Diaclone toys began their life as giant robots that could be piloted by little figures - eventually leading to vehicles piloted by these little figures that also could transform into robots.
If you ever wondered why the G1 Insecticons and Dinobots had cockpits that could open, it was meant to hold those little figures.
Here are YouTube videos showing all the Diaclone commercials in Japan. Towards the end you see the G1 Transformer toys, although some with different colours (like Red Sunstreaker for example).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvPnLMFTKFM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2kFSkSwP_c
Have fun,
J.
