Scream Man Posted December 31, 2007 Posted December 31, 2007 I thought animated was heaps of fun! some awesome lines in it: "Solemn face, solemn face..." "I'm Bumblebee" "I'm Sari" "Don't be, I like my name!"
Greyryder Posted January 1, 2008 Posted January 1, 2008 I thought animated was heaps of fun! some awesome lines in it: "Solemn face, solemn face..." "I'm Bumblebee" "I'm Sari" "Don't be, I like my name!" "They're friendly! Except for the red and white one. He's kind of grumpy, but still...."
Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0 Posted January 1, 2008 Posted January 1, 2008 "They're friendly! Except for the red and white one. He's kind of grumpy, but still...." Ratchet rules! I love how he flipped out once the cop added more parking tickets on his windshield. It would be awesome if the toy ends up having actual magnets on his feet.
mikeszekely Posted January 1, 2008 Posted January 1, 2008 Here you go: I'm glad to see different weapons and a different head on them, but yeah, I don't really see the torso flippy thing. But seeing that picture... oh I so want that Sideswipe. I hope he's in the first wave and not the second, although it looks like they consider him to be a redeco of Sunstreaker.
JB0 Posted January 1, 2008 Posted January 1, 2008 The Seekers - at the time Hasbro wasn't considering making any more Classics toys (bearing in mind they plan out toylines months and months in advance). They didn't want to clog pegs with what are essentially six near-identical toys in a kid's toy market for a line that only lasted 6 or so. Then why did tooling exist for Thrust's wings? Given it wasn't usable for repaints, and Thrust is probably the LEAST marketable seeker... The character roster in Classic is also pretty lopsided towards the Autobots, and the other 3 seekers would've made it a tie. I think they planned for a full set from the start, and backed out later. At best, they planned for store exclusives on the seekers and then couldn't find any takers beyond Target's Magnus/Skywarp set.
Fit For Natalie Posted January 1, 2008 Posted January 1, 2008 Frankly, I'm not buying that rationale. Hasbro can tell themselves, their shareholders, whoever until they're blue in the face that Classics were for kids, but I've only ever seen adults buy them. Prior to the movie, I've seen plenty of kids walk past even the Cybertron toys and scream, "Oooh, Power Rangers!" or "Mommy! Spider-man!" If they were really worried that people wouldn't buy that many Seekers in the regular retail chain, they could have made Thundercracker a Wal-Mart exclusive, Thrust a Target exclusive, and Dirge a Toys R' Us exclusive. I mean, slap that word "exclusive" on a toy, and suddenly collectors are driving to every Wal-Mart in a 50-mile radius every day for six weeks until they find it. As for the BotCon team, maybe they're stuff has to be more expensive because they make limited quantities and don't have the same kind of resources as Hasbro, but I still think they were underproducing/overcharging and generally exploiting the people who could pay at the expense of those who couldn't. Power Rangers is the number 1 robot line in North America and certainly Transformers' biggest rival. Collectors cannot sustain a Transformers toyline alone. That is a fact of life in a toy market of western nations that still have comparatively young population, as opposed to Japan's much more collector-friendly toy market due to their low birth rate and rapidly aging population. Every Transformers adult fan, nerd, collector (and a good quarter of them don't even buy any toys) would reportedly total 10 to 20% (at most) of the purchasers of Transformers. Now, that's large enough for Hasbro to pay attention to, but not nearly large enough for devote significant resources into making products aimed at them regularly. As such, Classics was a toyline for everybody, but done in a way to appeal to collectors more than usual with it's G1 updated theme. As for exclusives, a retailer has to want the product for them to sell it as an exclusive, manufacturers can no longer force a retailer to sell products. Generally for Transforemrs, unless there's a big media push behind the line (such as a tv show or the Movie), they're less likely to want an exclusive repaint of a toy they already have on pegs or recently sold. That's a reason why so many retailer exclusives happen to use toolings from previous toylines no longer on shelves. Low production equals high cost, and TFs are generally more expensive to produce than most kids' toys. Fun Publications