This thread is entertaining. I love how people that hate hasblow and takera forget that its thanks to these companies that the hobby exists as do third parties. And third parties are not always better. 2 100ish dollar hercules figures having major qc issues.
Apologise in Advance for the rant. The topic, As meaningless as it really is with the world in Crisis. At least lets me vent. Hasbro could pay their factory workers more, and the majority of us could pay more for toys with prices being pushed artificially downward by domestic retailers. Not that Hasbro is completely innocent. Their not a non profit. But they had to cut parachutes and the second seat from the new gijoe skystriker mold in 2011 because the price point needed to be around $30 for target and toys r us to take it. Or perhaps with the best intentions more accurately so that kids will be able to afford it, and a lower pricepoint will let retailers have more faith in moving the units. Hasbro has to cut out features, or entire products that Transformers fans really would like to see. But retailers want to undercut them on. When the takara engineers made Darkmount, they felt that only one of the three clip weapons might actually make it on budget. Our higher base pricepoint at the time of $11.99 probably helped that. I bought Junkheap and Skyshadow for $6.99 each at target two weeks ago. It was a Christmas sale. And one probably meant to clear out dark of the moon stock more than Generations. But we've kind of become to comfortable with this line of Christmas deal making . Retailers sit on High to hemorrhage Hasbro and Hasbro has to cut their factory worker wages and benefits. Their products are smooth super articulated and Heavily detailed. Some of the best toys I've ever handled are Transformers. Even the Hasbroian things like giant safety tested missile launchers. Have become less kitschy and more nostalgic as a reminder that these are toys for play. I'm excited for everything Hasbro puts out, because it has not burned through the classic want list characters to fast. Which means thought provoking molds with the latest Sculpt, articulation and Transformation Tech behind it when they get to a character. The molds are not stuck in 2006 engineering. take into account how little of the market we really are. But the Hasbro team come to the conventions and push things like classics. Not because they have to, unlike A third party that feels they have to pander to the 30 something disposable income classic Transformers crowd. Hasbro does classics because they are fans of that era themselves. They could just have one broader hot mainstream line every year, they don't have to produce so many sublines. But they do classics as something they wanted to do and it increases our variety of robots on the table. So to speak. I used to stand against third party companies, because their add on kits usually were alternate heads and weapons that disrupted the look of Hasbros design. But I think they have a reason to exist now. There are things Hasbro may never get to accomplish under the restrictions their under from retailers. But more than that third parties are a great opportunity to see new art and new interpretations of mecha. Its the new ideas, like TFC mad blenders mixing drum cannons. Or fansproject turning the insecticons into dynamic element powered ninjas that encourage me to continue supporting them as well. In a way I like Hasbro and fan companies for the same reason. And that's because I like the fantasy of transforming robots.
I'm not made at people who necessarily hate Hasbro/Takara-Tomy, but it does annoy when people hate them because of something minor such as the lack of silver paint on a toy directed at children, not collectors. But that's just my
Think about human nature. For third party companies the modern G1 collector is the most important thing in the world because that's where they make their money. People like to feel important and they like to feel like the company who they are buying something from loves them. The movies have been a godsend for the third party companies because right now third party is the only place that fans of the early Transformers era are feeling the loving. If you collect anything outside of Transformers or keep up with other Hasbro brands you might feel a bit shorted right now. GI Joe and Star Wars crank out fan demanded characters at a far quicker pace because they have the advantage of parts that can be reused. Even Marvel Universe is doing a better job at plugging holes in a collection. But Transformers fans have to worry that some holes in their collection might never get filled because it's been a long time since a triple changer so Generations Blitzwing might not ever happen from Hasbro. Once Hasbro starts cranking out new molds for Generations I think you will see a lot of the anger fade away. Once fans feel important again and that they are no longer being ignored I think you'll see more fan love toward Hasbro. It's just human nature to like the place that is giving you attention and to dislike the place that seems to be ignoring you.
Aparantly I hate Hasbro...I wasn't aware that I did before I read this thread, but yeah apparantly I do, go figure I guess it's because I don't see things in black and white like so many here seems to do, to me it's ok to be critical of Hasbro, not EVERYTHING they do has to be perfectly flawless, and in my eyes it isn't. To me, thinking it is would be delusional. I don't see anything wrong with wanting things to be better than they are, hell it's human nature even. I really don't understand why Hasbro should get any special treatment from that. Hasbro wouldn't even be here today if they didn't have people constantly wanting to improve in all the different areas. I'll even take it one step further and say that the thing that anoys me are the Hasbro apologists. The people that use and defend silly ideas for which there is no basis at all, like "well, Hasbro caters to kids so that's why they can't do things us collectors like" I mean really? Are kids of today somehow genetically engineered to dislike everything that collectors wants, or things that are associated with G1? Applying the same logic to anything else you can see how silly that statement is: "No, sorry we can't make vanilla ice cream because we cater to kids" Sure, a few paint splashes might cost you a few more cents, which would mean a slightly lower profit from one of several sources of revenue for Hasbro, but it would be marginal if any at best, hell the collectors buying Takara stuff might even make it profitable. Does picking one color or shade of plastic over another mean that kids won't buy them at all, but we as collectors would? The whole notion of it all is just silly. Granted, we do have ALOT of these crazy ideas floating around our fandom (more wacky ones are stuff like that Hasbro got a billion dollars from the movie, or that Michael Bay designed the movieverse toys) I am greatful for what Hasbro and Takara have done and continue to do, and I am greatful for third parties and what they do, my stance is that I want them ALL to do better, create better products and evolve. And therefore I will continue to critisize the things I don't like about them. -typos*
Actually it unfortunately is. The public opinion of Transformers is one thing, the collector's wants is another.
