In 2014, there was a Transformers Expo in Yokohama, billed as covering 10,000 square meters and featuring "giant statues of Optimus Prime and Bumblebee!"

While that was more than a bit of overselling, the expo was still pretty cool. The life-sized, more "realistic" models weren't all that impressive, but the pre-Transformers Diaclone and Microman toys, along with generational collections covering yearly character iterations, themes, and variants, in addition to some super-obscure Japan-only figures—that's where the magic was.

After two years during which Akihabara News thought it had scandalously lost all of the photos, the precious collection has now been found. Check out the amazing gallery below—with many shots featuring entire generations of Transformers toys in a single frame!