have created a successful convention/fan club business by making a (generally) making a profit. If you look at previous Transformers convention organisers who provided affordably priced exclusives and fees, some of them were once-off affairs or they went out of business. I'm glad to see different weapons and a different head on them, but yeah, I don't really see the torso flippy thing. But seeing that picture... oh I so want that Sideswipe. I hope he's in the first wave and not the second, although it looks like they consider him to be a redeco of Sunstreaker. If I recall correctly, Hasbro said the chests would also transform differently and noted this wasn't reflected in the slides they showed. Then why did tooling exist for Thrust's wings? Given it wasn't usable for repaints, and Thrust is probably the LEAST marketable seeker... The character roster in Classic is also pretty lopsided towards the Autobots, and the other 3 seekers would've made it a tie. I think they planned for a full set from the start, and backed out later. At best, they planned for store exclusives on the seekers and then couldn't find any takers beyond Target's Magnus/Skywarp set. Unless I am misremembering things, the tooling for Thrust's wings were paid for by Fun Publications (like Dreadwing's head), and was noted to be the first convention exclusive toy to have a retool that affected transformation. Ramjet's parts were the ones that were part of Starscream's tooling in for Hasbro's anticipation of doing at least several versions of the basic tooling. They lopsided the line towards the Autobots because they're the good guys, and good guys usually sell better.
David Hingtgen Posted January 1, 2008 Posted January 1, 2008 They lopsided the line towards the Autobots because they're the good guys, and good guys usually sell better. I've always wondered about the truth of that. I mean--they probably do sell better because there are many lines where production/availability is 5:1 good:bad. Look at current GI Joe. But I mean, for my brother and I in the 80's: Combined, we probably had 90% of all G1 Decepticons. Seriously, not exaggerating. And Prime, Magnus, Omega Supreme, and some Dinobots. And Gears and Huffer. Deceps had about a 10:1 advantage. GI Joe: Dozens and dozens of Cobra. Televiper, Stratoviper, Technoviper, Lackey Viper, etc. And Snakeyes. My brother and I always wanted the bad guys. Our parents knew that any Decepticon or viper would be welcome, but we were very picky about the few good guys we wanted. I still think the current GI Joe is the worst ever for "no bad guys". Who exactly are the 15 different Dukes supposed to fight? So---do good guys sell better because that's what kids really want, or just because that's all that they make?
eriku Posted January 1, 2008 Posted January 1, 2008 When I was a kid, I just wanted whichever figures looked the coolest. It didn't matter if they were good guys or bad guys because I used my imagination to make them whatever I wanted them to be anyway.
David Hingtgen Posted January 1, 2008 Posted January 1, 2008 Bad guys look cooler. Basic law of the universe.
Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0 Posted January 1, 2008 Posted January 1, 2008 So---do good guys sell better because that's what kids really want, or just because that's all that they make? The rather unfortunate truth, is that thats who retailers think kids want, when we all know in reality, this isn't really the case. Hehe, when I was a kid, it all boiled down to who had the best jet mode. Obviously why Jetfire was my favorite Transformer as a child, and Masterpiece Starscream is my favorite transformer as an adult. Transforming jets rule. Still regret never being able to buy those decepticon triple changer headmaster jets when I was a child. Decepticons do tend to have the better aesthetic and alt modes. The g1 post 85 ones ruled(so did the pre ones, but the futuristic ones kicked ass, well some of them did, disregard the movie ones). Look at the Animated figures. Blitzwing turns into a tank and jet. KICK ASS. Starscream, a jet. Awesome. Lugnut, a wwII inspired bomber. EXCELLENT. Lockdown, some evil car that probably scares the cars in the animated Cars movie. The only time any the villains in Transformers looked lacking compared to autobots was Car Robots/RID and Beast Wars.
RichterX Posted January 1, 2008 Posted January 1, 2008 The transfomers aisle have been stock full of Decepticons, I would be really lucky if i found the one autobot in it, I do think that kids would buy mostly autobots.
