The Movie Toy-line (Speculation) Thread

[zzyss]

I just wanted to start a thread to speculate on the upcoming Transformers Movie toy line. Since no real information is available, it would probably be best just to stick with asking questions for now:


Will the TF alt-modes be based on realistic cars? If so, the toy line will end up "competing" with Alt/BT - thinking further, it also means that Has/Tak probably has license to vehicles that aren't being used in the A/B lines which they have reserved for the movie. If they just rehash A/B toys for the movie, that will be Big Suckage.

[Soundblaster1]

I just wanted to start a thread to speculate on the upcoming Transformers Movie toy line. Since no real information is available, it would probably be best just to stick with asking questions for now:


Will the TF alt-modes be based on realistic cars? If so, the toy line will end up "competing" with Alt/BT - thinking further, it also means that Has/Tak probably has license to vehicles that aren't being used in the A/B lines which they have reserved for the movie. If they just rehash A/B toys for the movie, that will be Big Suckage.

I'd guess the movie line would be the 'main line' at the time of the release. Alts are way too complex to be put ut as mainline tfs.

[Optimus Scourge]

I'd guess the movie line would be the 'main line' at the time of the release. Alts are way too complex to be put ut as mainline tfs.

I'd agree with that. Don't get me wrong, I love Alt's but I doubt they would never do them as a mass produced main line, like you said, too complex. my kids love TF's but not the alts, they always ask for my toys, but never for alts.

[butz]

Theres no way they're going to use re-hashes of the Alt/Bt designs in the movie itself, so why would the movie figures be re-hashes? I think its more likely they'll use the same method they do with their main lines; make it look similar to a real world vehicle, but different enough that they don't have to pay licensing. Afterall, getting the movie done on time is probably going to take priority over haggling with various car manufacturers over when and how they can use their car's likeness.
Personally, I'm wondering what non-movie figures we'll get. Its likely the movie will have a relatively small cast of TFs, and Hasbro would be foolish not to cash in on the opportunity with as many figures as possible; theres bound to be all sorts of figures in this toyline that aren't actually in the movie (or, perhaps are only shown in the background). Given all the hype and mainstream attention a movie like this will generate, it might be our best shot at getting figures like a new Devestator (one that doesn't try to strech 3 molds into 5 figures) or all 5 Dinobots; we could get all kinds of crazy stuff!

[Gnaw]

I would like to see the same stuff we saw in the Generation 1 line. Cheap, yet playable toys that everyone can afford and enjoy. Maybe they could release them in a G1 style packaging, like a throw back to the original movie toys.After the movies toys come out they might start the Commemerative Series again, only adding new Transformers to the line-up like Megs, Soundwave, Blaster etc. It's all about the profit with Hasbro and they have a goldmine with the Transformers license.

[Hiro Prime]

I'm betting we'll see realistic alt modes since they'll have the licenses tied together with the deal for the movie. I don't think they'll be as complex as alts for the most part. I do think since there will only be 5 bots and 5 cons that we will see them offered in multiple price points.

That said, I can also see the Alt line kind of branching off a bit to include very complex and super detailed versions of each character from the film kind of like how SW has the 3 3/4" line and then the 12" dolls.

[Cheetatron]

I just hope the ground vehicles are in scale with each other they can cheat a little but pls no tanks that are as big or smaller than super cars

[Nevermore]

Will the TF alt-modes be based on realistic cars? If so, the toy line will end up "competing" with Alt/BT - thinking further, it also means that Has/Tak probably has license to vehicles that aren't being used in the A/B lines which they have reserved for the movie. If they just rehash A/B toys for the movie, that will be Big Suckage.
[/list]

Suuure! Optimus Prime as a Dodge Ram, Starscream as a Honda S2000, and Bumblebee as a Scion! :D

Now, seriously, that doesn't sound really believable, no?
Considering we already know most of the names of characters that are going to star in the movie:

Optimus Prime as a semi
Jazz as a sports car
Ratchet as an ambulance or a fire truck
Bumblebee
One extra character to replace Arcee

Megatron as a tank
Starscream as a jet plane
Shockwave
Soundwave (NOT as a helicopter)
Soundwave's minons
Maybe others as cannon fodder

Which of these, aside from Jazz, COULD even work as rehashes of BT/Alt toys?

[Gryph]

This is what I'm guessing the movie line will consist of.

Normal transforming figures that will range between deluxe and ultra classes.
At least one "deluxe" version of a character. I'm guessing it'll be Bumblebee with a Spike action figure (or whatever they name the human lead).
Action figure versions of all of the characters. More than likely at least two versions of each character. (Name me one major movie toyline without action figures. They're the backbone of the movie toyline.)
Playsets for said action figures. More than likely the bot and con ships and possibly one Earth playset. More than likely the location of a major battle in the movie.

I would have to say those would be the "sure things".

[JD]

An Arcee blowup doll!

Seriously now, action figures with scenery would be cool. Y'know, like how it was done for the Spiderman movies and Alien VS Predator.

[MV75]

An Arcee blowup doll!

