Thought I'd pick a few brains about something I have wondered about for years... Considering how many more Autobot figures there were than Decepticons when the series debuted and hit store shelves, and factoring in how prominant of a character Reflector was in the show (at least during Season 1), has there ever been an official explantion given as to why they chose not to release him in the main line and instead made him an uber obscure mail-away item? I've always thought that was pretty odd, especially when toys like Whirl, Roadbuster and the Deluxe Insecticons were made apart of the main line even though they didn't exist in the series itself - a series which was built on being one giant commerical meant to sell toys. Thanks in advance for any insight.
I'm not sure about Reflector; I just checked their entry on the TF Wiki to see if it shed any light, and they say there's no known reason why it was decided to pull them from the '84 main line-up, where it seems they should have been included, and it's similarly unkown why they were later released in '86 as a mailaway. It has no connection to the other toys you mentioned, however. Roadbuster, Whirl and the Deluxe Insecticons didn't appear in the show because Takara didn't want to sponsor a show featuring figures from rival companies, so they left those characters out so as not to alienate them. Jetfire only made it in by radically altering his design and name.
That is a good question. You could ask that at the Hasbro panel next year and I bet non of them could answer that. I bet some crafty sucker will construct an answer for you, after all that is what folks do on the INTERNET.
EDIT: Found the mail. After my interview with George Dunsay last year, I had a longer exchange of mails with him where I was inquiring on more mysteries sorrounding the initial G1 years. However, due to my health issues at that time, I eventually stopped the conversation and never put those answers online. Anyway, George's answer was that Reflector was considered "not interesting in both modes". They later decided to make the toy available as a mail order "premium".
Oh I know why those other figures appeared as toys but not in the actual series itself. I just meant that back as a kid without a wealth of internet access & knowledge, it didn't make a whole lot of sense. That's all. Thanks, Nevermore. It's curious that, if true, they drew the line at a camera made up of 3 separate bots - essentially being the first combiner - when it could have complimented Soundwave so well and helped increase the low number of Cons available at that time.
Soundwave's robot mode makes up for his rather unattractive alt mode. The figure would sell based on articulation and compatibility with other figures.
That's cool that you even covered the topic of Reflector's exclusivity at all. Props! Most people would never think to bring it up amidst the million other questions. I guess the reasoning makes sense since the toy looked nothing even remotely similar to the toon version, though I'm sure they could have still gotten away with it back then since we were too young to be sticklers of accuracy. But whatever, at least there IS an official answer. I'm impressed that Dunsay even remembered the situation with that figure at all, hehe. Thanks again, NM.
