The Royal Mail is launching a set of 13 special stamps to celebrate the British contribution to Hasbro’s Transformers brand.
The main set of eight stamp designs are produced in pairs and feature original illustrations of Transformers Autobots and Decepticons locked in battle, in retro Generation 1 style from the 1980s.
Featured on the stamps are: Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee, Starscream, Grimlock, Shockwave, Arcee and Soundwave.
The images were created exclusively for Royal Mail by three established, British comic artists: Andrew Wildman (pencils), Stephen Baskerville (inks) and John-Paul Bove (colours) – who have all contributed to Transformers comic series.
The main eight stamps are printed with a hidden ink which reveals each of the character’s faction logos and names in the Cybertronian alphabet when shone under UV light.
In addition, fans who download the Royal Mail App, can scan the stamp and watch a unique Augmented Reality animation including a clip from the original animated Transformers TV series.
A further five stamps – presented in a miniature sheet – feature the Dinobots, Grimlock, Snarl, Slug, Sludge and Swoop.
“Since The Transformers burst onto the scene in 1984, British writers and artists have made a substantial contribution to the ongoing story of the popular warring mechanoids; to this day many continue to do so and have inspired new artists to do the same,” commented Matt Parkes, director of stamps and collectables at Royal Mail. “We are delighted to be able to celebrate their work with this stunning set of stamps – which calls back not only to the early comics but also – by using the Royal Mail App to trigger hidden content – the original cartoon series as well.”
The stamps will go on general sale on 1 September, with the presentation pack containing all 13 stamps priced at £17.50.
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