Would you mind elaborating on this? 'cause from what I see of public opinion of Transformers it is generally a somwhat cartoon accurate G1 Optimus Prime, something that if Hasbro made a toy of would be considered fan love galore. And expanding on that concept, shouldn't public opinion of what transformers is be something that is generated by Hasbro? I'd love to hear your oppinion on this, looking forward to your reply.
Maybe people just don't look outside of Transformers. By some of the logic we get around here Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Boba Fett, and all the original Star Wars cast should be shelf warmers because kids don't like old things. Yet original Star Wars characters are a big seller for Star Wars and those numbers can't be from collectors alone. The hardest to find Marvel figures aren't the movie costumes but the comic book costumes, not new costumes but the costumes that were around when we were kids way too long ago. I'm a GI Joe collector and we love it when Hasbro comes out with an even better version of the characters we love. As Transformers fans it boggles my mind why any fan wouldn't want even better figures. Several Classics figures I'd buy again if Generations could do the character even better. I agree just not enough middle ground with fans when there is so much middle ground for Hasbro to exploit.
I really wish I could pay Fred Tatasciore money to go on a "Boo Hasblow" diatribe in his Incredible Hulk voice.
If anything i think we own Hasbro more than they do us. The could have cancelled the Classics esque line after the movie and never released the Seekers after the Botcon 2007 fiasco but no they continued on with Universe and did well, hell we had Generations and Reveal the Shield too. They do care, they may not make everything accurate like G1 but likewise G1 is not just Transformers.
ahhhh. I kind of get that "bite my shiny metal ass" flippancy. (off topic, he's a really nice guy in person. I worked with him on a video game during the no Futurama years and he was doing Benders voice all the time. It was very cool)
As a collector I feel so freaking ignored by Hasbro. Junkheap, Wheeljack, Tracks, Thundercracker, Wreck-gar, G2 Optimus, Seacons, Perceptor, SO Jazz, Darkmount, Skullgrin, Thunderwing, and lines like prime and cyberverse figures just arent ENOUGH. We need more THIS WEEK.
Dudes I don't care about characters - I care about toys. And If I like the toys I'll buy them even if they are not even Transformers (I.e Starcats). I say this again and again but I usually get funny looks - but what the heck - I'm not buying this stuff because it's Starscream and "like Starscreams Cool" .... i'm Buying them because I like the Transformation play pattern... which is why in the past I've also collected Microman, Starcom, Gobots/Machine Robo and M.A.S.K. to name just a few. Now I will admit I don't often go chasing after Chinese Transforming Number sets etc.. but in general I'm open to anyone who makes a Transformation or interaction based toy line and not just to Transformers... the only exceptions to that being I'm not a huge fan of some things that are overtly Anime so if something is a bit anime it drops it down the list a bit - which is why I don't think I'll probably ever buy much in the ways of Samurai Pizza cats toys. and I only buy Digimon toys when I fall over them. I got the odd macross toy but i don't feel I need to go completist on them. So yeah I like Transformers best - but that does not mean I can look at that new Robotech like Arcee and think - yeah I like that better than any of Hasbro's Arcees. I'm not hating on Hasbro particularly - I'm just not limiting myself to just Hasbro stuff is all. even if Hasbro did make a Classics Arcee i'd still buy a third party one. and likewise if someone wanted to make a bigger and better Astrotrain I'd buy that too. A good example of how a third party is useful is the Bludgeon head kit - it allows you to have each version of the mould have a unique head - which is pretty cool really. or Warbot Defender - he's surely a better toy than either of the Hasbro/Funpub offerings labelled as Springer are. and WFC Prime is made oddles Cooler by the addition of a Carbot V axe. Unfortunately I only like it when they make a genuine effort to update the chracters like the Jungle Viper for example... I also like the themed repaints... (so cold slither zaranna is OK with me for example) but a new mercer or the like that is just like the old one wearing the same outfit with the same gun and they just made him again but with a few more joints - would hold almost zero appeal to me). I'd want a desert SAW Viper or a Arctic something or other first... before being sold the same stuff again only this time with ankles. I'm definitely not on the same wave length as Hasbro about that... the coolest boxed sets to me are not the new version of old toy reissue ones but where a Joe or Snake is given a twist on an existing character or a new one... so for example to me a Crimson Guard Tele-Viper makes perfect sense. I'm not saying that they should never remake things... but I'd just prefer that the line was more than that. Just as I get a bit worn out buy the same characters or names over an over in Transformers... I have to stop and think for a Minute to remember the last "New" Transformer we actually had... Hatchet perhaps or maybe that Junkion medic fella ? but other than them i'm struggling to remember any. there's so many name reuses ; Flak, Spacecase, Roadbuster, Red Alert, Cyclonus, Skyhammer, Mudslinger. I just thinking that most of Transformers from 1985 to 1994 was new Characters with just the odd duplicate thrown in. Yet now when we get a genuinely new character it's almost unheard of... That is why I grow to like someone like Sunspot because they are a new character or name (as far as I know of).
"The original Star Wars trilogy is great, and has a lot of fans. Lucasfilm made Star Wars, and is the only source for new Star Wars things. Therefore, if you like Star Wars, you're not allowed to hate on Lucasfilm for making new shitty Star Wars things, even if they are consistently declining in quality." -- This thread, with the names changed.