Seriously now, action figures with scenery would be cool. Y'know, like how it was done for the Spiderman movies and Alien VS Predator. Bwa-hahaha! I'd buy that. :D

But what scenary could you do? A jet with a blue card with clouds painted on it? A car that comes with a bit of road? :D Mmmm.... connect them all up.... LEGO!

Anyways, just as long as they don't make soundwave or anything else an ipod. I personally will go and blow up hasbro headquarters if they do that crap. Plus NO mobile phones.

[JD]

But what scenary could you do? A jet with a blue card with clouds painted on it? A car that comes with a bit of road? :D Mmmm.... connect them all up.... LEGO!
I meant as in a wall or some something. You could connect htem build to form a scene

Anyways, just as long as they don't make soundwave or anything else an ipod. I personally will go and blow up hasbro headquarters if they do that crap. Plus NO mobile phones.
Oh I'll hold you to that...yeeesssss :ev:

[Longhaul53]

Anyways, just as long as they don't make soundwave or anything else an ipod. I personally will go and blow up hasbro headquarters if they do that crap. Plus NO mobile phones.
...As opposed to going to Dreamworks to blow them up for their decision to make Soundwave "______" form to better fit into the movie plot. :huh

Making the trip from Oz to LA might be better for your travel budget.
:thumbs2:

[Edgewise]

Personally, I'm wondering what non-movie figures we'll get.

I don't think there will be much if any of this. The movie will have a small Transformer cast but each figure will probably be made in 2(maybe 3?) scales. Each will probably have an kid-friendly ~$10 figure as well as a larger, more detailed, more complex version for $20 or more. Add in perhaps a small scale "LOC" type line as well as human character figures and the line should be plenty big for enough for a 3 to 6 month run. It's a toyline for a movie, it's not going to be around for 12 or 18 months.

[Nevermore]

...As opposed to going to Dreamworks to blow them up for their decision to make Soundwave "______" form to better fit into the movie plot. :huh

Didn't you get the memo yet? Hasbro are responsible for everything, from stores not stocking any new toys to people returning toys they bought after swapping them with random cheap crap to US trademark and toy safety legislation. :)

[Deadboy]

My guess is that there WILL be licensed cars. This is a licensing and advertising bonanza that will outshine any opportunity that Alternators offered, and Hasbro and the movie company are not going to give that up.

However, it won't compete with or be similar to Alts, because they won't have the level of detail or complexity -- simpler transformations, no realistic interiors, etc. Because there are likely to be so few characters in the movie, all the characters will probably also come in multiple price points to expand the number of toys.

[Darth Megatron]

Hmm... I can see the add campaign now…


Ford, the official vehicle mode of The Transformers while on earth.

[Longhaul53]

Didn't you get the memo yet? Hasbro are responsible for everything, from stores not stocking any new toys to people returning toys they bought after swapping them with random cheap crap to US trademark and toy safety legislation. :)

aww crap... i guess the fax machine is acting up again, along with the copy machine. Had i gotten the memo, my entire post would have been a lot different. Possibly even supportive... Heck, i think i would have let the guy stay at my house while he plans to blow up the 'bro... :thumbs2:
:banghead:

Anyhoo. To justify another post in this thread, i suppose that i should say something about what i hope to see from the movie line.

This movie is a big event. Last year the very same company had a toyline that evidently did very well for them in "Episode III" thanks to the big event that was the redeemer of the entire prequel trilogy. And I believe that the toyline during the movie run had a lot of variety to it. More than usual. They seemed to have something that would appeal to every kind of demographic. From Fan and Collector, to the Kid who hasn't a clue why Anakin jumped at obi-wan when OBK clearly had the "high ground"... Heck, they even had some funny looking "Orange County Choppers" looking toys for the kids who really wanted to see Darth Vader macho up his manhood. Hasbro had it covered, and that was with George Lucas' property... imagine what they will do with something they actually own.

I'm willing to bet that we see a lot of different kinds of product infiltrating the ranks of a TF product line. Who knows what that will be? Action figs? Characters at different size classes? Brand new size classes? Better Features? Role Play? ...I don't know, but i'm really looking forward to it. Hasbro and Takara have been pumping out consistently better work with each go'round and i don' t expect them to let up on that work ethic anytime soon.

TTFN.
ej.

[Pidgeot018]

I, too, think that we'll see a bunch of different figures at varying price points for the same main charater, namely Prime, or whoever else will be the main star. It'll probably be like other movie toy lines like for Spider-Man 2 or Batman Begins, were Doc Ock and Scarecrow toys were around, but not nearly as much as Spidey and Batman, and rightfully so, perhaps.

Whether this will mean an oversaturation of "Arctic Force," "Laser Blast" or "Jungle Patrol" Optimus Primes will remain to be seen.

[DeathFrogurt]

I, too, think that we'll see a bunch of different figures at varying price points for the same main charater, namely Prime, or whoever else will be the main star. It'll probably be like other movie toy lines like for Spider-Man 2 or Batman Begins, were Doc Ock and Scarecrow toys were around, but not nearly as much as Spidey and Batman, and rightfully so, perhaps.