JB0 Posted January 2, 2008 Posted January 2, 2008 The transfomers aisle have been stock full of Decepticons, I would be really lucky if i found the one autobot in it, I do think that kids would buy mostly autobots. Mine were chocked with Sir Not-Appearing-in-this-Film. Any character in the movie made it off shelves pretty fast. Though Prime and Bumblebee certainly had an advantage over the rest(they NEVER appeared, as opposed to rarely or only in Fast Action Battler form). ... Until the haunakwanzmas rush. Then they were choked with air and a keychain.
mikeszekely Posted January 2, 2008 Posted January 2, 2008 The transfomers aisle have been stock full of Decepticons, I would be really lucky if i found the one autobot in it, I do think that kids would buy mostly autobots. Really? At pretty much every store I've been in that sells toys for the last two months, the aisle hasn't been been stock full of ANY Transformers. But yeah, if there's more Decepticons on the shelf than Autobots right now, it might have something to do with the fact that aside from Arcee and the tow truck, pretty much every Deluxe Autobot was one of the five in the movie. From the start, there were already more Decepticons in the movie, and a lot of the additional Deluxe figures were Decepticon drones from the video game. So, in total opposition to the Classics, the Decepticons in the movie line outnumber the Autobots.
Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0 Posted January 2, 2008 Posted January 2, 2008 The drones and decepticons combined in the movie line outnumber the autobots. While I do like some of the drones, some of them aren't that exciting. I doubt the repaint drones for the allspark power segment will sell strongly. The kids who missed out this past year will still be looking for Prime and Bumblebee.
RichterX Posted January 2, 2008 Posted January 2, 2008 I went checking at Stores, it is true, Walmarts aisle is practically empty of transformers, while Target was pretty well stock it were battle damaged Jazz, arcee, tow truck guy and drone decepticons and repaints Barricade. I was lucky enough to find a Classic camaro Bumblebee that i wasn't able to get in wave 1.
baronv Posted January 2, 2008 Posted January 2, 2008 For those looking, Masterpiece Starscream is now available online at Walmart.com, buy i now before it's gone. http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=7732657
Vermillion21 Posted January 2, 2008 Posted January 2, 2008 (edited) WooHoo!!! Just ordered mine for $48.88 + tax and FREE site to store shipping!!! Finally will be getting him ..... :lol: Thanks for the news baronv! Edited January 2, 2008 by Vermillion21
Stemp Fester Posted January 2, 2008 Posted January 2, 2008 Has there been any definitive news yet on whether the Takara MP Starscream will have any differences to the Hasbro version? I managed to get the Hasbro one but I also have the Takara one pre-ordered... I would hope that there's some meaningful difference between them, aside from packaging of course, maybe some accessories? The rumoured cape & crown would be nice.
Radd Posted January 2, 2008 Posted January 2, 2008 I'd like to know that, too. I've not been able to find the Hasbro version, I figure I'll most likely get the Takara version. From what I've seen of the Hasbro version, I'm really kinda hoping the Takara version has a better paint job. Does the Hasbro Starscream have all the little details? I've got Skywarp, and love that he's got all the little jet fighter details such as the little "No Step" details all over the wings. If Hasbro's SS doesn't have that, I certainly hope Takara's does. Then again, I really would like to see their original MP SS colour scheme get rereleased with the Skywarp fixes. The only reason I never bought it was the horror stories on how frail it was.
Stemp Fester Posted January 2, 2008 Posted January 2, 2008 My Hasbro SS is still in it's box, but from what I can see there are none of the "No Step" markings on the wings at least. I have the original Takara SS as well, don't know that I'd consider it "frail" as such, but it's certainly not something that I'd want to be repeatedly transforming. Looks nice in any case.
