Botcon 2009 had a Sweep troop builder pack and this year it was Sharkticons so I've been thinking of other situation where a set of identical toys could be sold at a relatively low price.

How about this for an idea; instead of 1,000 sets of 3 identical transformers, 1,500 sets of 2, to make new character versions of the Autobot & Decepticon clones.

MOONRAKER & FASTTRACK: Repaints of Classics Astrotrain as new Autobot Clones. The white on Astrotrain replaced with grey and the purple with red. Moonraker uses the space shuttle transformation and Fasttrack the train. Both identical apart from a small sticker on the chest showing which alt-mode they have:

WINGBLADE & POUNDER: Repaints of Universe Tankor as new Decepticon Clones. The white on tankor replaced with turqoise, black with grey and navy with purple. Wingblade uses the jet transformation and Pounder the truck. Both identical apart from a small sticker on the chest showing which alt-mode they have:

Alternatively, if it had to be another three-pack, how about Universe Ironhide, with new head, painted as earth versions of the generic Decepticon troopers from the G1 cartoon epsiode War Dawn.

 

That's an interesting idea, I hadn't thought of using Triple Changers as Clones before.

For another idea, now that "the genie is out of the bottle," so to speak, on re-using molds they've already used, how about the Classics Starscream mold as three generic Seekers?

 

A few ideas:

o Cybertron Wreckloose as Quintesson Guards.
o Energon Treadshot and Cybertron Clocker as War for Cybertron drones
o Cybertron Ransack as Cy-Kill Drones(because as many times as that guy's died, they've gotta exist)

 

I'm not sure I appreciated the idea of Troop Builders on Convention toys - I'd rather they were shop items and ones that could be re-manufactured if required.

Making Sweeps, Sharkticons - (or indeed F-15 Decepticon Jet Troopers) is not a terrible idea - it's just a bit frustrating that they work out so expensive.

If you wanted to buy 20 Energon Terrorcons it was not a problem - but just 20 FP Sharkticon's would cost as much as a serious collector would spend on Transformer in a year.

So for F-15 Generic Decepticon Jet Troopers i'd rather they were packed in another way at retail rather than costing a fortune.... I'd not mind if they made Rain Makers or a Universe Color Ramjet as Botcon toys though.

It might be worthwhile considering doing War For Cybertron Generics too.

People were not terribly impressed by the Insect Drones from Timelines though.

 

He said Pounder..

It would be neat to get seekers repainted into the comic drone colors or those Heroes of Cybertron that had the pack with the generic seekers.

Man that color scheme looks great wish I had a spare seeker to paint up.

 

I already have a ton of jets (real ones and KOs), but I would still be on board for a 3-pack of generic Decepticon jets (like the year they had a 6-pack of Heroes of Cybertron with three purple guys).

edit: I am talking about this: http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Air_Warrior

 

Retail-wise it's not that expensive. The sweeps were $49 which make it $17 per which isn't that bad but they were hard to get. The sharkticons were $59 or $20 per shark but it wasn't that hard to amass a collection if you were at the convention. I heard one guy was going to recreate the scene from the movie and bought 80 or so of them.

 

whitemocha better get going on some new digibash ideas.

 

I seem to remember Pete or Brian saying they'll only do troop packs when it makes sense for them to do them, otherwise they might do a single figure or another two pack. Given the obvious two choices for troop sets are already taken, odds are we'll probably see that route taken in future. Or a Starscream design in Air Warrior colours.

 

Reflector Clones from the Spyshot mold?

 

Haha, thanks.

Now that troop-builders have been used a few times, I should have included them as a third option in more of my set digibashes.  

Can you imagine the furor if the 2007 set had included a troop-builder 3-pack of Seekers? The fan-rage would have been even more epic!

 

I love the idea of using Astrotrain and Tankorr as the Clones.  

When you think of it, It would be easier to do two figures instead of three, The best part is the clones troup builders is their will be more of them and less of a chance to sell out on day one.

 

The shame is that the Sharkticons could have been done another time and and a troop builder Marvel G2 troopers set could have been done this year.

I loved this years stuff, but still wish there had been some comic homage in the set.

 

Awesome. Please make these for Botcon 2011. Better still, Hasbro, please make these for Generations.

 

I think Classics Astrotrain makes a passable Blast-Off.

 

Ya, that was the set I meant too, though I do like the blue on the comic versions.

I love the reflectors I want to say I have seen some realgear reflectors before.

 

I'm not sure it makes a ton of sense to say that the two most obvious ideas have already been used. How many people were predicting sharkticons before we saw the gnaw repaint? Not many as far as I remember. Same for the Sweeps, even. I don't think people were clamoring for those as an obvious toy.....it just worked well once we saw them.

For future sets, I think seeker drones would be awesome ("obvious") as would insecticon clones (maybe energon insecticon in G1 colors), Cyclonus' armada (similar to sweeps based on the cyclonus mold), quintesson guards of some sort, etc.

Or, how about this.....repainted 3 packs of minibots (maybe the legends beachcomber, brawn and hound molds) in random assortments of blue, yellow and white with mystery rub-signs done as minispies? I'd be all over those. Hey.....they could even just put one random one per bag (like they did with the minicons in 2008) as an homage to how the minispies were given out originally.

 

Ya I'm down for troop builders for the generic seekers, insecticon clones, junkions, more quintesson guards, reflectors,

 

We talked about this on the WTF@BotCon shows.

We want Reflector clones.