Whether this will mean an oversaturation of "Arctic Force," "Laser Blast" or "Jungle Patrol" Optimus Primes will remain to be seen.

Kids are going to get tired of transforming the same 'bot, right? You need a good variety of vehicles/robots for a good toyline.

Besides, look at the titles of these toylines. Batman has a lot of Batmen. Spider-man has a lot of Spider-men. He-Man had a lot of He-men. Transformers has one or two Primes per toyline, but there's a good variety for the rest of it. Still, there might be three Primes, give or take.

We know there's going to be the movie, and then a movie-inspired line tied in with a similarly inspired cartoon. The cartoon line afterwards will probably do a lot of G1 characters not covered by the movie, and another version of the movie guys, especially the best sellers from the movie line.

Megs'll be a tank.

[Ktulu]

The talk of all the extra versions of characters makes me think we'll probably end up with some crazy role play merchandise. Remember that recent Darth Vader helmet Hasbro put out? I wouldn't be too surprised to see something like that based on Prime.

Anyway, if they do release multiple versions of the characters, I hope it doesn't get too insane, such as the Batman Begin toys, i.e. 15 million Batman figures that had nothing to do with the movie. I don't really wanna see Sunday School Soundwave sitting around Wal-Mart when the movie never even featured a church you know? I hope they keep that stuff at least somewhat sensible.

[Hiro Prime]

Wasn't there suppose to be a direct to DVD prequel to the movie coming up to kinda set up the film? They'd make a bunch of toys from that I'd bet.

I also think we'll get smacked up side the wallet with everything from Sleeping bags, to Toothbrushes, to Bed sheets and so on. Hasbro will have games, both board and card/mini/roll-playing from their Wizards of the Coast property. We'll see Pez-bots and other candies. And that's just here. Imagine what wonderous things will come out of Japan when the film shows there. :thumbs2:

[Ktulu]

Hiro Prime, never heard of that prequel. I don't know why they'd bother with that.

I have two words as far as merchandising: Optimus Potatohead.

[Omik]

I don't think it'll be quite the merchandising blitz some of you guys think it will be. Transformers isn't quite the cultural icon that star wars is. I mean, we'll get a lot of stuff, but I doubt bedsheets and eight different versions of prime. Hasbro is generally a little smarter than that when it comes to the transformer line. We'll probably get a fair spread like we had with energon, followed by some repaints. If we're lucky, there won't be a central gimmick.

Why's everybody keep saying there will only be a few actual transformer characters in the movie? The original movie had a ton and we saw toys of nearly every one of them. It's not like they won't have the budget for it, being a big hollywood movie and all.

I'm really just expecting another toy line like the past few we've gotten. Though like I said, I really hope there aren't any stupid gimmicks.

[Dio]

Why's everybody keep saying there will only be a few actual transformer characters in the movie?

Because Don Murphy said it himself.

And then had a sort of write-in vote as to which 5 or 6 characters from each side fans most wanted.

There have also been frequent comparisons to the "X-Men" movies, where the plot focused on a small handful of key characters.

[Blastwave]

I heard something about a prequel to go along with Neo G1 a long time ago, but my guess is that it got scrapped.

Yeah, there will only be a few 'bots per team, but I'm still expecting a decent amount of cameos, from which at least one TF toy per cameo will be made. And of course the TF's who didn't even make an appearance, but will probably still be made, just like every other TF line to date (mostly repaints)

There probably will be a couple role-playing items, but I wouldn't expect them to be in large variety. Maybe masks, swords/guns, or even a plush Bumblebee :P

I wouldn't mind a playset/base TF, but I doubt we'll see one. Hasbro doesn't make them that often (and no, Primus doesn't count IMO)

[Ktulu]

I don't think it'll be quite the merchandising blitz some of you guys think it will be. Transformers isn't quite the cultural icon that star wars is. I mean, we'll get a lot of stuff, but I doubt bedsheets and eight different versions of prime. Hasbro is generally a little smarter than that when it comes to the transformer line. We'll probably get a fair spread like we had with energon, followed by some repaints. If we're lucky, there won't be a central gimmick.


You could argue that The Hulk and Fantastic Four aren't really as big as Star Wars either, but their films still got merchandised out the ass. They've been around longer than TFs and have just as big, and larger, followings, but the point remains. Also, merchandising for a big blockbuster family movie can be looked at as a good way to advertise the film and try to get asses in seats at the theatre. I think you may be underestimating things a little.

[Dirge121]

We'll see Pez-bots and other candies.


Hooray for Pez!
Pez are great, heres for TF Pez-dispensers!

[zzyss]

One other interesting point... remember how Has/Tak tried to get the license from VW for Bumblebee, only to be told that VW doesn't care much for the "war/violence" connotations? Do you think that maybe they were asking for more than just the rights to the BT toy, but also for the movie as well?

I mean, what can a toy do? It's just a toy. But if the character was going to be participating in a movie in which there will definitely be good vs. evil type fights, then that makes more sense.

[Ktulu]

^ Makes the new Volkswagen commercials where they are trying to seem hip and trendy pretty hilarious considering they wouldn't even let their car become part of a huge pop culture toy property.