Chindenathus Posted January 2, 2008 Posted January 2, 2008 Has there been any definitive news yet on whether the Takara MP Starscream will have any differences to the Hasbro version? I managed to get the Hasbro one but I also have the Takara one pre-ordered... I would hope that there's some meaningful difference between them, aside from packaging of course, maybe some accessories? The rumoured cape & crown would be nice. As I understand it, it will be pressed off the MP:06 molds so that it incorporates the few improvements it had and so it will not suffer from the "safety modifications" the US vesion had. Yes it will have correct faces.
promethuem5 Posted January 2, 2008 Posted January 2, 2008 I'm gonna be annoyed if Takara's cartoon colored MP SS comes with the cape and crown... I'm considering picking up a Skywarp, but I'm not buying a third Starscream.
baronv Posted January 2, 2008 Posted January 2, 2008 WooHoo!!! Just ordered mine for $48.88 + tax and FREE site to store shipping!!! Finally will be getting him ..... :lol: Thanks for the news baronv! Well I hope the fellow MWs purchased MP SS yesterday since I see that of of today it is already sold out!
Vermillion21 Posted January 2, 2008 Posted January 2, 2008 Yep, glad I placed my order as soon as I heard the news ....
RichterX Posted January 3, 2008 Posted January 3, 2008 I'm gonna be annoyed if Takara's cartoon colored MP SS comes with the cape and crown... I'm considering picking up a Skywarp, but I'm not buying a third Starscream. They also have orders for MP Skywarp japanese version in Walmart.com 149.88, free shipping to stores
Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0 Posted January 3, 2008 Posted January 3, 2008 Just got SWTF Darth Vader Death Star. Completely awesome. He is a shell former, therefore irritating to transform, but solid in both modes, electronics are actually fun and well suited for this figure.
Alpha OTS Posted January 3, 2008 Posted January 3, 2008 Just got SWTF Darth Vader Death Star. Completely awesome. He is a shell former, therefore irritating to transform, but solid in both modes, electronics are actually fun and well suited for this figure. The Darth Star is awesome, and one of the few examples of electronics making a transformer *better*. The Snowspeeder from the new wave seems to have been sadly ignored, and it really deserves an honorable mention. It's something of a shellformer too, but the proportions aren't near as off as what had been shown in pre-release pics. The legs stretch out to normal size and you can shrink the backpack mass a bit. The ship mode is excellent too, but that's not surprising since that's the strength of this line. I'm still tweaking my display with these SWTF figures. All OT only. I'm probably one of the few who's been pretty happy with most of the line.
treatment Posted January 3, 2008 Posted January 3, 2008 got my order in for MP Starscream-Hasbro. it wasn't sold out, yet, so better hurry up.
Vermillion21 Posted January 3, 2008 Posted January 3, 2008 Just got SWTF Darth Vader Death Star. Completely awesome. He is a shell former, therefore irritating to transform, but solid in both modes, electronics are actually fun and well suited for this figure. I've been considering picking this up .... right now it's available for $36 from Wal-Mart and Amazon. Would you say it's worth it even though I already have both Armada Unicron and Cybertron Primus Shin??
doodler7 Posted January 4, 2008 Posted January 4, 2008 Damn man, 1 hour ago, I looked at the Wal Mart link for Starscream and they were in stock. Now I just checked and they're SOLD OUT. Wow!
Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0 Posted January 4, 2008 Posted January 4, 2008 I've been considering picking this up .... right now it's available for $36 from Wal-Mart and Amazon. Would you say it's worth it even though I already have both Armada Unicron and Cybertron Primus Shin?? To be honest yes. Transformation is better on both of those, but balance, proportions(especially compared to Primus) and electronics are far better on Darth Vader. Lots of play value, and seems less "kiddified" than Unicron. Primus and Unicron are bigger, but for the discount price, and for what he has, Vader is awesome. Funny thing is, there are more electronic gimmicks than just the voices you sample in box.
promethuem5 Posted January 4, 2008 Posted January 4, 2008 I just won a STUPENDOUS auction that I'm psyched about! I scored a G1 Megatron and a Kingdam KO Browning with both guns and two out of four fists... too bad I won't be able to get it until my next college break (I don't think the college would approve of two gun replicas like these lol)...
