures are widespread and often called Keshi, meaning Eraser. Just about every major franchise in Japan has had a Keshi series of some sort. These little figures have become incredibly popular and very hard to find as time goes on. That's where this guide comes in, to shed a little light on the subject and present a visual guide for collectors looking to complete their collections.
There were a total of four major series of Keshi figures released for the Transformers toyline: Kayaba's Milk Caramel series (1985-1988), the Decoys (1985-1986), Transformers Ramune series (1986), and the Forms Robo series (1987). The hardest of these to find and collect is the Milk Caramel figures, and few fans will ever see a figure from this obscure line. Figures from the Decoy line are much easier to find. The Ramune series is often forgotten and can be easily mistaken for the first two series of toys. Finally, the Forms Robo series of figures are semi-common and fetch a decent price, but are still within the grasp of a novice collector.
For this guide, we will try our best to detail each line and provide quality pictures when possible. Due to many of these series having figures released in multiple colors, we will only be showing a figure in a single color. Many figures in this guide use their original Japanese names. Finally, all prices in this guide are for loose figures only, unless noted otherwise.
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Kayaba's Milk Caramel Series
This series coincided with the Transformers animated series in Japan. These toys came from the company Kayaba and were released with candy, similar to how Kinder Eggs always have a small toy. These toys are incredibly hard to find on the secondary market and any values here are based on what little information we could find online and in some cases based on our best guess from what we know of the current Transformers market. These estimated prices will include a "*" next to them and should be taken with a grain of salt due to the lack of market data.
Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers (1985)
This series of figures were the original "Decoys" and were smaller and less detailed than the flagship line. These were released in many colors and collections will be nearly impossible to complete. Series 1 had 9 figures and came in blue, green, orange, sky blue, yellow, and white. Series 2 had 9 figures as well and came in blue, red, and yellow. The colors do not change the price enough to be noted here.
Series 1
Bumble: $20*
Cliff: $20*
Condor: $20*
Convoy (v1): $20*
Gong: $20*
Jaguar: $20*
Reflector: $20*
Soundwave: $20*
Starscream: $20*
Series 2
Convoy (v2): $20*
Convoy (v2) (Decepticon logo): $50+*
Convoy (v3): $20*
Frenzy: $20*
Hound: $20*
Lambor: $20*
Laserwave: $20*
Megatron: $20*
Meister: $20*
Prowl: $20*
Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers 2010 (1986)
This series included 9 figures and were released in slightly translucent glow-in-the-dark colors of blue, green, red, and yellow. These figures are much harder to find on the secondary market compared to the first year of Kayaba figures. Prices below are based on only a few sales and these figures may go for much more than estimated prices.
Blurr: $50+*
Cher: $50+*
Cyclonus: $50+*
Dinosaurer: $50+*
Galavatron: $50+*
Predaking: $50+*
Rodimus Convoy: $50+*
Scourge: $50+*
Wreck-Gar: $50+*
The Headmasters (1987)
This series of figures were rubber stamps that came molded onto a small square stand that had the figure's face on the bottom and their name along the edge of the bottom stand. As with the other early Kayaba keshi figures, these are hard to find. The following list is thought to be complete but these are so rare it is not known if this is a truly complete list! These were released in two waves and the colors blue, red, and yellow.
Series 1
Abominus: $40+*
Brainstorm: $40*
Chromedome: $40*
Computicon: $40+*
Hardhead: $40*
Highbrow: $40*
Skull: $40*
Weirdwolf: $40*
Wipe: $40*
Series 2
Blanker: $40*
Crosshairs: $40*
Fortress Maximus: $40+*
MegaZarak: $40+*
Misfire: $40*
Raiden: $40*
Sixshot: $40*
Slugslinger: $40*
Sureshot: $40*
Super-God Masterforce (1988)
Kayaba switched it up this year. Each box of candy now included 2 smaller figures, one in robot mode and one in alt mode! There was an exception to this with the King Poseidon figure. This figure was released in two sets, each containing three parts of the combiner, and no robot/alt mode. This means you could have a King Poseidon in mismatched colors! These were much smaller than the previous figures, and again super rare. All figures in this final release were available in blue, red, and yellow.
Buster (bot & alt mode): Unknown (no records of sales)
Hydra (bot & alt mode): Unknown (no records of sales)
King Poseidon (Gulf, Kraken, and Turtler) (set 1): Unknown (no records of sales)
King Poseidon (Lobclaw, Overbite, and Tentakil) (set 2): Unknown (no records of sales)
Sixknight (bot & alt mode): Unknown (no records of sales)
Super Ginrai (bot & alt mode): Unknown (no records of sales)