well i been told alot of time by 3rd party fans that hasbro would never release a G1 Arcee because there isnt a market for it... so there are people who think hasbro would never release a 6 combiner devastator outside G1.

i normally only collect fembot, but this time i think i'm going to make an exception because its Devastator...

 

He's actually a lot bigger. Leader Class would've been ideal for comic accuracy. At least in robot modes.

I considered that, but Mixmaster still has his old alt. Mode, so I doubt it.

 

Like SPLIT said, that's not how it works. Usually 3P figures are designed AFTER Hasbro's designs. Not the other way around.

 

Not sure about that honestly. There's been numerous times where third petty stuff came out far before Hasbros. In addition there's been a few instances where a company was working on something only to likes Hasbros design enough to cancel their product. Like with YOTS omega Surpreme, and Wreckgar I believe.

 

So explain to me how we got 2 3rd party Devastators 2 years before Hasbro's version? What I'm trying to say is that I think without the engineering and ingenuity seen in the 3rd party Transformers, we wouldn't be getting Devastator, or really any of the combiners we're currently getting. 3rd Party TFs raised the stakes, pure and simple. I'm sure it's just mere coincidence that after the plethora of 3rd Party combiners, Hasbro released Combiner Wars figures.

 

Oh, I doubt they would have had actual pictures of how the final toy would look way back last year, but they could've had loose information from Hasbro - like how T30 Jhiaxus got drawn as a simple head-swap of Armadascream because all IDW knew at the time was that he'd be an RID-colours Starscream retool.

Enough information to know that Long Haul would be taller, but not enough to know about the different cement mixer, etc.

 

I'm not talking about figures. I'm talking about designs. (I.E. Comics/released scteches)

 

you won't change the minds of rabid hasbro fanboys

 

Um..do you realize what forum you joined?

 

It's hard to tell if that Mixmaster leg will transform into something like this.

 

Nor, apparently, can the mind of a rabid Hasbro-hater be changed it seems.

Perhaps the answer lies in not being a rabid anything, and just liking what you like and being fine with others liking what they like.

 

So what time do they open?

 

I don't read the IDW comics, but looking at that picture, even IDW got the tread colours of Bonecrusher and Scavenger correct.
Bonecrusher = Green
Scavenger = Purple

 

The Hasbro fan media event begins with a presentation at 1PM EST, during which they'll announce stuff and show stock photos. After the presentation, the fan media representatives are allowed out into the showroom where all the new stuff is on display. Hasbro will also likely send out stock photos of the new product shortly after the presentation.

 

So I should wait until the afternoon for any photos?

 

I think you're wrong though. There is a lot old original designs out there, and some stuff was done without a Hasbro thing that was updated. Giant and Hercules being one of them. Then there is TFCs takes on Defensor and Predaking, Warbotrons Bruticus, and many more.

 

What evidence have you to back up this claim? Takara/Hasbro have been designing Transformers full-time for thirty odd years, there's very little they could learn from outside ventures, regardless of whether they're run by fans or not. If you looked at the last couple of years in isolation and ignored any creative properties involving Devastator, then yes, it would seem like a reactive move from Hasbro. However, if you consider the fact that Hasbro has been testing the market with forms of combiners since PCC you'd recognise it has been a slow and deliberate progression to this apex.

As you rightly pointed out; 3p and Hasbro goods are different products, for different markets. 3rd Parties are effectively designing toys for soft-handling adults with little child playtesting or safety concerns from an engineering standpoint. Each party has clearly distinguishable goals and priorities, with a small sweet-spot area of cross-over. While 3rd parties command high purchase prices due to their niche market, don't be fooled into thinking they risk the same money Hasbro does when they decide to be adventurous. Considering how much influence the conservative bean-counters at Hasbro seem to have I'm surprised Hasbro has moved this quickly.
In contrast, most 3rd parties seem to be initially self-funded and self-directed, thus allowing a more reactive speed with the ability to take greater risks.

If anything, I'd suggest that 3rd parties have been picking up, and capitalising, on fan interest for combiners stimulated by Hasbro's conservative efforts to modernise combiners over the past decade and also find the best distribution method for retail.

 

This was posted on 4chan yesterday, kind of surprised noone posted it here. Let the zooms and speculation begin.

 

I see arielbots and stunticons plus devy looming large in the background. Nothing new.

 

I imagine you're really wrong on this. Third parties capitalized on a demand for combiners that Hasbro wasn't tackling and hadn't been tackling. The demand had always been there and I suspect that Hasbro didn't seek to capitalize on it until they saw how much money there was in it. I might be wrong, but I'd also point out that "Combiner Wars" was something that people coined in the third party section during the Predaking War, we had Combiner Wars going before Hasbro did, and I think they jumped on that. It's not the first time we've seen a reaction from Has/Tak in regards to the third party market. The most famous one was Fanstoys Acoustic Wave. Apparently when Takara saw that they rushed MP Soundwave into production and development in an attempt to beat it to the market which ultimately led to Acoustic Waves cancellation. I do think the markets inform the other, but to say Hasbro has learned nothing from third party groups is a bit naive. Trust me, they've learned and are learning, just as the third party groups are also learning. The difference is the Third Party groups are able to adapt more quickly than Hasbro to the changing market. Which makes sense given that Hasbro is a giant corporation.