Fit For Natalie Posted January 4, 2008 Posted January 4, 2008 I've always wondered about the truth of that. I mean--they probably do sell better because there are many lines where production/availability is 5:1 good:bad. Look at current GI Joe. But I mean, for my brother and I in the 80's: Combined, we probably had 90% of all G1 Decepticons. Seriously, not exaggerating. And Prime, Magnus, Omega Supreme, and some Dinobots. And Gears and Huffer. Deceps had about a 10:1 advantage. GI Joe: Dozens and dozens of Cobra. Televiper, Stratoviper, Technoviper, Lackey Viper, etc. And Snakeyes. My brother and I always wanted the bad guys. Our parents knew that any Decepticon or viper would be welcome, but we were very picky about the few good guys we wanted. I still think the current GI Joe is the worst ever for "no bad guys". Who exactly are the 15 different Dukes supposed to fight? So---do good guys sell better because that's what kids really want, or just because that's all that they make? Well, Hasbro does alot of market research into what kids want, and since they seem to do well most of the time, evidently the market research is mostly correct. Collectors often question that Cantina Han Solo that keeps popping up, the Chewbaccas nobody wants, the Snake Eyes and Dukes in the various GI Joe lines. Well, Hasbro makes them because they're the main hero characters, and if they didn't sell to somebody (in which case retailers would either return this unsold stock to them or destroy it at Hasbro's cost), then Hasbro wouldn't keep making them. Kids often put more emphasis on how the fiction sells the character than collectors do, and fiction often pushes the heroes. Like Armada Hot Shot, whom by accounts kids loved, despite most collectors hating his JaAm guts. Personally, for Transformers I prefer the Autobots to the Decepticons most of the time, which probably explains why I have so little affection for the G1 seekers compared to most collectors I know.
Radd Posted January 4, 2008 Posted January 4, 2008 Lots of companies do lots of market research, and yet can sometimes look at a set of evidence and come to the utterly wrong conclusion. Kinda like how a bunch of good movies come out, all sharing one aspect. Maybe they're all CG, maybe they're all sequels. Anyways, the movies do well, and the conclusion drawn is that all movies sharing that aspect are popular now. So a glut of mediocre-bad movies with that aspect hit, and utterly bomb. Fingers are pointed at piracy, videogames, and the studios all agree that the public no longer wants movies with that aspect. Thing they miss? The movies that bombed were all trash. I wouldn't be surprised if Shin and others were on to something in mentioning that in some previous Transformers toy lines, RiD springs instantly to mind, the villains just were not that good. The RiD villains were pretty terrible, with the exception of Scourge/Black Convoy who was a repaint of a G2 toy. Does that affect Hasbro's market research? It's generally accepted that bad guy toys sell terribly in Japan. Though Takara handles the sales on that side of the ocean, does that knowledge affect Hasbro's perception of the American market? That's also why I worry about multiple lines being produced at the same time. Pretty much every time (with the exception of sparsely released collectibles such as the masterpiece toys) one line or another gets neglected. Will Classics suffer because both the movie toys and the cartoon toys have something the kids can sit down to watch on tv or DVD? Would Alternators have done better if there'd been a show to go with them (or if Hasbro had done a series of related lines and so expanded it beyond just cars)? Would it have mattered at all? I suspect eventually Classics will become mainly collectors, while the kids go for the toys based on the show (and unless the next movie comes out soon, I suspect the movie line will have a lull in sales). Of course, collectors alone can't carry a full production line, so Classics will get produced in smaller numbers and eventually dropped. What lesson will Hasbro take from that? That the old style look doesn't sell anymore, but the Cartoon Network look does? Probably. I do agree the story sells the toys for many kids, though I see it as somewhat of a balance between memorable characters from the show, and what toy looks "freakin' sweet" at the toy store. If a character has neither going for them, they're not going to sell. However, you can have fiction with the heroes being the victorious ones all the time, and still have some really memorable villains that pull the kids in and make them want their toys. After all, the heroes can't be all that heroic if their villains aren't all that interesting.
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